This document provides an overview of key concepts in science education, including: 1. Definitions of science as a body of knowledge and a process for understanding the natural world. 2. The benefits of an inquiry-based approach to science instruction that parallels scientific practice. 3. The importance of developing conceptual understanding in students through engagement with concepts and building conceptual frameworks.

1. Chapter 1
SCED 570, Fall 2011

4.  Science: A way of knowing the natural world.
―Science is both a body of knowledge that represents
current understanding of [the natural world] and the
process whereby that body of knowledge has been
established and is being continually
extended, refined, and revised‖
 Inquiry instruction: A method of teaching that
parallels what scientists do when they do
science
 No single ―scientific method‖

5.  Why should children learn science?
◦ Discuss the benefits of having science in the
elementary school.
 What context do children have in doing
science?
◦ Discuss the message of the following picture and
it’s relevance to your work as a teacher….

6. From Benchmarks for Science Literacy (p. 179)

7. 1. Learning to Think and Understand
2. Scientific literacy
3. Science Education and National Concerns
4. Language Literacy and Mathematics
Competency
5. Early Science and the NCLB legislation

8. 1. Learning to Think and Understand
: Learning to think scientifically and to understand the
scientific view of the natural world is developed
gradually over a long period of time.
2. Scientific Literacy
―the knowledge and understanding of scientific
concepts and processes required for personal
decision-making, participation in civic and cultural
affairs, and economic productivity.‖ (NSES, p. 22)

9. 3. Science Education and National Concerns
: The US need to improve science education to
increase the pool of students prepared to choose
science as a career.
4. Language Literacy and Mathematics
Competency
: Science provides a rich context for children to
develop their language and mathematics skills.
 Children’s literature connections to science:
GEMS

10. 5. Early Science and the NCLB legislation
: Assisting all students to achieve proficiency in
science.
6. Your own rationale???

11. Conceptual knowledge
and understanding
Ability to carry our
scientific inquiry
Understanding about the
NOS and scientific inquiry

12.  Material limits.


13.  Device to aid in the absorption of shock
: absorbing the egg’s kinetic energy when the
device hits the ground
 Device to slow down the speed
 Helicopter type device
: converting gravitational potential energy into
rotational energy / dissipating the energy
 Parachute (kite tail, fins, balloons) type device
: using air resistance

14.  Equations for accelerated motion
vf = vi + at
d = vit + ½ at 2
2ad = vf2 – vi2
a: acceleration (m/s2)
d: distance (m)
vf: final velocity (m/s)
vi: initial velocity (m/s)
t: time (s)

15.  ―Students should acquire facts, build
organized and meaningful conceptual
structures, and use these conceptual
structures in interpreting observations and
constructing theories and explanations.‖

16.  Statement about an observation that has
been repeatedly confirmed
(observable and/or measurable)
 Relies on replication
 Teach only facts?

17.  Abstract idea or mental image that associated
with a corresponding representation in a langue
or symbol in a given context
 Derived from experiences/evidence around which
new information can be organized
 Concept can grow by the addition of new
information
 Development of conceptual ideas
 Erroneous / correct but limited / incomplete
concepts
 Conceptual understanding comes when children
actively engage in making sense of their
experiences.

18. Development of conceptual ideas
Induction
DOG LAMB CAT
Deduction
ANIMAL

19.  Ideas about the relationships among
concepts or phenomena—What happens!
 Statement of generalization or patterns in
nature under given circumstances (i.e. the
pressure and volume of a gas)
 Allows us to predict what will happen
 Inductively derived so cannot be viewed as
an absolute truth

20.  Generalized statement that acts as an explanation
for large number of related facts, occurrences or
other phenomena in nature
 Facts and laws describe natural events; theories
explain them—why things work certain ways!
 Intellectual models for viewing nature; a basis for
scientific research
 Good theories are substantiated by research
findings.
 No absolute theories; inductively derived; evolve
over time
 Theories vary in levels of confirmation.
(Atomic, Super-strings, Big Bang, Evolution)

21.  Representation of objects and interactions in a
physical system
 Types include:
◦ Physical models: a smaller or larger physical
copy of an object.
◦ Mathematical models: a formula that
represents a system by using mathematical
language (E=MC2)
◦ Propositional models: an expression that
denotes propositions that are linked by
sentential connectives such as
―and‖, ―or‖, ―if... then...‖, etc.

22.  Students should be engaged in an inquiry
approach to learning sciences
―Scientific inquiry refers to the diverse ways in which
scientists study the natural world and propose
explanations based on the evidence derived from their
work. Inquiry also refers to the activities of students in
which they develop knowledge and understanding of
scientific ideas, as well as an understanding of how
scientists study the natural world.‖ (NSES, p. 21)

23.  5 Essential Features of Inquiry
1. Learners are engages in scientifically oriented
questions.
2. Learners give priority to evidence as they plan
and conduct investigations.
3. Learners connect evidence and scientific
knowledge in generating explanations.
4. Learners apply their knowledge to new scientific
problems.
5. Learners communicate with others about
procedures, evidence, and explanation.
From Inquiry and National Science Education Standards

24. http://www.nap.edu/
catalog.php?record_i
d=9596#toc

25. 1. Science is something people do and create
2. Science is a way of answering questions about the natural
world
3. Science knowledge is generated through
questions, investigations, observations, and explanations
4. Scientific knowledge is tentative
5. Scientists present their investigations and explanations to
the scientific community for critical evaluation
6. Scientists display certain attitudes and habits of mind in
doing science

26.  VNOS (Views of NOS) instruments
Views of Nature of Science Elementary School Version
(VNOS-E)
Name: _________________________________
Grade Level: ____________________________
Date: _________________________________
Instructions
• Please answer each of the following questions. You can use all the
space provided and the backs of the pages to answer a question.
• Some questions have more than one part. Please make sure you put
answers for each part.
• This is not a test and will not be graded. There are no “right” or
“wrong” answers to the following questions. I am only interested in
your ideas relating to the following questions.
• If you need, you can draw pictures to explain your ideas.

27.  VNOS (Views of NOS) instruments
1. What is science?
2. (a) What are some of the other subjects you are learning? (b) How is
science different from these other subjects?
3. Scientists are always trying to learn more about our world. Do you think
what scientists know will change in the future?
4. (a) How do scientists know that dinosaurs once lived on the earth? (b) How
sure are scientists about the way dinosaurs looked? Why?
5. A long time ago all the dinosaurs died. Scientists have different ideas
about why and how they died. If scientists all have the same facts about
dinosaurs, then why do you think they disagree about this?
6. TV weather people show pictures of how they think the weather will be for
the next day. They use lots of scientific facts to help them make these
pictures. How sure do you think the weather people are about these
pictures? Why?
7. (a) Do you think scientists use their imaginations
when they do their work? Yes No
(b) If No, explain why?
(c) If Yes, then when do you think
they use their imaginations?

28.  VNOS (Views of NOS) instruments
1. What is science?
=> Response should include references to a body of knowledge (often the science
content students are currently studying) and processes (observing, experimenting,
etc.) for the development of the knowledge.
Students will most likely not refer to anything related to epistemology or
characteristics of the knowledge that results from the processes.
Rarely do young children refer to science as a “way of knowing”
2. (a) What are some of the other subjects you are learning? (b) How is
science different from these other subjects?
=> The desired response should refer to reliance on data from the natural world
(empirical basis), systematic or organized approach to collection of data. It is also
common for students to focus on the specific subject matter or objects of
science’s attention (this is where an interview can help get answers to what you
really want to know about here).
Students are likely to incorrectly state that science follows a single method (the
scientific method) and that science is a totally objective endeavor. They most likely
will not include the alternative to these views, but the incorrect views are commonly
included.

29.  VNOS (Views of NOS) instruments
3. Scientists are always trying to learn more about our world. Do you think
what scientists know will change in the future?
=> This question focuses on the idea that all scientific knowledge is tentative or
subject to change. So, you are looking for the student to agree that the knowledge
in the text will possibly change.
On a superficial level, most students will recognize that knowledge changes because
we now know more due to additional experiments/investigations, new evidence or
availability of new technology.
A more in-depth, but hot common, answer would include the idea that knowledge
changes because scientists view the same data in a different way than before.
4. (a) How do scientists know that dinosaurs once lived on the earth?
=> The focus here is on observation and inference and empirical nature of science. A
sophisticated, but uncommon answer would include that scientists have some data
about dinosaurs and have inferred from this data that creatures defined as
“dinosaurs” existed.
(b) How sure are scientists about the way dinosaurs looked? Why?
=> The answer to this question will overlap with what you may get for part (a).
Again, this question focuses on the roles of observation and inference in science.
The desired answer would include that scientists have some data, but have inferred
from this data what dinosaurs looked like.

30.  VNOS (Views of NOS) instruments
Answers to part (a) and (b) may allow you to determine whether a student
understands what the development of scientific knowledge (via inferences) involves
human creativity and subjectivity.
Occasionally, students give a percentage for how certain they think scientists are
(i.e., scientists are 80% sure of how dinosaurs look!) reflecting their views of the
tentativeness of science.
5. A long time ago all the dinosaurs died. Scientists have different ideas
about why and how they died. If scientists all have the same facts about
dinosaurs, then why do you think they disagree about this?
=> The question reflects students’ views about the subjective and tentative nature
of science. The desired response would be that different scientists bring different
backgrounds and different biases to the interpretation of data.
It is important to discern whether the student understands that different
interpretations do not necessarily mean that someone is right and someone is wrong.
This is a difficult idea for young students.

31.  VNOS (Views of NOS) instruments
6. TV weather people show pictures of how they think the weather will be for
the next day. They use lots of scientific facts to help them make these
pictures. How sure do you think the weather people are about these
pictures? Why?
=> This question is looking for ideas about observation and inference and
tentativeness. Again and you would be looking for answers similar to those in question
#4. Only the context of the question is different.
7. (a) Do you think scientists use their imaginations
when they do their work? Yes No
(b) If No, explain why?
(c) If Yes, then when do you think they use their imaginations?
=> The desired answer here is “yes” and most students will answer this way.
However, part (c) will give you more information about the adequacy of students’
beliefs.
Most students will only understand, or at least say, that scientist use their creativity
and imagination in the planning of investigations. Few will tell you that scientists use
creativity and imagination during an experiment/investigation and in the
interpretation of data and reporting of results.
This question relates back to students’ understanding of why science is tentative and
how creativity, subjectivity, and inferences permeate all of science.

32.  Science: to understand the natural world.
 Technology: to make modifications in the world
to meet human needs (applied science)
 Instructional technology
 Innovations that enables people adjust to the world better
 Fine tasks of technological design
1. Identify a simple problem
2. Propose a solution
3. Implement a proposed solution
4. Evaluate a product or a design
5. Communicate a problem design and solution

34.  1957 Russians successfully launched Sputnik
 US response – increased funding for science
education programs
◦ ―Alphabet soup‖ programs:
 SAPA (Science - A Process Approach)
: the processes involved in doing science
 SCIS (Science Curriculum Improvement Study)
: broad concepts of organizing conceptual ideas
 ESS (Elementary Science Study)
: investigations as the basis for learning
=> hands-on spirit of approaches to learning science

35.  Reform effort which justified the need for science
learning and laid the foundation for the
development of national standards
 What all U.S. students should know and be able to
do in science in the 21st century
 2061: target year for reform to meet goals; return
of Halley’s comet
 Science for All Americans (1990), Benchmark for
Science Literacy (1993), Atlas of Science
Literacy, Volume 1 (2001) & Volume 2 (2007)

36.  http://www.project2061.org/
 Benchmark for Science Literacy
―Project 2061 promotes literacy in science, mathematics, and
technology in order to help people live
interesting, responsible, and productive lives. In a culture
increasingly pervaded by science, mathematics, and
technology, science literacy requires understandings and
habits of mind that enable citizens to grasp what those
enterprises are up to, to make some sense of how the natural
and designed worlds work, to think critically and
independently, to recognize and weigh alternative
explanations of events and design trade-offs, and to deal
sensibly with problems that involve
evidence, numbers, patterns, logical arguments, and
uncertainties.‖ (p. XI)

37. ‣ Published in 1996
‣ NSES Includes standards for:
 science content
 assessment
 teaching
 professional development
 science education program
 science education system
‣ Do not prescribe the curriculum; provides
guidelines for what learners should know and
do based on school curriculum
‣ http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=4962

38. ‣ Serve as a companion volume to the science
standards
‣ http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=9596#toc

39.  National Research Council (NRC) latest report:
Taking Science to School: Learning and Teaching
Science in Grades K-8 recommends a more
cohesive, in-depth study of science concepts.
(reduce the K-12 science content)
 National Science Teachers Association (NSTA):
Science Anchors project will identify essential
skills and topics. (reduce the broad range of
science topics and skills)

40.  Represent what all Colorado students should know and
be able to do in science as a result of their k-12
science education
 Based on the Benchmarks and the NSES
 Five science standards
 3 focus on key content areas
 2 focus on the process and nature of science
 Not state curriculum; local school districts in Colorado
are responsible for determining the necessary
curriculum and instructional scope and sequence
 Under revision