Scientific Enquiry and Social Studies in an Integrated Curriculum

Singapore University of Social Sciences

Scientific Enquiry and Social Studies in an Integrated Curriculum (ECE300)

Synopsis

There are three interconnected strands of knowledge introduced in ECE300: (a) creating an integrated and/or emergent curriculum for infants, toddlers and pre-schoolers; (b) enhancing children’s enquiring mind through meaningful science and social studies topics; and (c) exploring interactive strategies to engage children and scaffold their learning as independent learners and thinkers. In line with the sociocultural framework, this course also emphasises children’s investigative learning process, inclusivity, diversity and collaborative relationships.

Level: 3
Credit Units: 5
Presentation Pattern: EVERY REGULAR SEMESTER

Topics

Creating an integrated curriculum and emergent curriculum
Balancing adult-initiated ideas and child-initiated ideas
Enquiring with infants, toddlers and pre-schoolers
Exploring strategies such as those found in the Project Approach and the Reggio Emilia approach
Selecting materials and setting up time and space for enquiry-based curriculum
Building a curious and collaborative classroom community
Selecting science and social studies concepts and materials relevant for different age groups
Working with children’s diverse interests and abilities
Working with families and communities
Assessing and documenting progress in enquiry-based projects
Integrating multimodal literacy and whole language learning
Encouraging children to use visual representations

Learning Outcome

Examine the challenges and benefits of putting into practice integrated curricula and/or emergent curricula in the Singapore context
Compare various approaches to creating integrated curricula and/or emergent curricula, including curricula developed based on the Project Approach and on the work in Reggio Emilia
Discuss the importance of promoting enquiry-based learning across age groups in the curriculum areas of science and social studies
Design, try out and assess the success of an enquiry-based learning experience with children
Plan science and social studies topics that would be relevant to Singaporean children across age groups
Illustrate how you could integrate science and social studies topics that would be relevant to Singaporean children across age groups