Play-based learning and early years science: New framework maps how intentional teaching builds scientific literacy

A Charles Sturt University study published in Research in Science Education has mapped a three-stage pathway showing how educator planning, play-based action and reflective practice can work together to strengthen young children’s scientific literacy. The research is based on video observations in one preschool, but it offers a practical lens for ECEC teams aiming to make science learning visible, sustained and intentional.

1. PlanningPlanning is positioned as more than gathering resources. The study describes educators identifying the science concepts that can be developed, selecting materials and designing a play experience that supports children to connect concepts with action. In practice, this planning stage draws attention to the “why” behind the experience: what concept or relationship is likely to be in reach, and what prompts, materials or provocations make that learning more likely to surface.
2. Play-based action and production phasesThis stage focuses on children’s engagement with the play experience as educators support participation, exploration and the development of ideas. The paper describes the role of familiarisation and building from children’s everyday experiences. It also highlights the importance of extending play across interconnected experiences, rather than treating science as a one-off event.
3. Pedagogical reflectionReflection is positioned as the engine that sustains scientific literacy over time. Educators review what occurred, what concepts became visible, and what might be planned next. The authors argue that intentional reflection helps educators design subsequent experiences that build on emerging understandings, supporting gradual progress in higher-order learning.

• Plan for concepts, not activitiesA “volcano experiment” can be exciting, but scientific literacy grows when experiences return to concepts children can revisit: changes in states of matter, cause and effect, force and motion, living things, patterns, or sustainability concepts.
• Use play to make thinking visibleDuring play-based science experiences, educators can support scientific literacy through observation, purposeful language and well-timed questions. Prompts that encourage children to predict, compare, test and explain can extend thinking without taking over the play.
• Design for continuity across the weekThe study emphasises the value of interrelated and interconnected science play. For services, that can mean revisiting materials, keeping a “science table” open for several days, returning to children’s theories in group time, or documenting a question that becomes the focus of follow-up provocations.
• Reflect as a team, not only as individualsPedagogical reflection becomes more powerful when it feeds into shared planning. Brief reflection routines at the end of the day, what worked, what children noticed, what will be offered next, can support consistent intentionality across the team.