Science education offers opportunities and poses challenges to teachers and students in elementary schools. Beginning in 2007-08, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) requires states to assess students’ science learning in at least one grade level each year in grades 3-5, 6-9, and 10-12. Many elementary teachers, however, are unsure about new directions for science instruction using hands-on and inquiry-based approaches. NNPS notes that school, family, and community partnerships help teachers create opportunities for students to study science as active learners.
Parents want to know about the science units that their children study, and can be good partners for young scientists who need to conduct science experiments for homework. Community groups and individuals also play important roles in providing resources and expertise to supplement science classroom instruction.
In NNPS, schools are developing promising partnership practices that enrich science instruction and engage students and families in science. Among many strategies, schools share information with families, create family science nights, include families on field trips, guide families in how to help with science fair projects, and assign interactive homework for students to share their work in science with a family partner. Here are a few examples.1
A family field trip to the Dodge Nature Center sponsored by the Action Team for Partnerships at Roosevelt Elementary School in St. Paul engaged 135 family members with students in grades K-3 to learn about nature up close and personal. They explored ecosystems, studied insects, visited farm animals, and attended exhibits and demonstrations.
A Science Sci-Fari Adventure at Newton Road Elementary School in Virginia Beach brought more than 200 students and 150 parents to enjoy a family science night. This exciting expedition led participants through a series of stations in the school gymnasium, where they made discoveries and found answers to many science questions, such as: Which item did mold grow on fastest? Did plants fed Coca-Cola or water grow taller?
The Museum Magnet School in St. Paul hosted four family nights for different grade levels, with learning stations and student presentations. The school collaborated with the Minnesota Science Museum, which provided staff and equipment, and with local high school students who helped with activities. Students presented their work and answered “key knowledge questions” asked by parents on topics such as magnetism, microscopes, and more. By featuring students and their work, this family night highlighted the most important side of science learning.
Strategic Learning Initiatives in Chicago conducted a workshop for parents in three Chicago schools on Understanding Science Fair Projects – one of more than a dozen workshops designed to help involve parents in their children’s learning. About 130 parents received information on the scientific method, conducted experiments, recorded results, and gained a better understanding of what science fair projects involve and how to assist their children. The goal was to enable students to take responsibility for conducting their own projects.
NNPS developed Teachers Involve Parents in Schoolwork (TIPS), which includes hundreds of prototype assignments for science in the middle grades. TIPS-Science homework requires students to talk with a family partner about something interesting they are learning each week in science class. Pikesville Middle School in Maryland partnered with NNPS to increase the number of sample homework activities for various science units. See the TIPS section of the NNPS website for information on available resources, including a video produced by ASCD that shows how the school’s teachers, students, and families used the TIPS-Science process.
As stated by the National Science Education Standards (1996), "An understanding of science makes it possible for everyone to share in the richness and excitement of comprehending the natural world."2 Major goals in the elementary grades are for students to enjoy science, learn to solve problems, think critically, use technology, and discuss scientific issues. Their early experiences should prepare students for advanced work in middle and high school, and some will go on to explore science careers. NNPS is learning that, along with high-quality teaching, family and community involvement can boost students’ interest and success in science.
Marsha D. Greenfeld
mgreenfeld@csos.jhu.edu
1 To learn more about these and other science partnership activities, visit the NNPS website, www.partnershipschools.org. Click on Success Stories and see the 2005 and 2006 editions of Promising Partnership Practices.
2 See National Science Education Standards from the National Academies Press at http://books.nap.edu/readingroom/books/nses/overview.html.