TEACHING STANDARD A:
Teachers
of science plan an inquiry-based science program for their students. In
doing this, teachers
Develop a framework of yearlong and short-term goals for students.
Select science content and adapt and design curricula to meet the interests,
knowledge, understanding,
abilities, and experiences of students.
Select teaching and assessment strategies that support the development
of student understanding and
nurture a community of science learners.
TEACHING STANDARD B:
Teachers
of science guide and facilitate learning. In doing this, teachers
Focus and support inquiries while interacting with students.
Orchestrate discourse among students about scientific ideas.
Challenge students to accept and share responsibility for their own learning.
Encourage and model the skills of scientific inquiry, as well as the curiosity,
openness to new ideas and
data, and skepticism that characterize science.
TEACHING STANDARD D:
Teachers
of science design and manage learning environments that provide students
with the time, space,
and resources
needed for learning science. In doing this, teachers
Structure the time available so that students are able to engage in extended investigations.
Create a setting for student work that is flexible and supportive of science inquiry.
Ensure a safe working environment.
Make the available science tools, materials, media, and technological resources accessible to students.
Identify and use resources outside
the school.
Engage students in designing the learning environment.
TEACHING STANDARD E:
Teachers
of science develop communities of science learners that reflect the intellectual
rigor of scientific
inquiry
and the attitudes and social values conducive to science learning. In doing
this, teachers
Display and demand respect for the diverse ideas, skills, and experiences of all students.
Enable students to have a significant voice in decisions about the content
and context of their work and
require students to take responsibility for the learning of all members
of the community.
Nurture collaboration among students.
Structure and facilitate ongoing formal and informal discussion based on
a shared understanding of
rules of scientific discourse.
Model and emphasize the skills, attitudes, and values of scientific inquiry.
CONTENT STANDARD A: As a result of activities in grades 9-12, all students should develop
Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
Understandings about scientific inquiry
CONTENT STANDARD C: As a result
of their activities in grades 9-12, all students should develop
understanding
of
Behavior of organisms
For students
to develop the abilities that characterize science as inquiry, they must
actively participate in scientific
investigations,
and they must actually use the cognitive and manipulative skills associated
with the formulation of scientific
explanations.
This standard describes the fundamental abilities and understandings of
inquiry, as well as a larger
framework
for conducting scientific investigations of natural phenomena.
critical
component of successful scientific inquiry in grades 9-12 includes having
students reflect on the concepts that
guide
the inquiry. Also important is the prior establishment of an adequate knowledge
base to support the investigation
and help
develop scientific explanations. The concepts of the world that students
bring to school will shape the way they
engage
in science investigations, and serve as filters for their explanations
of scientific phenomena. Left unexamined, the
limited
nature of students' beliefs will interfere with their ability to develop
a deep understanding of science. Thus, in a full
inquiry,
instructional strategies such as small-group discussions, labeled drawings,
writings, and concept mapping should
be used
by the teacher of science to gain information about students' current explanations.
Those student explanations
then become
a baseline for instruction as teachers help students construct explanations
aligned with scientific knowledge;
teachers
also help students evaluate their own explanations and those made by scientists.
Students
also need to learn how to analyze evidence and data. The evidence they
analyze may be from their
investigations,
other students' investigations, or databases. Data manipulation and analysis
strategies need to be modeled
by teachers
of science and practiced by students. Determining the range of the data,
the mean and mode values of the
data,
plotting the data, developing mathematical functions from the data, and
looking for anomalous data are all examples
of analyses
students can perform. Teachers of science can ask questions, such as "What
explanation did you expect to
develop
from the data?" "Were there any surprises in the data?" "How confident
do you feel about the accuracy of the
data?"
Students should answer questions such as these during full and partial
inquiries.