Archived Information

State of the Art: Science - September 1993

image omitted Instruction should focus on the essential key concepts or ideas of science in the overfull science curriculum and on teaching them more effectively.

Curricula must be changed to reduce the sheer amount of material covered; to weaken or eliminate rigid subject-matter boundaries; to pay more attention to the connections among science, mathematics, and technology; to present the scientific endeavor as a social enterprise that strongly influences--and is influenced by--human thought and action; and to foster scientific ways of thinking. 
              (American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1989)
A transformation in science curricula is occurring from coverage of a large numbr of facts and terminology on many topics to more indepth study of fewer, major concepts. Major scientific ideas or concepts and thinking skills need to be emphasized while somewhat less attention should be paid to specialized vocabulary, memorized facts, and procedures. Both Project 2061 of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the National Science Teachers Association's Scope, Sequence, and Coordination project recommend that instruction cover the main ideas of science and the interrelatedness among various phenomena within the discipines. The goal is to provide a greater depth of understanding.

There are different schemata for organizing science content around topics and relating units often taught in elementary grades to the larger ideas of science. Project 2061 identifies common themes that pervade science, mathematics, and technology (such as systems, stability and change, and scale) and suggests that science curricula should be centered around these themes. A conceptual approach to science would suggest science concepts (such as diversity, variation, order, structure, function, and change) as a way of integrating diverse topics. Other reports suggest different organizing principles, but the common element from research and studies is that the curriculum highlight major ideas, concepts, or themes, "the big ideas," so that "detailed information about science becomes connected, becomes meaningful, and contributes to successful problem solving" (Elementary School Science for the '90s).

More time can be spent on developing understanding of the major concepts illustrated by the topics. An illustration of how a unit on seeds can build understanding of a major idea is found in the Life Lab Science program. The first grade theme of this curriculum is diversity and cycles. A unit on investigating seeds would compare and contrast seeds, monitor germination, and begin to predict the outcome of simple experiments. Other units on a study of soil and the diverse plants and animals living in it will continue the theme drawing upon the life, physical, and earth sciences and the connectedness among the sciences around this major idea.
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[Exploration, dialogue, and discourse promote understanding.] [Table of Contents] [The teacher's role is changing to facilitate student learning, while the student becomes a more active learner.]