Improving Elementary Science Teaching

Howard B. BaumelAssistant Professor of Biology, Staten Island Community College,

Staten Island, N.Y.

and

J. Joel BergerAssistant Professor of Education^ Richmond College,

Staten Island, N.Y.

The ever increasing awareness of the importance of elementaryschool science has stimulated extensive reform and revision of sciencecurricula at that level. The thrust of these efforts is to develop inchildren the ability to use those logical processes of thinking that areused by scientists in solving problems.Common elements found within these programs are emphasis upon

the spirit of discovery characteristic of science itself, active involve-ment of the children in planning and carrying out experiments, andthe development of an understanding of basic scientific concepts. Inaddition, many of the new curricula are built upon the cognitiveprocesses investigated by such psychologists as Piaget and Bruner.

Institutes sponsored by the National Science Foundation, variousin-service training sessions, as well as graduate and undergraduatecourses in elementary science methodology reflect the philosophyand content of these curricular reforms. Consequently, many pros-pective and practicing elementary school teachers have becomeaware of new approaches to teaching science. Despite this knowledgehowever, there persists among a significant number of elementaryschool teachers a reluctance to give science the attention it merits ina contemporary school program.

Analysis of the science backgrounds common to elementary schoolteachers may explain why more science is not being taught in theirclasses. The science requirements of most colleges are satisfied withthe completion of a one year course in either biology, chemistry,physics, or geology. Statistics reveal, that of these subjects, the mostpopular freshman science course is biology. Thus a large number ofelementary school teachers have had no contact with the physicalsciences at the college level.In addition, these college level courses very often are content rather

than process oriented and factual rather than conceptual in ap-proach. Large group lectures are the usual method of instruction, re-ducing active student participation to a minimum. Many of the

107

108 SchooJ Science and! Mathematics

laboratory sessions are nothing more than exercises with laboratorymaterials in which students arrive at predetermined results.Two types of deficiences emerge from this pattern of college sci-

ence. The lack of exposure to the physical sciences has fosteredteacher insecurity in dealing with concepts in this area. Teachers areunfamiliar with the basic content involved and because they havehad minimal experience in the necessary manipulative skills, theyfeel incapable of performing even the simplest experiments.

Secondly, the teachers^ approach to science reflects their collegesubject matter orientation and tends to involve more ^telling^ than"doing/7 Little opportunity is provided for problem solving situa-tions which help the student to arrive at his own conclusions. Thus,a major goal of science education�the development of a spirit ofinquiry within children�is not achieved.A possible remedy for these conditions involves the establishment

of a unified course for prospective elementary school teachers whichincorporates major elements from biology, chemistry, physics, andgeology and emphasizes science as a process. In addition to gainingsubject matter competence, the students should develop the criticalthinking and problem solving abilities inherent in the methods ofscience.

Early identification of prospective elementary school teacherswould be necessary so that they can be counseled properly in termsof fulfilling their basic science needs. With the mushrooming of thecommunity college, such identification is especially important be-cause these students will have completed their science requirementsbefore starting their professional courses.The current trend in teacher education which involves greater

concentration in the liberal arts than in the professional areas rein-forces the significance of providing future elementary school teacherswith a functional modern science background at the freshman collegelevel.

ALGAE COMBAT PESTICIDE IN WATEROne of the more serious threats posed by overuse of pesticides is to aquatic

environments.The majority of these chemicals, not easily broken down by natural processes,

end up being washed into streams. There they are concentrated in the bodies ofmarine organisms, until eventually they are concentrated enough to injure or killsomething.A blockade of this process has been proposed. Two species of algae are able to

digest the pesticide lindane, causing its disappearance from contaminated waternearly five times faster than in the absence of the algae. By inoculating a lindane-contaminated water supply with these algae the water could be made less toxic.