This was a very interesting chapter. I really like that this textbook follows its teachings with examples of experiments. Something that surprised me was that we aren't teaching students from the beginning of their educational career. It seems to be so important and a no brainer. I would think that there would be no other way but to start at the beginning. Laying the foundation and building on their knowledge as they continue through school. Young kids are full of curiosity, teachers should take that and explore with them. It makes sense to use hands on approaches to engage students. Getting students involved in an experiment or a process is a great way for them to understand and retain information. It is also a good way of teaching without them even realizing it. And using everyday surroundings such as leaves, fruit, bugs, ice, water, and heat shows students how science affects their lives daily. It shows how science is everywhere. I have learned from the video that I should check the students’ accuracy of prior knowledge before I begin building on it. But, how will I bring students who are behind up to date while moving forward with the others?
Science and technology go hand and hand nowadays it seems. Science helps us understand the natural world and technology helps us modify that world to meet our needs.
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Indeed, the examples of inquiry activities provided in the text are excellent. Let's not refer to them all as "experiments," however, because that word has a very specific meaning.
ReplyDeleteI agree that starting science instructions with the very young makes all the sense in the world. After all, young children have that innate sense of curiosity upon which all science is built.
Science that is hands-on does seem to stick more with kids, particularly if the hands-on piece is combined with strong inquiry questions. That's why we refer to this type of teaching as a "hands-on minds-on approach."
Meeting the diverse needs of students is key. Here is a question for you to consider--which approach is more suited to meeting the diverse needs of students? The traditional, teacher-centered approach that relies heavily on reading and note-taking, or the current student-centered, inquiry approach that is predicated on students constructing their own understandings based on prior knowledge and the experiences you provide them in the classroom?