Everything begins at home. This also includes the passion for Science. When we allow our kids to grow in s science-friendly environment we are making them see and appreciate the value of Science.
Children benefit more if they are engaged and involved in their own learning process. This means that spoon feeding them with facts and knowledge won’t be as beneficial if they are trained to have a critical mind. Studies suggest that students become better problem solvers–and even raise their IQs–when they are taught principles of logic, hypothesis-testing, and other methods of reasoning. Studies also suggest that kids learn more when they are required to explain their own reasoning.
An approach called “self-led inquiry” can help our kids see Science more clearly. With this approach, students are free to direct their own research projects. They design and carry out their own studies. We make them like little scientist discovering and thinking on their own. It might be a good approach for a kid who already has a strong background in math and science.
Our children can benefit from depth, this means being immersed in the same topic and allowing them to have deeper understanding of this topic rather than to proceed to covering several topics with shallow understanding.
In a study conducted by Marc Schwartz and his colleagues found that students whose high school science courses had covered a minimum of one major topic thorough (i.e., for a month or longer) had better college grades than did peers who had learned about more topics during an equivalent stretch of your time. Students whose high school coursework covered all the main topics didn’t have better college grades.
Such findings only prove that lecture marathons are not effective in learning Science. A thorough covering of a topic requires the teacher to create and device several hands-on activities where students can experience Science with their very own senses.
By: Jordan Dela Cruz | Teacher III | Boton Elementary School
