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Principles of an Excellent Science Education

By: Jennifer Krutsinger

21st Century Skills:

According to the Iowa Core Curriculum website, the 21st century skills are the key elements in supporting our youth not only in surviving but excelling in the new global environment. The 21st century skills are the following: Employability Skills Financial Literacy Health Literacy Technology Literacy Civic Literacy

Why do students need to learn science?

It is important for students to learn science because it benefits your childs growth and development in and out of school. Through inquiry, the act of asking questions and investigations, students will have a better understanding of the world around them. Inquiry also provides students the opportunity to: Learn critical thinking skills. To take initiative and responsibility. Importance of trial and error.

We are all natural scientists; we are curious about the world around us and are eager to know more. Children also have this type of attitude. Therefore, in my classroom, my focus will be to provide my students with a safe and stable environment that will enable them to explore their curiosities through hands-on experiments and investigations that will help prepare them for the world outside my classroom.

In my classroom, I will incorporate these skills through hands-on experiments and investigations that are done both individually and in small groups. In my classroom, students will do the following in order to become adequate in the 21st century skills. Communicate & collaborate with peers to complete tasks. Students will have responsibilities as an important member of the classroom. Use technology as a tool to create overall projects to share with peers.

Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world. -Nelson Mandela

Principles of an Excellent Science Education THE LOREM IPSUMS

FALL2016 2013 SPRING

How does students best learn science?

According to research, students learn best when they are actively involved in learning science. With their involvement, students will have a better understanding of science concepts and they will learn important life skills. Students learn best when: They are encouraged to ask questions Teachers ask students quality questions. They are allowed to collect their own data. They participate in Hands-on and Minds-on activities. They are given opportunities to engage in experimental design. They use technology in a meaningful way.

In my classroom, students will be encouraged and expected to ask questions. I will provide my students will plenty of hands-on and minds-on activities that will enrich their understanding of the world around them. In addition, my students will be encouraged to design their own experiments and investigations in order to write conclusions on why something is the way it is or how it works.

What do students expect to be doing in science?

In science, many students expect to be participating in experiments and observations in order to learn about the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world around them. During the elementary years, students will focus on the following categories in science: science as inquiry, physical science, earth and space science, and life science. Students expect to become more understanding of each of these categories through hands on experiments, investigations, observations, and collaborative work with their classmates and teacher.

Science is more than a body of knowledge. It is a way of thinking and a way of investigating. Students must have the opportunity to examine the impact science has had, and will continue to have, on the environment and society.

-Iowa Core Curriculum