Language and literacy play a large part in in high school science, although that is not always immediately apparent. High school science builds the foundation for scientific literacy later in life and throughout college education. In science there are many new discoveries and it is an important aspect of adulthood to be able to read articles and understand them, especially when they are about scientific breakthroughs. Another important characteristic of understanding science is being able to understand the technical terms. You can read every word of a science textbook but if you have no idea what the words mean then you cannot grasp the concepts. The different ways I can assist students in developing disciplinary knowledge and habits of mind through language and literacy include developing vocabulary, building the necessary background experiences, promoting scientific comprehension, and encouraging questioning. The first step in developing disciplinary knowledge is understanding the vocabulary of that subject. As with all content areas, science has a language of its own. Some words may be found in common speech but take on a different meaning, while other words are specifically designed for the scientific subject at hand. Many of the words function as concepts, making it more difficult for students to memorize without knowing the entire story behind a word. For example, the word nucleus seems to just be a label on a diagram, but it actually is a crucial part of the cell
Standard: K-2, Science is a way of knowing… Science knowledge helps us know about the world.
In my schooling, I studied subjects that include science along with mathematics which helped me to develop awareness in the above courses.
Fang, Z., & Wei, Y. (2010). Improving Middle School Students’ Science Literacy through Reading Infusion. Journal of Educational Research, 103(4), 262-273
Benchmarks for Science Literacy is a part of project 2061. It outlines that what all students should know or be able to do in science in K-12 setting. It is a companion report to Science for All Americans (SFAA). Benchmarks are put together in a way that is similar to textbook. It is divided into chapters just like SFAA. There are comments on the ideas to be learned in the chapter along with general terms. Each chapter has sections like introductions on pacing, clarification of ideas, and common difficulties and they are broken down into grade spans. There are statements of what students should know at the end of each grade span: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12. It can be used to explore the concept of science literacy in
It provides a clear guideline for what every student should know and be able to do in math and in English language arts at the end of each grade (Common Core Standards Initiative, 2010a). The English language arts and literacy standards were written to help students meet the particular challenges of reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language in their respective fields, such as science. Great emphasis is placed on literacy skills within the context of science learning characterize “science teachers as sharing responsibility for literacy acquisition” (Scruggs, Brigham, & Mastropieri, 2013, p.50). However, it is important to note that “literacy standards in history, social science, science, and technical subjects are meant to supplement content standards in those areas, not replace them” (Common Core Standards Initiative, 2010b, p.
The Student Center for Science Engagement (SCSE) at Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU), a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI), was established in 2008 with the mission to support students majoring in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines with the challenges they face in their academic and career development. Mentoring relationships, critical components of the SCSE’s influence, are fostered by the SCSE’s advisors, mostly Ph.D.-level minority scientists. Accessibility to STEM professionals who reflect the student population has allowed students to envision themselves as scientists. SCSE advisors have systematically implemented holistic advising including but not limited to major and career exploration, research
The purpose of this article is to inspect the possible link between teachers’ visions of the growth of scientific knowledge and the methods they use to help students construct a knowledge of science. Teachers’ views about science influenced not only lessons about the nature of science but also shaped an implicit curriculum concerning the nature of scientific knowledge. The study used sampling to find seven teachers. During the interview, the teachers were questioned about their syntactical knowledge. Syntactical knowledge refers to by Brickhouse as the methods used in a discipline to construct knowledge (e. g. , how experimentation and evidence influence the generation of scientific theories, how theories are used in generating new knowledge,
My earliest memory of science in elementary school was in first grade. I remember walking into the classroom early in the morning and seeing plant pots lined up in the back of the room. Of course one of us asked, Mrs. Denny, what are those for? She answered like any experienced teacher “We will get to those after lunch. Thank you for noticing though.” As a young student, I was more interested about taking the plant home to my mom and showing her what I did. After lunch, we went on a walk to the atrium in the center of the school. Mrs. Denny pointed out the different kinds of plants that were in the atrium like flowers, and other small plants. We walked back to our classroom and talked about what a plant needs to grow and finally got to make a plant ourselves. We each had a cup of water, a cup of soil, a pot, and a plant. I also remember in third grade learning about the weather by creating a big picture of the water cycle with the clouds and why there is lightening and thunder. After we made the picture, we each got to write down a question about weather and Mrs. Heffernan went over each one. I loved science when I was little because I was able to explore and try new things. I struggled in math and reading because they were very black and white but science allowed creativity. I enjoyed science in elementary school because it was very hands on so I didn’t have to sit in my seat. I would define science has a content area that allows the individual to research and develop
The National Curriculum for Science (2013), anticipates to advance all pupils’ scientific knowledge and conceptualise understanding through the segmented scientific approaches; biology, chemistry and physics. In addition, pupils should have an awareness of the nature, processes and approaches used within science, through the various scientific enquires that enable pupils to answer questions related to the world and life. Finally, the aims of the science curriculum also consider that children must have the resources to fund the knowledge that is necessary to use science in the, present and future tense states the Department of Education (2013).
Initially, the book points to the main objective of science education that is teaching for conceptual understanding. A concept is defined as variations of meaning that determine similarities and differences, and the frameworks through different events. To reach that goal, scientific societies are need to be convinced by the validity and reliability of this approach. One of the most persuasive strategies is setting a comparison between the traditional style of teaching which depends on teaching students by telling knowledge, and teaching by implementing scientific
Curriculum as a term has various representations and levels that were being further discussed in Jan Van den Akker’s article The Science Curriculum: Between Ideals and Outcomes. This chapter started by defining curriculum from different scholars’ perspectives as a term and its type (typology); scholars have defined curriculum each providing different aspect about curriculum. The typology of curriculum provided 6 curriculum representations; it is designed in an attempt to differentiate between different curriculum representations while ensuring the curriculum reform is reducing the gap between the ideal curriculum and the attained one. In this chapter, Akker circulated his discussion around three factors that are substantive, sociopolitical and technical-professional, whereby in substantive we identify the most worth science knowledge that should be present in the curriculum, while in technical- professional we identify how the development and the implementation of the science curriculum will occur. Both factors are being controlled by sociopolitical conditions. Under these factors, the chapter was divided into three sections: Historical overview of science curriculum development, Current instructional school and classroom practices in science education, and Recent science curriculum development and reform initiatives worldwide. In the first section, the historical overview of the science curriculum development was composed of two waves the era of project
do at all, not just a new way of doing something. In this way, technology
Good reading habits are the key to the success of all the lessons at school. Reading is an individual effort that is sensitive to information needs and the development of science. Reading is an activity that involves physical, mind, and emotion. Therefore, reading habits among students become indispensable in learning activities. The role of students in building reading habits is necessary. Students are required to have awareness in reading
The marathon of scientists finding cure to the various diseases that haunt mankind, continues to make an indelible landmark. Scientists in past have created subtle practices by using human parts and mentally retarded children in research trials, finding cure for a disease created an atmosphere of impossibility, and there were no federal guidelines in place that could approve these treatments to be used on patients, like Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Science is, by its nature, inquiry based and science knowledge is built through processes in which discoveries of the natural world are made (Abruscato, 2000). It utilizes discovery and scientific thinking process to explore and learn knowledge and skills. Learning by doing is the new efficient method in teaching science. For kindergarten, this method leads to better understanding of science concepts and builds skills that children will use in future life .What a child can do with assistance now, they can later do on their own (Vygotsky, 1978). John Dewey (1916) stated that children must be engaged in an active quest for learning and new ideas. Inquiry is important in educating kindergarteners because it not only keeps them interested in lessons but also helps them retain more information when performing exploration and investigation. Children are naturally motivated to learn and actively seek out information to help their understanding (Piaget, 1950).The success of students who participate in hands- on inquiry activities suggests that if students have first hands experience with science, concepts are easier to understand and apply and students are generally more favorable to science and have better understanding of the nature of science .Within a conceptual framework, inquiry learning and active learner involvement can lead to important outcomes in the classroom. In kindergarten, students who are actively making observations, collecting results and drawing