Carolina Biological-Smithsonian-September 1.2024 p.2
 

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Early Childhood

How TO???

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Alan Alanis Alan Alanis 380 Points

What is a good way to get students excited about science?

Pamela Dupre Pam Dupre 92369 Points

Depending on previous experiences, some children will come ready and excited about science, IF we teach the way they learn. I have the opportunity to read other teachers lesson plans and more often than I'd like to admit, the lessons look more like ELA tasks than a true science lesson. I don't know if you are familiar with Steve Spangler or not but you can check out his videos on youtube. He actually came to do a workshop in my area(after two years of begging my supervisor) and he is so dynamic. He showed us some really easy cool things we as teachers can do to get a child's attention and inspire them. He also cautioned that once you have their attention, what will you do with it? I use some of his "tricks" to get my students engaged at the beginning of a unit. I don't frontload a lesson or require them to write definitions of science words. The use of good science vocabulary comes after they have experienced a phenomena they can attach the vocabulary to. I use students questions about topics to enhance the learning, as long as it is connected to the objective of the lesson. I also challenge myself to learn new "tricks" each couple of weeks to be able to draw upon. I use this demonstration https://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/egg-drop-inertia-trick/ to teach about inertia. I allow students to try it when they have had other opportunities to experience inertia.

Taylor Charlton Taylor Charlton 535 Points

I think students get more excited about science when they witness how passionate their teachers are about the subject. Also keeping science fun and connecting it to the students everyday lives will keep them interested in learning the topic. Students also love technology, so incorporating technology into the lessons will keep them intrigued.

Naomi Bourrous Naomi Bourrous 465 Points

Hi Alan! I believe a great way to get students excited about science is to teach topics that interests them and to help them make real world connections to their learning. When possible, allow students to have input in the experiments or the science topics. Also, find ways to make the learning hands on because students love group work and getting to move around to make connections to real life. Try to make the lesson more student centered and I believe the students will automatically show more interests.

Pamela Dupre Pam Dupre 92369 Points

I agree with Naomi, and I think teachers get better and better at keeping science interesting as their own knowledge base grows.

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