Every Child A Scientist

As more schools begin to implement the National Science Education Standards, adults who care about the quality of K-12 science education in their communities may want to help their local schools make the transition. This booklet provides guidance to parents and others, explains why high-quality science education is important for all children and young adults, and shows how the quality of school science programs can be measured. Center for Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Education Staff; 1998, 32 pages, 8.5 x 11, single copy, $10.00; 2-9 copies, $7.00 each; 10 or more copies, $4.50 each (no other discounts apply).

As more schools begin to implement the National Science Education Standards, adults who care about the quality of K-12 science education in their communities may want to help their local schools make the transition. This booklet provides guidance to parents and others, explains why high-quality science education is important for all children and young adults, and shows how the quality of school science programs can be measured. Center for Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Education Staff; 1998, 32 pages, 8.5 x 11, single copy, $10.00; 2-9 copies, $7.00 each; 10 or more copies, $4.50 each (no other discounts apply).

Ambitious and encouraging, this text for prospective and practicing elementary and middle school science teachers, grounded in contemporary science education reform, is a valuable resource that supplies concrete approaches to support the science and science-integrated engineering learning of each and every student. At its core, it is based in the view that science is its own culture, consisting of unique thought processes, specialized communication traditions, and distinctive methods and tools. Using culture as a starting point and connecting it to effective instructional approaches, the authors describe how a teacher can make science accessible to students who are typically pushed to the fringe—especially students of color and English language learners. Written in a conversational style, the authors capture the tone they use when they teach their own students. The readers are recognized as professional partners in the shared efforts to increase access, reduce inequities, and give all students the opportunities to participate in science. Changes in the Third Edition: Features an entirely new chapter on engineering and its integration with science in K-8 settings. Provides fresh attention to the Framework and Next Generation Science Standards while distancing previous attention to process skills and inquiry teaching. Incorporates the latest research about science practices, classroom discussions, and culturally responsive strategies. Retains an accessible writing style that encourages teachers to engage in the challenges of providing equitable and excellent science experiences to all children. Updated companion website: online resources provide links to web materials, slideshows specific to each chapter for course instructors’ use, and supplement handouts for in-class activities: www.routledge.com/cw/Settlage

Children are already learning at birth, and they develop and learn at a rapid pace in their early years. This provides a critical foundation for lifelong progress, and the adults who provide for the care and the education of young children bear a great responsibility for their health, development, and learning. Despite the fact that they share the same objective - to nurture young children and secure their future success - the various practitioners who contribute to the care and the education of children from birth through age 8 are not acknowledged as a workforce unified by the common knowledge and competencies needed to do their jobs well. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 explores the science of child development, particularly looking at implications for the professionals who work with children. This report examines the current capacities and practices of the workforce, the settings in which they work, the policies and infrastructure that set qualifications and provide professional learning, and the government agencies and other funders who support and oversee these systems. This book then makes recommendations to improve the quality of professional practice and the practice environment for care and education professionals. These detailed recommendations create a blueprint for action that builds on a unifying foundation of child development and early learning, shared knowledge and competencies for care and education professionals, and principles for effective professional learning. Young children thrive and learn best when they have secure, positive relationships with adults who are knowledgeable about how to support their development and learning and are responsive to their individual progress. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 offers guidance on system changes to improve the quality of professional practice, specific actions to improve professional learning systems and workforce development, and research to continue to build the knowledge base in ways that will directly advance and inform future actions. The recommendations of this book provide an opportunity to improve the quality of the care and the education that children receive, and ultimately improve outcomes for children.

Hands-on science for children who love to investigate, experiment, and explore This Book Thinks You’re a Scientist, developed by the Science Museum, London, as a complement to their new interactive gallery for children, explores seven key scientific areas: force and motion, electricity and magnetism, earth and space, light, matter, sound, and mathematics. Each spread centers on an open-ended question or activity, with space on the page for the child to write, draw, or interact with the book. Bend water with static power. Pack a suitcase for a trip to space. Design a new musical instrument. At the end of the book, there is a section for children to record their own guided independent investigations, including surveys and space to log the results of their experiments. Hand-drawn illustrations and a collage-style photographs encourage creativity and help children to think like a scientist by noticing details, questioning everything, and dreaming up new ideas.

Simple text and full-color photographs depict children engaged in various activities that make up the scientific process: asking questions, noticing details, drawing what they see, taking notes, measuring, performing experiments, and more.