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One of my biggest questions is how to get the younger elementary students involved in science. Should we do more hands on activities, or should we watch videos? As well as having them participate in the environment.

In my opinion, the important thing for elementary students is promoting them to have a positive attitude toward science first. I think should let them play and learn, they will learn from what they play. An important role of a teacher is to be a facilitator, ask some questions to let them talk or share what they learn from playing.

Children are natural born scientists! They were born with curiosity, a willingness to experiment and trying to figure how the world works. I think adults do a good job of stopping them from exploring and asking simple, but tough, questions. I believe that hands on and out in the real world is where students really learn science. Have students make their own videos! Record what they are trying out. Like Onrumpa said, the role of the teacher is to provide opportunities to explore, have students reflect on what they saw and to teach some basic things like: how to conduct a fair test; observation not conjecture; recording data; how to reach a conclusion based on evidence. In essence, teach children the nature of science - not just arbitrary facts. Hope this helps, Gabe Kraljevic

Hi Francisco, I really like you point out this question, because I used to be bored of science class. I still can remember that my science teacher always teach us obscure definitions, theories, and concepts. There was less lab and hands on activities during the class, we have to memorize all the knowledge teacher taught in lesson and prepare the exams. I really hate this, in my opinion, teacher’s job is led students think more and practice more, so give the protagonist back to students is number one important thing. Teacher should give more hands on and lab activities instead of just teaching knowledge. Teacher shouldn’t teach too many concepts at same time, they just need to point out a main question, and let students find out the result.

There needs to be a balance of both. The hands on is certainly going to be very effective, but they need to know the concept and the reason why they are doing the experiment. I do inquiry first before going into the investigation. I do try to stay away from the text book although once in a while I use it as a resource.

I think hands on experiments and activities can truly liven any science lesson. Videos can as well, however student engagement can be lost little more quickly with videos. With hands on activities, you can allow students to explore what they are about to learn about, as well as see it come to life. During these activities, students can also make their own connections without you having to make those connections for them. They can take ownership of their learning this way.

Hello Francisco, I am currently a student teacher in a first grade math and science classroom. I have been able to create science lessons using both strategies. Children learn best using hands-on materials but through these upcoming years technology has made an impact in children's learning. Not to long ago, I taught a science lesson on objects in the sky. The lesson consisted of a BrainPop video, a discussion, a clear anchor chart, and a research activity to teach my students about planets. I would recommend Brainpop because it has a lot of level based videos for students to find interesting. In addition, during the research part of the lesson I allowed my students to use the classroom iPads to research their assigned planet. Each group had an iPad and a graphic organizer to facilitate their learning. The cite that each group used was PebbleGO (https://www.pebblego.com/) and they found so much useful information for their research. Students were on task and engaged on their activity to gather information on their planet. I believe that students all learn differently, therefore, giving them the opportunity to participate on hands-on activities, use technology, and their surrounding environment can help students understand the lesson concept better.