Chapter 13: The elementary science education profession
1. Decisions about methodology:
a. Doing science versus learning about science
b. Deciding on goals of elementary science education
c. Using technology to help children with their injuries
d. Keeping classroom order
e. Including reading and writing in science
f. Every teacher should be able to explain and defend his or her methodological
decisions based on personal constructions of the research and the various
positions, arguments, and situations.
2. Decisions about Curriculum:
a. There are three sides to the education triangle: what to teach, how to teach, how to
assess
b. A fundamental premise of this text is that when children learn how to do science
they also are learning about science
c. Science as a process of inquiry and problem solving
d. Process is more important than content
e. Science is integrated with the rest of the curriculum
f. Science content is based on fundamental scientific principles and concepts
g. The content lends itself well to inquiry investigation such as magnetism, animal
camouflage, nature of rocks and minerals, and like content
h. The internet is a great source of information as is the national science digital
library
i. As a professional education you will have to make the decisions about the content
to be included in your science program
3. Professional development:
a. Teachers must keep up with developments in science and science education and
can do so through participating in science oriented professional development
workshops
b. Professional development does not have to involved workshops, institutions, and
other external programs
c. Workshop participants can earn credits for use in periodics certificate renewal
requirements or for college graduate credit
d. The most meaningful professional development for a new teacher is having a
mentor
e. New teachers are vulnerable to vicissitudes of the profession of the profession
f. Mentoring is critical
g. Mentors show the new teacher the ropes, help with lesson planning, help find
materials, share successes
4. Professional Organizations:
a. One of the responsibilities of teachers is to keep up with the times regarding both
subject matter and pedagogy
b. Teachers of elementary grades are given an impossible task they are expected to
know all about subjects and to teach all things well
c. The NSTA is the largest science teachers organization in the nation
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d. Its purpose is to stimulate, improve, and coordinate science teaching and learning
e. NSTA published the four journals and all of which welcome teachers classroom
ideas and reports of teachers in action
f. NSTA holds an annual conference where thousands of presentations are made and
many by classroom teachers presented new and innovation classroom teaching
ideas
g. THE CESI is a professional organization for preschool through eighth grade
teachers who have responsibilities for teaching science and preservice teachers
who will become preschool professionals
The elementary science teacher as researcher:
a. Every teacher is a researcher
b. At minimum teachers reflect on lessons, assess the good points and the weak
areas, and make changes to strengthen them
c. The time may come when teachers want to try out a new system such as a
comparing the two results
d. It is imperative that you share the results of your research with others
e. Share your work with focus groups at your school and publish your work in
professional journals and present to classes
Grants:
a. There is money out there for science education
b. Grants have been funded for constructing butterfly gardens, preparing planting
areas, building outdoor amphitheaters and nature trails
c. Grants will not be funded if they request money for snack and giveaways
d. The first rule of grantsmanship is to be sure that your purpose use of the grant
money is consistent with the granting agencies purposes
e. Follow all the guidelines and all the supplements
f. There's a lot of money out there for teachers
Excellence in science teaching:
a. Excellent science teachers give up on textbook oriented science and develop their
own programs that are relevant to responsive to the needs of children and
community
b. They focus on more process than on distribution
c. They provide much inservice training and have strong support from the central
and building administration
d. They are considered to be in a continuous state of evolution
e. Teaching science in elementary schools need not be difficult.
f. Children love science and successful teachers encourage them to wonder explore
and to construct their own meanings
g. Excellent science teachers stimulate children to ask their own questions about
phenomena that are meaningful and interesting to them
Summary:
a. In this chapter I learned that procession educators make decisions about
curriculum and methodology based on soundpad logical theory, research, and
standards. There are three sides to the education triangle: what to teach, how to
teach, how to assess. The internet is a great source of information as is the
national science digital library. Teachers must keep up with developments in
science and science education and can do so through participating in science
oriented professional development workshops. One of the responsibilities of
teachers is to keep up with the times regarding both subject matter and pedagogy.
The first rule of grantsmanship is to be sure that your purpose of the grant money
is consistent with the granting agencies' purposes. Excellent science teachers give
up on textbook oriented science and develop their own programs that are relevant
to responsive to the needs of children and community. Excellent science teachers
stimulate children to ask their own questions about phenomena that are
meaningful and interesting to them.