Some of my teaching contemporaries have stumbled upon my blog and have sent very encouraging comments to my personal mail. I am grateful for your support in this blog series! Today I am going to discuss science briefly. This post should not be long as I do not teach the subject. But, I do still have some observations about science.
Overall science rates are dropping in Manitoba; just like reading and math. This actually makes logical sense. The three major components of science are Biology, Chemistry and Physics. Biology is largely involving visual media in print form, utilizing memorization of concepts. This requires higher reading levels and exceptional study skills to master. Physics and Chemistry largely involves formulas and mathematical calculations. This requires a solid foundation in mathematics to be successful.
If you have read my previous two blogs on this topic, science suddenly seems to be somewhere in between literacy and numeracy; a fascinating combination of both! Perhaps this is why I always enjoyed science, it is the best of both worlds.
But, with science being the "best of both worlds", students really need to have a good grasp of literacy and comprehension and mathematical foundations. If either are lacking, science can be a very frustrating endeavor for students. Sure, the students that excel in literacy will find the biology units to be simple, but may struggle with chemistry and physics. Those that excel in mathematics will love chemistry and physics yet detest biology. It is not until grade 11 that students get to choose the science that they are interested in, so, until then, students waver in the inbetween of science.
Although I do not teach science, I do hear students talk about it. Depending which unit they are studying, depends on the comments. It is quite clear that science is a very relevant subject that students can quickly connect to the things around them. Pulleys are everywhere, biology surrounds us and everything is made of matter. There are real world connections sitting in every classroom. This should make science the most interesting class of all, yet, because the foundations of literacy and mathematics have been dropping, science suffers too.
It is not fair to the science teacher to have to spend time teaching basic algebra to students who do not understand the concepts. That is something that should be drilled by the math teacher. Working through the basic algebra in science then rips time away from the fascinating world of science.
So, to me, it is natural to see the difficulty in science if there is difficulty with literacy and with math. They all go together. So, if you want to see an increase in your science mark, head back to math and reading. Pull up your socks there, and suddenly all things come together in science!
Perhaps this is not the most enlightening post, but it is the one thing that makes sense. Can`t read, can`t use formulas...can`t do science. It all ties together in the end.
Overall science rates are dropping in Manitoba; just like reading and math. This actually makes logical sense. The three major components of science are Biology, Chemistry and Physics. Biology is largely involving visual media in print form, utilizing memorization of concepts. This requires higher reading levels and exceptional study skills to master. Physics and Chemistry largely involves formulas and mathematical calculations. This requires a solid foundation in mathematics to be successful.
If you have read my previous two blogs on this topic, science suddenly seems to be somewhere in between literacy and numeracy; a fascinating combination of both! Perhaps this is why I always enjoyed science, it is the best of both worlds.
But, with science being the "best of both worlds", students really need to have a good grasp of literacy and comprehension and mathematical foundations. If either are lacking, science can be a very frustrating endeavor for students. Sure, the students that excel in literacy will find the biology units to be simple, but may struggle with chemistry and physics. Those that excel in mathematics will love chemistry and physics yet detest biology. It is not until grade 11 that students get to choose the science that they are interested in, so, until then, students waver in the inbetween of science.
Although I do not teach science, I do hear students talk about it. Depending which unit they are studying, depends on the comments. It is quite clear that science is a very relevant subject that students can quickly connect to the things around them. Pulleys are everywhere, biology surrounds us and everything is made of matter. There are real world connections sitting in every classroom. This should make science the most interesting class of all, yet, because the foundations of literacy and mathematics have been dropping, science suffers too.
It is not fair to the science teacher to have to spend time teaching basic algebra to students who do not understand the concepts. That is something that should be drilled by the math teacher. Working through the basic algebra in science then rips time away from the fascinating world of science.
So, to me, it is natural to see the difficulty in science if there is difficulty with literacy and with math. They all go together. So, if you want to see an increase in your science mark, head back to math and reading. Pull up your socks there, and suddenly all things come together in science!
Perhaps this is not the most enlightening post, but it is the one thing that makes sense. Can`t read, can`t use formulas...can`t do science. It all ties together in the end.
No comments:
Post a Comment