Article Response 3

Adam & Bryanna

Things the group did in elementary school that was science related...
- Class pets
- Track hurricanes on maps
- Making putty/playdough
- Growing plants
- The MOST

When reading the article, consider ideas that elementary teachers can use to prepare students for my specific subject area to help them build their knowledge base (Spanish).

    In the class lead by Bryanna and Adam, each student was asked to recall science projects that they had experienced in elementary school. There was a range throughout the class from zero science experience in high school to much experience. However, the topic of interest was brought up that while students may have had some experience, and even remember the interesting, hook-laden experiments (such as putty making to show chemical reactions), it was infrequent that the students remember the POINT of the experiments. In the assigned article, "Young Children Can Be Sophisticated Scientists" by Kathleen Metz, the idea is explored that science education has been simplified more than necessary in regards to elementary students, who are actually capable of complex science. Despite the studies by Jean Piaget, the author suggests that in her own research she proves the plasticity of students' learning and that they are actually ready for science concepts previously believed to be over their heads. Metz gives the reader 5 science instruction principles which she developed and has actually used as the platform for her own science curriculum. The proposed pillars are as follows: 1. "Scaffold relatively rich knowledge, emphasizing big ideas that transcend the topic being studied." 2. "Engage children in purposeful scientific inquiry, with the goal of discovery and understanding." 3. "Teach science processes and methods in the context of “doing” real science." 4. "Manipulate both the size of the student groups working on scientific inquiry and the extent to which the curriculum presents the inquiry in “well-structured” form instead of asking students to undertake the design themselves." 5. "Build knowledge and responsibility to the point where pairs of students who are at the same level academically assume primary responsibility for their own investigations." In essence, the author calls for teachers who will apply scientific knowledge to extra-scientific subjects, facilitate student discovery through relevant experimentation, encourage learning through hands-on projects, structure the inquiry methods while carefully placing students in groups that may be beneficial to their inquiries, and eventually mature students to the point where they feel responsibility and pride towards their own scientific accomplishments.