Mollie Deuel's Teaching Portfolio
My Rationale for Teaching Science
The science disciplines allow us to learn about the natural world around us and give us the tools we need to inquire about how we can preserve and enhance it. Science education promotes inquisitive thinking that allows our future children to become important innovative members of society and contribute to the future evolution of our species. Science class should not only entail the transfer of already determined knowledge from teacher to students, but should also include teaching students the process of scientific thinking and how to apply it in real life (Deboer 1991). While having an interdisciplinary science background is important since all disciplines are interconnected, the biological sciences in particular are very significant and should be taught in this high school.
I believe biology is especially important because it teaches students about our natural environment and about all living things, including ourselves! It is important to have a basic understanding of our natural world and the processes that occur around us, so that we are sure not to disrupt ecosystems to the point where they are not viable for human or animal life. It is also important to learn our anatomy and physiology so we know how to take care of ourselves. Modern medicine is just one great example of how biological sciences can preserve and protect human life. Not only does biology entail knowledge about ourselves and our surroundings, many of these physical processes can be observed directly in the classroom or through other lenses, which gives it a very real feeling. This sense of immediacy makes biology a science that can be very appealing to young students, and can possibly be used as a gateway to interest students in the more conceptual disciplines of science like chemistry or physics.
Often times, science in the classroom can be seen as a mind-numbing study of memorizing facts. I want to break out of that norm in my classroom and allow students to see that science is more about how we have come to those certain conclusions or factual statements. In my biology class I will use multiple modes of instruction to create a complex and interwoven learning environment. While I believe experimentation in the laboratory is important, I am also aware that some prior knowledge of the subject must be learned first before students can start hypothesizing. This is where lecture and discussion periods come into play. Once I have presented the students with the knowledge of each unit, I will put them into practice using hands on activities or labs, such as cultivating plants to see how genetic hybrids are formed, as demonstrations to bring the knowledge they learned full circle. Classroom discussions in large and small groups, along with other group work will allow for better processing of the knowledge as well.
While I do believe scientists need a free range for inquisitive thinking in a laboratory setting, I do not know if high school students have the tools to completely navigate their own experiments. That is why most labs we will conduct, and there will be many, will be facilitated by me as the teacher, to help guide the students towards understanding how the processes of the scientific method we are using can produce new discoveries. These labs also help the students conceptualize how the knowledge from the lectures and textbooks came to be known. Depending on the advancement of the class, I may give a project or two towards the end of the academic school year that allows the students to put their new thinking and processing skills to work and use the knowledge they have learned to create and work through their own labs. This gives them a taste of how they can apply their knowledge in future educational or workplace settings.
Teaching sciences in the educational setting will greatly benefit our society in the long run. Scientific knowledge, thinking and inquiry allows our society to progress via many different outlets. Not only is scientific literacy imperative on some level for everyone in today’s society, but professions that require scientific thought are of high importance. One instance that science can be applied out of an educational setting is through the creation and use of technology. Whether it is medical technologies, technologies used for military purposes, or technologies that are used to improve everyday life, one cannot deny the need for scientific and innovative thought to produce these sorts of endeavors. Technology is being integrated into our society at an exponential rate and even if students do not go on to create new technologies, they must be increasingly technologically literate to be a productive member of society today. A second way is that scientific knowledge and practices will ultimately help remedy the varying environmental issues our world faces today, whether it be global warming, energy related problems or the environmental stress caused by overpopulation in many areas. A third way science can be applied is in economics, by predicting future outcomes from the study of past and current trends (Deboer 1991). This is a tool created by scientific thinking practices that are first introduced in grade school, in that you ask a question, look for trends and then come up with a viable hypothesis as to what might happen and how one can control it. This is by no means a comprehensive list but just a few examples of why the science disciplines should be introduced in an educational setting at an early age to get students thinking about ways they can improve society through innovative thinking and skills.
Science classes will help students practice inquisitive thinking through experimentation; gain the tools to keep themselves and their environment healthy by knowing how each one functions; become productive members of our society by entering professions that create viable technologies, can predict economic trends and outcomes, or by passing along the knowledge and thinking processes they’ve learned to future contributing members of society.
In order for learning to occur, students need to be active in the process of obtaining knowledge. Learning does not occur passively from teacher to student, rather students must construct their own knowledge through new experiences that build on their prior knowledge. This notion is based of the Constructivist Theory . It is especially important for science teachers to apply the constructivist model in the classroom, because science is based on observing, thinking, explaining and validating, which are all processes that must be applied in order to lean them. Students must be the ones inquiring about different scientific processes in order for them to understand the nature of science. The space in a classroom must be inviting to students to utilize pedagogy and technology to be active in their learning.
