Preschool Teachers Understanding of Science Identity

This study utilized a survey to analyze preschool teachers’ perceptions of science identity before and after watching an episode of Sid the Science Kid during a professional development. A total of twelve teachers participated in the study by completing pre and post survey questions. The one question that was addressed during this study was how teachers felt about science identity before and after watching the Sid the Science Kid episode? Two notable conclusions were a result of this study 1) preschool teacher’s lack of awareness and understanding of science identity; and 2) preschool teacher’s appreciation and willingness of students’ to role play being a scientist, but little understanding of why this role play is beneficial.


Introduction
An individual's identity is always in continuous development, even if a person has relatively stable perception of "who" one is.At the preschool age, students are just beginning to experiment with their identity in terms of what they like and what they do not like.Erikson's psychosocial theory emphasizes the emergence of self, the search for identity, the individual's relationship with others (Woolfolk, 2013).Preschool and elementary teachers who are traditionally trained take courses in child development where they learn about this process of identity and how to support children through different stages of their psychosocial development.The purposes of this study were to investigate the assumption that if preschool teachers are informed about identity then that would automatically translate to what preschool teachers know about science identity.Lave and Wenger (1991) agree students to develop identities through engaging with the practices and tasks of the science classroom.Science identity is defined by Carlone (1994) as demonstrating competent performance in relevant scientific practices with deep meaningful knowledge and understanding of science, and recognizing oneself and/or being recognized by others as a science person.Tan & Calabrese-Barton (2007) expand on this definition by adding that this identity is constructed socially within communities of practice.Learning science in this community (of practice) then becomes "a process of becoming to be, of forging identities in activity" (Lave & Wenger, 1991).This study was conducted as a way of examining what preschool teachers might know about young children's science identity and how that relates to their community of practice.
The research questions were as follows: 1) How did teachers feel about science identity before the Sid the Science Kid episode? 2) How did they feel about science identity after the Sid the Science Kid episode?

Background
As preschool students encounter a school-like setting and the context of the classroom they are defining and expressing themselves by preferences and classroom behaviors.Carlone & Johnson (2007) describe science identity as how individuals make meaning of science experiences and how society structures those possible meanings.Brickhouse and Potter (2001) established that a science-related identity does not also reflect the values of the school-mediated engagement or if the students do not have access to the resources they need to do well in science.
A science-related identity becomes important when individuals draw upon successful participation in school science, despite the lack of resources in a home environment.One's personal science identity (Farland-Smith, 2009) is embedded within his or her science identity of his or her identities-in-practice.Identity construction is composed of science identity that is exhibited and revealed to others in a social setting.The identities-in-practice is the result of the external features one can see, such as classroom participation, etc. Science identity then, is the consideration of attitudes, feelings, and intellect is embedded within a particular context, such as a community of practice, the term personal science identity is based on the introspective nature of one's science identity.The likes and dislikes, whether they have an opportunity to rise to the surface or not, are dependent upon the community of practice and opportunities, including a person's self-efficacy and comfort level with science.For example, a child may like something and not know why or what situation informed her choice.

Sid the Science Kid
A popular show that highlights preschool science was selected for use in this study because it is an award winning show that focuses on one single science concept that is presented using Preschool Pathways to Science, a practical science readiness curriculum used in preschool classrooms.This television show was used as a clip to spur discussion with preschool teachers as the show contains a high amount of science content and substantial amounts of questioning.
Sid the Science Kid is a 30-minute show, of the life of Sid a curious four-year-old.Sid asks questions about how things work and the world around him and he tries to answer these questions using scientific methods.The cast of the show is made up of his classmates (May, Gerald, and Gabriela) and his parents (Alice and Mort) who also engage in scientific investigations.
In each episode unfolds similarly, Sid wakes up with a question on his mind and he begins to investigate this question at breakfast.Then, as he prepares for school, he brings this question to pre-school, and on the playground he begins

Subjects
Preschool teachers were identified for this study because no research exists on teachers' perceptions of science identity with this age group.Twelve teachers attending the faculty meeting were recruited for participation in this research study and all willingly participated.

Methodology
At the faulty meeting during late spring of a traditional school year the researcher administrated the survey.Teachers had approximately 10 minutes to complete the pre-survey and post survey.The surveys were placed in a marked envelope and the researcher left the room to ensure confidentiality.When the researcher returned a video clip of Sid the Science Kid was shown to teachers which took approximately 20 minutes.This show was selected for this study because of Sid's questioning strategies and the idea of scientific process within the realm of scientific methods developmentally appropriate for preschoolers.
Then, a post survey was given in the same way as the presurvey to ensure confidentiality.No tests either reliability, or validity were performed on the formalizing his research into the actual investigation phase with his friends.He then takes this question from the playground to the classroom and introduces it to his teacher, Susie.The day at pre-school revolves around investigating this same question.The episode concludes with Sid's grandmother picking him up and reinforcing what he has learned throughout the day.Sid the Science Kid is unique in that it each of the 69 episodes are about a boy in preschool who investigates earth, life and physical science (Farland-Smith & Chao, 2017).The episodes include topics relevant to developmentally appropriate to young scientists include: the body, force and motion, environmental systems, light and shadow, technology and engineering, tools and measurement, changes and transformation, senses, health, simple machines, backyard science, weather, and living things.Each episode's conceptual content connects to the National Science Standards (NRC, 1996), Cognitive Learning Theory, and preschool science curriculum, Preschool Pathways to Science (Gelman, Brenneman, Macdonald, & Roman, 2010).