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What is Pathways to Science? Pathways to Science is a science-based curriculum that builds on a child's inborn urge to explore and investigate through the senses, to make connections between what is familiar and what is new, to construct knowledge from experience and to master new skills. Teachers design learning experiences that are organized around a central concept and are responsive to the needs and interests of the children in the group. The Pathways to Science curriculum encourages children to form patterns of thought that will support and enhance lifelong learning. Adults and children are seen as learners who observe, predict, measure, test, document and communicate. Through a process of thinking, talking and working, the curriculum fosters critical thinking and the ability to ask questions. It allows children and teachers to experience the pleasure of having wonderful ideas and the joy of finding things out.
Where did the Pathways to Science curriculum come from?
The curriculum has been in development by UCLA Early Care and Education staff in collaboration with the Gelman Cognitive Development lab since 1992. This approach to curriculum design is informed by basic principles of human development, research into brain development and promising practices in early childhood education.
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