Developing students' science skills such as prediction, hypothesis testing, and inferential reasoning is an important goal for educators and schools. International comparisons of science knowledge and skills place U.S. students among the lowest achieving in industrialized nations. These comparisons, and the impending reality that students' achievement test scores in science will soon be used as an indicator of successful or failing schools (e.g., No Child Left Behind Act), have made teaching students science a challenge all schools must face. In Promising Partnership Practices 20041, schools share innovative ways students and families work on science together, as well as ways they create community partnerships to enrich the science experiences of students and their families.
One of the most common science family involvement activities schools plan is a family night, where children and their families come to school to practice and conduct curriculum-related skills and projects. In Buffalo, NY, Southside Elementary School took a different approach to their science family night by adding an element of investigation. Faculty and staff hosted Science Mystery Night, during which teams of students and family members used critical thinking, lab skills, and science knowledge to solve mysteries. School staff developed two different cases, one for the younger students and a more difficult case for the older students. At the end of the evening, teams presented their evidence and explained how the facts helped them solve the mysteries.
Some NNPS schools work with the community to host events that increase student and family exposure to science. Valley View Elementary School and Carl F. Shuler Middle School in Cleveland, OH, collaborated with their local science center to increase students' knowledge and enjoyment of science. Partnering with the Great Lakes Science Center, these schools arranged for students and their families to receive free entrance to the Science Center on a Saturday. Families rotated through different exhibits and watched an OMNIMAX film. On that same day, the Science Center hosted an engineer expo where students and their families could ask professionals about careers that incorporate math and science.
Stanley Makowski Early Childhood Center in Buffalo, NY, worked with the Buffalo Museum of Science to support their goal of teaching science using a hands-on approach. The museum's education department and scientists trained teachers in the exhibits so that they could help host the school's annual "Start with Success" event at the museum. Students and family members who attended the event explored interactive museum exhibits, enjoyed refreshments, and learned about community resources available to them. In addition, families received free, one-year memberships to the Buffalo Museum of Science so that families could enjoy exploring science together throughout the year.
Student science achievement is more likely when children explore their world and uncover the principals of science in their everyday lives. With the help of families and community partners, schools create opportunities for students to solve problems with science, see how science can be part of a career, or simply learn how our world functions. As science educators create innovative ways to present scientific principles to students, they should consider how family and community involvement can support student scientists.
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1 Salinas, K C. & Jansorn, N. R. (2004). Promising Partnership Practices: The 7th Annual Collection from the Members of the National Network of Partnership Schools. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University.