Scientific Inquiry Among the Preschool Set

When engaged in what looks like child’s play, preschoolers are actually behaving like scientists, according to a new report in the journal Science: forming hypotheses, running experiments, calculating probabilities and deciphering causal relationships about the world.

[S]tudies have found that when children are simply taught, they don’t explore and test multiple hypotheses, Dr. Gopnik said, adding:

“There’s a lot of pressure from parents and policy makers to make preschools more and more like schools. This research suggests the opposite.”

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