My first posts were about how to teach early elementary students science, and why to teach them science. While researching these topics, I came across the question “Are young elementary students ready to learn about science?” I thought this was another great question, so here goes!
As I have stated in a previous blog, exploring and experimenting comes natural to children, so for someone to say they aren’t ready to learn about science yet is bogus, and who are we to judge?! Let the student be the judge of that! It is our job as teachers to challenge them and get them interested and wanting to learn. Because students are curious, inquisitive and intuitive, they actually seem to have a natural talent for science!
If some students are having a hard time, there are some groups out there, here are some that I found. I found two different groups, the SLP (Science Literacy Project, based out of Purdue) and ISLE (Integrated Science-Literacy Enactments Project, based out of Chicago) that are both working to relate science topics with books and read alouds to help get students engaged in the topics and help parents get more engaged with their students science classes at home. They are trying to link the topics of science and language arts together so that students can learn and use writing to describe things they are seeing in science. They say by integrating science with language, it makes it more appealing for the teachers because the students can be writing down their observations and become more engaged in the activities.
By linking science to books, literature, and things already understood by students who are having a hard time with science, it will make it more appealing for them, and they will be more eager to learn. Early science education encourages students to use inquiry and reflection. It allows them “to exercise the natural talent for science that exists in each and all of them.”
I would encourage everyone to think back to when you were in the early elementary grades and about experiments you might have done. I am in a K-1 placement right now, and the students never cease to amaze me by how much they know and how willing they are to learn. We did a science unit all last week, and some of the students were making some very great observations and predictions. It goes to show that you cannot be the judge of whether or not your class is ready to learn science, you must at least give everyone the opportunity, and I promise, they will be more than ready to learn!
Links:
http://www.suite101.com/content/teaching-science-in-kindergarten-a203306
http://www.purduescientificliteracyproject.org/
http://www.uic.edu/educ/ISLE
I totally agree with what you said in your post, elementary school is a prime time to encourage and grow students' curiosity. Why not use inquiry based lessons in science instruction to do just that? Students want to learn, and they have a natural curiosity that we as teachers can use to our advantage. I think people sometimes underestimate what elementary students are capable of. I have observed in some effective classrooms, and it's amazing what can take place.
ReplyDeleteI agree. As teachers we are supposed to present students with all the possibilities for learning, not just what we think they are ready for. And how would we know whether or not young students are ready to learn science if we don't even present them with that possibility. It is true that some students may be more ready than others to learn and explore science but that does not mean that we should not have science as an option for our students. Students, especially young students, are naturally curious and love to explore things and find things out on their own. What better way to feed that than to let students explore and expirament and just talk about what they are doing. I don't think student are ever too young to learn science, I think the younger the better.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more Natalie. It was interesting becasue I am in the same placement but we did things a bit differently. Irregardless, I was just as impressed with the students' observations and predictions. You are right when you say we can't be the judge or whether they are "ready" or not. By inhibiting them or assuming that they cannot do something, we are holding them back. In my opinion, the job of a teacher is to encourage your students and push them to that next level. If we aren't willing to scaffold and assist them in learning, we might as well go home because then they don't need us.
ReplyDeleteIn addition, I can remember when I was younger. I was fearless and much more adventurous than I am now. I think younger children enjoy digging in dirt, dissecting frogs, and doing all of those other gross things. Today, I would probably thinking twice before digging into a pile of mud to explore. My point is, I think science should start at a young age. Children are adventurous and want to learn. It's so easy to do cheap, but educational, experiments and inquiry activities with them. Take advantage of it while they still enjoy it and are eeager to learn more!
Natalie-
ReplyDeleteI completely agree! I know that K-1 is very different from 4th graders, but during our science unit I was amazed at some of the observations students made that I didn't even expect them to see or that I myself overlooked. I think that if we set our standards low for students, we are only going to handicap them and their learning in the end no matter their age. By setting high standards for our students we are building their self-esteem in themselves and giving them ownership in their education. Students that feel that they are being taken seriously and have the support of their teachers, I feel, are more motivated to learn. Here is a link to a study conducted with younger children and using science-inquiry:
http://www.edst.purdue.edu/youli/Learning_Sci_Inq_K_May_08.pdf