Elementary Science Methods: A Constructivist Approach

Book excerpt: The text that pioneered a constructivist approach to elementary science teaching is based on two fundamental and complementary ideas: that it's more important for children to learn how to do science than to learn about science, and that elementary science teachers needing to know a great deal of science, but rather should be co-inquirers with their students. ELEMENTARY SCIENCE METHODS: A CONSTRUCTIVIST APPROACH, Sixth Edition, features a wealth of exercises, including open-ended inquiry activities that help teacher candidates construct their own conceptualizations about science content and teaching methods. More than 170 process-oriented, open-ended activities, organized by grade level, can be used to encourage children to develop and perform their own investigations. All activities and much of the text content are clearly linked to National Science Education Standards (NSES) for content, professional development, assessment, and teaching. Also included are suggestions for appropriate children's literature to encourage interdisciplinary learning. The book's website, Education CourseMate, provides valuable tools and resources such as additional activities and video clips that students can use both in their college course and later in elementary science classrooms. Important Notice: Media content referenced within the product description or the product text may not be available in the ebook version.