Role of the Teacher

Bickart
• Model Scientific thinking
• Use daily experiences to promote the skill of inquiry

Kilmer
• Increase awareness and use of sciencing skill listed above
• Role models
• Facilitates and extends child’s thinking and exploration
• Create an environment that supports inquiry
• Accepts “mistakes”
• Imitate what child is doing, then move beyond
• Using questions and comments at appropriate times
• Lists types of questions for each sciencing process
• Assess children’s sciencing attitudes skills and knowledge
• Teacher observations and records of each child
• Children’s journals, drawings or reports

Holt
• Let science happen
• Make science happen
• Arrays, centers
• Displays containing novelty
• Field trips, excursions
• Use of questions to stimulate thinking
• Protects children from potential dangers

Chille
• To be observant, flexible and supportive of children
• Provide contexts in which children can engage in experimentation
• Facilitate theory building by providing useful materials and experiences

Questions

1. How much education (training) in science do teachers need in order to be effective science teachers? Is training in science an important factor?

2. In a large classroom, if each child during a science activity is asking their own questions and pursuing different investigations, how can the teacher be effective in facilitating and supporting each one of them so that they can make sense of what they are learning.