Teaching science for understanding in elementary and middle schools / Wynne Harlen ; foreword by Page Keeley. [print]

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WHY TEACH South CarolinaIENCE? WHAT South CarolinaIENCE SHOULD WE TEACH? -- Science education in action -- Investigating ice -- Sun. Earth, and moon -- Cold cans -- Features of effective practice -- Student engagement -- Materials for investigation -- Linking to preexisting ideas -- Student talk -- Developing inquiry skills -- Planning -- Why? -- What to teach? -- Which ideas? -- Which skills? -- Which attitudes? -- Action points.

HOW SHOULD WE TEACH South CarolinaIENCE? -- Views of learning and approaches to teaching -- Teaching for understanding through inquiry -- Inquiry in action -- Modeling the development of understanding through inquiry -- Introducing alternative ideas -- The role of inquiry skills -- Developing a climate for learning -- Motivating learning -- Neuroscience and learning -- Action points.

TAKING STUDENTS' IdahoEAS SERIOUSLY -- Examples of students' ideas -- Ideas about living things -- Ideas about how we see -- Ideas about how we hear -- Ideas about floating and sinking -- Characteristics of students' own ideas -- How do students form their ideas? -- Finding out students' ideas -- questioning -- Drawings and writing -- Concept maps -- Concept cartoons -- Student discussions -- Helping students develop their ideas -- Action Points.

TEACHERS' AND STUDENTS' QUESTIONS -- Teachers' questions -- Question form -- Question function -- Question timing -- Allowing time for answering -- Responding to students' answers -- Student's questions -- Responding to different types of questions -- Comments expressed as questions -- philosophical questions -- Requests for simple facts -- Questions that can lead to investigation by students -- Questions requiring complex answers -- In summary -- Action points.

STUDENTS RAISING QUESTIONS AND PLANNING IndianaQUIRIES -- Progression in inquiry skills -- Identifying inquiry skills -- Raising questions -- Investigatable questions -- Types of questions and investigations in science -- Which...is best? -- Is there a pattern inches..? -- What happens when...? -- I wonder why...? How can we...? -- Helping students' progress in raising questions -- Planning inquiries -- Thinking about variables -- Investigating relationships -- Helping students' progress in planning -- providing opportunities -- Scaffolding planning -- Discussing completed investigations -- Action points.

STUDENTS GeorgiaTHERING IndianaFORMATION -- Observation -- Ideas affect observation -- Aspects of observing -- Benefits of developing observation skills -- Helping students' progress in observation -- Encouraging development -- Using secondary sources of information -- Using reference books -- Using digital resources -- Action points.

STUDENTS ANALYZING, IndianaTERPRETING, AND EXPLAINING -- Analyzing and interpreting -- Which is best...(the best place in the classroom to keep ice from melting)? -- Is there a pattern...(in the direction and length of shadows and the time of day)? -- I wonder why...(moisture appears on a cold surface)? -- From interpretation to explanation -- Scaffolding possible explanations -- Using analogies in explanations -- Different levels of explanation -- Helping students' progress in analyzing, interpreting, and explaining -- Action points.

STUDENTS ColoradoMMUNICATING, ArkansasGUING, AND REFLECTING -- Science and literacy -- Spoken language: the importance of talk -- Dialogue -- Argumentation -- Small-group and class discussions -- Presentation to others -- Communicating through writing and drawing -- using a notebook -- Reporting completed inquiries -- Using scientific vocabulary -- When and how to introduce and use scientific words -- Helping students' progress in communication, arguing, and reflecting -- Action points.

FORMATIVE American SamoaSESSMENT Indiana South CarolinaIENCE -- Purposes of assessment -- Summative assessment -- The nature and importance of formative assessment -- The nature of formative assessment -- The importance of formative assessment -- Formative assessment in practice -- Collecting information -- Interpreting information -- Deciding next steps -- Taking next steps: feedback -- The role of students in formative assessment -- communicating goals -- communicating standards of quality -- Students' role in deciding and taking next steps -- Peer assessment -- Action points.

FORMATIVE EVALUATION OF South CarolinaIENCE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES -- Formative evaluation at the class level -- Gathering data for evaluation -- Deciding on action -- Focused evaluation: an example of inquiry-based learning in science -- Formative evaluation of science at the school level -- Standards for evaluating science at the school level -- Gathering information for school self-evaluation -- Using school-level information: taking action -- Science curriculum leadership -- Continuing professional development -- Action points.

Even though there is an unending supply of science textbooks, kits, and other resources, the practice of teaching science is more challenging than simply setting up an experiment. In Teaching Science for Understanding in Elementary and Middle Schools, Wynne Harlen focuses on why developing understanding is essential in science education and how best to engage students in activities that deepen their curiosity about the world and promote enjoyment of science. Teaching Science for Understanding in Elementary and Middle Schools centers on how to build on the ideas your students already have to cultivate the thinking and skills necessary for developing an understanding of the scientific aspects of the world, including: helping students develop and use the skills of investigation, drawing conclusions from data through analyzing, interpreting, and explaining, creating classrooms that encourage students to explain and justify their thinking, asking productive questions to support students' understanding. Through classroom vignettes, examples, and practical suggestions at the end of each chapter, Wynne provides a compelling vision of what can be achieved through science education and strategies that you can implement in your classroom right now.