Engaging Students in Science Research

Haynie, E. (2000) “Engaging Students in Science Research” The Science Teacher, 67(3), 8


Connecting the classroom to scien­tific research can help students de­velop conceptual understanding, yet this approach is generally not used in secondary education, perhaps be­cause it is uncommon for teachers to have formal training in incorporating scientific research into the classroom. The National Science Education Standards (National Research Coun­cil, 1996) provides guidelines for teaching students scientific research. A teacher specializing in high school science education generally receives some training in methods but very little direct experience with the sci­ence research process.

To build their knowledge base and acquire an understanding of sci­ence research, teachers should be well acquainted with resources such as curricular materials, technology, community resources, professional colleagues with special expertise, and instructional resources.

Science research-based learn­ing means observing and experiment­ing with the materials and processes of the natural world. Teaching re­search-based activities is demanding but worthwhile because the students involved have to take an active role in their own learning. Rather than the teacher telling the students what they must learn, the teacher sets up an environment in which students can actively acquire knowledge, mainly through experimenting. The teacher engages students in problem solving by asking probing questions, promot­ing inquiry, and guiding discussion.

Involving students in indepen­dent science research benefits them because such work builds their self confidence and helps them develop critical thinking skills. The discussion and exploration involved in scientific research enhances students' organi­zational skills. This work also stimu­lates and motivates students' natural curiosity in a context that makes sci­ence relevant to their lives. In addi­tion, science research facilitates learn­ing experiences that help restructure students' existing knowledge and build new knowledge and skills.

Many new curricular and in­structional models are being devel­oped and implemented as the United States moves toward educational re­form in the science classroom. Scien­tific research-based learning is an in­novative curricular and instructional strategy that provides the framework for implementing the science stan­dards as students experience being apprentice scientists.

The ultimate goal of science education is to develop scientific at­titudes, knowledge, skills, and pro­cesses. Experiences in which students engage in realistic science research provide the background for develop­ing an understanding of the nature of scientific inquiry. Inquiry requires that students process scientific knowl­edge as they use scientific reasoning and critical thinking to develop their understanding of science. Students involved in science research ask ques­tions, plan and conduct investiga­tions, and use appropriate tools and techniques to gather data. These stu­dents think critically and logically about relationships between evi­dence and explanations.

It has been well demonstrated that students who conduct independent projects develop higher-level inquiry skills. For science education to be successful, one must bring sci­ence alive in the classroom for stu­dents. "When this happens, students awaken to a sense of joy, 'wonder­ment, and excitement about learning science. Being engaged in an independent research project allows the relevance of science to become ap­parent because students explore sci­entific developments that have shaped their -world.

Research-based science instruc­tion is an effective teaching strategy and needs to be more widely used. Teaching scientific research meth­ods to high school students enables them to learn through direct obser­vation and experimentation just as professional scientists develop hy­potheses and then test their ideas through repeated experiments and observations. Scientists cannot sim­ply know that something is so; they must demonstrate it is so. The educa­tion of students in science must pro­vide this kind of experience, not sim­ply confirm the "right" answer but investigate the nature of their world and arrive at explanations they un­derstand.


Edward C Haynie;Associate Professor;
Harris-Stowe State College; St. Louis, Missouri
e-mail: ehaynie@charter.net


REFERENCE
National Research Council. 1996. National Science Education Standards. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.