Running head SCIENCE 1

Science Instruction
By
Megan Fondell
Master’s Portfolio ED 698
Dr. Katherine Spangler, Ph. D
July 14, 2017

Abstract
Science instruction is critical in today’s changing world. What is taught to students today is

going to influence the decisions they make as tomorrow’s leaders. This paper will outline my

specific science teaching philosophy as well as the main areas of study in science education. I

will also look at specific applications of science education in the classroom and the importance

of an inquiry-based approach to science education. Science is a fascinating and applicable

subject with so many real-world examples and experiences. Teaching and learning science

should be a fun and engaging process for both the students and the educator.
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Science Instruction
Goal 4: A teacher knows the teacher’s content area and how to teach it.
Science
Candidates know, understand and use fundamental concepts of physical, life, and Earth/space

sciences. Candidates can design and implement age-appropriate lessons to teach science, build

student understanding for personal and social applications and convey the nature of science.
My Science Philosophy
Teaching science starts with showing students how to be curious about the world around

them. Science is all about asking questions and discovering answers. When teachers instill this

scientific curiosity in their students, they have been successful at teaching science (Reinsvold &

Cochran, 2012).
Science happens all around us and we experience it every day if we are aware of it. As a

teacher, I create these scientific experiences for students to open the door for them to explore the

possibilities of science on their own. Every student will bring his or her own perspective and

approach to this exploration, and that is the beauty of cooperative learning.

There are many possibilities to integrate science with other disciplines. Math fits

perfectly with many concepts in science, but also technology, engineering, art, social studies,

history, and even literature can all be explored through science. When we stop teaching each of

these as separate subjects with their own time in the school day, but as an integrated learning

experience, then students are able to see the real-life application of their education as well as the

value in every subject (Schuster & Jovic, 2007).

Scientific thinking is not something that can necessarily be taught as much as it must be

experienced and demonstrated. Students must gain their own curiosity through interactive and

engaging lessons. A good science teacher should be creating more questions then they are
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presenting facts. When students are able to take these questions and discover the facts on their

own, they become scientists.

Learning Through Experience
Children should be able to learn science through hands-on experiences in and outside of

the classroom. Students should be able to explore and discover ways to explain why things

happen (Haines, 2016). Our setting here in Southeast Alaska provides the perfect opportunity to

get students outside of the classroom and into nature to ask questions and uncover the answers.

The teacher acts as a facilitator for these experiences, bringing artifacts and experiments into the

classroom and taking the students out to engage in a search of knowledge. Teaching science

does not mean that you need to be an expert in the field of science but only that you think of

creative ways to explore new knowledge together with your students. What better way to learn

than through the shared experience of discovery?

Scientific Areas of Study
Teaching science requires a baseline of understanding and knowledge in the basic areas

of scientific study: physical science, life science, and Earth and space science. Each of these

areas also incorporates different “Big Ideas” surrounding scientific inquiry. Teaching in and

around these concepts is essential for students to have a complete understanding of the field of

science as a whole. As an outline for science education, the Next Generation Science Standards

(NGSS) have incorporated each of these areas of study into the standards and concepts that

should be taught in schools today. Using these guides as a baseline for teaching, I am able to

ensure that my science teaching responds to student interests, strengths, and needs as well as

focuses on students understanding and the inquiry process to guide students in active and

extended learning opportunities (Huff & Yager, 2016).

Physical Science
Physical science incorporates the baseline for explaining matter in our world and how

objects interact with each other. The big ideas in this discipline include the properties of matter,
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motion, forces, and energy. These are all concepts that children are able to explore at a very

early age and lend themselves very well to early childhood settings. Building blocks, water

tables, and other standards classroom materials all incorporate the concepts of physical science

and allow young students to explore and interact with these properties on their own. As children

play and build a block tower, they are learning how different materials influence their building

structure. Students who play at a water table are learning how the water responds as they splash

and squirt. All of these interactions help young children interact and discovery properties of

physical science (Hoisington & Winokur, 2016).

As students grow and learn, they are able to explore more of the core ideas behind

physical science education. These core concepts allow students to answer questions such as

“How can we make new materials?” “Why do some things appear to keep going, but others

stop?” and “How can information be shipped around wirelessly?” (Krajcik, 2013). These

concepts are broken into the big ideas of physical science by the NGSS. Each of these big ideas

can be explored through hands-on teaching and exploration in the science classroom. The

concepts and big ideas for each area of science education, although listed as separate standards,

should be understood as interacting concepts across all areas of science study. Big ideas and

concepts that are learned in physical science greatly affect students’ understanding of concepts

that are taught in life, and Earth and space sciences. Therefore, the idea of integration and a

holistic approach to science education is that much more important.

Big Idea 1: Matter and Its Interactions
This first big idea helps students to understand more about the structure, properties and

interactions of matter. While studying this big idea, students learn to explain phenomena such as

how a puddle of water evaporates, wood burns, metal tarnishes, and how so many diverse and

new products can be formed from such a small set of elements. Explaining how and why these
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changes occur is a critical step to understanding further concepts in physical science as well as

the other areas of scientific study (Krajcik, 2013).

Big Idea 2: Motion and Stability
This concept to physical science focuses on helping students understand the theories

surrounding why some objects will keep moving, why objects fall to the ground, and why some

materials are attracted to each other while others are not. This idea looks at the interactions of

gravity, electromagnetism, and strong and weak nuclear interactions (Krajcik, 2013). These

everyday interactions and forces that we experience in our world can be explored and

investigated through many different forms of experiments and demonstrations.

Big Idea 3: Energy
The concept of energy seems to be simple enough, but can actually be a hard idea for

children to accurately define. This big idea explores the concept of how energy is transferred

and conserved among objects. Students may explore a question such as, “How is it that power

plants can provide energy to run household appliances?” Exploring this question requires an

understanding of energy transfer. Energy transfer is also critical to many life and Earth science

topics, such as photosynthesis, respiration, plate tectonics, and combustion (Krajcik, 2013).

Once again, this emphasizes the integration of all science concepts and how they critically

interact with one another.

Big Idea 4: Waves and Their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer
This final big idea for the physical sciences is critical to understanding how technology

works to ship and store information. In a growing world of technology, this concept allows

students to understand how forms of light and sound are used to transfer energy and information

between objects not in contact with each other. This concept is a critical piece to modern

communication, information, and imaging technology, which are so prevalent in our lives today.

Understanding how these technologies work requires students to have an understanding of light

and sound waves and how they interact with matter (Krajcik, 2013).
Life Science
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Considering the vast diversity of life on Earth, approaching the life sciences can, at first

glance, be quite a daunting task for adults and children alike. All of the various properties of

living things and their interactions with their environments can be an extremely engaging and

fascinating area of study for students as well. Because there is such diversity, the wide variety of

subject matter lends itself to endless possibilities of exploration and learning for anyone involved

(Gomez-Zwiep & Polcyn, 2015). The following will discuss the big ideas behind the study of

life science according to the framework put in place by NGSS.

Big Idea 1: From Molecules to Organisms
This first big idea studies the characteristics and structures of organisms. The base

principle underlying all concepts within this understanding is that cells are the basic unit of life.

Beginning with this understanding of cells as the baseline for units of life, students can look at

their structure and function within the systems and subsystems of an organism. This idea also

incorporates the concepts of the growth and development of organisms, as well as the

organization for matter and energy flow in organisms (Bybee, 2013).

Big Idea 2: Ecosystems
The concepts covered in this big idea include organisms’ interactions with each other and

their physical environment. Students should be able to develop explanations for how organisms

obtain resources, how they change their environment, how changing environmental factors affect

organisms ecosystems, how social interactions and group behavior play out within and between

species, and how these factors all combine to determine ecosystem functioning (Bybee, 2013).

This concept is another example of how life science is incorporated within other areas of science

education, specifically that of Earth science. Human impacts on our environment are greatly

studied in the Earth and space sciences, and also have great impact on the study of life science

when it comes to looking at different organisms and their interactions with the environment

(Wysession, 2013).
Big Idea 3: Heredity
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The focus of this big idea is on the flow of genetic information between generations.

This concept looks at the inheritance of traits, including the processes by which characteristics of

a species are passed from one generation to the next. Students also learn to identify variation of

traits and how genetic and environmental factors produce these variations within a species. This

concept is an essential foundation for an understanding of biological evolution (Bybee, 2013).

Big Idea 4: Biological Evolution
This big idea looks at “changes in the traits of populations of organisms over time” to be

able to explain species’ unity and diversity. Looking at fossil records and genetic relationships

among species, this core idea finds evidence of common ancestry and diversity. It also allows

students to discover the concept of natural selection and how changing environments produce

organisms with variations of some traits in order to be more likely to survive and reproduce.

Natural selection includes the concept of adaptations among species (Bybee, 2013).
Earth and Space Science
Earth and space science plays a very important role in understanding science in today’s

growing and changing environment. Many of the problems facing the world today demand

solutions that require a firm understanding of the Earth sciences, making it a more critical area of

learning than every before. Students who are in the classroom today are going to be tomorrow’s

leaders, facing problems such as natural hazards, resource management, and global climate

change. Using the NGSS as a guide, students are able to learn the concepts surrounding Earth

and space science, in a interdisciplinary model, which will allow them to be more prepared to

face these challenges today and in the future (McGinnis, 2016). Here are the big ideas

surrounding the Earth and space sciences through the NGSS framework.
Big Idea 1: Earth’s Place in the Universe
The first big idea in the Earth and space science field of study is that of how Earth fits

into the picture of a larger universe as a whole. This explores the topics of the universe and its

stars, Earth and the solar system, as well as the history of planet Earth. These concepts are
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presented in different modes across grade levels, incorporating them into the study of the other

science areas as well throughout the K-12 education system. The elementary grades focus on

specific categories of Earth and space science as a progression throughout the grades, focusing

on different aspects as students grow and learn. A big idea under this concept that is specifically

covered during the elementary years is that of space systems and the study of planets, and stars,

and their place in the universe (Wysession, 2013).

Big Idea 2: Earth’s Systems
Once again, it is easy to see the integration of topics between science areas of study when

you look at the second big idea, Earth’s systems. This covers concepts that rely on

understandings from other areas, including the physical and life sciences. There are many topics

covered under the umbrella of this big idea throughout the school career of students, including

Earth’s materials and systems, plate tectonics and large-scale system interactions, the roles of

weather on Earth’s surface processes, weather and climate, and biogeology. Of these topics, the

concept of weather and climate is particularly emphasized during the elementary years

(Wysession, 2013).
Big Idea 3: Earth and Human Activity
This third concept is particularly important when we look at the impact of science

education on tomorrow’s leaders. The ideas covered under these topics allow students to

understand the relationships between Earth’s systems and human activity. Through this area of

study, students gain an understanding of the use of natural resources, natural hazards, human

impacts on Earth systems, and global climate change. During the elementary years, students

primary focus on a study of Earth’s different systems and how they interact with each other. This

provides a baseline understanding as the topics develop through their school years (Wysession,

2013).
The Scientific Process
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The scientific method is a common model utilized for the purpose of scientific inquiry.

As with most models, over time there have been criticisms and revisions made to the traditional

version to improve its versatility and application. The version presented by William Harwood

(2004) seems to apply particularly well to the classroom scientific inquiry process, allowing

students to explore and question within a framework of scientific study. Following are the steps

in the inquiry process, however the activities are not meant to necessarily be sequential.

Learners are meant to engage in activities as many times as needed, and move between activities

in whatever pattern is dictated by their needs. This concept differs from the traditional scientific

process, but the flexibility of the model is particularly what I enjoy about it. Students are

allowed to explore, revisit, and transition between steps as needed to meet their understanding.

The activities in the process are as follows:

Ask Questions
The first activity is central to the process, showing that asking a question is the critical

component to any form of scientific inquiry.

Define the Problem
This allows the learner to focus a general question into a specific area of exploration. It limits

the area that is being explored to a focused and specific issue.

Form the Question
This is where the learner forms a specific question that will then drive the research study. From

here on, all the activities will focus on answering this question.
Investigate the Known
In this activity, the scientist consults books and articles, experts in the field, and other resources

to gain insight on the existing material regarding the topic of inquiry.

Articulate an Expectation
The investigator needs to develop an expectation for the study. This could consist of a formal

hypothesis, but could also be a prediction or simple expression of the results.

Carry out the Study
This is the most involved area of the study. Here the scientist needs to investigate the question,

gather materials and collect data.

Examine the Results
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Once the data is obtained, it must be confirmed that the data is valid. If not, other activities

should be repeated to determine if the results can be trusted.

Reflect on the Findings
A significant amount of time should be spent on thinking what the results indicate. Questions

should be asked about how the results connect with what is known and unknown.
Communicate with others
Scientists work within the frame of a larger learning community, just as students work within the

community of the classroom and school. Good communication among peers and the larger

community is essential throughout the research process.

Make Observations
This activity should be utilized at several different times throughout the exploration process.

Observation can be the starting point for inquiry and can also be utilized when the investigation

is completed.
A Classroom Example
One example of an integrated science unit that I use in my classroom is in our study of

salmon and our local environment. This unit is especially unique because it allows for students

to have learning opportunities both in and out of the classroom. Allowing for diverse contexts of

student learning is a critical aspect to a healthy and engaging science curriculum. Some of the

best science learning and inquiry happens when students are out of the classroom and interacting

in real-world contexts and situations, where they are able to apply the knowledge and skills that

have been taught in the classroom (Kim & Dopico, 2016).

Through this unit, our class ventures out on several different field trips to see and study

the salmon in several environments. The learning outcomes for this integrated unit are that

students will understand the salmon life-cycle, be able to explain the importance of salmon to the

local ecosystem, and also develop an understanding of the significance of salmon to the local

Tlingit culture. These learning goals are achieved through in-class activities and lessons as well

as three separate field trips throughout the community.

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I like to begin this lesson by hearing what students already know about salmon in Sitka.

Because they are such a critical part of our lifestyle and culture, many students come into the

classroom with a good foundational knowledge about salmon and their importance in our

community. From here, I can guide students on several different explorations in the classroom to

study the salmon life cycle and their role in the ecosystems here in Southeast Alaska. We explore

these concepts through local literature and guided readings, videos, discussions, group activities,

and role-playing demonstrations.

After students have developed a base understanding for these concepts in the classroom,

we are able to take our first field trip for the unit to our local salmon hatchery. Here students are

able to see how the salmon are raised and harvested to support our local fishing economy. The

are able to learn through first-hand experiences like feeding fry, fertilizing eggs, tagging salmon,

and harvesting eggs. Students can ask questions and learn from experts in the field through this

unique experience.
The second field trip is to the local National Park, where pink salmon come in the river to

spawn every year. Students are able to move through stations looking at the life cycle of salmon

through different activities. They act out how salmon go from a tiny alevin to a spawning adult,

they are able to dissect a spawning salmon and examine the egg sac, as well as look at the macro

organisms the feed and sustain salmon through their early stages of life.
Finally, the third field trip is a visit to the local museum where students are able to learn

more and study how salmon play an integral role in the local Tlingit culture throughout history.

Students view a presentation about the history of salmon to the Tlingit and then examine artifacts

that demonstrate the many ways salmon were used, such as clothing, baskets, and fish wheels.

This brings the unit full-circle and incorporates many aspects of our social studies learning along

with our science areas of study.

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To complete the unit, students are able to produce a product that shows their new learning

on salmon as well as the importance of salmon to our local community. Incorporating student

choice in the format of this product allows students the freedom to engage and demonstrate their

learning freely. Some students choose to create posters, others write a story about salmon, some

write and act out plays, or even create a piece of art. Through all these formats, students are able

to take their new understanding of the life and role of salmon and create a finished product that

they can share with others.

Inquiry-Based Science Learning
One of the foundations to learning science is that of asking questions. However, too

often students are simply being asked, and in turn asking, surface-level questions. A real depth

in science education must have an understanding of how deep questioning can increase student

understanding and engagement with the material. This type of inquiry-based learning is an

active student-centered approach where students are able to construct their own understanding

through materials that make up their world (Walan & McEven, 2017).
I am guilty, as many teachers are, of simply asking surface-level questions to check for

student understanding. These basic, more comprehension-based questions do not require a

deeper level of processing information, but simply a recall of facts that were taught. This also

does not lead to a deep understanding of the material. In order to combat this, I need to force

myself to ask questions that require students to really think about and process what is being

taught (Kracl & Harshbarger, 2012). For example, during one of our science readings we were

exploring a book about coral reefs. Simple questions such as “How do coral reefs form?” or

“What types of animals live in a coral reef?” only really ask students to recall information from

the reading and respond with a specific answer. This may work for checking to see if students

are comprehending their reading, but if you really want them to understand and internalize the

science concepts, you must ask questions that make them dig deeper. Questions like “How does
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coral compare to other living things?” or “What animal would you most be like if you lived in a

coral reef?” Both of these questions require students to understand the material that is being

read, but also require a higher level of thinking to analyze or compare and contrast as well as

make connections, so they are taking the material a step further.

The goal of inquiry-based science education is not just to ask better questions of students,

but to develop students who ask better questions themselves. After being exposed to this specific

type of questioning strategy, students can being to ask their own questions and develop a

scientific way of looking at the world around them through asking good questions and

discovering answers (Kracl & Harshbarger, 2012).

Conclusion
Science education begins with creating students who are curious about the world around

them. Teaching children to ask the right questions and discovering different ways to find the

answer is the start to creating scientific thinkers in today’s world. The areas of science are

developing in an ever-changing landscape of the world today. With new standards like the

NGSS as a guide, and remembering that science education is a clearly integrated practice

between disciplines, teachers are able to help students think with a scientific mindset. Science is

happening all around us and at all times, the possibilities for education and teaching materials are

endless. My goal is to create students who will see the world through the scientific lens of

inquiry.
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