Science Education

Posts Tagged ‘Science Education’

Online Science Education – Resources For K to 12 Educators and Home School Parents

January 14th, 2023

Are you looking for online science education resources to support teaching K-12 science? There are many resources on the internet and it is difficult for teachers to find the time to surf the web looking for online resources. The best option is to visit a one-stop resource for K-12 science educators’ that is an online directory of resources designed for science education. Not only can teachers use a resource like this, it would also be perfect for parents’ home schooling their children.

Inquiry Based Teaching and Learning

If you are looking for K-12 science lesson plans, web resources, and references to support inquiry based teaching and learning, you have probably found this search difficult. Like other web resources it takes time to surf the web and find them. What is needed is a directory of science inquiry based resources categorized into topics that support K-12 science teaching and learning. What is needed is for someone to do this for you.

Directory resources that are most valuable to K-12 science educators include lesson plans, assessment guides, curriculum guides, standards guidelines, search engines for science, and more. Also there is a need for online resources that support all science content areas.

Teaching Science using Technology

There are many types of technology strategies for teaching K-12 science. These include the use of web resources, online simulators, WebQuests, real-time data bases, online interactive websites, and many more options. A website that provides a directory of a wide variety of web based resources is very helpful to K-12 educators.

This type of website would be used to support their teaching strategies. Actively engaging students in learning, instead of being passive learners. You can take students on virtual field trips to places all over the world: zoos, volcanos in other countries, and more.

Additional Resources

Other K-12 online science education resources needed by teachers and parents include access to journals, current science news topics, and online science teaching research books. One particular resource that is needed is a guide for recommended reading books to support science at all grade levels. Reading is stressed even more today to meet state and national education requirements and an online resource would help educators save time trying to find books that meet content standards.

Because of the emphasis on standards and testing today, teachers do want to go to a website that waste their time. All resources need to be pre-screened to ensure that they meet national science standards’ guidelines for teaching science using inquiry based practices. Also, that the technology based resources on the website meets national technology and science standards.

A directory that has updated links is especially important to provide resources. Teachers and parents are tired of going to science directories that are full of dead links. It wastes their time and frustration sets in, because more valuable time has been wasted.

What is needed is an online science education resource website that is specifically designed for K-12 science educators and home schooling parents.

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Science Education and Art Education: The Perfect Pair

November 14th, 2022

After years of touting the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics ) educational programs, many teachers are discovering that by adding an “A” –for ART– student learning will pick up STEAM! This latest understanding of how students learn is changing science education by adding Art education back into the mix. This integrated education approach is developing a proven track record and being incorporated into public, private and homeschool education.

At its inception, the STEM bill authorized over 150 million to help students earn a bachelor’s degrees and teaching credentials. It also provided millions in additional money to help align kindergarten through grade 12 math and science curricula to better prepare students for college.

Now years later, people are asking questions like: Why are math and science viewed as standalone modalities? Why have so many schools dropped Arts education from their curriculum?

For too long, we have wrongly believed that Science and Art education were separate disciplines that demanded different teaching methods. However, now we know that Science and Art, as well as Math and Music are intrinsically related!

Educational researchers are recognizing that it is important to integrate all modalities into STEM lessons. By broadly using an integrated education curriculum, students are able to see how science education is important to aspects of everyday life. Integrated education also affords the opportunity for real-world application of the math and science education knowledge.

The use of Art as the glue that bonds these modalities shows students how form and function are guiding principles. Art is not merely illustrative or decorative, but represents an essential part of the process of inquiry, such as problem finding, problem solving, and communication.

The fervor that propels people to excel at mathematics and science education or engineering and art education are driven by the same desire: the desire to discover the intricacies and beauty in one’s world and chosen work. Furthermore, Art is also integrated into technologies such as engineering in the “form and function” debate. Does form follow function or does function follow form? Either way the two are fundamentally linked. Cars are a perfect example: From the Model-T Ford to the latest concept car, we have seen that the evolution of technology is as much about aesthetics (form) of the product as it is about functionality.

Many of the fundamental concepts of form and function are the same. Line, shape, color, structure/function relationships as well as perspective, patterning, and sequencing are the language of art and science education. Students create “an artistic representation of their ideas and solutions is a valuable way to make learning personal. This allows for a clear understanding of the underpinnings of science principles and how these principles can be extrapolated to solve existing problems. It has been proven that students who previously had difficulty in STEM classes are picking up STEAM quickly!