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SCIENCE INSTRUCTION

My goal in teaching science in the elementary classroom is to encourage students to study

those things that they can observe, touch, and experience. I challenge students to “think like

scientists” as they study relevant phenomena, building a deeper understanding of science through

investigation. Through thoughtfully scaffolded, experiential learning activities, I capitalize on

constructivist learning principles where students build their knowledge through experience and

problem solving (Powell & Kalina, 2009). Through direct experience, students practice inquiry

skills and are challenged to seek deeper understanding of science content through investigation

(Banchi & Bell, 2008).

The project “Mock Rocks” illustrates the inquiry model and constructivist learning

principles, utilizing the scientific process in a cooperative, student-led learning experience. In

this project, students explore the scientific concepts of mineral analysis through separation,

dissolving, and evaporation. Students are building upon both direct instruction of science

concepts as well as their prior learnings from this ongoing unit. They are using new tools to

gather information, and are challenged to use evidence from the activity to support their findings.

Students are directed to take time to pause and ask questions in an effort to think more deeply

about what they are doing, and more importantly, why they are doing it.

To support my students learning through the inquiry model, lessons are prepared in such

a way that students have clear direction, appropriate scaffolding, and engaging content. District,

State, and National Standards for Science Education provide the framework from which I base

my science instruction. I lean heavily on concepts presented in the Next Generation Science

Standards, with an intent to build a science experience that resembles the way scientists work

and think (NGSS, 2013). Lessons in my classroom utilize a combination of direct instruction in
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science coupled with guided inquiry, which allows students to explore new thinking while also

providing them with scaffolding and guidance on what they are looking for. To achieve this, I

build lessons upon a framework that uses the 5E Model of Instruction: Engage (ask questions),

Explore (investigate), Explain (use and apply information), Elaborate (Look at information in a

new way), and Evaluate (Share results). This learning cycle approach emphasizes the

investigation and explanation of concepts, using evidence and experimentation to reach

conclusions (Duran, 2004). Through this learning cycle approach, students are challenged to

integrate inquiry, critical thinking, and cooperative learning methods to build an understanding

of science concepts.

A highlight of this lesson is concepts outlined in Lev Vygotsky’s study in social

constructivism, I utilize a varying means of scaffolding (teacher support), coupled with

opportunities for problem solving, social interaction, and use of language. Combined, these

factors are important contributors to the learning process (Vygotsky, 1978). In cooperative

learning experiences, students benefit from tasks that are designed to practice problem solving,

quality/depth of questioning, use of language, and acquisition of understanding (Gilles &

Ashman, 1998). Collaboration in science lessons supports the objective of working “like a

scientist”, where findings and results are shared, reviewed, and enhanced within a wider

community.

In conclusion, my science classroom is designed to inspire students to think and act like

scientists as they learn new concepts. My goal is to support students in deepening their

understanding of science concepts, but also to develop skills that support inquiry,

experimentation, analysis, and collaboration.

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REFERENCES

Banchi, H., Bell, R., (2008). The Many Levels of Inquiry.. Science and Children, 46 (2), 26-29

Duran, L., Duran, H., The 5E Instructional Model:. A Learning Cycle Approach for Inquiry-

Based Science Teaching. The Science Education Review, 3(2) 49-58.

Gilles R., Ashman, A., (1998) Behavior and interactions of children in cooperative groups in

lower and middle elementary grades. Journal of Educational Psychology ,90 (4), 746-

757.

NGSS Lead States. 2013. Next Generation Science Standards: For States, By States.

Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

Powell, Katherine C., Kalina, Cody J. (2009) Cognitive and Social Constructivism: Developing

Tools for Effective Classroom. Education, 130 (2), 241-250

Vygotsky, L.S. (1978). Mind and society: The development of higher mental processes.

Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.