Developing Science Skills

by Catherine Valentino 2000.

http://www.eduplace.com/science/profdev/articles/valentino2.html

A Needs Assessment

As a teacher and curriculum director, I've always been amazed at how

long it takes to make even minor adjustments in what we teach and how
we teach it. It doesn't surprise me, therefore, to find the following
paragraph about the best way to teach science in a popular "schoolroom
guide" for elementary teachers published in 1877:

The method that should be pursued is that known as the objective

method. This presents two distinct, though intimately related
departments: perceptive teaching, in which the object, as an acorn,
an egg, a leaf or a piece of coal is directly presented to the pupil's
senses; and conceptive teaching in which impressions previously
received are recalled, arranged and utilized. . . . Definitions should be
very sparingly introduced, and never in the first stages of a subject. If
given at all, they should sum up knowledge already attained. . . . The
vital element, that which gives it a living interest to the pupil, is the
discovery or learning of new facts, or the gaining of new ideas about
the objects under consideration.1

As a science author writing a teacher's guide 118 years later, I couldn't

agree more. What concerns me is this—as modern educators, we agree in
theory that the objective method, what we now call discovery learning, is
the most effective way for children to acquire the skills and concepts
necessary to become scientifically literate adults. However, in many
classrooms we are still struggling to build a discovery-based science
curriculum.

There is an urgency today that makes acquiring science skills even more
important now than they were in 1877. Benchmarks for Science
Literacyemphasizes the importance of skills development in preparing
students to "make their way in the real world, a world in which problems
abound—in the home, in the workplace, in the community and on the
planet." 2 In this technological age, knowing how to acquire and evaluate
information and how to use it to understand and solve problems is a
prerequisite for most jobs our students will have as adults.3

Defining the Skills

The first step in implementing a skills-based approach to science

instruction begins by carefully defining what we would like children to be
able to do.DiscoveryWorks organizes science skills into three separate
groups: Process Skills, Reasoning Skills, and Critical Thinking Skills.
These groups correspond to three distinct types of cognitive skills.
Process skills are used to gather information about the world. Reasoning
skills help children make sense of the information they gather by
fostering an open mind, curiosity, logic, and a data-based approach to
understanding the world. Critical thinking skills require students to apply
information in new situations and in solving problems.

SCIENCE PROCESS SKILLS

SKILL DESCRIPTION
Determining the properties of an object or event
Observing
by using the senses
Grouping objects or events according to their
Classifying
properties
Skills include:

 Describing quantitatively using

Measuring/Using appropriate units of measurement
Numbers  Estimating
 Recording quantitative data
 Space or time relationships

Using written and spoken words, graphs, tables,

Communicating diagrams, and other information presentations,
including those that are technology based
Drawing a conclusion about a specific event
Inferring based on observations and data; may include
cause and effect relationships
Anticipating consequences of a new or changed
Predicting
situation using past experiences and observation
Manipulating data, either collected by self or by
Collecting, others, in order to make meaningful information
Recording, and and then finding patterns in that information that
Interpreting Data lead to making inferences, predictions and
hypotheses
Identifying and Identifying the variables in a situation; selecting
Controlling Variables variables to be manipulated and held constant
Defining terms within the context of one's own
Defining
experiences; stating a definition in terms of "what
Operationally
you do" and "what you observe"
Making Hypotheses Proposing an explanation based on observations
Investigating, manipulating materials, and testing
Experimenting
hypotheses to determine a result
Representing the "real world" using a physical or
Making and Using
mental model in order to understand the larger
Models
process or phenomenon

CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS

SKILL DESCRIPTION
Studying something to identify constituent elements or
Analyzing
relationships among elements
Synthesizing Using deductive reasoning to pull together key elements
Reviewing and responding critically to materials,
Evaluating procedures, or ideas, and judging them by purposes,
standards, or other criteria
Applying Using ideas, processes, or skills in new situations
Expressing thoughts that reveal originality, speculation,
Generating
imagination, a personal perspective, flexibility in
Ideas
thinking, invention or creativity
Presenting ideas clearly and in logical order while using
Expressing
language that is apporpriate for the audience and
Ideas
occasion
Solving
Using critical thinking skills to find solutions
Problems

Strategies for Change

Recognizing the importance of developing science skills in elementary

school and carefully defining and organizing those skills are necessary,
but not sufficient, for implementing change. A major stumbling block is
our focus on teaching science skills in isolation from their real world
applications. A wide body of research suggests that learning to solve
problems in a variety of contexts fosters the development of a general
problem-solving ability that can be transferred to new contexts. Without
practice in applying science skills in real problem-solving situations,
transfer is unlikely to happen.2 The following newspaper article and
discussion illustrates how these skills can be developed.

Imagine that you and your students are on the playground when Nicole's
coat suddenly disappears into the sky. How could you turn that event into
a memorable science experience for your class? The first step is
recognizing the learning potential in such natural events. The second is
knowing how to take advantage of the event and turn it into an
opportunity for practicing science skills. The final step requires students
to think about, discuss, and modify the ways they identified and solved
the problem. To help teachers create an environment in which students
make connections between learning science skills in school and applying
them in daily life, DiscoveryWorks emphasizes the following key
teaching strategies.

Motivate! Look for current events that excite children and adults. An
extensive survey I completed over the last seven years suggests that the
following events are winners: discrepant events or science "magic" such
as the wind picking up Nicole's coat, danger and disasters, science fiction,
world records, and sensational demonstrations such as chemical changes.

Model Scientific Curiosity Bring in newspaper or TV news articles to

stimulate discussion. Share them with your students, and tell them what
you find exciting or interesting. Ask questions aloud and encourage your
students to ask their own.

Reinforce Scientific Thinking Make a "Question Collection" and

periodically choose a question to initiate a science exploration or activity.
Publish a student Science Quest Newsletter with answers researched by
the class.

Assess Science Skills There's an old educator's saying that says "if you
don't assess it, you won't get it." Help them understand what the different
kinds of science skills are and the important role they will play in their
future.

If we accomplish these goals we will be well on the way to meeting the

challenge articulated in the opening paragraph of Benchmarks for
Science Literacy. The terms and circumstance of human existence can be
expected to change radically during the next human life span.

SCIENTIFIC REASONING SKILLS

SKILL DESCRIPTION
Longing to Know and The desire to probe, find information, and seek
Understand explanation
The tendency to hold open for further
Questioning of
verification presented assumptions, encounters,
Scientific Assumptions
and ideas
Search for Data and Its The propensity to collect information and to
Meaning analyze it in context
Demand for The inclination to repeat and replicate findings
Verification and studies
The inclination to move from assumption to
Respect for Logic
testing and data collection to conclusions
Consideration of The tendency to put into context the reason for
Premises a particular point of view
Consideration of The tendency to put into perspective the results
Consequences of a particular point of view
The inclination to understand and learn from
Respect for Historical
earlier ideas, studies, and events

Catherine Valentino, Author-in-Residence for Houghton Mifflin

Company, is a DiscoveryWorks author.

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