Preschool Data Scientists
Ashley Lewis Presser, Jessica Mercer Young · Science and Children · 2024
This article describes the use of a digital tool to conduct investigations that allow young children to collect data to answer questions that are interesting and developmentally appropriate for preschoolers. The curricular program is designed as a set of hands-on experiences for preschoolers to engage in problem-solving with data. The digital tool supports the teacher to mediate each step in the investigation process, as preschoolers collaborate to pose a question of interest, identify categories or variables that can help answer the question, proceed through the data collection process, and quickly generate a visualization (graph or tally chart) that drives a deeper discussion or "data talk" to make sense of the data. By maximizing the affordances of technology, data can be efficiently collected while children engage in science practices (e.g. asking questions) and mathematics learning (e.g. gather relevant data, sort and classify by attributes, analysis and interpretation of data). The use of this digital resource amplifies the scaffolding of each investigation, assists in the details of planning and conducting investigations, and provides colorful, engaging visuals to spur discussions about the data in relevant, age-appropriate ways. Throughout the process, children can build on and expand their mathematics and scientific knowledge and skills.