When Should Science Instruction begin and How Long Should it Continue?

Every student should study a meaningful amount of science every year, beginning in kindergarten, or even earlier, and continuing until high school graduation. That is the consensus emerging from major studies of science education. 

Reality, however, is far from this ideal. In most elementary schools, science receives considerably less attention than reading, writing, and mathematics. In kindergarten through grade three, less than 20 minutes daily is spent on science, on average; in the upper elementary grades, the average is about half an hour. The underlying message is that science is not all that important. 

Research has found a positive relationship between the amount of science instruction students receive in elementary school and their participation and achievement in science courses in sec­ondary school. Building on this notion, most people who have studied the issue strongly recommend that science be treated as a genuine "basic" in the elementary school curriculum and thereafter. Some groups have proposed specific amounts of time for science at different levels of schooling.

It is not just a question of the amount of science, but also of the quality of instruction. While the presence of active, high-quality science education in the formative years will not ensure that all students become scientifically literate, experience suggests that its absence is even less likely to fulfill this goal. Good science teaching and learning in elementary schools does not require expensive and complicated equipment, just a teacher with the imagination to design simple and concrete experiments that will "hook" children in the active pursuit of scientific knowledge

At the middle school level, students need instruction that links the concrete learning they acquired in elementary school with the more abstract concepts and critical thinking demands of high school science. They also benefit from instruction that emphasizes the personal, career, and social uses of science, builds on their growing need for independence; and takes into account special concerns of adolescents, such as human development.    

At the high school level, it is critical that all students receive quality science courses. Particular attention should be paid to students who have been underrepresented in science, including girls, ethnic minority students, and students pursuing vocational studies. Regardless of gender, demographic or social group, or career aspirations, all students will be better prepared for the future as result of the thinking skills and habits of mind that the study of science builds.





Notes (ECH) I think that science learning does not end with formal schooling. The need for scientific literacy among all citizens suggests that the nation should embrace the concept of lifelong learning in science. However, while many education options exist for adults who need to upgrade specific technical and job-related skills, there are far fewer opportunities for those who wish to gain a deeper understanding of science.

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.

The Importance of Science Education

Science and technology are powerful forces that shape human life on earth. They have enormous potential to make our lives better and richer, to keep our world safe and livable, and to make our society productive and progressive. Science education needs to help fulfill the potential of science and technology by ensuring that they are used effectively, creatively, and wisely.
Although recent public debate has focused largely on the economic reasons for why science education is important, many scientists and researchers feel that other reasons are even more compelling.

The first reason is personal fulfillment. The study of science enriches people's lives. Science lights the dark and frightening corners of the world. It opens the human mind to new aesthetic and intellectual pleasures and to a new appreciation of the beauty and precision that surrounds them. Science education empowers people to take greater control of their lives and to face problems with courage and understanding. It liberates them to imagine new questions and to set about finding new answers.
The second reason is the welfare of society. All citizens need to be scientifically literate to function effectively in an increasingly technical age and to help create and sustain a decent, just, and vigorous society. A scientifically literate person is one who understands the key concepts and principles of science and uses scientific knowledge and ways of thinking in everyday life.
Citizens today face a range of hard choices—from the personal, such as how to avoid contracting AIDS, to the global, such as what to do about acid rain. People who understand science are better prepared to sort fact from myth, make sensible decisions, and urge their leaders toward enlightened public policy choices.
The third reason for science education being so important is economic. The nation will continue to need well-educated scientists, engineers, and technicians to push the envelope of knowledge and rekindle the spirit of invention and discovery that built our nation. We will also need people who are scientifically literate in a range of fields, including those that are not ostensibly scientific or technical. New technological and workplace demands are increasing the need for workers who have flexible skills, a basic grasp of science and technology, and the ability to solve problems and to think critically.

How Student's Attitudes and Perceptions About Science Affect Science Learning

Attitudes and perception about science are powerful motivators working for or against student achievement. According to research, students who enjoy science are more apt to do well and take advanced courses. Similarly, students who dislike or fear science and doubt their own competencies are more likely to do poorly and boycott science altogether by late high school.           

Negative attitudes about science are learned, not inherited. Any parent can describe the delight little children take in observing the world around them and experimenting with its limits. Yet somewhere in the elementary grades, these positive attitudes wither or find outlets apart from the subject in school called "science." By the end of third grade, almost half the students in one survey said they would not like to take science, and by the end of eighth grade, only one-fifth had positive attitudes toward science. Enthusiasm about science—and with it confidence—tends to dwindle as students’ progress through school. 

Several incorrect or damaging perceptions can fuel negative attitudes negative attitudes about science. One is that success in science stems from innate ability more than from effort, and that some students are just not cut out for this "hard" subject. This attitude is particularly pernicious for girls and minority students. Another is that scientists—and top science students—are eccentrics or "nerds." Some students show indifference to science to keep their status with peers who do not view science achievement as "cool."                       

How do attitudes and perceptions about science take root? Often they grow out of explicit or subliminal messages students pick up in and out of school, from teachers, peers, parents, books, the media, and authority figures. Students can sense if teachers or parents themselves are insecure with science. Sometimes parents or teachers developed negative attitudes about science when they were young because they were taught by traditional methods that dampened their interest.               

The methods by which science is taught in most schools continue to affect student attitudes today. In one survey, 21 percent of students cited teachers as the reason they liked science; on the flip side, one-third cited instructional factors—such as too much lecturing—as reasons they disliked science. When science is taught as a tedious inventory of facts and theories, it is no wonder students begin to perceive science as dull and complicated.


In addition, instruction that overemphasizes competition can produce early experiences what failure, which in turn can breed a dislike for science and a lack of confidence about future success. Similarly, teachers may subtly transmit their expectations about what students can and cannot do so that students internalize them. Negative attitudes can have long-term consequences, such as students foreclosing their options in a subject they believe they have little hope of mastering anyway. The good news is that attitudes can be changed through teacher and parent modeling and through more engaging instruction.