The Unifying Science Concepts
The Big Ideas of Science
What are unifying science concepts?
• The Vellom book, Chapter 3 reads,
“The work of scientists, and the
knowledge that results from that
work, is characterized by a number
of concepts and processes that are
universal”.
What are unifying science concepts?
• So basically…these ideas are universal.
• They are the “big ideas” of science
• The universal unifying concepts help
students to understand the natural
world
Five Unifying Processes
• There are 5 “big ideas” that are
identified in the National Science
Education Standards
- Systems, order, and organization.
- Evidence, models, and
explanation.
- Change, constancy, and
measurement.
- Evolution and equilibrium.
- Form and function.
Systems, Order, and Organization
• Nature is made up of many systems that are related and/or
connected in some ways.
• A system is a whole that is composed of parts arranged in an
orderly manner according to some plan or function.
• Our body makes up a system, the planets around the sun
make a (solar) system, and each classroom in our school
makes up a system.
• Children can begin to understand systems by considering the
parts that make up a system, the purpose of a system, and the
changes that occur in a system.
•
Summary: Nature is composed of many interrelated systems.
Example
• Digestive System
• When teaching about the digestive system, I
could just teach the parts and move on.
• This is not good science and does teach the
“big idea”
• Students need to understand how the
system works as whole
• What happens if a part if missing or broken?
• What happens if a part is damaged?
• What could damage this system?
Evidence, Models, and Explanation
• Nature behaves in predictable ways and searching for
explanations is one of the most important functions of
science.
• We must teach children how to use evidence and
models to develop explanations that help us to
understand our world.
• Explanations – we collect evidence (data) in order to
develop explanations
• Models are used in science to represent other things
that might be difficult to see or measure.
• Models are a difficult concept for young children to
grasp.
Summary: Nature is predictable and we can use
evidence and models to develop explanations to
understand our world.
Example
• Models – an very important concept of science
education
• Examples of models – phases of the moon (to
actually observe this in the classroom it would take
a month), plate tectonics (hard impossible to
observe), structure of the atom (too small to be
seen).
• Full scale models are great to use of possible –
human skeleton, organs, etc.
• Important to communicate to student how the
model relates to the real objects. I have to explain
to the students that the model of an atom is just a
model…it really doesn’t represent what a real atom
looks like.
Change, Constancy, and Measurement
• The natural world is continually changing and
children should be made aware of these changes.
• Although change occurs, there are many patterns
that are repeated constantly over time.
• Measurements can be used to document changes
and consistency over time.
• Summary: Nature is constantly changing but there
are many repeating patterns.
Examples
• Children can be asked to observe
changes in the seasons and changes
in the position and apparent shape of
the moon.
• The earth rotates every 24 hours,
ocean tides come twice a day, and
caterpillars develop into butterflies.
Evolution and Equilibrium
• All organisms have their own distinctive
characteristics and so there is a great deal of
diversity in nature.
• These characteristics are inherited from one
generation to another and nature selects the
characteristics (adaptations) that provide
advantages for survival.
• While both organisms and their environments
change, natural systems tend to be balanced (in
equilibrium) over time.
• Summary: Organisms are diverse and nature
selects the characteristics (adaptations) of
organisms that provide advantages for survival.
Examples
• Children can quickly come to
appreciate the wonderful diversity
found in nature and can gradually
consider how organisms adapt and
change over time.
• Human origin should not be studied
with elementary students.
Form and Function
• A relationship usually exists between the form or an
object or organism (how it looks, sounds, feels,
smells) and the function of the object or organism
(what is does).
• Summary: There is a relationship between the form
of an object and it’s function.
Example
• Children can learn to infer the
functions of things by closely observing
their forms.
• For example, they can infer what a
mammal eats by observing their teeth,
or what a bird eats by examining the
structure of their beaks.
How does this relate to teaching?
• When planning your lessons, you should always
keep the “big ideas” in mind.
• Start with the GLCE and figure out the “big
ideas” that go with your GLCE
• You can discover this during the digging in process
• Then write your learning statements and create
lessons and activities always keeping the big
idea in mind.
How does this relate to teaching?
• You should be able to tie a “big idea”
to each lesson or unit you teach.
References
• The Northwest Georgia Science Education
Partnership located at
http://webtech.kennesaw.edu/tbrown/curiosity/big
ideas.htm
• Vellom, R. P. (2008). Teaching elementary science:
Designs for inquiry and interaction.