The green bean has to be longer than your thumb: An observational study of preschoolers’ math and science experiences in a garden
Gardening with young children supports mathematical and scientific thinking, ecological awareness, and emotional connections to nature
A longitudinal case study was conducted with eleven children involved in an on-going gardening project at a Reggio-inspired preschool in the United States. The study aimed to address the following three research questions: (1) What math and science experiences are afforded to young children while participating in gardening activities throughout the year with their teacher? (2) Does working in the school garden provide opportunities for preschoolers to develop gardening knowledge and ecological awareness? and (3) What were children’s affective responses to gardening?
The children participating in this study ranged in age from 33 to 59 months at the beginning of the study. The school’s garden is maintained throughout the year by the children and teachers, with gardening activities being a regular part of the curriculum. As a part of this study, the interactions between children and teachers were observed and recorded over nine days between September and April. Five observations were conducted in the fall and four in the spring, totaling 444 minutes of recorded observations. Additional data collection measures consisted of interviews with the children and the teacher.
Children’s interviews were conducted by the teachers in October, February, and May as a part of their regularly scheduled activities. For the purpose of this study, three questions were added to the interview format. These questions focused on what the child liked to do, found hard to do, and did not like to do in the garden. The interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed by the teachers.
A semi-structured interview was conducted with the participating teacher in August and May. Questions during this interview focused on the role of outdoor environments and specifically about the garden as a context for preschoolers’ development. The teacher was also asked about her role in supporting the children’s garden-related experiences. The teacher interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim.
Findings indicated that as the children participated in a variety of gardening activities, they were also engaged in such science process skills as observing, predicting, evaluating, and comparing. Additionally, five primary categories of mathematical discourse were observed: number concepts (including number word labels and counting), number operations (such as addition and subtraction); shape recognition; size estimation and comparison; and spatial orientation.
Findings from the observations and interviews also indicated that children were developing gardening knowledge and ecological awareness, and that they were overwhelmingly enthusiastic about participating in gardening activities. The results of this study indicate that with appropriate teacher guidance, a preschool garden offers rich opportunities for young children to develop mathematical and scientific thinking, gain ecological awareness, and experience positive affective responses to the natural world.
Citation
Vandermaas - Peeler, M., McClain, C., (2015). The green bean has to be longer than your thumb: An observational study of preschoolers’ math and science experiences in a garden. International Journal of Early Childhood Environmental Education, 3(1)
