To succeed in the 21st century, students have to learn how to be creative problem solvers who can work in collaborative groups. These new-world students must have the ability to think critically, use technology efficiently, and communicate effectively. This means teachers have to seriously rethink what is taught. The National Science Education Standards were published in the mid 1990s and were a big step forward. Now, the challenge is to ensure they effectively address the 21st-century skills required in order for students to compete in today’s global market.
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While the study of animals can serve to motivate, it can also present difficulties. Some animals are just too hard to study through inquiry. The animals may be too large or small, too distant, or too dangerous to bring into the classroom. Technology has been critical in enabling students to learn in new ways about many animals. In this edition, the field editor discusses studying animals and their role in the environment.
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This monthly feature contains facts and challenges for the science explorer.
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It’s the first day of the “Animals” unit for Tami Brester’s third-grade class and the first day her students are using Glossopedia, a free online multimedia science encyclopedia. But you wouldn’t know that from observing the kids, who are excitedly researching animals on the internet. This is inquiry-based learning of a special kind, incorporating the best of the internet to support science learning and technology instruction. For this third-grade class, that means learning about living things and how they exist and depend on each other, from food webs to human impact on ecosystems—while also mastering skills to do online research and create multimedia presentations.
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What invertebrates make the best classroom pets? How should we care for each invertebrate? What type of inquiry activities could invertebrates support? How do elementary students respond to invertebrates? These were the questions investigated in The Critter Project, a three-week project that aimed to help students conquer their “critter jitters” while developing inquiry skills. This project was conducted with preservice students, but the questions and investigations are appropriate for elementary students as well.
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Kids tracking sea turtles? No, it’s not a description for a new nature show on TV, it’s a lesson, and it could be happening in your classroom! Sea turtle biologists worldwide are currently working together to track turtles to learn about sea turtle behavior and migration in an effort to conserve these endangered animals. A unit was developed using a modified version of published tracking activities (Sera and Eckert 2005) for third-grade students in which students develop and share computer-generated maps that are based on authentic data. With this information, students can evaluate sea turtle life history, behavior, and environmental hazards, just as scientists are doing today. Now, with only an internet connection, your students can engage in the global mission of sea turtle conservation while at the same time learn about the importance of technology in conservation and understanding of biodiversity.
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Many teachers bring caterpillars into their class for their students to see the transformation from caterpillar to butterfly. This is exciting and educational, but more can be done using Monarchs across the curriculum. An integrated butterfly unit was developed for students in grades four to six that starts with identifying the Monarch host plant (milkweed) and extends to include math, language arts, and social studies.
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When asking about animals, it is hard to find a person who doesn’t recall a beloved pet or share that they’ve always loved dolphins, snakes, or ladybugs. A study of animals in an early childhood classroom, then, would seem an easy entry into science explorations with children. The article includes reflections on teaching to address the gaps between adults’ and children’s conceptions.
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Teachers and schools are required by the No Child Left Behind Act to use research-based instructional practices. Although we often think of research as something university professors do, teachers can contribute to the research base on effective instruction by conducting research in their own classrooms.
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Migrating animals do amazing things. Homing pigeons can find their way “home” across hundreds of miles; salmon return to their spawning location thousands of miles away; turtles travel over eight thousand miles to lay their eggs in the spot where they originally hatched. Scientists have studied how animals navigate around the globe and have discovered a number of mechanisms which are explored in this article.
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What child doesn’t enjoy a good game of hide-and-seek? There is the challenge of finding the perfect hiding spot and, of course, the allure of the hunt. Though children get great pleasure from the game, many members of the animal kingdom are the real masters of this life or death condition—by necessity. Camouflage is one of the amazing adaptations used by some animals to increase their chances of survival. This lesson engages students to improve their understanding of camouflage.
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Have you ever played in the dirt? Repotted a plant? Planted a garden? In each and every one of these activities, you touched something that is a valuable resource in our lives—dirt! This month’s column has students investigating different aspects of something that is right beneath our feet but plays an important role in the daily lives of many organisms.
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Children can have a new favorite animal every week or even every hour. The more familiar the children become with an animal, the more they will be able to understand how its body form and behavior allow it to survive. Learning about the characteristics of organisms and how organisms relate to their environment is part of the National Science Education Content Standard C. Looking at and drawing animals and talking and reading about the way animals live and what they need to survive pulls together art and science while introducing children to animal diversity and the idea of animal adaptation.
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The Tree of Animal Life activity is a simple, sorting exercise that can help them see a bigger picture. The activity sets the stage for learning about animal taxonomy and introduces the characteristics of various animal groups in a general way. Though the activity doesn’t teach about each animal group’s characteristics in great detail, the process of sorting of atypical examples (e.g., bat, octopus) does spark interesting discussions among students on the differences between animals and how scientists classify them. I’ve conducted the activity with students of various ages.
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The projection screen in the dimly lit auditorium was ready and an online chat window was open on the computer screen. Computer experts and entomologists were ready on the other end. One by one, students filled up the rows of seats eagerly anticipating what was going to happen next. Each student was asked to close their eyes. Ms. Hadley asked them: “How many of you really know what an insect looks like? Think of the ant you found crawling on the grass, the ladybug you found by your window, or the insects you learned about in class. What is on the insect? What color is it? Does it have antennae? Does it have a stinger?” With a click of the computer mouse, the first image captured via the Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope (ESEM) at the University of Illinois–Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) was projected on a large screen. The students then opened their eyes. “Wow! Whoa! Cool! Gross!” These are just a few of the reactions when these images were projected onto the large auditorium screen to a group of 75 second graders.
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