Teaching Science in Elementary Grades such as biologists, chemists,

EDSCI1 environmentalists, astronomers, medical

practitioners, among others.
SCIENCE
 Science as a global human endeavor -
The word science is derived from the Latin word Science is a result of human imagination,
“scientia” meaning knowledge. Science is ingenuity, and creativity. Individuals and
commonly referred to as a systematic and organized teams from many nations and cultures have
body of knowledge in any area of inquiry that is contributed to science and to advances in
acquired using "the scientific method.” Science has technology.
many facets and definitions that can be summarized
into the following:  Science as a process - The scientific
 Science as a broad body of knowledge - method is a set of steps for verifying and
Physical sciences consist of disciplines such building scientific knowledge. When
as Physics (the science of physical objects), performing this process, one employs skills
Chemistry (the science of matter), and necessary to research a topic, develop a plan
Astronomy (the science of celestial objects). and timeline, and draw conclusions from
Earth sciences consist of disciplines such as research results.
Geology (the science of the earth).

 Science as a set of skills - The science The Scientific Method

process skills form the foundation of scientific
methods. There are six basic science Scientific methods refer to a set of steps for
process skills: observation, communication, verifying and building scientific knowledge. Steps
classification, measurement, inference, and include making valid observations, interpreting
prediction. These basic skills are integrated findings and generalizing results. The scientific
when scientists design and carry out method allows researchers to independently and
experiments. All six basic skills are important impartially test preexisting knowledge and prior
individually as well as when they are findings and subject them to scrutiny and
integrated. enhancements.

 Science as an intellectual activity -

Science is the intellectual, practical, and
systematic study of the structure and
behavior of the physical and natural world
through observation and experiment.

 Science as a social activity - Science is a

social activity shaped by history, institutions,
beliefs, and values. Society shapes science
and vice versa.

 Science as problem-solving - Problem-

solving skills are necessary in all areas of life,
and the science class provides the students SCIENCE EDUCATION
opportunity to develop and utilize their Science Education is concerned about
problem-solving skills, which include the learning, teaching, and understanding science.
ability to critically analyze a problem, There are three dimensions of science that are all
determine all its elements, and prepare a important in science education: science knowledge,
feasible solution. These are valuable skills processes of doing science, and scientific attitudes.
one can acquire in life. Science is one of the most important subjects that
must be learned because of its relevance to the
 Science as a career - Individuals who have students’ lives. In the science class, the students use
devoted themselves in studying and doing and develop life skills such as problem-solving and
science have established careers in science, critical thinking, which they need to succeed in

EDSCI 1- Teaching SCIENCE in Elementary Grades

school, career, and beyond. These lifelong skills 6. School science should demonstrate a
allow students to generate ideas, weigh decisions commitment to the development of a culture
objectively, and understand the evidence. of science.
7. School science should promote the strong
Teaching Science is important because of
several reasons. First, the nation is dependent on link between science and technology,
the technical and scientific abilities of its citizens for including indigenous technology.
its economic growth and national activities. 8. School science should recognize that
Moreover, Science is a significant part of human science and technology reflect, influence,
culture and represents one of the highlights of and shape our culture.
human capacity. Also, it provides a laboratory of
common experience for development of language, CONSTRUCTIVIST THEORY IN TEACHING
logic, and problem-solving skills. Finally, for some of SCIENCE
the students, it will become a lifelong vocation or
career. Constructivist teaching is anchored on the
fundamental belief that learning occurs as
Understanding science is multifaceted. individuals are actively involved in meaning-making
Current research indicates that proficiency in one and knowledge-construction processes. Dewey's
aspect of science is closely related to proficiency in idea of transformative education suggests that
others. Like strands of a rope, the strands of education must foster the development of critical
scientific proficiency are linked. The National thinking among the learners via reflection,
Academy of Sciences developed the strands of exploration of the environment, and hands-on
scientific proficiency that address the knowledge and experiences. Piaget's role in the constructivist
reasoning skills that the students must acquire to be teaching highlights that we learn by expanding our
considered fully proficient in science. The students knowledge through experiences. These experiences
who are proficient in science: are generated through playing from infancy to
 Know, use, and interpret scientific adulthood, which is necessary for learning.
explanations;
 Generate and evaluate scientific evidence In the constructivist classroom, the teacher's role is
and explanations; to prompt and facilitate meaningful exchange of
 Understand the nature and development of ideas and learning. The teacher's main focus is
scientific knowledge; and guiding the students by asking questions that will
 Participate productively in scientific lead them to develop their own insights and
practices. conclusions on the subject.

The Department of Science and Technology Constructivist teaching is governed by the

developed the Science Framework for Basic following principles:
Education. Included in this document are the  Engage the students in the discovery and
guiding principles for the formulation of the science examination of relevant and meaningful
framework. Read the principles carefully. Highlight problems
the key concepts.  Organize curriculum into activities and broad
primary concepts.
The Guiding Principles of Science Curriculum  Explore and value the students’
Framework perspectives.
1. Science is for everyone.  Encourage the students to investigate and
2. Science is both content and process. challenge their assumptions.
3. School science should emphasize depth  Use assessment to diagnose and guide the
rather than breadth, coherence rather than student learning.
fragmentation, and use of evidence in
constructing explanation.
4. School science should be relevant and
useful.
5. School science should nurture interest in
learning.
EDSCI 1- Teaching SCIENCE in Elementary Grades
 how much of each lesson will be devoted to building
INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES FOR SCIENCE cognitive skills and how much to mastering
processes.
The Basic Elements of Inquiry Methods
All inquiry methods are predicated on
specific assumptions about both learning and The Power of Observation
learners. What is Observation?
Technically, observation is defined as an act
Inquiry Teaching requires a high degree of of recognizing and noting a fact or occurrence often
interaction among the learner, the teacher, the involving measurement with instruments (Merriam-
materials, the content, and the environment. The Webster). It involves not only one skill but actually
most challenging part is that it allows both the two or more skills. Of all the inquiry processes,
learner and the teacher to become persistent observation may be the most important to scientists
seekers, interrogators, questioners, and ponderers. and other experts. Without observation, very few
The end result is whenever the learner poses the questions would be asked. Observation is the core,
question every Nobel Prize winner has asked: “I foundation, principle, and rationale for the existence
wonder what would happen if?” It is through inquiry of science. Moreover, it is driven by curiosity and the
that new knowledge is discovered. It is by becoming need to find patterns and answers to questions.
Inquiry depends upon observations to provide data
involved in the process that the learners become
for processes such as predicting, hypothesizing, and
historians, economists, scientists, engineers, poets, inferring. Unexplained events and occurrences are
businessperson, artists, writers, researchers-even constructed through inquiry processes. The
only for an hour or two in class. unexplained becomes reality by creating
conclusions, theories, principles, and laws. Without
Basic Inquiry Processes
special attention to observations, there would be
Listed below are the basic inquiry processes in order little advancement in science.
of complexity (Orlich et al., 2007).
Learning to observe is a significant inquiry
1. Observing process for children to consciously use while they
2. Classifying are engaged in science activities. Children of all
3. Inferring ages are continuously collecting data about the
4. Using numbers world around them, but they may not be consciously
5. Measuring aware of their actions. By using their senses,
6. Using space-time relationships children consciously learn to construct reality by
7. Communicating exploring objects in the real word around them which
8. Predicting also includes interactions with peers and adults.
9. Making operational definitions Teachers can help children learn to trust their own
10. Formulating hypotheses observations, which will provide them with
11. Interpreting data experiences in becoming good problem solvers and
12. Controlling variables independent thinkers.
13. Experimenting

Each inquiry process requires progressive Experimentation

intellectual development, and that as this What is Experimentation?
development takes place for one process, it spurs Experiments are the teachers’ another way
development on other processes. of introducing a new idea to the students to stimulate
their engagement in class. The use of experiments
These processes are found in every learning allows the teachers to transform the class into an
episode that involves inquiry. Inquiry is not simply active learning environment that fosters involvement
asking questions; it is a process for conducting a of the students and stimulates their mental, affective,
thorough investigation, and as such, it applies to all and physical activities. The traditional way of using
domains of knowledge. chalk and board can be improved by facilitating
experiments in class so they can better understand
Each inquiry process must be carefully developed and appreciate the principles involved in various
and systematically practiced. So you must decide scientific processes.
EDSCI 1- Teaching SCIENCE in Elementary Grades
Classroom experiments keep the learners active in
a number of ways depending on the nature of the
particular experiment. During experiments:

 The students are active in generating data or

behavioral observations.

 The students analyze data, examples, or

models.

 The students answer leading questions

posed by the instructor and compare their
answers with those of other students.

 The students work together in groups to

solve problems, devise strategies, or
understand class concepts.

 The students predict how changing the

experiment will change the outcomes.

 The students compare experimental results

to classroom theories and use them to
confirm or critique the theories.

The Experimental Approach requires the teacher

to explain the following steps and guide the students
during the entire experiment. The goal is for the
students to be able to understand the steps and
develop their own experiment. The following steps
are adapted from SERC (2019):

a. Identify/select a problem
To be worthy of investigation, the problem
must be a problem for the students as well. It is a
product of their observation from the classroom, the
environment, their homes, or the community.
b. Formulate a hypothesis
Hypothesis is an educated guess; a
supposition or proposed explanation made on the
basis of limited evidence as a starting point for
further investigation.
c. Test the hypothesis
d. Control variables
e. Make operational definitions
f. Perform the experiment
g. Record and interpret data
h. Draw a conclusion

Prepared by: Dr. Irene M. Mora

IED Instructor

EDSCI 1- Teaching SCIENCE in Elementary Grades