Transformation
Science education was standardized in the 1890s as a result of combining two ideologies, citizen science and pre-professional training. The National Education Association developed the first elementary and secondary science standards for teachers to follow. Elementary science was to focus on simple natural phenomenon by experiments, and secondary science was to focus on laboratory work through a specific list of pre-approved experiments. In 1996, the National Science Education Standards were unveiled. Two very important aspects of teaching science were a part of these standards. The first was science as inquiry, which stated that “students combine processes and scientific knowledge as they use scientific reasoning and critical thinking to develop their understanding of science.” In my high school science classroom, students should gain the ability necessary to do scientific inquiry. Students will be able to ask questions, plan and conduct investigations, use appropriate tools and techniques to gather data, think critically about evidence and results, and communicate findings.
The second standard which was added to teaching science was the element technology plays in science education. Students should gain the abilities associated with the process of design and understandings of the link between science and technology. High school science students will be able to learn about technological design and connect technology as either a tool or a by-product of science.
One of the hardest objectives to teach in my science classroom is scientific inquiry and experimental design. Many students have a difficult time formulating questions and hypotheses. One reason for this is due to decreased amount of time in a science curriculum at the middle school level. Some students only have science class two or three times a week, so they are limited in their exposure to science. Without the background knowledge of making questions and hypotheses, students are sometimes intimidated when they arrive in a high school classroom. Students have a tough time grasping how to ask questions, and once they’ve found a question, they have a doubly tough time figuring out how to go about finding an answer to that question. The basis of all science is about the ability to question the world, and attempting to discover the answers. In order to help my students comprehend this difficult subject, I will teach an inquiry based curriculum and use technology in order to further students’ understanding of a difficult topic.
When teaching in an inquiry-based classroom, it is important to know the role of the teacher. Educators guide student learning through designing, selecting, and planning the tasks for the class. Teachers should also ask probing questions, help identify misconceptions, and plan follow up activities. It can be very difficult to come up with tasks to cover all types of students, but a well planned activity can allow students to have different courses of thinking throughout the process.
In order for students to maximize their understanding of scientific inquiry and experimental design, they will need to use many different tools. Besides the tools of paper and pen that they may need, technology can help enhance the experience. I envision the iPad as a tool that can be used to document, collect data, share findings, and do research.
The second standard which was added to teaching science was the element technology plays in science education. Students should gain the abilities associated with the process of design and understandings of the link between science and technology. High school science students will be able to learn about technological design and connect technology as either a tool or a by-product of science.
One of the hardest objectives to teach in my science classroom is scientific inquiry and experimental design. Many students have a difficult time formulating questions and hypotheses. One reason for this is due to decreased amount of time in a science curriculum at the middle school level. Some students only have science class two or three times a week, so they are limited in their exposure to science. Without the background knowledge of making questions and hypotheses, students are sometimes intimidated when they arrive in a high school classroom. Students have a tough time grasping how to ask questions, and once they’ve found a question, they have a doubly tough time figuring out how to go about finding an answer to that question. The basis of all science is about the ability to question the world, and attempting to discover the answers. In order to help my students comprehend this difficult subject, I will teach an inquiry based curriculum and use technology in order to further students’ understanding of a difficult topic.
When teaching in an inquiry-based classroom, it is important to know the role of the teacher. Educators guide student learning through designing, selecting, and planning the tasks for the class. Teachers should also ask probing questions, help identify misconceptions, and plan follow up activities. It can be very difficult to come up with tasks to cover all types of students, but a well planned activity can allow students to have different courses of thinking throughout the process.
In order for students to maximize their understanding of scientific inquiry and experimental design, they will need to use many different tools. Besides the tools of paper and pen that they may need, technology can help enhance the experience. I envision the iPad as a tool that can be used to document, collect data, share findings, and do research.