ERIC ED465535: EDThoughts: What We Know about Science Teaching and Learning.

125 Pages·2001·2.4 MB·English

by  ERIC

DOCUMENT RESUME
SE 066 147
ED 465 535
Krueger, Alice, Ed.; Sutton, John, Ed.
AUTHOR
EDThoughts: What We Know about Science Teaching and
TITLE
Learning.
Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning, Aurora,
INSTITUTION
CO.; Council of State Science Supervisors, VA.; National
Network of Eisenhower Regional Consortia and National
Clearinghouse.
Office of Educational Research and Improvement (ED),
SPONS AGENCY
Washington, DC.
ISBN-1-893476-01-4
ISBN
2001-00-00
PUB DATE
NOTE
124p.
R168R950025-00
CONTRACT
Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning, 2550 S.
AVAILABLE FROM
Parker Road, Suite 500, Aurora, CO 80014-1678 ($11) .
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303-337-0990; Web site: http://www.mcrel.org.
Descriptive (141)
Reports
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EDRS PRICE
Cognitive Style; Elementary Secondary Education; *Science
DESCRIPTORS
Education; Teaching Methods
ABSTRACT
This volume, part of the EDThoughts series, was authored by
science education specialists from across the United States of America. It
addresses approximately 50 questions identified by science educators,
including "Can all students learn science?" and "What is the importance of
reading and writing in the science curriculum?" Teaching using inquiry,
technology as tools of scientists, and teaching in a standards-based science
curriculum also are discussed. The purpose of the book is to support
standards-based reform of science education. For each question addressed,
background is provided from the perspectives of research and best practices,
followed by implications for improving classroom instruction. (Contains 11
pages of references and resources.)
(MM)
Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made
from the original document.
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4.1=11 I I
I I I
WIN
What We Know About Science
T aching and Learning
edited by
Alke Krueger and John Sutton
Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning
Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning
5
A collaborative publication from
EISENHOWER REGIONAL CONSORTIUM
FOR MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE
and
Eismitimm
Sc fen,
01)
NERNICARti
e.'et:jD,6
The National Network of
Council of State
Eisenhower Regional Consortia
Supervisors of Science
and Clearinghouse
Published by
Mid-continent Research for
Education and Learning
2550 S. Parker Road, Suite 500
Aurora, CO 80014-1678
[phone]
www.mcrel.org
© 2001 McREL
ISBN No. 1-893476-01-4
This book was produced in whole or in part with funds from the U.S. Department of Education National
Eisenhower Mathematics and Science Programs, Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI),
under grant R168R950025-00. The content does not necessarily reflect the position or policy of OERI or the
Department of Education or any other agency of the federal government.
Acknowledgements
Information Specialists
Contributing Authors
Linda Brannan
Gary Appel
Norma Brown
Malcolm Butler
Terry Young
Anne Collins
Ella-Mae Daniel
Elaine DeBassige D'Amato
Graphics and Layout
Judy Florian
Dawn McGill
Fred Gross
Leah Dixon
Jodean Grunow
Molly Drew
Carol Hanley
Clare Heidema
Bill Hopkins
Indexing
Deb Jordan
James Sucha
Page Keeley
Mozell Lang
Arlene Mitchell
Brett Moulding
Randi Peterson
Gwen Pollock
Linda Schoen
Sharon Stenglein
Jan Tuomi
Jim Woodland
Editors
Lynn Chambers
Jim Harper
Barbara Hicks
Nancy Kellogg
Janie Zimmer
Reader,
Dear
EDThoughts
including those
reform goals,
ambitious education
have gone into
and our
Many good intentions
deadline has passed,
But the year 2000
Congress in 1985:
the world
ratified by the U.S.
becoming "first in
toward the goal of
made measurable progress
nation has not
education."
and science
in mathematics
science
mathematics and
students' overall
comparisons, our
Science Study
In international
Mathematics and
Third International
mediocre. The
the international
achievement is
scoring above
and 4th-graders
showed our 3rd-
released in
(TIMSS) from 1995
TIMSS-Repeat results
well below. The
12th-graders scoring
average but our
make a difference?
What can we do to
significant improvement.
2000 do not show
books
EDThoughts
mathematics and science
start. The
provides a place to
offer
practices, and they
EDThoughts
best classroom
and surveys of
educational research
summarize
and learning.
improved teaching
implications for
for their own
these books useful
administrators will find
and K-12
their students; and
Classroom teachers
them to inspire
educators can use
development; teacher
proposed practices on
professional
of present and
discover the effects
the public may
and
parents and
education practice
mathematics and science
Effective reforms in
They will need a
future generations.
stakeholder groups.
of all of these
the collaboration
education and
policy will require
and science
of mathematics
current status
understanding of the
how
as well as
common
indicate for improvement
best practice
that research and
foundation for
of the direction
this book provides a
We hope that
accomplish reform.
they can help
reflection.
understanding and
greater
this volume. You
postcard enclosed in
and return the
to fill out
Please take a moment
materials and
design useful supporting
will help us to
short survey that
then will be sent a
appreciated.
is sincerely
fresh. Your participation
this document
products and to keep
Signed,
avra-D._
Jim Woodland
Alice Krueger
John Sutton
CSSS
McREL
McREL
Table of Contents
Dear Ed Thoughts Reader
i
v
Preface
About the Ed Thoughts Books
vii
Science For All
1
Teaching Science
13
Assessment in Science
35
Science Curriculum
45
Instructional Technology in Science
69
Learning Science
81
99
References
Resources
107
Index
111
Preface
The world around us is changing rapidly. There have been changes in how people live, work,
and learn. Likewise, the culture and practice of science continue to evolve. Science is
conducted less in bounded disciplines like physics or biology and more in transdisciplinary
research fields, of which there are over 400 in the area of biology alone. Advances in
technology were once generated by discoveries in science; now current technology may limit
scientific inquiry. The demand for applications of science in daily life influences its
ethics
development and raises perplexing questions. Science increasingly concerns itself with
and values.
Corresponding to changes in science, there have been over 400 science education reform
documents published since 1970. Education reform connects instruction to new forms of
lifelong
information, especially the Internet. As students increasingly are educated to become
learners, they must develop skills to manage and use knowledge to solve problems in the
personal, social, and economic realms, not just in textbooks. Today's students will need to
build their capabilities for career changes more so than at any time in the past. Most twenty-
first century careers are knowledge-based, not skill-based. Knowing how to access, evaluate,
and use information is a major component of literacy.
The concept of "scientific literacy" was first voiced by biologist and educator Paul Hurd in
1958. Science literacy is defined in the context of the current society, thus recognizing the
which it is practiced.
interactive relationship between science as a discipline and the society in
More recently, Nobel Laureate Glenn Seaborg worried that high school graduates were
foreigners in their own increasingly-scientific culture, because they did not have an adequate
working knowledge of science. National science education standards describe what a literate
high school graduate should know and be able to do to serve well as a citizen who makes
decisions about matters dealing with science topics.
The primary purpose of science education is to prepare future citizens for informed decision
making. If the scientist is a broker of scientific knowledge, providing basic information,
student is a
suggesting its utility, and identifying risks of using the information, the science
of science students will become
consumer of this information. Only about two percent
future (using
scientists. The emphasis of instruction in science classrooms should be on the
of the
science for solving society's dilemmas), not on the past (science taught as a history
discipline).
The purpose of this volume is to support standards-based reform of science education. For
each question addressed, background is provided from the perspectives of research and best
practices, followed by implications for improving classroom instruction.
10