From birth to age five, children learn an astonishing amount about how the world works. They learn how to speak and understand a complex language, how objects that disappear from view can still exist, and how people feel about events in their lives. They are, as several researchers point out, among the best learners in the universe. (Gopnik, Meltzoff, & Kuhl,1999)
How do they do it?
Children are explorers. They grab things, examine them, bang them on the
floor and drop them. It’s as
if they need to discover the world around them. They will walk or
crawl—even if they know they shouldn’t—toward fragile items and
off-limit places. When they find a game they enjoy, like peek-a-boo,
they want to play it over and over again. (Gopnik et al.,1999)
These activities are all part of a larger learning process. This
process, called hypothesis testing, is an extremely powerful way young
children learn. It’s so powerful, in fact, that the world’s leading
scientists use the same methods.
What's hypothesis testing?
To understand hypothesis testing, we first must realize that it always
begins with what children already know. What children already know
influences how they think, how they react to situations, and how they
see the world around them. Children learn by building upon, and then
reshaping, what they already know about the world. (Gopnik et al.,1999)
Based on what they know, children make predictions about what they think
will happen. (Gopnik et al., 1999) These predictions are called
hypotheses. When children make predictions about things and then test
their ideas, they are hypothesis testing. Of course, hypotheses can be
right or wrong, and that’s why children—just like scientists—need to
test them over and over again to make sure they get them right.
Hypothesis testing involves five main steps:
Making observations
Asking questions
Creating hypotheses (what they think will happen based on what they
know)
Testing hypotheses
Evaluating the evidence
Let's look at a common example of hypothesis testing.
Sound familiar? Every parent and caregiver around the world knows the
joy of playing peek-a-boo. Hiding your face from a baby, waiting a few
precious moments, and then bursting into view with wide eyes, a big
smile and a loud “peek-a-boo!” can be delightfully fun. It’s so much
fun, you probably don’t realize that you are part of an ongoing
scientific experiment. This giggling baby is the scientist.
What's the science
of peek-a-boo?
Peek-a-boo seems like an obvious game to adults. It’s fun to play, but
adults know exactly what’s going to
happen. There’s no real mystery to the game. Nobody’s afraid that the
baby might disappear forever just because she’s out of view.
Now let’s look at peek-a-boo from a young child’s point of view. When an
adult hides his face, the baby thinks about the situation very
differently. The adult might really be gone! Peek-a-boo helps children
learn that something can be hidden from view but still exist in the
world.
If we slow the game down, it may look something like this:
I can't see grandma's face. (making an observation)
Where did she go? Is grandma still there? (asking
a question)
I've played this game before, and I think she's still there.
(creating a hypothesis)
Let's see . . . Peek-a-boo! It's great to see grandma again! (testing
hypothesis)
I was right. Grandma can hide her face, but I know she's still here.
(evaluating the evidence)
By playing peek-a-boo, children test their ideas about things that
disappear. Over time and with evidence from many games, children learn
that objects still exist even when they’re hidden from view.
Babies learn by
hypothesis testing.
Let’s use a crib mobile method from a well known scientific experiment
as an example of how hypothesis testing might work with a baby. (Rovee-Collier,
Sullivan, Enright, Lucas, & Fagan, 1980) Tyler is three months old, and
he loves to watch how things move. One day, Tyler’s dad gently attached
one end of a
ribbon to Tyler’s foot, and the other end of the ribbon to a mobile
hanging above his crib. After a few moments, Tyler discovered that when
he kicked, the mobile moved above him. So he kicked his foot again. The
mobile moved, just like the first time. Soon, Tyler was kicking all the
time—he had learned that he could make the mobile move by kicking his
foot. After playing for a short time, Tyler’s dad removed the ribbon
from Tyler’s foot and took the mobile down from the crib.
A few days later, Tyler’s dad did the same thing and attached one end of
a ribbon to the mobile and the other end to Tyler’s foot.
It was time for Tyler to test a hypothesis. It might have gone something
like this:
I see the mobile.
Can I make it move?
I made it move before by kicking, so kicking might make it move
again.
I will kick again.
It moved! I can make the mobile move by kicking!
Through hypothesis testing, babies like Tyler learn that they can
make things happen. Making mobiles dance is only the first step. Once
babies learn that they can make things happen, they want to make lots of
things happen. One discovery leads to a handful of new ideas to test.
The power of hypothesis testing comes from the way it changes or
supports what children already know. If the new evidence matches their
predictions, their knowledge is reinforced. If the new evidence
contradicts their ideas, they change their thinking. Through hypothesis
testing, shaky ideas become solid, incomplete ideas become clearer, and
misconceptions get corrected.
With this new knowledge, children make more accurate observations, ask
new questions and create better hypotheses. Like scientists, the more
they experiment, the more they learn.
Helpful Parenting Tips
Hypothesis testing is an active process, and babies and
young children are active learners. By observing, asking questions,
making predictions and testing their ideas, children make astonishing
discoveries. These discoveries lead to new observations, new hypotheses
and new tests in an amazing upward spiral of learning.
Take
the time to let children explore, test and learn at their own
pace.
Repetition is an important part of hypothesis testing and learning. Try to
enjoy your baby’s explorations, even if it means playing peek-a-boo over and
over again.
Provide lots of “data” for your baby to test. Try taking your baby outside
to see, touch and feel all sorts of new things.
Provide a safe environment for discovery. Little explorers will get into
everything within their reach.
Scientists need lots of time, good helpers and safe
places to make important new discoveries. Babies need the same
things—and lots of hugs along the way.
References:
Gopnik, A.,
Meltzoff, A. N., & Kuhl, P. K. (1999). The scientist in the
crib: Minds, brains, and how children learn. New York: William
Morrow & Co.
Rovee-Collier, C.
K., Sullivan, M. W., Enright, M., Lucas, D., & Fagen, J. W.
(1980). Reactivation of infant memory. Science, 208,
1159-1161.
Take
the time to let children explore, test and learn at their own
pace.
