Exploring science in the library : resources and activities for young people PDF
Preview Exploring science in the library : resources and activities for young people
Page i Exploring Science in the Library Resources and Activities for Young People Edited by Maria Sosa and Tracy Gath Page ii Cover by Tessing Design Text design by Dianne M. Rooney Composition by the dotted i in Sabon and ITC Kabel using QuarkXPress 3.32 on a Macintosh Printed on 50pound white offset, a pHneutral stock, and bound in 10point cover stock by McNaughton & Gunn While extensive effort has gone into ensuring the reliability of information appearing in this book, the publisher makes no warranty, express or implied, on the accuracy or reliability of the information, and does not assume and hereby disclaims any liability to any person for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions in this publication. The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.481992. Library of Congress CataloginginPublication Data Exploring science in the library : resources and activities for young people / edited by Maria Sosa and Tracy Gath. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN 0838907687 1. Elementary school libraries—United States. 2. Libraries—United States—Special collections—Science. 3. Science—Study and teaching (Elementary)—United States. I. Sosa, Maria. II. Gath, Tracy. Z675.S3E97 1999 027.8'222—dc21 9941496 Copyright © 2000 by the American Library Association. All rights reserved except those which may be granted by Sections 107 and 108 of the Copyright Revision Act of 1976. Printed in the United States of America. 04 03 02 01 00 5 4 3 2 1 Page iii Contents Foreword v Shirley Malcom Introduction vii 1 1 Science, Mathematics, and Technology (SMT) Education Reform Jerry Bell 2 16 Selecting Science Books for Children Maria Sosa 3 25 Meeting the Content Standards with K8 Science Tradebooks Terrence E. Young And Colleen Salley 4 67 Selecting Excellent Science Media Tracy Gath 5 107 Using the Internet to Develop Science Literacy Maria Sosa 6 131 InquiryBased Learning in the Library Maria Sosa 7 161 FundRaising for Science Activities in the Library Maria Sosa 8 181 Partnerships to Promote Science Activities in the Library Maria Sosa 9 189 Science Project Ideas for Libraries and School Media Centers Mary Chobot, Barbara Holton, And Maria Sosa Page iv Appendix 225 About the AAAS Science Library Institute Contributors 229 Index 231 Page v Foreword Those of us who were trained in science tend to see science everywhere. We are usually surprised that others don't see the world of science as we do and disappointed that science is not fully integrated into our general culture. For example, a flick of a switch produces light in our living rooms, but the physics that creates electricity remains elusive to far too many people. So it is with the Internetmost users take its presence for granted, not understanding the complex blend of science, mathematics, and technology that has fostered its widespread availability. Movies and television often reflect our popular culture, but the contributions of scientists and engineers rarely appear as themes. Sciencerelated books are not major components of English classes, although expository materials comprise the majority of reading required in most work settings. Librarians can help make science more prominent in our culture by including science among the materials made available to children and by exposing children to scientific themes and ideas through a variety of media, including, and especially, good science tradebooks. My own experience has led me to believe that early exposure to science will produce an appreciation that carries over into adulthood. I am probably involved in science today because of Sputnik. The launch of this satellite by the then Soviet Union sparked a massive reform of American science and mathematics education. Curricula were updated and made more rigorous. Teachers received extensive professional development opportunities. More science and nature books for children were published. The goal was to produce more scientists and engineers, and the clarion call was heard across the United Stateseven in my segregated, resourcepoor elementary school in Birmingham, Alabama. But of all these resources, none was more important to me than books and libraries. In the late 1950s, Birmingham had only two commercial television stations and the talking heads of early educational television; neither provided real science coverage. Radio broadcasts were limited to music and occasional dramas. Thus, books became my source of adventure and information; they opened up the world beyond Birmingham. Page vi Through books, I was able to meet exotic animals without going to the local zoo, which limited the days Blacks were allowed to visit. And if the nature of the planets or stars wasn't part of my classroom experience, books made it part of my world. From my earliest memory, books were always very important to me. At first, I bought them, saving every penny I could get my hands on, instead of getting them from the library. In the Birmingham of my childhood, libraries were segregated, too, and not always accessible to Blacks. I was around ten years old before I found a library that welcomed me, but it was a car ride away. Fortunately, the librarian there gave me special permission to take out ten to twelve books at a time, and I made good use of the privilege. Books about ideas and science topics helped me build my vocabulary and reasoning skills. They linked me to the ways in which knowledge and research can be used to solve problems and gain perspective. The more limited options for schooling that I faced as a child placed a great deal of responsibility on me as an individual. I appreciate how that responsibility forced me to become an independent learner at such a young age. I also believe that a more focused and coordinated set of experiences might have enabled me to come to deeper understandings of the power of scientific ideas and thinking at an earlier age. No singular event like Sputnik has since captured our imaginations and spurred us toward a collective will to improve education in science, mathematics, and technology. In recent years, a lack of resources has forced many communities, especially in urban centers and rural areas, to reduce access to libraries or limit collections. Although I was fortunate to have a home environment that supported my voracious appetite for learning, many children do not have homes where learning is supported and where books are a regular part of their environment. But rather than focus on what is not available, we can turn our attention to the resources that we do have to open up opportunities for young children. An upturn in the economy has prompted some communities to increase school and library budgets. We have wonderful books, videos, software, and other resources. We have librarians who have chosen this job because of their love of books and their desire to share this love with others. We have libraries with opportunities to expand their roles, opening new vistas for children even where their circumstances may be limited. To see to the stars and beyond—that is the journey we must enable. SHIRLEY M. MALCOM HEAD, DIRECTORATE FOR EDUCATION AND HUMAN RESOURCES PROGRAMS AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE Page vii Introduction In the past decade, important national efforts to improve science literacy and science education have been launched. These include the American Association for the Advancement of Science's Project 2061 as well as the National Science Education Standards of the National Academy of Science. Through Goals 2000 and similar reports, the public has become aware of the importance of keeping our national science standards high in order to maintain our status as a worldclass economic power. Scientific and medical breakthroughs, such as the Mission to Mars and the Human Genome Project, have captured the public's attention. All this has increased the demand for science materials in libraries. Although schools and local governments have decreased funding for libraries during the past two decades, an expanding economy is now encouraging many communities to increase school and library budgets. In this shifting climate, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has focused on helping librarians leverage resources to accommodate a growing demand for science materials. Central to this focus are two AAAS projects: the AAAS Science Library Institute and Science Books and Films (SB&F). We have drawn on the resources of these two projects to create this book. Exploring Science in the Library: Resources and Activities for Young People is intended to help public and school librarians develop and enhance their skills in science, mathematics, and technology. Much of the material in this book is drawn from an earlier volume, Great Explorations: Discovering Science in the Library, which was developed as a training manual for the AAAS Science Library Institute. The Institute sought to make libraries a focal point of school science, mathematics, and technology (SMT) reform by combining theoretical training in education reform issues with practical training using handson science and mathematics activities. For more informaiton about the Institute, see the Appendix of this volume. Page viii Exploring Science in the Library: Resources and Activities for Young People updates the content of Great Explorations and provides new information that examines the role of the librarian in achieving highquality, standardsbased science education for our nation's youth. The book also suggests new directions for the future. An overview of the individual chapters follows. In chapter 1, "Science, Mathematics, and Technology (SMT) Education Reform," Jerry Bell, director of science, mathematics, and technology education programs at AAAS, reviews five major concepts central to science education reform: constructivism, in which science learning builds on meaning that children construct from all their experiences; this concept is similar to inquirybased learning, which is discussed in chapter 6; science for all, which stresses the goal of science literacy for all students; less is more, which deemphasizes the use of technical jargon and content coverage and emphasizes deeper concept understanding; assessment (also called authentic assessment), which allows children to demonstrate their best work and chronicles their progress; and systemic reform, which states that curricula developers, policy makers, and teachers must all be involved in reforming science education. In chapter 2, "Selecting Science Books for Children," SB&F editorinchief Maria Sosa discusses the issues involved in selecting effective science tradebooks that support educational reform and address the needs of all students. She also explores the relationship between reading and science and provides concrete suggestions to help librarians select the very best books for their collections. The chapter includes a bibliography of the best children's science books reviewed in SB&F during 1998. In chapter 3, "Meeting the Standards with K8 Science Tradebooks," SB&F contributors Terrence E. Young Jr. and Coleen Salley discuss how librarians can encourage the use of children's literature to integrate science reading across the curriculum. They provide an annotated bibliography of seventyfive science tradebooks that correlate with the K8 science content standards. Page ix In chapter 4, "Selecting Excellent Science Media," SB&F Online editor Tracy Gath explains the process by which SB&F reviewers evaluate video and software materials. She provides insight into ways that librarians can select highquality, effective resources that support standardsbased science learning. The chapter includes a list of exemplary resources selected from those reviewed in SB&F. In chapter 5, "Using the Internet to Develop Science Literacy," Maria Sosa suggests ways in which librarians can effectively utilize Internet content that supports the developing national standards for science, technology, and mathematics content and inquiry. She lists over 100 web sites that children and young people can use to support their science exploration, as well as websites that will help librarians enhance their own science and technology literacy skills. In chapter 6, "InquiryBased Learning in the Library," Sosa discusses ways in which librarians can augment science instruction for students by providing informal science activities in the library. These handson activities are not intended to replace science instruction in the classroom, but rather to provide additional opportunities for children to explore and experience science. Sosa reviews the basic principles of inquirybased learning, provides a few sample activities, and lists additional books and Internet sites that support inquirybased learning. Note that the two essential ingredients of constructivism (discussed in chapter 1)—a student's personal experiences and science activities that help explain those experiences—are also the basis of inquirybased learning. Although science programs in the library can be quite inexpensive, even the smallest expense can be a barrier for many libraries. Thus, Maria Sosa, in chapter 7, "FundRaising for Science Activities in the Library," offers information about grant writing and about planning, justifying, and conducting a librarybased science project. Included are addresses and guidelines for private and corporate foundations and government funders as well as strategies for writing effective grant proposals. Maria Sosa provides information about and guidelines for forming partnerships in chapter 8, "Partnerships to Promote Science Activities in the Library." We believe that it is critical for librarians to form partnerships and become key players in larger education reform movements. This not only serves the selfinterest of librarians and media specialists, it also informs and enriches the education reform community with the unique experiences and perspectives of library professionals.
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