EDUC 5197: ASSIGNMENT ESSAY
WORD COUNT: LIMIT 1500
DON’T FORGET TO DELETE HEADINGS
EXPLAIN THE IMPORTANCE OF ENGAGING STUDENTS WITH SCIENCE: (355)
Science is a powerful way for us to explain how things around us work. But why is it so important for students to study science? Science is everywhere and understanding how it is part of our lives and how it plays a significant role in our lives can assist students in having a solid foundation for success in the future.
The rationale of the Australian Curriculum: Science defines science as ‘dynamic collaborative and creative human endeavour arising from our desire to make sense of our world through exploring the unknown, investigating universal mysteries, making predictions and solving problems’ (ACARA, 2012) The Australian Curriculum: Science supports problem solving, curiosity, creativity and imagination in science.
There is a clear link between the rationale and the view that the aim of science education is to develop a students’ scientific literacy. Scientific literacy is defined by the Organisation for Economic-Operation and Development (OECD) as "The capacity to use scientific knowledge, to identify questions and to draw evidence-based conclusions in order to understand and help make decisions about the natural world and the changes made to it through human activity." The Organisation for Economic -Operation and Development 's (OECD) Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA))
Throughout this essay, it will
Science is important to learn and study because it helps up to understand how things are created and function in the world. Events that happen in the natural world are explained based off of observation and experience.
Standard: K-2, Science is a way of knowing… Science knowledge helps us know about the world.
Science is, "the intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment," according to Oxford's Online Dictionary. The American education system is, "responsible for coordinating education policies, planning for changing educational needs in the community, and establishing programs and curriculum," pursuant to ISSS International Student and Scholar Services. The method for studying science should be completely overlooked, especially for biology, the cogitation of living organisms. For generations students have been confined to classrooms and forced to study science through textbooks; however, experiencing outside science reforms
My earliest memory of science in elementary school was in first grade. I remember walking into the classroom early in the morning and seeing plant pots lined up in the back of the room. Of course one of us asked, Mrs. Denny, what are those for? She answered like any experienced teacher “We will get to those after lunch. Thank you for noticing though.” As a young student, I was more interested about taking the plant home to my mom and showing her what I did. After lunch, we went on a walk to the atrium in the center of the school. Mrs. Denny pointed out the different kinds of plants that were in the atrium like flowers, and other small plants. We walked back to our classroom and talked about what a plant needs to grow and finally got to make a plant ourselves. We each had a cup of water, a cup of soil, a pot, and a plant. I also remember in third grade learning about the weather by creating a big picture of the water cycle with the clouds and why there is lightening and thunder. After we made the picture, we each got to write down a question about weather and Mrs. Heffernan went over each one. I loved science when I was little because I was able to explore and try new things. I struggled in math and reading because they were very black and white but science allowed creativity. I enjoyed science in elementary school because it was very hands on so I didn’t have to sit in my seat. I would define science has a content area that allows the individual to research and develop
It provides a clear guideline for what every student should know and be able to do in math and in English language arts at the end of each grade (Common Core Standards Initiative, 2010a). The English language arts and literacy standards were written to help students meet the particular challenges of reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language in their respective fields, such as science. Great emphasis is placed on literacy skills within the context of science learning characterize “science teachers as sharing responsibility for literacy acquisition” (Scruggs, Brigham, & Mastropieri, 2013, p.50). However, it is important to note that “literacy standards in history, social science, science, and technical subjects are meant to supplement content standards in those areas, not replace them” (Common Core Standards Initiative, 2010b, p.
As Whitehead says, “If a science forgets its heroes, it is lost.” Learning about nature of science and its social and cultural aspects will enhance of our understanding that science is a human endeavor. Science is a way of explaining natural phenomena by using interpretations and interferences with experimental data and observations. However, including history of science in our teachings, as well as a laboratory part, is a great way to illuminate students about the evolution of science and how scientists can take risks and sometimes fail while seeking information. Whether they study science fields or not, this history will encourage students to make and learn from mistakes while engaged in scientific practices that will expand their
Science is the process of observing, thinking, and reflecting on actions and events, for young children science involves constructing the relationship within which the factual information can be organized into meaningful concepts ( Brewer, J.A,2007)Therefore, engaged in the science and discovery centre children will firstly, gain the knowledge the basic science concepts and show the familiarity with the terminology. Secondly, children would adopt the scientific skills for observing, communicating, comparing, classifying, organizing , measuring and experimenting. Thirdly, being involved in the science and discovery centre children will develop dispositions, and show interest to investigate unusual objects and events. Likewise, children will
Science affects our lives from day to night, from the time we wake up to the time we sleep, all day long science is helping us. The bus you ride to get to work and back, the weather reports that warn us if there is trouble, the cell phones that we all use for almost everything these days, the lights that we use everyday to help us see and the antibiotics and vaccines that
The general definition of science is the systematic study of the physical and natural world through observation and experiments. On the contrary, it is much more than that. Much like art, it holds a sense of subjectivity. It is an abstract paradigm that requires the input of one’s personal beliefs and values to help it progress. It is much more than just facts and theories of how the world works, but also a prime representation of the ethics and beliefs of the scientists that help mold it today. Science is a database for factual knowledge on the natural world, furthermore, it also incorporates the environment it has created. The environment consists of the particular people, behaviors, and struggles of the scientific community. Even though science incorporates many thoughts and ideas, it does not contain other ideas. Science does not hold a moral category. It does not define what is considered right and what is considered wrong. It merely provides information on certain ideas for further understanding. Any theories and applications of it can lead to other subjects. This idea also applies to what the acquired scientific knowledge is used for. Even though the ideas of complexity and subjectivity are present in both science and art, the concept of aesthetic should only be important for art. Despite requiring organization and general cleanliness, science does not need to pass the eye test. Science should be represented through proper data and its analysis and the non factual features need to have a rational reasoning. To judge or base an idea on its appeal does not equal to
“Scientific literacy is knowing science as a way of thinking, finding, organising and utilising information to make decisions” (Rennie, 2005).
Science is the study of the whole world from the smallest building blocks to the highest level. The main branches of natural science are biology, chemistry and physics. The differences between the natural science fields are not always visible, and they share a number of cross-discipline fields. A particular example of scientific fields that draws upon multiple natural science disciplines is Environmental Science.” (Parawira, 2017). In the world of today there is no way a day will pass without using science to sustain our daily lives. “The knowledge created by science is powerful and reliable. It can be used to develop new technologies, treat diseases, and deal with many other types of problems human beings are facing today and in the future.” (Parawira, 2017). Science helps with making our day to day activities easier. It makes the world interesting and fun. It also helps with the survival of mankind through the drastic climate changes. Science helps with answering a lot of questions every day; why certain things are happening; how they are happening and how they can be stopped. It is because of science now we have technology. Science is responsible for the development of our countries. Most developing count developing countries are not advanced in science but it still
Science has and always will play a constant important role in my daily life, maybe more so than others. Science for me has not always been my strong subject in school and I very easily tend to get intimidated. But when I look at my daily life and realize how much science plays a role in it, I cannot help but smile. Science is not at all bad, it has allowed me to do many things every day, even if I do not take the time to stop and think about it, it is there. From the way the microwave heats up the water for my coffee every morning or the way my body digests the food I eat every meal and makes
Nowadays science, maths and technology plays a significant role in children’s education mainly children from 2 to 5 years. “Where there is a child and where there is a curiosity there is a science (Howiit&Blake, 2010, p.3 as cited in The place of science in early years, 2012). Most of the people believe that science does not play any centre role in life of children as it is just carried in laboratories. In day to day life young children engage in science practices but they don’t find this science. They called it ‘curiosity’. Scientists do many experiments by using different technologies and mathematical concepts. An early childhood teacher requires a basic understanding of key scientific concepts in order to enhance children’s learning (Brunton& Thornton,2010). Young children also have range of understanding of maths and scientific concepts, developed as a consequence of everyday interaction with the world. As young children learn by doing things, not just sitting and listening. It helps children to develop their physical, social skills and creativity. In the early childhood years educators should differentiate between ‘right’ answer and ‘correct’ answer (Harlen, 2001 as cited in The place of science in early years, 2012). It is important to allow young children to make observation and become confident of their ability to describe what they think is happening and why it might be happening. Young children’s understanding towards science, mathematics and
Students at Primary school are very energetic, active, and curious and tends to participate classroom activities actively because of their age. Therefore, according to DCRD (2012) the main objectives of science at this stage are to nurture the curiosity of the learner about the world, engage learners in investigation, perform simple experiments, and develop love towards the nature and to provide scientific skills for later stage of science studies in their
Science is, by its nature, inquiry based and science knowledge is built through processes in which discoveries of the natural world are made (Abruscato, 2000). It utilizes discovery and scientific thinking process to explore and learn knowledge and skills. Learning by doing is the new efficient method in teaching science. For kindergarten, this method leads to better understanding of science concepts and builds skills that children will use in future life .What a child can do with assistance now, they can later do on their own (Vygotsky, 1978). John Dewey (1916) stated that children must be engaged in an active quest for learning and new ideas. Inquiry is important in educating kindergarteners because it not only keeps them interested in lessons but also helps them retain more information when performing exploration and investigation. Children are naturally motivated to learn and actively seek out information to help their understanding (Piaget, 1950).The success of students who participate in hands- on inquiry activities suggests that if students have first hands experience with science, concepts are easier to understand and apply and students are generally more favorable to science and have better understanding of the nature of science .Within a conceptual framework, inquiry learning and active learner involvement can lead to important outcomes in the classroom. In kindergarten, students who are actively making observations, collecting results and drawing