Chapter 1 Reflections

I believe chapter one has set a foundation for the next chapters to follow in the text. Science was defined in the chapter and the standards of teaching or what topics should be addressed when teaching science were also introduced. My favorite sentence of the definition was when science was describe as "a way of knowing the natural world." The chapter emphasizes the importance of inquiry in science and it also touches on the themes of why science should be taught in all elementary levels. The chapter goes through a brief history of national science organizations and also states that a student-centered approach is the best method of teaching science. I was most surprised that the chapter emphasized the importance of letting the students explore a concept on their own and act as 'little scientists'. I never really thought of beginning first with the exploration of a concept and then giving further explanation. I was also surprise by the statement made by Mr.Dushl's panel of experts that teaching science content should be reduced. I believe science is a subject area where it is easier for children to learn an abstract concept first and then support that with content information. It makes sense that the chapter would introduce the notion of the students thinking first of how scientiss think and the mental processes that scientist go through. It makes sense that the chapter would state that first children need to identify what the problem is and then think of how to come up with a solution.