Science Teaching Statement 1

Science Teaching Statement

Lindsey Clayton
University of South Florida
SCE 4310

Science Teaching Statement 2

Introduction
Walking the Teaching Elementary Science course on the first day, I was sure I
already knew what I was in for; I would be learning that Science is a series of
experiments based on a universal scientific method that was instilled in my brain
beginning in elementary school. I was wrong. What I actually have learned is that I was
learning Science based on a series of misconceptions, which have been continuously
fostered throughout my science courses in my educational career. My beliefs about
science have been transformed.
In just a few short months, I will be starting in a brand new school with a brand
new science classroom. My Science classroom will be completely different from the
science that I have seen being taught in classrooms everyday; that is when it is actually
being taught. My philosophy of teaching science is that Science should be introducing
our students to a world where they can ask their own questions and use inquiry to find
answers. Science should go beyond a typical cookbook lesson, and allow students to
explore using the learning cycle. Science should be focusing on the process and not just
the content in order to teach students science skills. Most importantly, Science should be
a collaborative blend of the teacher and students creativity and imagination to create
students who love science.
What is Science?
Science is everything we know about the world around us. Science is discovering
new things in your world and learning about what it is and how it works. It is asking
questions about everything around you and using your investigative skills to find out

Science Teaching Statement 3

answers to those questions. Learning science may be different for every person because it
is based on the individual wonderings that each person may have. Science always begins
with a question that you are searching for an answer to. Some students may have questions
about the natural world around them. Why do some plants grow better in different
regions? How do adding nutrients to my soil affect the growth of my plants? Or some
students may have questions about the human body. How is each person on the planet
different? This is why science is so exciting! There are endless possibilities on the
questions and evidence you can gather from the world around us. This is also why it is so
important for students to being learning science in elementary school.

Why is it important for students to learn elementary Science?

It is important that students begin learning science in elementary school because

this is where the foundation for students to become science learners, begins. In
elementary science, students can begin learning what it takes to be a scientist. They can
begin learning about the process of science. In elementary science students can learn
science skills such as formulating questions, observing and investigating. Science Skills
are important for students to learn because they really are not just science skills, but life
skills. Science learning not only contributes to childrens ability to make better sense of
things around them, but also prepares them to deal more effectively with wider decision
making and problem solving in their lives (Harlen 1). In elementary science, students
will start keeping a science notebook where they are constantly making observations and
recording information. Inquiry can happen in all levels of elementary school starting in
Kindergarten, the inquiry just needs to be adapted to fit your science learners. According

Science Teaching Statement 4

to The many levels of inquiry, written by Banchi and Bell, there are many levels of
inquiry that students can progress through as they move toward deeper scientific
thinking. Weve found a four-level continuumconfirmation, structured, guided, open
to be useful in classifying the levels of inquiry in an activity(26)

How do elementary students learn science?

Elementary students learn science from teachers who are knowledgeable about the
different concepts they are teaching to their students. A teacher must be knowledgeable
enough about a concept to feel comfortable when they are teaching new concepts to their
students. Students lean Science when they are actually doing science. That is why making
sure students are learning throughout the process of science is just as important as the
content the students are learning. Students learn science when they are able to ask their
own questions about the world and use the teacher as guidance throughout their
investigative process. Science is learned best when the students play the most important
role in learning and the teacher is just there to support them along the way.

Students in elementary school are going to learn science when the teacher
is providing meaningful experiences for the student. A teacher is not providing a
meaningful science experience when she is having them work out of a workbook
everyday, or restricting their process by dictating their every step or even worse, by not
providing a time for science at all. Students learn science when they are engaged
throughout the entire process and content.

Teachers should have inquiry and investigations going on in their classroom

because as students experience the multiple levels of inquiry, they will develop the

Science Teaching Statement 5

abilities and understandings of scientific inquiry. Students need to experience science
through direct experience, consistently practicing the inquiry skills and seeking deeper
understanding of science content through their investigations. (); therefore, teachers
should also be providing experience for the students to see science outside of the
classroom. This means letting students experience nature or taking students on an
educational field trip to support their learning. According to the article, Tap into informal
learning Research shows that students often remember a field trip well into adulthood
and even recall specific exhibits and facts. (Melber 29)

How should science be taught?

Science instruction should be taught with the three legs of science in mind: the
content, the process and the nature of science. It is important in good science instruction
for a teacher to blend together these there legs of science. Science experiences for
elementary students should blend the three legs in such a way that students learn how
to do science, learn specific information about the world around them, and learn what
makes the pursuit of knowledge science.(Weinburgh 29)

When planning for science instruction, teachers should be moving away from the
traditional step-by-step lesson and begin to de-cookbook their lessons to create lessons
that are based on inquiry and understanding rather than where students are expected to
follow a step-by-step procedure. Usually, as science teachers this is more comfortable,
but it is not benefiting our students in learning science. When a teacher loses the recipe,
then students begin to take ownership of their own knowledge. Cookbook activities are a
good point from which to develop inquiry lessons. You can move your class from limited

Science Teaching Statement 6

inquiry through the continuum to open inquiry by altering the lessons to give increasingly
more control to students(Owens and Martin 41).

Most importantly, Science instruction should be taught where teachers are aware
of common misconceptions and they create a learning environment where they do not
foster misconceptions in their students. In the article Ten Myths of Science: Reexamining
what we think we know McComas explains that science textbook writers are among the
most egregious purveyors of myth and inaccuracy. (McComas 1996) This means that
students are constantly going to be provided with information that fosters
misconceptions, but it is the teachers job to make sure students are aware of those
misconceptions. Although McComas talks about 10 myths, the one that really striked me
was that there is no universal scientific method. This interested me because throughout
my education I always learned there was. I have been fostering misconceptions
throughout my educational career! So, it is very important for me not do this to my
students.
Good Science instruction is going to take constant learning and researching from
me as a science teacher, but I think it is important to provide students with science
instruction that fosters inquiry and life skills. As a Science teacher I will use the tools I
have learned in this course to follow the teaching statement I have developed here.

Science Teaching Statement 7

References
Bell, R., & Banchi, H. (2008, October 1). The many levels of inquiry. Science and
Children.
Harlen, W. (n.d.). Why Science? What Science? In Primary Science: Taking the
plunge (pp. 1-23).
Melber, L. (2000, March 1). Tap into informal science learning. Retrieved from
https://usf.ares.atlassys.com/nonshib//ares.dll?SessionID=V095341827J&Action=10&Type=10&Value=4168
6
Owens, T., & Martin, C. (2011, March 1). Lose the recipe. Retrieved from
https://usf.ares.atlassys.com/nonshib//ares.dll?SessionID=V095341827J&Action=10&Type=10&Value=4166
9
SCIENCE HOBBYIST: Misconceptions Page. (n.d.). Retrieved November 30,
2014, from http://amasci.com/miscon/myths10.html

Weinburgh, M. (2003, March 1). A leg (or three) to stand on. Retrieved from
https://usf.ares.atlassys.com/nonshib//ares.dll?SessionID=V095341827J&Action=10&Type=10&Value=4166
0

Science Teaching Statement 8

Course Goals and Evidence