Not having heard something is not as good as having heard it; having heard it is not as good as having seen it; having seen it is not as good as knowing it; knowing it is not as good as putting it into practice.—attributed to Chinese philosopher Xun Kuang.
(Knobloch, 1994, p. 81)
When people see a science classroom what do they expect to see? Is it a teacher in front of the class lecturing with a slideshow while the students diligently take notes? Or is it students forming hypotheses and creating experiments to solve a problem?
We firmly believe that regardless of the grade level or concept, students should be experiencing science. They should be provided with opportunities to be engaged beyond just hearing and reading about science. Yes, there is a time and place for direct instruction, but it should not be the primary focus of any science classroom. All of the strategies in this book focus on intellectually engaging all students to increase learning.
The learning activities in our book can be used to teach all science content. We focus on the four main disciplinary core ideas identified in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS): (1) physical sciences; (2) earth and space sciences; (3) life sciences; and (4) engineering, technology, and application of science. Each strategy, when applicable, will include the Science and Engineering Practices and/or Crosscutting Concepts, which are also found in the NGSS. When the NGSS were written, each performance expectation combined a relevant practice of science or engineering, with a core disciplinary idea and crosscutting concept (NGSS, 2013b, p. 382).
During Tara's second year as a seventh grade science teacher, a student asked, “When will we ever need to know the moon phases?” After reflecting on her response to this student, Tara felt as though she had failed to provide a valid answer. She realized that most of the content her state standards required her to teach would not be useful to the average student. As a result, she shifted her focus and made the content a vehicle through which to teach her students what we call the Skills for Intentional Scholars. We define an “intentional scholar” as one who is actively learning, engaged, and thinking while in school, not passively receiving information and spitting back facts on Friday's test. There are three skills we believe all intentional scholars should have: (1) to think critically; (2) to problem solve creatively; and (3) to communicate effectively. Each strategy in this book will address at least one of the Skills for Intentional Scholars, while also effectively supporting science learning in a classroom.
The NGSS highlight the need to incorporate Skills for Intentional Scholars. While answering a question on how critical thinking and communication skills are addressed in their standards, they state:
It is important to understand that the scientific practices in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), as defined by the National Research Council (NRC), include the critical thinking and communication skills that students need for postsecondary success and citizenship in a world fueled by innovations in science and technology. These science practices encompass the habits and skills that scientists and engineers use day in and day out. In the NGSS these practices are wedded to content. In other words, content and practice are intertwined in the standards, just as they are in the NRC Framework and in today's workplace. (NGSS, n.d., para. 2)
The NGSS support the idea that all science-related teaching strategies need to incorporate active learning and allow students to effectively demonstrate their understanding of scientific concepts while utilizing the three Skills for Intentional Scholars. Science classes must be more than simply requiring students to memorize facts.
The Teacher's Toolbox series consists of four books, including strategies for teaching English language learners, social studies, math, and science. The first book in the series, The ELL Teacher's Toolbox (2018) by Larry Ferlazzo and Katie Hull Sypnieski, uses an easy-to-read format that we've chosen to follow and modify slightly. This format breaks each strategy into the following sections:
This book is divided into three Parts. Part I highlights several lab formats, such as the scientific method, project-based learning, and engineering process. Part II focuses on strategies that integrate reading, writing, speaking and listening, mathematics, and the arts into science lessons. The final Part is entitled Additional Resources, which contains strategies that did not necessarily fit into the other sections, for example, methods for activating prior knowledge, reviewing content, and assessing student learning.
This science strategy book will enhance science classrooms from fourth to twelfth grade. Additionally, many of these strategies can be integrated into other curricular areas with great success. We hope you get as much use out of them as we have throughout the years!