Class 1 Reading 1 - Story of Science

Using Experiences, Patterns, and Explanations to make School Science more like Scientists’ Science.
Kristin L. Gunckel

By teaching in a hand on museum, I had hoped to come into teaching this year with an inquiry based - explore, discover, experience - attitude. However, much to my dismay, the art of teaching science in schools is not what most would call exciting. "Traditional school science focuses on providing students with many facts, diagrams, definitions, and isolated skills." (pg4) This is not only boring for the students, and detrimental to their learning, but boring for the teachers themselves. Its hard to hold students accountable to learning material that teachers aren't even excited about teaching. A typical science classroom focuses on the explanations of science, without allowing students to observe the patterns and behaviors of science that lead up to the explanations. "By concentrating on explanations, students only learn the story of science." Students need more than just the story of science, they need to explore - discover - experience science for themselves in order to fully understand the story of science. This beings excitement into the classroom, not only for students but for the teachers as well.