The potential of using a combination of storytelling and drama, when teaching young children science

Based on a sociocultural perspective, this study explores the outcome of using a model that combines storytelling and drama to teach young children science. The research question is: How is children's learning affected when using a combination of storytelling and drama to explain a complex scientific concept?. Two preschools and one primary school were visited. Altogether 25 children aged 4-8 years participated. Each group listened to a story about The Rhinovirus Rita. No pictures were shown during storytelling. After the story was told, a play was performed with the children, telling the same story they just had listened to, and the children also made drawings. At a second visit to the schools, each child was interviewed individually and their drawings were used to stimulate recall. The results show that many of the children had learnt the names of immune system cells and how they work when someone has a cold. Moreover, they had also learnt that viruses cause colds. There were also a small number of children who did not show any learning development related to this specific content. Still, we argue that the combination of storytelling and drama is an instructional strategy that has positive potential when it comes to teaching children science.