Comments on: More on Science Education

By: topstep

topstep — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 11:30:32 +0000

My love of science only really kicked in once I had left school, and I started to learn about the cool real-world applications of the scientific method. Most of what I was doing in the school lab or the classroom felt bizarre and confusing to me.

By: bindle

bindle — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 02:22:32 +0000

As I read it, the fellow was against use of utilise, thus allowing the usage of utilize to be continued when utilitarianism required it.

By: tmac57

tmac57 — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 00:01:01 +0000

BillyJoe7,
Sorry that I stepped on your grammar’s toe. I will vow to not utilize utilize anymore;). I do have an excuse though. I was kicked out of high school senior English for talking too much in class, and I never quite recovered (true story). That, and the fact that I have an 87 I.Q.
By the way, if you are setting out down the road toward being an internet blog pedant, you might want to allocate a few more hours in your busy day to the task.
Well, I guess that I have utilized too much of your time, so cheers!

By: melee

melee — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 00:06:43 +0000

I could have sworn that I saw the words “Science Education” in the title somewhere ; ) Anyway- Many school districts in my area consider science an elective until their kids come to my school in 7th grade. The kids do a token experiment once a month, and that’s about all. Including science readings (as well as readings from other areas being cut) might help. Just saying.

Right now in many states schools are cutting programs to spend more time on LA and Math, due to low test scores in these areas. The kids DO need to improve in these areas, but perhaps in an interdisciplinary curriculum we could do much more than we do in traditional LA and Math programs.

By: lurchwurm

lurchwurm — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 03:44:16 +0000

“All teachers teach reading and writing, no matter what their official “content area”- Lets enlist the LA and Math programs to support the Sciences!”

At what point are we doing overkill? When can we finally admit that everything in the human experience shouldn’t be strictly for science? Give the mind a break! It’s possible to value science ANDDDDDD other things

By: melee

melee — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 00:43:24 +0000

Ok- real world- how many kids see their parents reading fiction for enjoyment? Most parents don’t have the time. So,
I read nonfictional science passages (everything from Darwin to Dawkins to Sagan to Plait) out loud to my 8th grade science classes as often as I can. Each year, several kids borrow my books.

Language Arts and Math for the sake of LA and Math doesn’t motivate many of my students. When I give them a story about a discovery that really happened, or give them real data and have them analyze it, many are enthralled. They read about how science really works, and see how real people use LA and Math. Their reading, writing, and math skills improve, and they learn science while they’re at it.

I think offering science as a motivator in Math and as an option in LA would be a win-win situation.

All teachers teach reading and writing, no matter what their official “content area”- Lets enlist the LA and Math programs to support the Sciences!

By: SteveA

SteveA — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 11:37:05 +0000

A good tip for reading scientific papers – look through and you’ll almost always find one chart that encapsulates the key data revealed by the study. Take a good look at that before you do anything else.

This was passed on to me by one of my university lecturers. It’s proved very useful and is handy way of quickly evaluating a paper for relevance, especially if you have a lot to plough through.

By: BillyJoe7

BillyJoe7 — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 09:48:31 +0000

tmac,

You have just used one of my pet hate words.
One of the most overused and useless words in the dictionary
Use utilise only when you can’t use use.
Which is almost never.

(Of course, that is only my opinion)

By: tmac57

tmac57 — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 04:36:18 +0000

It is what we are exposed to, that sets us off on a path to who knows where? If you assume that children at an early age will not understand or like reading about science, then you may have made that choice for them.
Children can read, understand and utilize basic science that is presented in an accessible and appropriate manner.This will gradually help build their foundation for later, more complex ideas.

By: zoe237

zoe237 — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 03:43:13 +0000

Oh, and when you have grade school teachers who hate science or math or informational reading, is it any wonder kids find it boring? They take their cues from the adults in their lives and a teacher excited about statistics or recyling or anatomy can make all thd difference. I had one colleague (educator) who posted on her facebook under the reading category: “I don’t like reading.” Why the hell are you teaching then? lol. This is far more common than people realize.