Science Learning and Graphic Symbols: An Exploration of Early Years Teachers’ Views And Use of Graphic Symbols When Teaching Science

Maria Kambouri; Eliada Pampoulou Salowm; Myria Pieridou; Michael Allen

doi:10.12973/eurasia.2016.1275a

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Maria Kambouri ¹ ^* , Eliada Pampoulou Salowm ², Myria Pieridou ³, Michael Allen ⁴

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¹ University of Reading² Special Educational Solutions (SE.S), Cyprus³ Open university⁴ Kingston University^* Corresponding Author

Abstract

Background:
The study investigated early years teachers’ understanding and use of graphic symbols, defined as the visual representation(s) used to communicate one or more “linguistic” concepts, which can be used to facilitate science learning.

Material and methods:
The study was conducted in Cyprus where six early years teachers were observed and interviewed.

Results:
The results indicate that the teachers had a good understanding of the role of symbols, but demonstrated a lack of understanding in regards to graphic symbols specifically. None of the teachers employed them in their observed science lesson, although some of them claimed that they did so.

Conclusions:
Findings suggest a gap in participants’ acquaintance with the terminology regarding different types of symbols and a lack of awareness about the use and availability of graphic symbols for the support of learning. There is a need to inform and train early years teachers about graphic symbols and their potential applications for supporting children’s learning.

Keywords

early years education
graphic symbols
inclusive practice
science education
teaching

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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed, 2016, Volume 12, Issue 9, 2399-2417

https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2016.1275a

Publication date: 29 Jun 2016

Article Views: 2665

Article Downloads: 2161

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How to cite this article

APA

Kambouri, M., Pampoulou Salowm, E., Pieridou, M., & Allen, M. (2016). Science Learning and Graphic Symbols: An Exploration of Early Years Teachers’ Views And Use of Graphic Symbols When Teaching Science. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 12(9), 2399-2417. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2016.1275a

Vancouver

Kambouri M, Pampoulou Salowm E, Pieridou M, Allen M. Science Learning and Graphic Symbols: An Exploration of Early Years Teachers’ Views And Use of Graphic Symbols When Teaching Science. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2016;12(9):2399-417. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2016.1275a

AMA

Kambouri M, Pampoulou Salowm E, Pieridou M, Allen M. Science Learning and Graphic Symbols: An Exploration of Early Years Teachers’ Views And Use of Graphic Symbols When Teaching Science. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2016;12(9), 2399-2417. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2016.1275a

Chicago

Kambouri, Maria, Eliada Pampoulou Salowm, Myria Pieridou, and Michael Allen. "Science Learning and Graphic Symbols: An Exploration of Early Years Teachers’ Views And Use of Graphic Symbols When Teaching Science". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education 2016 12 no. 9 (2016): 2399-2417. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2016.1275a

Harvard

Kambouri, M., Pampoulou Salowm, E., Pieridou, M., and Allen, M. (2016). Science Learning and Graphic Symbols: An Exploration of Early Years Teachers’ Views And Use of Graphic Symbols When Teaching Science. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 12(9), pp. 2399-2417. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2016.1275a

MLA

Kambouri, Maria et al. "Science Learning and Graphic Symbols: An Exploration of Early Years Teachers’ Views And Use of Graphic Symbols When Teaching Science". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, vol. 12, no. 9, 2016, pp. 2399-2417. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2016.1275a