Module 1: Week 1: An Invitation to Teaching Science - January 17, 2011 - January 23, 2011

Week 1: An Invitation to Teaching Science: January 17, 2011 - January 23, 2011 includes: the Inquiry Classroom in Action! Video, Week 1 assignments of looking over syllabus,, TF(test files), LC (learning contract), and  4th grade test part one multiple choice to a forum  


It is important at the beginning of the course to set up  the rules. It is important to go over the syllabus. It is also good to set up a learning contract and to set goals for yourself and then to see how well you did toward those goals. 

Week 1: An Invitation to Teaching Science.The main ideas behind this Module include learning and understanding of: 

• The nature of science
• Science as a process, a set of ideas, and a way of thinking
• The reasons for teaching science
• The National Science Education Standards and the National Educational Technology Standards
• The importance of making school science relevant to all the students’ lives
• The connections between science education and technology
• Feeling scientific about oneself
• That we teach who we are.

    Nature of a science: is science of natural world. Nature of science is seldom-taught but very important features of working science include: its realm and limits, its levels of uncertainty, its biases, its social aspects, and the reasons for its reliability. 

   Understanding the nature of science includes knowing both what science knows and how science knows what it knows. The central ideas involve observation of the world and the constant testing of theories against nature, with the requirement that everything that is to be called science is testable. 

 Science has its limits; it cannot be used to solve any kind of problem.Science can only address natural phenomena (not supernatural phenomena, as such), and only natural explanations can be used in science. Supernatural or magical explanations cannot be definitively or reliably tested - they cannot be disproved, since any result of any test could be attributed to some supernatural or mysterious influence. Natural explanations are testable - open to being disproved - being shown not to follow consistent rules of nature. The fact that the most highly credible concepts in science have survived such critical testing attests to the practical reliability of scientific knowledge and the processes of science that created that knowledge. Scientific solutions tend to work!

Science

:

1. a set of ideas (theory); 2. a process of finding out a phenomenon; 3. a way of thinking. The observation, identification, description, experimental investigation, and theoretical explanation of phenomena.

    Reason to teach science: why we teach science before high school

1.The set of ideas that we are calling science ideas is increasingly vital in our technologically oriented society. Many educators,cultural commentators, and leaders of industry have stated that knowing what science is about is crucial for everyone. Many of today's jobs require some scientific knowledge, and even our everyday decisions -from what to eat to which vehicle to buy- can be affected by our scientific understanding or lack of it. 

A good science program will help youngsters understand the ways in which we are depleting the natural resources of the earth. 

2. The skills that students acquire by engaging in the scientific processes are useful in many fields other than science. In fact, studies show that science in the early grades has the potential to help children to become critical thinkers, to reason carefully, to solve problems, and to make informed decisions.Students who engage in science activities build confidence in themselves. 

3.By cultivating a scientific way of thinking,we can help students improve their abilities to explore a problem from many perspectives, confer with their classmates and their teacher and become knowledge builders and meaning makers. Understanding how science works helps people grasp the nature of evidence and the conclusions we can reasonably make about the world around us.   

   National Science Education Standards: A set of standards prepared by the National Research Council and published in book form in 1996. It offers guidelines for teachers, teacher educators, curriculum developers, and school districts for establishing science education programs. The overall theme is that acquiring scientific knowledge, understanding, and abilities should be a central aspect of education, just as science has become a central aspect of our society.

   The importance of making school science relevant to all the students' lives: It means learning about the students you teach. It is important to engage your students by doing activities. You can say when you grow up you will use science for this job. Recycling is a form of green science that you can do every day. You as a teacher can teach science and help your kids use science in their lives to better their lives and the environment for the future. 

  The connections between science education and technology: 

    The connections between science education and technology is that science can be taught through using technology. The emphasis is on innovation, and the hope that the technology will foster students' capacity for original thinking, creative communication, and application of existing ideas to new contexts. The technology can be by using a Smart Board. 

That we teach who we are: 

   I want to teach my students I all I know about science. I want to use technology in my classroom with science. I want to have my students do hands-on activities. I will use the standards  both National and state to make sure that my students are prepared for state tests they have to take. I want my students to ask questions and learn from very interesting experiments that I create for them and that the students learn from creating experiments themselves. I want to teach my students about how to use science outside the classroom and how technology can be used in science.