Engaging Children in Science

Engaging Children in Scienceis a comprehensive guide to a course in science teaching methods for preservice and inservice elementary school teachers. This third edition maintains its constructivist approach but reflects subtle changes in emphases and priorities that have occurred in science education since the second edition was published. The idea that science should be fun has given way to the idea that science should challenge children to think. Today, there is greater emphasis on making science relevant to the lives of children and on including all children. Research on conceptual change has shown that change is gradual, that new learning must be built on what is already known or believed, and that this applies to adults, including teachers, as well as to children. Change in the power and availability of computers has been almost overwhelming, and we are still learning how to use them as tools in teaching science. NEW TO THIS EDITION A new chapter, Chapter 3, integrates science content and processes in a series of investigations for students to carry out in class. Students will be able to experience some of the excitement of learning science through active engagement in investigations that model inquiry-based science teaching. For many students this may be their first opportunity to learn what it means to be a student in a class based on constructivist principles. These investigations challenge students to engage in thinking both about science and about teaching science. Some of the investigations were developed specifically for this edition. Others, used in previous editions as examples of lessons for elementary school pupils, have been rewritten for students and gathered together in this chapter. Chapter 7, on assessment, has been revised by expanding sections on authentic assessment, alternative assessment, rubrics, concept mapping, and integration of assessment and instruction. Chapter 10, on inclusion, recognizes that teachers have a responsibility to create, a classroom climate in which all children are accepted and all have the opportunity to learn science. Students should be prepared to make science meaningful and interesting to both boys and girls, to children from diverse cultural groups, to children with disabilities, and to children living in poverty. Multicultural classrooms present opportunities and challenges for teachers to broaden their views of the relationship between science and culture. An important part of preparation to meet this challenge is understanding the influence of high, though reasonable, teacher expectations. Other chapters have also been revised and updated in significant ways. Chapter 13, on computers, now incorporates current thinking about the use of computers as tools for thinking. Included are lessons that demonstrate ways to use computers that are compatible with, and supportive of, inquiry. The emphasis is not on learning to use applications such as spreadsheets and databases but on how to use them to support science learning. ORGANIZATION OP THE TEXT Part I, A Framework for Teaching Science, establishes the scientific, theoretical, and practical foundations for the remainder of this textbook. The opening chapter gives a brief account of the modern view of science and its interpretation in theNational Science Education Standards.This is followed in Chapter 2 by the theoretical basis for constructivism derived from the writings of Dewey, Piaget, Vygotsky, Bruner, and Kohlberg. As described earlier, Chapter 3 engages students in investigations that are practical applications of constructivist learning theory. In Part II, Focusing on Instruction, there is a progression in Chapters 4 through 6 from direct instruction through guided inquiry to independent, or autonomous, learning. All three methods are based on active engagement of pupils, but the roles of both the teacher and puHowe, Ann C. is the author of 'Engaging Children in Science', published 2001 under ISBN 9780130406743 and ISBN 0130406740.