Response paper #1: Your science classroom

Secondary School Science Teaching Methods (4570)

 

There are four domains of science education (review the Johnston 2002 paper):

• Content Knowledge: the stuff/facts/knowledge of a scientific discipline
• The Nature of Science: the way science does what it does; its foundations, philosophy, assumptions, etc.
• Science Integration: how a scientific discipline is integrated with other disciplines, and how science and society interact
• Habits of Mind: skills that a scientist must use and develop, such as problem solving and critical thinking

 

Based on these four domains, explain what your science classroom should ideally emphasize for the purpose of general scientific literacy.  How do you rank these four domains in your future classroom?  What do these look like in your particular classroom?  Would you leave any of these out completely?  Would you add an additional domain?  Justify your description as completely as possible.

 

As you think about how to emphasize these different domains, you might also consider some other questions: What is the purpose of learning science in general?  Is it important for all people to learn science?  How much science?  What makes a person scientifically literate?  What does your classroom look and feel like in order to attain the goal of scientifically literate students?

 

This essay should get you to begin to take a stance regarding the purpose of science education.  In the long run, it should serve as the foundation of your teaching philosophy, something that you will be inventing both for this class and for your portfolio (for when you want to get yourself a job!).

 

As with most response papers, this should be typed (or, if not typed, then incredibly beautifully and legibly written) and be somewhere in the vicinity of two pages (double spaced).  This assignment is a means of getting you to reflect and organize some of your own thinking, however, as with all assignments, a portion of the grade (recall the importance of professionalism) will reflect writing skills (one instance of incorrect spelling or poor grammar can ruin your standing with a parent).