IBSE Final

THE TEACHING OF SCIENCE: 21 st-CENTURY PERSPECTIVES vii

Preface

Science teachers at all levels—elementary, middle, and high school—confront

diverse issues and requirements, all of which can divert teachers’ time and atten-

tion from the fundamental task of helping students learn science. In their need to

focus on the immediate tasks, teachers ask for lessons that will get them through

the day or week. Although they certainly sense the need, if not the obligation,

to pause and ask essential questions, they seldom have the time for reflection:

What science content and processes are important for students to learn? How

can I organize experiences to facilitate student learning? How will I know what

students have learned? What knowledge and skills do I have to have to help

students learn? To be clear, these questions may have variations, but they center

on the instructional core that all teachers recognize as fundamental to their work

as professionals.

The content and themes of the chapters in this book may be used to reflect on

issues basic to the teaching of science. The topics and discussions in the book lend

themselves to “summer reading” or professional development discussions with

colleagues. This book neither emphasizes nor presents activities for teaching.

The themes mostly address why to teach science and what is important to teach.

Answering the why and what questions contributes to constructive responses to

the how questions. Where possible and appropriate, I have provided references

and resources that will help science teachers with their daily, weekly, and yearly

tasks as professionals.

I have been honored to present several major lectures at National Science

Teachers Association (NSTA) meetings. The original titles as well as the lecture

locations and dates are listed on the following page. My practice is to prepare

a written essay for the lectures. In all but two cases, those essays have not been

published. Upon rereading the lectures, I realized two things. First, I tried to

present ideas about curriculum and instruction in a style appropriate for science

teachers. Second, the lectures made connections between the past and future.

The latter occurred because the lectures were named for individuals—Robert H.