Launching Learners in Science, PreK-5

Kerry C. Williams and George E. Veomett describe the principles of and requirements for the active learning of science and identify key ingredients for students and their development as young scientists. Educators will find examples, questions, and stories inviting them to construct meaning from the text. Based largely on the High/Scope preschool project as adapted for primary students, the book connects to research on cognitive and neural development and motivational theory from the work of Piaget and Vygotsky, and from the teaching experiences of the authors. Based on the perspective that the teaching of science is about three things: knowing content, knowing children, and teachers knowing themselves as teachers and learners, this handbook invites educators to think about what it means to teach science in a way that will make a lasting difference in children's lives.

• PrefaceAcknowledgementsAbout the AuthorsPart I. Welcome to ′Launching Learners in Science′1. Origin of ′Launching Learners in Science′Knowing ScienceKnowing Children and How They LearnKnowing Structures That Facilitate Learning and Teaching ScienceChanging EmphasesOutline of the NSES Science Content StandardsI. Unifying Concepts and ProcessesIIA. Science as InquiryIIIB. Physical Science Content StandardsIIIC. Life Science StandardsIVD. Earth and Space ScienceVE. Science and TechnologyVIF. Science in Personal and Social PerspectiveConversation Starters2. The Nature of ScienceWhat Is the Nature of Science?Science as a Body of KnowledgeSciences as ProcessElements of the Scientific ProcessA Historical ExampleScience as Process in Elementary SchoolReviewing the Nature of Science in Elementary EducationConversation Starters3. Prior Beliefs, Efficacy, and Teaching ScienceInfluence of Experiences and Beliefs on PracticeEfficacyReflecting on the Walls of Teaching ScienceGetting Around the WallsWall #1: I Do Not Know Enough Science ContentWall #2: Students Need to Know the "Right Answers"Wall #3: I Don′t Have Time to Teach Science@all #4: Active Science Lessons Disrupt My Classroom ManagementReflecting on Your Own Science WallsConversations StartersPart II. Construction Ahead! Influences on Learning4. Maturation and LearningConstructing KnowledgePiaget: The Interaction of Maturation and ExperienceAssimilation and AccommodationEquilibrium / DisequilibriumStages of Cogitive DevelopmentConversation Starters5. Social Interaction and LearningVygotsky and Social InteractionLanguageCultureThe Teacher′s Role: Personal EducatorOptimum Learning: The Zone of Proximal DevelopmentIdentifying Students′ Zones of Proximal DevelopmentScaffolding: Stretching Without PullingThe Right Amount of InteractionThe Controlling GuideThe Dispassionate GuideThe Effective GuideSocial Interaction With PeersConversation Starters6. Active LearningActive Learning: Hands-On, Minds-OnThe Emotional Side of Active LearningThe Ingredients for Active LearningMaterialsManipulationChoiceLanguageAdult SupportConversation StartersPart III. Classroom Experiences7. Key Science ExperiencesThe Key Science ExperiencesA Wheel of Key Science ExperiencesObservingRepresentingOrganizingDetecting Patterns and QuestioningExperimentingSharingPutting It All togetherThe Key Science Experiences and MaturationScaffolding for the TeacherConversation Starters8. Thinking RoutinesGetting "In To" the Learning in the ClassroomStaying Active in the LearningGoing Deeper Within the LearningWhy Use Thinking Routines?Maturation and Thinking RoutinesScaffolding Within Thinking RoutinesScaffolding With LanguageScaffolding With ToolsScaffolding With the EnvironmentGathering Your BalloonsConversation Starters9. Planning Science WorkshopsWhat Is a Science Workshop?Whole-Group InstructionThinking About Creating WorkshopsA Sample Workshop UnitScaffolding Within WorkshopsScaffolding ContentScaffolding for Student Needs: DifferentiationScaffolding the Key Science ExperiencesTips for Getting Started With WorkshopsWhy Workshops?Creating Your Own Workshops -- A ChecklistBefore a UnitBefore a WorkshopConversation StartersPart IV. Science Is a Community Affair10. AssessmentFormative AssessmentFeatures of Formative AssessmentFormative Assessment and MotivationTask Orientation and Ego InvolmentTools of Formative AssessmentHelping Students Self-AssessQuestioning as a Type of Formative AssessmentAnecdotal Note TakingStudent JournalsRubricsPortfoliosSummative AssessmentsThe Why of AssessingConversation Starters11. Access to Science in a ClassroomScience StudiosAccess to ScienceAccess to MaterialsTypes of MaterialsCollecting and Organizing MaterialsWhy Is Access to Materials Important?Supporting Students′ Work With MaterialsAccess to Science SpacesPhysical SpaceEmotional SafetyAdequate Time for InvestigationCelebrations of AccomplishmentsAccess to PeopleSupport From TeachersCollaboration With PeersFamily InvolvementCommunity ResourcesAccess to the WorldTechnologyField TripsThe Great OutdoorsThe Best of Both Worlds: Laboratories and Studios for ChildrenConversation Starters12. Connections to CurriculumYour Foundation: The Science CurriculumStudy Your District ObjectivesPlan Units Around the ObjectivesThe Next Layer: IntegrationMaking the Curriculum Your OwnConversation StartersPart V. ResourcesResource A: SafetySafety in the ClassroomSafety and Active LearningSome "Absolute Musts"Resource B: LiteratureChildren′s LiteratureReferencesIndex

"Expertly describes how educators can plan a science curriculum that facilitates primary students’ understandings, skills, and affective development of science, preparing them for careers requiring any level of scientific knowledge and giving them science literacy to make decisions that benefit society and the world."