Expert: James J. Kovalcin - 12/9/2002

Question
Dear Dr. Kovalcin,

I am a student at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, WA. I am studying elementary education and special education. I just completed a science education course and I am inquiring as to whether or not you have advice for elementary school teachers interested in instructing their students in science. What are the most important topics to consider? What stratagies do you suggest using at the elementary level that will spark an interest in science for future study? Thank you for your time and expertise, I look forward to hearing from you soon!

Sincerely,

Bethany Brue

Answer
I think that the biggest problem you are going to face is the VERY unfortunate trend toward state testing. These tests strongly are inclined to only testing those ideas that are easy to test and as a result fragment the ideas of science into many little, unrelated facts rather than observing the bigger picture. Whatever you do, make sure that the ideas you present are cohesive and that you make sure that the students see how the ideas are related to one another. In other words make sure that you focus on an idea rather than on a fact. Teach them investigative methods. How to observe, compare, analyze, and most importantly, discover. Avoid memorization wherever possible! If you have any other specific questions you can e-mail me at JimTHX@comcast.net