Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Week 10: the framework of my dreams

WEEK 10: Framework for K-12 Science Education

I really appreciated this week’s reading assignment. It expressed the issues with current curriculum and how science education needs to evolve. What really spoke to me was this quote, “The overarching goal of our framework for K-12 science education is to ensure that by the end of 12th grade, all students have some appreciation of the beauty and wonder of science; possess sufficient knowledge of science and engineering to engage in public discussions on related issues; are careful consumers of scientific and technological information related to their everyday lives; are able to continue to learn about science outside school; and have the skills to enter careers of their choice, including (but not limited to) careers in science, engineering, and technology.” To me this is exactly what needs to be done to improve the classroom experience and really get students were they should be when exiting high school. A lot of the issues I have with the current curriculum stem from how students leave high school but don’t know anything about how to translate what they have learned to the every day. So many adults are completely clueless about how to interpret what they learn from the internet or even the news. By teaching these kids in this way we are helping generate competent learners that will hopefully turn into functionally skeptical adults. Nowadays kids and even adults don’t question what they read or hear. They don’t question the source or really even think about the likelihood that what they are hearing isn’t true. There is so much pseudoscience out there. I am afraid if we don’t teach these kids to question, we will be creating a generation of naïve, uneducated adults that one day will be controlling the country. With all of the misinformation about global warming, vaccinations, dieting, carcinogens, and hundreds of other issues, students (and some adults) need some common sense. The faster we can get these teaching principles into the classroom the better, in my opinion.        

2 comments:

  1. I love what you said about developing functionally skeptical adults. Our age has been dubbed the Information Age, but if we don't teach our students how to find information and critically evaluate it, we will be doing them a huge disservice. Unfortunately, until now it seems that this has been shunted aside in favor of covering as many topics as possible. It's good to see that this is now becoming a point of emphasis.

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  2. Becca, I think your point about encouraging skills in our students that transcend our domains is important. If we view our job as simply instructing students in science, we shortchange our students. My cousin is a math teacher, and he often tells me that in an ideal world his goal would be for every kid to love math (or even just like math), but he says that his real world goal is for his students to become better problem solvers and thinkers in his class. He has focused on the skills that transcend his domain and benefit his students in the long run. It's exciting to see the curriculum encouraging that type of thinking.

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