Science Curriculum in New York
Researching the US National Standards of Science Education and the New York State Science Standards gave our group valuable information about any science curriculum in New York State. We searched the Web and the New York State Standards for Mathematics, Science, and Technology booklet. Conducting an interview with both Ethanie Holl, kindergarten teacher, and Dr. LaChance, professor, were also very helpful.
To start with here is a list of principles that guided the National Science Education Standards (NSES).
#1 Science is for all students.
#2 Learning science is an active process.
#3 School science reflects the intellectual and cultural tradition
that characterize the practice of contemporary science.
#4 Improving science education is part of sysemic education reform.
Following is a list of the seven New York State Standards for Mathematics, Science, and Technology.
#1 Students will use mathematical analysis, scientific inquiry, engineering design, as
appropriate, to pose questions, seek answers, and develop solutions.
#2 Students will access, generate, process, and transfer information using appropriate
technologies.
#3 Students will understand mathematics and become mathematically confident by
communicating and reasoning mathematically, by applying math in real-world settings,
and by solving problems through the integrated study of number systems, geometry,
algebra, data analysis, probability, and trigonometry.
#4 Students will understand and apply scientific concepts, principles, and theories
pertaining to the physical setting and living environment and recognize the
historical development of ideas in science.
#5 Students will apply technological knowledge and skills to design, construct, use and
evaluate products and systems to satisfy human and environmental needs.
#6 Students will understand the relationships and common themes that connect math,
science, and technology and apply the themes to these and other areas of learning.
#7 Students will apply the knowlege and thinking skills of math, science, and technology
to address real-life problems and make informed decisions.
From our research on the Web and in the booklet, we found that the State standards were derived from the national standards. In other words the National Standards were set with the idea of state and local officials creating the curriculum, assessment programs, and staff development activities that are appropriate for that state/district. The National standards encourage policies that will bring coordination, consistency, and coherence to the improvement of science education.
Since 2010, there were 45 states that have adopted the same educational standards called Common Core State Standards (CCSS). The initiative is sponsored by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers and seeks to establish consistent education standards across the states. The Common Core Standards is initiative state-led effort that established a single set of clear educational standards for kindergarten through 12th grade in English and Mathematical standards. These standards help to educate all of the students equally, they help children who move from state to state, as well as they help to prepare students for college and workplace. The common core standard helps to provide a clear understanding for teachers and parents of what is expected of the students to learn. It is designed to help educate our children for the future; it gives them the knowledge and skill they need to be prepared for post secondary education and employment. "The standards are designed to be robust and relevant to the real world." (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Council of Chief State School Officers)
National Governors Association Center for Best Practices. "Read the Common Core Standards:." Common Core State Standards Initiative. Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010. Web. 18 Oct. 2015.
Sir Isaac Newton was born into a European society which had been grappling with the problem of growing scientific knowledge in relation to religion. Newton was no exception to this. He remained an extremely religious man while making his vast scientific discoveries. The exaltation of God and his hope to prove God's universe is perfect inspired a great deal of his writings. Newton was most certainly a genius.
Includes statewide academic standards, state assessments aligned to the standards, and student performance levels established prof...
Michael, S.et al. (2008). Prospects for improving K-12 science education from the federal level. Journal of Education 69(9): 677-683.
Although history most reveres Newton as a scientific genius, his theological knowledge was also outstanding. John Locke wrote, "Mr. Newton is a very valuable man, not only for his wonderful skill in mathematics, but in divinity too, and his great knowledge of the Scriptures, wherein I know few equals . . .."2 Newton s...
... Standards (AIMS). Arizona Department of Education. Retrieved October 24, 2002 from the World Wide Web:
The first step in discovering what hides behind the curtain of Common Core is judging its foundations. It its most primitive form, the ideology of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) began as the Elementary and Second Education Act in 1965, which minimally increased the amount of financial support from the federal government which would be allowed in the public school system. The next major step for this government-endorsed education arrived more controversially in 2002, and was renamed the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. The NCLB raised concerns from individuals of all sides of the political spectrum, as the act enabled even greater federal intervention in the developing of policies in local education establishments. Additionally, the NCLB mandated nationwide testing, that, while states were allowed to develop their own tests so long as they aligned with the NCLB standards, had to be reported in order to determine if any
There are many studies have conducted on the Common Core issue. I am interested in reading and knowing this topic, the Common Core Standards in the American perspective. According to State Standards Initiative, the Common Core State Standards established curricula for English language arts and literacy in history/social studies, science, and technical subjects “the Standards” are the peak of a prolonged effort to carry out the charge supplied by the states to build the generation of K-12 standards to help guarantee that all learners are college and occupation ready in knowledge at the end of high school. (Schutz, n.d.).
Newtonianism has been an influence on many. You see my name has been used to describe many different viewpoints. My name has had such an influential effect that it has become a religion. Newtonianism sees me as a paradigm of rational belief and my work was a model for understanding and looking at the universe in the terms of laws. It was put in many social and cultural areas in the eighteenth century. My work was an inspiration for many others. As my work did inspire others to look into the world of science and the mysteries of the universe, it also had some bad effects when it came to religion. Voltaire, a philosopher, was mainly responsible for popularizing Newtonian ideas across Europe. Christians saw Newtonian ideas as a threat to them
...l Society for Technology in Education (2007). National educational technology standards for students. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForStudents/2007Standards/NETS_for_Students_2007.htm
This class has opened my mind to the incredible impact that STEM Education can have on our society. I do not work in an institution that has a STEM program. I work at a preschool; this makes my practice of any type of STEM program extremely limited. However, it is a private school. All my students come from households where one or both of their parents are professionals. These professionals want their children to be academically prepared for school. This means we must academically, mentally, and emotionally prepare them for their future schooling. I teach my students how to be a functioning participant in a classroom while exploring mathematics, science, art, history, literature and pre-writing. Puzzles, counting, shapes, measuring, etc. are on the daily agenda. Science is a huge part of our curriculum. Science in the
Entering my kindergarten teaching experience in the last quarter of school year I had to quickly become familiar with kindergarten content standards and the school’s curriculum. To do this I observed my mentor teachers instructional time with the children and gained as much information as I could about the children’s educational standing by developing a professional relationship with the my mentor teacher and the children. I learned that the majority of my kindergarten children had not previously attended preschool and that this was their first year of school. I found that interacting with the children in social activities provided me with great insight to their literacy, math, science, and social studies development. In reviewing the children’s class projects, school displays, and an array of their work sample along with my mentor teachers year-long assessments I was able to recognize challenging, emerging and advanced content areas of the children’s core curriculum. These emerging and challenging content areas is what I centered my curriculum planning around. “Information about each child’s learning and development is used to evaluate teaching effectiveness. This may lead to changes in schedule, curriculum and teaching strategies, room set up, resources, and so on.” (Bredekamp and Copple, p. 249)
The Access Center. (n.d.). Science inquiry: the link to accessing the general education curriculum. Retrieved from http://www.k8accesscenter.org/training_resources/ScienceInquiry_accesscurriculum.asp
Children in grades 3 through 5 are moving from "learning to read" to "reading to learn" and from "learning to write" to "writing to communicate". Students learn to work independently. They learn to read words and make mental pictures. Third through fifth graders also learn to write paragraphs, short essays and stories that make a point. The curriculum becomes more integrated. "Reading to learn" helps third through fifth graders better understand the scientific method and how to test hypotheses about the physical world. Additionally, "reading to learn" aids students in graphing and calculating scientific observations and then writing up their conclusions. Third grade science class will open new worlds of wonder and invite curious mind to explore (Williams, 2012).