New Perspectives in Science Education

From an early age, children are curious about plants and animals, and the way they move, feed, and select their habitats. This affinity is known as biophilia. However, although people are in contact with nature, they rarely take the time to contemplate the beauty of landscapes and ecosystems and communicate the sensations they experience with elements of the natural environment, such as air and rain. The use of tales and poems as teaching tools that connect literature and science, favours learning about environmental issues in young children. In this context, this work aims to share the teaching experiences of two elective courses taught to future early childhood educators. The first course, "Biophilia and children's tales", aimed to familiarize students with short tales created by Chilean authors in the last two decades, with native plants and animals as main characters. The second course, "Nature and haiku", aimed to introduce students to the knowledge of this type of Japanese poetry and their respective haiga. In both courses, students participated in literary workshops, where they initially talked about the readings and the main aspects that captured their attention. Later, the stories and poems created by the students were analysed and discussed. Students' primary interests were the ecology and behaviour of living beings, the biodiversity of plants and animals, environmental crises generated by human action, and sustainable development. In their opinion, this activity allowed them to develop their creativity and artistic expression. From the systematization of both pedagogical strategies, two books with the students' creations were published. These texts will be used as a means to transmit and promote love, respect, and care for nature and the different forms of life to the children they will educate in the future.

Keywords

Biophilia, living beings, nature, landscapes, tales, haiku