Science learning can occur whenever children have the opportunity to pursue an answer to a question. If you wait until it’s your turn in the science lab, the questions that can be asked may be limited to the materials available there and the length of the 30-50 minute session. Add science and engineering learning to your daily routine or schedule and put the related jobs, such as watering plants or observing animals, on your job chart.
Here are a few kindergarten and preschool daily schedules. Click here to see them in detail.

Send me a photograph of your schedule or comment below to share how science best happens in your program.
Peggy (email is all one word, no spaces: science is simple at yahoo dot com)
 

Over the past few days, I have been keeping an eye on an interesting thread on an association discussion forum – the topic: whether committees are still relevant especially for smaller organizations like chapters and special-interest groups.
In recent years, organizations of all sizes have taken a closer look at the need for formal committees in their governance structure.  With an economy still in recovery and the resource of time being more precious than ever, apathy is at an all-time high when asking members to volunteer for anything.
If you manage or lead a smaller organization, like a chapter or associated group, you may not have enough “bodies” (members) to entice to become officers, committee chairs or committee members.
For this reason, many organizations are doing away with formal committees (other than the ones required legally – like budget/finance, judicial affairs and nominating) and are moving toward a more ad hoc model.  Associations are using work groups, task forces and volunteer/talent pools more than ever.  Why?

• They provide shorter, less intrusive time commitments than traditional committees
• Since the projects offered in these groups are more specific, volunteers are able to participate in something they’re truly interested in
• Overall, volunteers are able to customize their own experience – supporting a mission they care about, but on their own terms

Organizations like the Oncology Nurses Society, International Facility Management Association, Institute of Food Technology, American Society of Association Executives and others have incorporated some form of “adhocracy” into their volunteer management program and they are working with their chapters and special-interest groups to do the same.
If these models sound interesting, remember there is a LOT to consider before diving in:

• Ensure that any changes considered or implemented are in line with the organization’s bylaws
• Review the organization’s current volunteer model – there may be opportunities for creating subcommittees, workgroups or task forces with little effort involved
• Most important: make sure all activities are aligned with the organization’s mission, vision and strategic plan

Keep in mind, there are many reasons members don’t volunteer for their professional organization.  As mentioned in the book, The Decision To Volunteer, the lack of short-term assignments for volunteers falls right behind (1) not having enough information about volunteer opportunities available, and (2) “no one ever asked me.”  Many organizations have found their volunteer pool grow leaps and bounds when they promote activities with shorter time commitments (that are predetermined)  — combine that with detailed descriptions requesting specific skill-sets and you will be take your volunteer program to a whole new level.
Want to learn how your state ranks in volunteering efforts overall? Visit www.volunteeringinamerica.gov.
How does your chapter or associated group manage committee activities?  What do you do well and how can you improve? 

To allow more time for test preparation in reading and math, the principal at our elementary school is requiring that teachers cut back on (or even eliminate) science activities. She says it’s just as effective to integrate more nonfiction books on science topics during reading class. How can we convince her of the value of hands-on investigations and activities?
—Catherine, Texas
Even before this current emphasis on test scores, science was often shortchanged in terms of scheduled time. The high-stakes nature of these tests (and the consequences for any school falling short of the goals set by legislators or politicians) is driving schools to make short-sighted, counterproductive decisions about class time.
You could try to impress upon your principal that science is more than a collection of facts to read about. Most standards and framework documents in science have a focus on processes and practices such as asking questions, developing and using models, obtaining and communicating information, analyzing and interpreting data, and communicating information. I’m curious how your principal expects students to achieve these skills (and learn the content) that are tested in the upper elementary grades.
It would be interesting to see the data on which your principal made the decision to reduce time for science. I know many elementary teachers who do make time for science. In the context of investigations, their students apply their skills in reading and mathematics to new and authentic situations. Their students do a lot of writing and journaling/notebooking—and do well on the state reading and math tests.
There are those (such as your principal) who suggest science content could be integrated with reading instruction. There certainly are many interesting nonfiction books students could use in reading class, and there are students who prefer nonfiction to fiction. The teacher would have to select the materials carefully to ensure all students have access to science-related content, whether in classroom or school libraries or from online sources. I’m curious as to how science learning would be assessed in this case.
But I think we’re shortchanging students when we substitute reading assignments for planned and purposeful science instruction including both science content and processes such as hands-on investigations, vocabulary development, observations, writing, measuring, graphing, and questioning.

You could share guidelines on preschool and elementary science investigations from the NSTA Position Statement: The Integral Role of Laboratory Investigations in Science Instruction:

• With the expectation of science instruction every day, all students at the preschool and elementary level should receive multiple opportunities every week to explore science labs that fit the definition described in the Introduction. [A school laboratory investigation (also referred to as a lab) is defined as an experience in the laboratory, classroom, or the field that provides students with opportunities to interact directly with natural phenomena or with data collected by others using tools, materials, data collection techniques, and models.]

• Laboratory investigations should provide all students with continuous opportunities to explore familiar phenomena and materials. At developmentally appropriate levels, they should investigate appropriate questions, analyze the results of laboratory investigations, debate what the evidence means, construct an understanding of science concepts, and apply these concepts to the world around them.

Perhaps you could suggest your principal visit science classes in which students are engaged in planned and purposeful science activities. Highlight the math and reading skills students are using, as well as the science processes. NSTA’s Science & Children journal has many ideas for activities appropriate for elementary students., as does NSTA’s Early Years blog. But none of these activities occur in a vacuum. Virtually all of them have components that integrate reading, writing, and math.
Although your question dealt with science, I’m equally concerned that social studies, the arts, and physical education often are also shortchanged in a quest for higher test scores. We’ve been on this testing craze for 10 years, and I still don’t understand why students’ applying their reading and math skills to new and authentic situations is less important than their one-time test scores on isolated skills.
 
Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/benwerd/329570851/

Rather than rolling your eyes at the common student query, “Why do I need to know this?”, use it to your advantage! Yale astrophysicist Priya Natarajan wrote in the Washington Post, “if we want more Americans to pursue careers in STEM professions, we have to intervene much earlier than we imagined” to help them see connections between classroom learning and the real world. Natarajan notes that early explorations “help students understand that science and math aren’t just abstract equations, but tools we use to understand our world.” The February 2012 issue of NSTA’s Book Beat highlights resources that can help you convey to students how science literacy is relevant to understanding and solving real-world challenges facing our society.
In Front Page Science: Engaging Teens in Science Literacy, Wendy Saul and coauthors show teachers how to use science journalism techniques to help students become better consumers of, and contributors to, a scientifically literate community. The authors ask, “What might we teach students now that will help them make sense of their world 15 years after graduation?” Because students will encounter scientific, medical, and technological issues throughout their lives, they will require the skill to continually seek out and assess new information. The book offers concrete advice on how to help students recognize that science is and will continue to be everywhere—even if they don’t pursue science or engineering careers. Students then become engaged in reporting on a science current event—learning research, interview, and writing strategies along the way. February Book Beat includes links to the free chapter “Setting the Stage by Modeling” for a helpful illustration of how one teacher introduces a potential research topic to her class and models her own questioning about a recent news article. Elementary and middle school teachers might also be interested in the other free chapters linked in the issue: “Keeping Science Current” and “Extra, Extra, Learn All About It” from Science the “Write” Way, in which students find and write about a science topic in the news or create a science-based newspaper. Encouraging students to explore and write about science that’s relevant to them will not only engage them in the lesson today but will also foster an interest in staying scientifically informed for life.

Sometimes activities engage children in overlappings mathematics, science, and engineering learning. Check out Kassia Wedekind’s discussion of how she uses math centers in her kindergarten classroom.
The discussions she holds with students are central to her planning. I had some questions and maybe you will too.
Peggy
 

When looking at the cover and theme of this issue, I can imagine some of our colleagues thinking “So now I have to teach engineering, too? When do I find the time and resources?” As the editor notes, the inquiry and problem solving processes are the same, whether students are investigating natural phenomenon (science) or applying their knowledge to design products or processes to solve a problem or need (engineering). As the teacher/authors of these articles show, incorporating engineering principles into our instruction is possible.
It’s one thing for students to do well on tests and lab investigations. But the real proof of understanding is being able to apply the knowledge to new situations. The authors of Engineering, Modeling, and Computational Thinking describe several online tools for creating models to test engineering designs, including the West Point Bridge Builder (with an online competition component), Floorplanner (maybe your students could redesign your lab!), and Try Engineering. The article has many other suggestions for design and collaboration tools. [SciLinks: Building Bridges]
Have you ever thought about having your students participate in competitions such as Toyota’s ExploraVision?
In the article A Winning Competition, the authors describe their experiences with guiding students through the research and design processes. They show how the experiences aligned with their state standards and provide examples of the rubrics, timelines, and other strategies to support their students. I was glad to see how the project took advantage of the special skills and resources that a media specialist/librarian can provide!
Many of my 8^th-graders were social butterflies. Their peers were very important to them, so I was intrigued by The Friendship Detector, an activity in which students applied their knowledge of series and parallel circuits. They designed a tool in which users flipped a switch to indicate an either/or choice in response to a prompt about likes and dislikes. The author includes circuit diagrams, a rubric, and a photo of the finished tool. The students noted that they appreciated the opportunity to actually build circuits, rather than just reading about them or drawing them. [SciLinks: Electrical Circuits]
OK—You’re teaching biology. How can engineering concepts be applicable? In Mendel’s Modern Legacy, there is a discussion of “synthetic biology, ” a field integrates biology and engineering concepts. The authors describe how their students used the BioBuilder program with their students.  [SciLinks: Mendelian Genetics]
Designing Design Challenges has a helpful sidebar image that summarizes three levels of inquiry, relative to the responsibilities and roles of the teacher and students in the activity. The authors discuss ways to engage and support students in the design process, using examples of paper airplanes or model cars that meet particular challenges. I was reminded of the saying: Sometimes it’s OK to reinvent the wheel, not because we need more wheels, but because we need more inventors.
Intersections, Molecules, and Homeless Shelters – what could they possibly have in common? The author tells the story of how she engaged students with designing solutions to real-life problems drawn from their communities.
This month’s Safer Science column has a good summary of how to select the appropriate eye protection for your laboratory classes.