Background: As digital tools become prevalent in preschool settings, more research is needed on how preschool teachers and children engage with science content through these tools.

Purpose: This study aims to explore how preschool teachers and children interact when engaging with science content supported by digital tools during science activities. Guided by a sociocultural perspective, this study views science teaching and learning as a social practice that involves essential artefacts, such as digital tools, for interaction.

Sample: The qualitative data consists of eight video-recorded science activities involving eight teachers and 22 children across three Swedish preschools where digital tools were used. The tools included smartphones, tablets, a digital microscope, projectors and digital resources such as films and applications.

Design and Methods: Teachers developed science activities based on pedagogical considerations using content representation (CoRe). The use of CoRe supported teachers in articulating key ideas for teaching science content by prompting consideration of appropriate methods, tools and children’s learning needs. Science activities involving digital tools were then video-recorded and analysed.

Results: Our findings show that teachers used digital tools to create learning environments for engagement, recreating and extending engagement, visualising abstract phenomena and facilitating communication about science content. Additionally, digital tools enable real-time engagement and support further learning by connecting previous experiences with new ones, thereby enabling sustainedengagement across contexts.

Conclusion: Our findings confirm digital tools as significant mediators of science content and suggest further research on their role in supporting science teaching and learning in preschool science contexts.

Background: Research emphasises preschool teachers’ work with multimodal representations to assist children in developing their understanding of science content. However, this can be time-consuming and challenging in terms of preparation and materials. Slowmation is a multimodal representation where children represent and visualise science content through narrated digital animations. More research is needed on preschool teachers’ experiences of using slowmation to teach science.

Purpose: This study aimed to explore preschool teachers’ experiences of implementing slowmation to teach science content in a preschool context.

Sample: The study involved five teachers and 17 children (4–5 years) at two preschool departments.

Design and methods: To reflect on what science content to include in the slowmation as well as to articulate their pedagogical considerations for using slowmations, the reflective tool Content Representation (CoRe) was used. Based on the CoRe, the teachers constructed slowmations with the children. Video-stimulated recall interviews (n = 2) were conducted, allowing teachers to express their experiences. The interview data were then analysed thematically.

Results: The teachers’ experiences of implementing slowmation are summarised in terms of (re)framing the content, children’s engagement, repeated opportunities to engage with the content, and preparation and support needs. For instance, the slowmation due to its design, provides repetitive learning opportunities for children and addresses children’s interests and engagement. The results have implications for teaching science with slowmation in preschool settings. Further, the results indicate the importance of using a reflective tool such as the CoRe for teachers to reflect on what particular content to include in the slowmations as well as, why and how to use slowmations in preschool.

Conclusion: Slowmation enhances children’s engagement and understanding of science, offering teachers valuable insights into children’s learning. Despite some challenges, its repetitive structure contributes to visualising and learning science content. Further research from a teacher’s perspective provides additional insights into the conscious use of slowmations in preschool science activities.

This study investigates preschool teachers’ considerations for including digital tools in  science teaching to develop children’s learning of science content. Due to the ongoing digitalisation and demands in society, the utilisation of digital tools has increased significantly in educational settings. Recent research about digital tools in early childhood education focuses on various aspects of technology implementation. However, there is a research gap in which considerations underpin preschool teachers’ choices of what, why and how they integrate digital tools into science teaching. The data generation was conducted by different methods. The reflection tool Content Representations (CoRe) is used to make the preschool teachers’ considerations explicit when reflecting on planning science teaching regarding specific science content formulated as Big Ideas. Further, video stimulated recall interviews capture the preschool teachers’ considerations on their interactions with children in science activities and using digital tools. The Refined Consensus Model (RCM) of Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) was employed as a theoretical framework for analysing and interpreting data around an entire teaching cycle. Some of the teachers’ considerations for including digital tools involve accessing children’s learning, making the abstract concrete and stimulating children’s engagement and learning. Further, the findings indicate that the considerations concerned knowledge about teachers’ personal PCK (pPCK) and enacted PCK (ePCK) aspects.

This study investigated how modeling in chemistry affect second language learners’ descriptions of polymeric concepts. The aim was to investigate how chemistry discussions mediated by representations, contribute to second language students’ development in the language of chemistry. The study took place in three multilingual upper secondary classes. Participating students were (n = 16) second language learners and (n = 14) first language learners. There were in total eight different first languages represented. Data comprised polymeric concept descriptions, audio recordings, and photos taken during modeling. The concept descriptions were analyzed by an inductive content analysis which was then used for a deductive analysis of the modeling-activity. The results show that 65% of second language learners concept descriptions showed an increased clarity, and 45% showed increased use of chemical concepts after the modeling-activity. This study highlights how students in a multilingual context develop their language of chemistry by discussing chemistry scaffolded by representations. The results show that second language learners in a multilingual context benefited from the modeling-activity. As such, the study acknowledges that modeling contexts can be used in teacher education, both in-service and pre-service, to highlight the importance of the role of representations when teaching in the multilingual context.