Running Head: Why Science?

Why Science?

Marnie Merchant

EDUC 4260

September 26th, 2016

Science has played a huge role in my life, just as it has for everyone
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else, as science is a dominant feature in our society. What inspires me most

about science is the idea that something is always being discovered out in

the world, where that discovery always leads to new information. Whether

the scientific work be successful or not, the knowledge obtained can always

lead to something more. The awe and wonder that the world has created, is

what keeps individuals striving to better their knowledge in the many

different areas of science. The impact science has had (and is having) on our

lives is quite immense, in the sense that most people dont even realize the

large array of what science truly is. I believe science cannot be defined as a

single statement, but instead a multitude of concepts that ultimately

connects knowledge, process and how people go about these ideas as a

whole. As stated in the Ontario curriculum documents, the primary goal of

science is to understand the nature and human-designed worlds. 1 There is so

much to question about how and why things are the way they are, and that

is something I will encourage my future students to do. Questioning things is

a great way to initiate conversation and discussion, as it can lead to new

findings for some people and can also lead to further questioning of others

that may spark interest into a new idea. Questioning can also hopefully lead

to connections between scientific concepts.

My first real memory and understanding of science dates back to 2007,

when I was first introduced to my grade 7 teacher, Mr. Scimeca. He showed

us that there is so much more to science than what I had initially saw it out

to be. It was because of him that I became so intrigued and inspired by what
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I was hearing and witnessing in class, as well as what I began to observe on

a day to day basis of the world around me. I think it is important as a future

teacher to want to have this effect on your students. Not everyone is going

to have the same love for science as you do, but exposing the students to

the wonders it entails, will certainly give an opportunity for some too. One of

the key approaches of teaching I recall Mr. Scimeca doing, was relating

science back to our lives in ways we would better understand, which is the

number one objective from the Ontario curriculum. I felt this road to teaching

really helped us students to connect the information in all the ways that it

could relate back too. Since the understanding of science can be challenging

to some people, having someone who is enthusiastic about the topic to help

unmask the concept of different topics in science, is what is going to keep

the love for science going strong in the schools.

Looking through the curriculum documents, the following statement

really enticed me. Achieving a high level of scientific literacy is not the same

as becoming a scientist.1 The reason I find this remark so interesting is

because when I was growing up, I just assumed that if you liked science and

were good at it, you were considered to be a scientist. Obviously I soon

realized that a love for science and technology, was not quite the same as

being a scientist like Albert Einstein. Being a scientifically literate person

involves reading and understanding reports, critically evaluating them, and

engaging in discussions and decision making in respect to problems relating

to science and technology.1 Having the knowledge to do the above list, is

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something I ensure to give my students the opportunity to do, and learn

from.

Throughout various conversations in our class thus far, something that

continues to come back to me are the three goals of the science program

based on the curriculum documents. I agree with the change that was made

eight years ago about having the point relating science to technology, and

society, and the environment to be made as number one, as all of these are

connected to each other in one way or another. Having said, I agree with the

idea that context, content, and inquiry should all be linked in a circle. This is

important because of the relation science has with everything in our world.

Everywhere you look there is some type of science going on. So like our

world being connected in many ways, so is science.

Finally, as a future science teacher, I feel that it is so important to

model to the students why science can be so interesting. If you dont believe

it or portray your lessons that way, then the students will not have any

interest either. Through my many years of science classes with many

different teachers and professors, I have been exposed to a variety of

teaching methods. I have come to realize that not all methods work for

everyone all the time. As a teacher I think it is important to be aware of this,

and if possible be able to adapt to the best they can in order to create the

best environment for everyone in the class to learn from. I believe allowing

students to have hands on opportunities in science and experiencing it first

hand, is one of the best learning strategies out there. Some examples of
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being hands on are; creating circuits with real materials and batteries to

learn about electricity, or developing a scientific method and testing that

method out (Which ball will bounce the highest if dropped from the same

height?). Allowing your students to explore, experiment, question and

discuss amongst each other can often result in a love for science, great

marks, and a better understanding. As well as making connections between

the science you are learning and real life experiences or examples, it is also

a great way to keep the students interested and involved in their learning.

References

1. The Ontario curriculum grades 9 and 10: Science, 2008. (2008).

Ministry of Education.