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Why Science?
Lakehead University
Faculty of Education
EDUC-4260
Wayne Melville

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In the nineteenth century, science was in the process of being professionalized in the
school system. The British Association for the Advancement of Science (BAAS) formed and
helped create the different strands of science we have today. Tomkins mentions in his book
Stability and Change in the Canadian Curriculum that By 1890 science had gained acceptance.
Ontario high schools were now required to have laboratories to gain collegiate status. The
pure science of the university disciplines meant, as it would continue to, that applied aspects
received short shift in the curriculum. This was due to the influence that universities were
creating on the education system.
Nowadays, science is required as a prerequisite for many college and university
undergraduate courses. It is important for students to learn science in high school in order to
nurture their curiosity and satisfy their desire to understand the big questions: who, what, where,
when and particularly WHY. Due to the nature of science and how students learn, we need
teachers who use science-specific instruction practices along with common teaching strategies
such as fostering students actions and thought processes. In order to be a good science teacher,
teachers need to create an environment that encourages learning and fosters the ability to makes
visualize student thinking. The main goals of the science program according to the Ontario
Secondary Curriculum in Science is to relate science to technology, society and the
environment, to develop the skills, strategies and habits of mind required for specific inquiry, and
to understand the basic concepts of science. When students participate in the practice of science,
and negotiate the meaning of concepts they become more motivated to learn.
When I was a little girl I was always very curious about the world around me. As my
knowledge of science developed, I quickly realized that science is constantly growing with new
ideas, and new information. Every day something new is being discovered, and this never ending

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information excited me. Growing up I would beg my parents to buy me every science book or
science experiment toy they could find. I loved building objects out of scrap material and
blowing things up using household chemicals. Every summer my parents would enroll me in
Superior Science, a program that sparks childrens interest in science, technology, engineering
and mathematics (STEM) using hands-on activities. This summer camp changed the way I
looked at science. We performed dissections, used chemicals, built robots and many more. I had
counsellors who were respectful to the students, understood the concepts of science and was
willing to share that information with their campers.
In school, I was taught by teachers who lacked motivation and dedication. They would
assign textbook chapters to read, and vocabulary to memorize. Unfortunately, the summer camp
is only offered to students in elementary school. The transition into high school was difficult for
me, but I was excited to face new challenges. Grade nine science covered many new areas of
science that I had never understood such as the characteristics of electricity, and sustainable
ecosystems. I developed a passion for biology when we began discussing the impact of humans
on the ecosystem, and our responsibility to regulate our impact for future generations.
Throughout high school I took many science courses because I was interested in learning from
new teachers.
Science is something you engage in, not just information you learn from a textbook.
Science is more than facts and answers because anyone can access information online. Sciences
are the processes of generating information and knowing how to solve a problem. You become
involved in science by asking questions, finding solutions and creating new questions from those
answers. It would benefit teachers, as well as students if educators focused on inquiry-based
methods when teaching science. Investigation type questions create motivated and engaged

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students which then create a future of critical thinkers. By developing a students critical thinking
skills, students begin to think about the bigger pictures; asking questions such as: why is that so?
What are some other explanations?
Students have many preferred ways of learning and processing information. As teachers,
we must be able to accommodate all types of students. Gardners theory of multiple intelligences
can be applied in many different ways in a science classroom. Some examples can be to
emphasize the patterns observed in science for the logical-mathematical learners, emphasize
writing down hypotheses and observations in a science journal for the linguistic learners, or have
students assess their interest in science and how well they are learning for the intrapersonal
learners. By incorporating the use of technology in the classroom, students will learn how to use
their smartphones in a positive educational way.
As a future science teacher, I recognize the hard work from scientist and educators before
me. I will push my students to step out of their comfort zone and to always keep an open mind.
Since science is all about understanding the physical world, I will incorporate as many different
types of projects as I can such as problems and inquiry-based assignments. Giving students a
reason as to why they are learning the new skills and then giving them chances to show what
they have understood will give them another reason to keep coming to school each day. Students
learn best when they have control over what they are learning. Teachers must consider that not
all students learn at the same pace, or in the same way. As a teacher, I will also incorporate
differentiated instruction to optimize the learning for those children with different learning
abilities. I will make sure to provide as many opportunities for collaboration with peers as
possible. Before lessons, I will evaluate students knowledge by asking open-ended questions

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and making sure to give time to those students who may require more time to think about the
answer.
Without the work of those before us, we would not know about the multiple approaches
we can take as teachers to engage different students, and the types of learning styles. Knowing
how a student processes information helps teachers connect with the students and vice versa.