Day one of kindergarten science class and I ask my students what they believe science is?
Every year the response was the same; 'We will blow things up and make potions'.
The image kids have in their mind seems to have come in part from tv, movies and books, but some kids really love science and read about it with their parents or do experiments on the weekend. They understand that there is so much more to science and that it is such a vastly wide subject. There is bound to be a theme they are enthused about although it may not mean they like every science lesson.
Either way, they are usually keen. Bright eyed and eager to know; 'What will we be learning about this term?'
I have seen many young students enthusiastic
for their school science education, only to become disillusioned and unenthralled by
the lessons delivered. Bored with worksheets, fact sheets
on inventors and videos, they wanted to get their hands dirty, make something fly or test something. They wanted to create, to work in groups, and 'do stuff' but mostly to not have to sit and write or be talked to. Of course, most units of work have some element of this, but for some this is all they experience.
I believe that for some elementary school teachers, teaching science can seem intimidating. It requires the teacher to not only teach in a different way, to use and organise a lot of resources, but for the teacher to let go of the control of a highly structured class and accept some temporary mess and let their students move around.
Once I was able to overcome this, I found teaching science fun and of course the students enjoyed it more. I learned to expect the unexpected from them and let their imaginations and creativity run wild.
Every year the response was the same; 'We will blow things up and make potions'.
The image kids have in their mind seems to have come in part from tv, movies and books, but some kids really love science and read about it with their parents or do experiments on the weekend. They understand that there is so much more to science and that it is such a vastly wide subject. There is bound to be a theme they are enthused about although it may not mean they like every science lesson.
Either way, they are usually keen. Bright eyed and eager to know; 'What will we be learning about this term?'
I have seen many young students enthusiastic for their school science education, only to become disillusioned and unenthralled by the lessons delivered. Bored with worksheets, fact sheets on inventors and videos, they wanted to get their hands dirty, make something fly or test something. They wanted to create, to work in groups, and 'do stuff' but mostly to not have to sit and write or be talked to. Of course, most units of work have some element of this, but for some this is all they experience.
I believe that for some elementary school teachers, teaching science can seem intimidating. It requires the teacher to not only teach in a different way, to use and organise a lot of resources, but for the teacher to let go of the control of a highly structured class and accept some temporary mess and let their students move around.
Once I was able to overcome this, I found teaching science fun and of course the students enjoyed it more. I learned to expect the unexpected from them and let their imaginations and creativity run wild.
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