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Connecting Prior Experiences: The Key to Enjoying Science Learning
By. L. Marie Wise
Educators, state-wide, nationally and internationally are touting the benefits of hands-on science learning. In schools around the globe, students and their teachers are finding out that science is not really boring or scary at all. In fact they are finding out that science can be fun. By participating in carefully planned activities, students and teachers are also finding out that they already know more about science than they thought they did. They no longer have to feel intimidated by textbooks, test tubes and scientific "stuff".
By taking advantage of touching, seeing, hearing, wondering and doing activities that relate to the everyday life, all of us are cementing a relationship with the scientific world in which we live. In other words, science becomes concrete when we relate it to daily life experiences.
We all started learning about science as little children, before we went to school and before we knew there was this thing called science. I for instance, marveled at oil rainbows that I discovered in puddles and raindrops that beaded up on the hood of the family car. Later, I was shocked to find out what happened when I put bobby pins in a wall outlet. And, did you ever play croquet in you grandmother's backyard? It is so cool to knock your brother's ball out of the court by whacking your own ball with the mallet as it lies nestled against his. But I digress. There are hundreds of experiences all of us have had that relate to science. We just did not realize it at the time they happened.
In school we can use our experiences and those of our students by turning them into scientific principals. Those oils rainbows I mentioned earlier have something to do with density and refracted light, raindrops bead up on the family car because of surface tension, bobby pins stuck in an electrical wall socket, though not advisable, have something to do with conduction and whacking that croquet ball is a great example of energy transference.
Once a scientific connection has been made to previous life experiences, connections can be made to current and future scientific study. For example, in Indiana , Primary students go on a rock collecting trip and bring in rocks from home. They begin to keep a record of their written and drawn ob-servations in logs and on classroom charts. using tools such as magnifiers and meter tapes, the students explore the size, shape, and texture of the rocks. ( Indiana Science Proficiency Guide)
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| Connecting Prior Experiences: The Key to Enjoying Science Learning |
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(I loved cracking open rocks to see what was inside when I was a kid.) In a Chilean high school students learn how to keep their homes warm in the winter and cooler in the summer by using insulation. They are able to test different types of insulating substances in miniature homes they build and insulate themselves determining which substance works best. It is knowledge these students can use at home (Rioseco).
[Our nation along with the state of Indiana have come to the realization that] people in general and students and teachers in particular will come to understand and have confidence in their knowledge of science and technology only when they actively experience these disciplines as they exist in reality.(Fort). So, in order that we might "experience the richness and excitement of knowing about and understanding the natural world" (National Science Education Standards), they have come up with standards and guidelines for teachers to use.
The National Science Education Standards and the Indiana Science Proficiency Guide along with other state proficiency guides have a common goal. That goal is to create a scientifically literate people who will be able to make intelligent decisions based on scientific principle and increase their economic productivity through the use of scientific knowledge and understanding. These organizations propose achieving this goal through the use of hands-on, inquiry-based science curriculum that includes natural phenomena and science-related social issues that students encounter in everyday life (National Science Education Standards) while allowing students to practice doing, thinking, and constructing science (Indiana Science Proficiency Guide).
When students get out of their textbooks and go outside to use their senses to observe the science of nature they become more aware of the world around them (Hanson). When they see and feel footstep vibrations in a pan of water they ask why. When they push a ping-pong ball down into a glass of water they want to know how much farther they can make it jump out. And when they have an enjoyable time applying scientific principles they will use those principles again and again in new situations.
Because students will be able to apply scientific principles to situations outside of the classroom, they will become more productive adults. They may even choose scientific careers for themselves all because they found out that science could be fun. They might even do a little experimenting on their own outside of class. However, I would not recommend asking your little brother to put his finger in a light socket to see what happens. My little brother did not like it. He did not think it was fun. He did not become a rocket scientist. But, it made me wonder.
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