These tables provide an overview of the standards for elementary-, middle-, and high-school science programs. Properties and changes of properties in matterĥ-8, and 9-12, respectively. Science and technology in local challenges Understandings about science and technologyĬharacteristics and changes in populationsĪbilities to distinguish between natural objects and objects made by humans SCIENCE IN PERSONAL AND SOCIAL PERSPECTIVES The next section of each standard is a Guide to the Content Standard, which (Some references to research on student understanding and abilities are located at the end of the chapter.) It also incorporates the experiences of many thoughtful people, including teachers, teacher educators, curriculum developers, and educational researchers. This discussion on developing student understanding, including the remarks on the selection of content for grade levels, is based in part on educational research. This section describes linkages among student learning, teaching, and classroom situations. The science as inquiry standards are described in terms of activities resulting in student development of certain abilities and in terms of student understanding of inquiry.ĬONTENT STANDARD B: As a result of the activities in grades K-4, all students should develop an understanding ofĪfter each content standard is a section entitled, Developing Student Understanding (or abilities and understanding, when appropriate), which elaborates upon issues associated with opportunities to learn the content.

Table 6.1 shows the standards for inquiry. Students at all grade levels and in every domain of science should have the opportunity to use scientific inquiry and develop the ability to think and act in ways associated with inquiry, including asking questions, planning and conducting investigations, using appropriate tools and techniques to gather data, thinking critically and logically about relationships between evidence and explanations, constructing and analyzing alternative explanations, and communicating scientific arguments. The standards on inquiry highlight the ability to conduct inquiry and develop understanding about scientific inquiry. Science as inquiry is basic to science education and a controlling principle in the ultimate organization and selection of students' activities. Multidisciplinary perspectives also increase from the subject-matter standards to the standard on the history and nature of science, providing many opportunities for integrated approaches to science teaching.Ībilities necessary to do scientific inquiry Students need solid knowledge and understanding in physical, life, and earth and space science if they are to apply science. The personal and social aspects of science are emphasized increasingly in the progression from science as inquiry standards to the history and nature of science standards. Students' understandings and abilities are grounded in the experience of inquiry, and inquiry is the foundation for the development of understandings and abilities of the other content standards. The sequence of the seven grade-level content standards is not arbitrary: Each standard subsumes the knowledge and skills of other standards. References for additional reading for all the content standards are presented at the end of Chapter 6. Those clusters were selected based on a combination of factors, including cognitive development theory, the classroom experience of teachers, organization of schools, and the frameworks of other disciplinary-based standards. The next seven categories are clustered for grades K-4, 5-8, and 9-12. The standard for unifying concepts and processes is presented for grades K-12, because the understanding and abilities associated with major conceptual and procedural schemes need to be developed over an entire education, and the unifying concepts and processes transcend disciplinary boundaries. Science in personal and social perspectives. Unifying concepts and processes in science. The eight categories of content standards are

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