Taking Science to School Learning and Teaching Science in Grades K-8 (2007) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
Part I - Introduction: 1 Science Learning Past and Present
Part I - Introduction: 1 Science Learning Past and Present
Pages 9-25
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 9... ...
9 Part I INTRODUCTION
|
From page 11... ...
In addition, large achievement gaps between majority students and both economically disadvantaged and non-Asian minority students persist in all school subjects, and they are especially strong and persistent in science (National Center for Education Statistics, 2000, 2003)
|
From page 12... ...
summer institutes and curriculum development projects. A milestone in science education, the NSF curriculum development projects focused on upgrading the teaching of science by modernizing the content of science courses.
|
From page 13... ...
, science education should be an "enquiry into enquiry."1 The various curriculum development teams, comprised primarily of scientists, envisioned students learning science by reasoning from direct observations of natural phenomena. Federal funds were made available to school districts for the construction of science teaching laboratories.
|
From page 14... ...
For example, the Science Curriculum Improvement Study pro posed the "learning cycle" (Atkin and Karplus, 1962)
|
From page 15... ...
the tremendous challenge of improving science instruction on a large scale. In the mid-1970s, evaluations conducted to determine the impact of the curricula on science education revealed that the impact was spotty at best, with many teachers (see Crane, 1976)
|
From page 16... ...
Standards also created a framework for focused science education fund ing from federal agencies and philanthropic foundations. Prominent among these were the NSF systemic initiatives, including statewide systemic initia tives, urban systemic initiatives, rural systemic initiatives, and local systemic change initiatives.
|
From page 17... ...
While science education reform will necessarily bump up against these material, political, and structural factors, this report focuses on the intellectual, research-driven basis for science education. We draw from current research on learning, cognitive development, child development, and the design of effective learning environments, as well as science studies, among others, in an effort to illuminate both what science is and how students learn science, to point toward clear possibilities for improvement in current instructional practice and to provide a strategic agenda for future research.
|
From page 18... ...
. Whereas direct causal models once prevailed as natural explanations, advances in scientific instru mentation, computer technology, and a deepening of scientific knowledge have given rise to statistical models of natural phenomena that are rooted in probabilistic reasoning.
|
From page 19... ...
Furthermore, understanding that scientific reasoning is linked tightly to conceptual understanding casts serious doubt on the wisdom of teaching scientific reasoning in the absence of specific content. Learning environments and understanding of them also have changed.
|
From page 20... ...
Without a reasonable set of learning objectives to target, research capacity is diluted and efforts to inform practice, in a clear and coherent manner about what is known and what can be done to support children's science learning, will fall short. Many of today's challenges in science education echo those of the past.
|
From page 21... ...
Composed of 14 members selected to reflect a diversity of perspec tives and a broad range of expertise, the committee included experts in cognitive and developmental psychology, educational policy and implemen tation, classroom-based science education research, the natural sciences, the practice of science teaching, and science learning in informal environments. The committee was charged to respond to specific guiding questions (which are laid out in Box 1-1)
|
From page 22... ...
Focus of the Report This report is an effort to reconcile multiple evidence bases on science learning, in order to render a clear image of what is known collectively about how students across grades K-8 learn science. Synthesizing research from across diverse scholarly perspectives, the report details what is known about how K-8 students learn science in and out of school; what is known about curriculum, assessment, and instructional environments that support learning; and what are the science-specific resources and policies that sup port instructional systems.
|
From page 23... ...
Part III addresses the implications of research on science learning for educational settings, focusing in particular on K-8 schools. Chapter 8 builds from the research findings in Part II to develop the idea of learning progressions in science, which characterize how student learning of complex scientific notions might unfold given sustained instructional support over grades K-8.
|
From page 24... ...
. A new look at elementary school science: Science Curriculum Improvement Study.
|
From page 25... ...
National Committee on Science Education Standards and Assessment. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.