Science
teaching must be consistent with the spirit and character of scientific
inquiry and with scientific values. This means starting with observations
and questions about phenomena rather than answers to be memorized; engaging
students actively in hypothesizing, designing and carrying out investigations,
collecting and using data; providing hands-on experience with tools; valuing
curiosity and creativity; and frequently using a team approach to learning.
Science education can take place at any time and place when curiosity gives rise to a question and an answer is sought through investigation. Students notice many things on a daily basis that can become the objects of scientific investigation. Answering questions like "What is that?" "How come?" "How can we? ""Why did that?" "Is that like? "involves students in developing and using inquiry skills and habits of mind, as well as a knowledge base. This type of learning situation is ideal for "standards-based" science instruction. First and foremost, science education must be enjoyable. Second, it must be made available to all students and taught in such a way that all students develop confidence in doing science and technology.
The classroom is the usual place where the student, his or her classmates, the teacher, and the science curriculum meet. To achieve the vision of scientifically literate Pacific children, we must create an environment that is safe, nurturing, and student-centered, and where all students are actively involved in the learning process.
Teachers must act as facilitators of learning in student-centered classrooms. Like the director of a play, teachers set the stage, but the students are the active participants in the learning process. As facilitators, teachers should provide students with opportunities to "do" and "reflect on doing" by choosing materials and activities that are likely to develop conceptual understanding while seeking answers to problems originating from the students, their environment and the technology that surrounds them. Science-based process activities keep students involved in hands-on, minds-on experiences which lead them to understand the ideas and ways of science during the learning process.
Emphasis should be placed on doing good science. Students often feel pressured to come up with the "right" answer when doing science, so much so that they sometimes create the data they think they should be getting rather than rely on and trust their own observations. Teachers should encourage students to report the data they get, emphasize that there are no "right" answers, and point out that students' results may reveal problems with the experiment, apparatus, or conclusion. Even if data were incorrect, repeated trials and observations made by others will uncover this. When discrepancies arise, the teacher should keep an open mind and plan with students how ideas can be tested systematically and thoroughly. Such an approach emphasizes the characteristics of science (honesty, curiosity, openness, and skepticism) and that a most important part of science is that it must be communicated to be of use.
Using a variety of approaches to teaching and learning science addresses different learning styles and interests and provides all students with the opportunity to gain and express knowledge through a number of meaningful ways. Using effective questioning techniques to connect current experience to past experiences, to appropriate science concepts, and to future activities reinforces conceptual understanding rather than rote learning. The development of problem-solving skills by encouraging the application of knowledge to new and "extending" situations, as well as the development of appropriate language and mathematical skills all enhance the learners' ability to function as an independent, life-long, learner.
We want students to enjoy science and even to consider choosing a career in a science or technology field. In this regard, science teachers should be excited about teaching science and strive to point out opportunities for careers in science. There is a place for everyone. Science careers are delightfully varied, from engineer or chemist to wildlife manager, agricultural agent, marine fisheries researcher, forester, nature guide, laboratory technician, health worker, tobest of allscience teacher.
Throughout the school science experience the connections within science, between science and other content areas, and between science and society should be highlighted. The message that science teachers can bring to students is that science is a body of knowledge and a way of thinking and "doing" that is concerned with all of nature and technology. The responsibility of science teachers and the function of the science curriculum are to prepare students for the decisions they will have to make as adultsdecisions about their lives, their careers, and their environment; decisions that are becoming increasingly dependent on a clear understanding of science and technology.