Growing up I thought science was very boring and didn't see why I had to do it everyday. I know I am not the only one who thought science was boring. Some students in elementary, middle and high schools think science is boring and has a lot to do with research. I didn't want to do science because it wasn't the "cool" thing to do and only geeks and nerds did science. It is important to prove to students that science can be fun and enjoyable and anyone can do it! I wanted to research this question because I was one of the students who thought science wasn't fun and now my perspective has changed and I know a lot of other students would like science too if teachers new how to motivate them.
Professor Kruse told us in class that kids go to school thinking that it has to go a certain way. That they will come to school, get information and be tested over it. If this happens in school then of course students are going to be bored! Teachers that truely care about their studnets will want to change thier students' thinking. Teachers should want to challenge their student's thinking so that they can actually apply their knowledge and learn something. For students to be interested in science we have to be able to let them play with the wrong ideas and try new ones out. A lot of learning comes from exploring, a lot of science is exploring. If we let students in science class first explore the topic and actually do things concretely before any teaching goes on, the students will be more engaged and curious about the topic.
It is important to show studnets that science is fun and interesting, it is not all about a step by step process. Students should be able to explore new ideas and be able to think about things in different ways. I am excited to reasearch this topic and to find new ideas on how to motivate students in science class. Here is a link to and article that I found interesting.. Link
I'm glad you decided to research this! I agree, that if we don't help students see that science can be interesting at an early age, they probably never will. I'm looking forward to following what you come up with!
ReplyDeleteAlisa,
ReplyDeleteI think we'll be able to bounce a lot of ideas back and forth. Take a look at my post and you'll see we have the same concerns. Your idea of making the classroom more fun is one of the best things a science instructor can do. No subject lends itself better for exciting, cool demonstrations than science. I've seen whole books published on fun classroom science demonstrations. In fact, 2 years ago my daughter was in 6th grade and we researched fun projects for her school science fair. She did a fantastic demonstration with dry ice. She was thrilled when she not only won a blue ribbon, but was also awarded "Best of Show" grand champion.