Teaching The Science Process Skills

Contributed by:
kevin
Science and teaching students about science means more than scientific knowledge. There are three dimensions
of science that are all important. The first of these is the content of science, the basic concepts, and our scientific knowledge. This is the dimension of science that most people first think about, and it is certainly very important.
1. HOW CAN WE U N D E R S TA N D OUR W AT E R R E S O U R C E S ?
Teaching The Science
Process Skills
What Are the Science Process Skills? attitude is a respect for the methods and
values of science. These scientific methods and
cience and teaching students about values include seeking to answer questions
science means more than scientific using some kind of evidence, recognizing the
knowledge. There are three dimensions importance of rechecking data, and under-
of science that are all important. The first standing that scientific knowledge and theories
of these is the content of science, the basic change over time as more information
concepts, and our scientific knowledge. This is gathered.
is the dimension of science that most people
first think about, and it is certainly
S IX B ASIC P ROCESS S KILLS
very important.
The science process skills form the foundation
The other two important dimensions of science
for scientific methods. There are six basic
in addition to science knowledge are processes
science process skills:
of doing science and scientific attitudes. The
processes of doing science are the science • Observation
process skills that scientists use in the process • Communication
of doing science. Since science is about asking • Classification
questions and finding answers to questions, • Measurement
these are actually the same skills that we all
• Inference
use in our daily lives as we try to figure out
• Prediction
everyday questions. When we teach students
to use these skills in science, we are also These basic skills are integrated together when
teaching them skills that they will use in the scientists design and carry out experiments
future in every area of their lives. or in everyday life when we all carry out fair
test experiments. All the six basic skills are
The third dimension of science focuses on the
important individually as well as when they
characteristic attitudes and dispositions of
are integrated together.
science. These include such things as being
curious and imaginative, as well as being The six basic skills can be put in a logical
enthusiastic about asking questions and order of increasing sophistication, although
solving problems. Another desirable scientific even the youngest students will use all of the
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skills alongside one another at various times. grade includes content from all areas of
In the earliest grades students will spend a science, organized in strands across these
larger amount of time using skills such as grade levels, the science process skills SOL
observation and communication. As students falls in the Scientific Investigation, Reasoning,
get older they will start to spend more time and Logic strand. For grades 7–12 (Life
using the skills of inference and prediction. Science, Physical Science, Earth Science,
Classification and measurement tend to be Biology, Chemistry, then Physics) the SOL are
used across the grade levels more evenly, no longer organized in vertical strands, but the
partly because there are different ways to do first SOL at each of these grade levels still
classifying, in increasingly complex ways, and defines the science process skills to be taught
because methods and systems of measuring and practiced at that grade level. For all grade
must also be introduced to children gradually levels K – 12, the intention is that the science
over time. process skills be taught and practiced by
students in the context of the content SOL
Integrating the basic science process skills
for that grade level. Students will work on
together and gradually developing abilities to
different content areas of science during the
design fair tests is increasingly emphasized in
year, and all year long they will continue to
successive grade levels, and is an expectation
use and develop further the science process
of students by fourth grade. The Virginia
skills for their grade level.
Standard of Learning (SOL) 4.1 for fourth-
graders includes, for example, creating
hypotheses and identifying and manipulating
S CIENCE B EGINS W ITH O BSERVATION
variables in simple experiments. At this level, Observing is the fundamental science process
the students are beginning to really ask and skill. We observe objects and events using
answer their own questions in a scientific all our five senses, and this is how we learn
sense. The following Designing an Experiment about the world around us. The ability to
and Analyzing Experimental Data sections will make good observations is also essential to
focus on using the integrated science process the development of the other science process
skills to design experiments and reach skills: communicating, classifying, measuring,
conclusions. inferring, and predicting. The simplest obser-
vations, made using only the senses, are
In the Virginia Standards of Learning, the first
qualitative observations. For example, the leaf
science SOL (x.1) at every grade level K – 12
is light green in color or the leaf is waxy and
tells which of the science process skills should
smooth. Observations that involve a number
be introduced and emphasized at that grade
or quantity are quantitative observations. For
level. For grades K–6, where the SOL at each
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example, the mass of one leaf is five grams O BSERVATION AND C OMMUNICATION
or the leaves are clustered in groups of five. G O H AND IN H AND
Quantitative observations give more precise
As implied already, communication, the
information than our senses alone.
second of the basic science process skills,
Not surprisingly, students, especially younger goes hand in hand with observation. Students
children, need help in order to make good have to communicate in order to share their
observations. Good, productive observations observations with someone else, and the
are detailed and accurate written or drawn communication must be clear and effective
descriptions, and students need to be promp- if the other person is to understand the
ted to produce these elaborate descriptions. information. One of the keys to communicating
The reason that observations must be so full of effectively is to use so-called referents, refer-
detail is that only then can students increase ences to items that the other person is already
their understanding of the concepts being stud- familiar with. For example, we often describe
ied. Whether students are observing with their colors using referents. We might say sky
five senses or with instruments to blue, grass green, or lemon yellow to describe
aid them, we can guide them to make better particular shades of blue, green, or yellow.
more detailed descriptions. We can do this The idea is to communicate using descriptive
by listening to students’ initial observations words for which both people share a common
and then prompting them to elaborate. For understanding. Without referents, we open the
example, if a student is describing what he or door to misunderstandings. If we just say hot
she can see, they might describe the color of an or rough, for example, our audience might have
object but not its size or shape. A student a different idea of how hot or how rough. If a
might describe the volume of a sound but not student is trying to describe the size of a
its pitch or rhythm. We can prompt students to pinecone they might use the size of his or her
add details to their descriptions no matter shoe as a referent. The pinecone could be
which of the five senses they are using. There either larger or smaller than his shoe.
are other ways that we can prompt students
The additional science process skill of meas-
to make more elaborate descriptions. For exam-
uring is really just a special case of observing
ple, if something is changing, students should
and communicating. When we measure some
include, before, during, and after appearances
property, we compare the property to a defined
in their observations. If possible, students
referent called a unit. A measurement state-
should be encouraged to name what is being
ment contains two parts, a number to tell us
how much or how many, and a name for
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the unit to tell us how much of what. The out backbones. A binary classification can also
use of the number makes a measurement a be carried out using more than one property at
quantitative observation. once. Objects in one group must have all of
the required properties; otherwise they will
Students can communicate their observations
belong to the other group.
verbally, in writing, or by drawing pictures.
Other methods of communication that are A multi-stage classification is constructed by
often used in science include graphs, charts, performing consecutive binary classifications
maps, diagrams, and visual demonstrations. on a set of objects and then on each of the
ensuing subsets. The result is a classification
C LASSIFYING I NTO G ROUPS system consisting of layers or stages. A
multi-stage classification is complete when
Students in the early grades are expected to be
each of the objects in the original set has
able to sort objects or phenomena into groups
been separated into a category by itself. The
based on their observations. Grouping objects
familiar classifications of the animal and
or events is a way of imposing order based on
plant kingdoms are examples of multi-stage
similarities, differences, and interrelationships.
class-ifications. A useful activity for younger
This is an important step towards a better
children could be to create a multi-stage clas-
understanding of the different objects and
sification of some local animals using physical
events in the world.
and/or behavioral similarities and differences.
There are several different methods of class-
The Virginia Science SOL match the different
ification. Perhaps the simplest method is serial
classification skills to the different grade
ordering. Objects are placed into rank order
levels. In kindergarten, children are expected
based on some property. For example, students
to sequence a set of objects according to size.
can be serial ordered according to height, or
The kindergarteners are also expected to
different breakfast cereals can be serial ordered
separate a set of objects into two groups based
according to number of calories per serving.
on a single physical attribute. (See Science
Two other methods of classification are binary
SOL K.1.) In first grade, students should
classification and multistage classification. In a
classify and arrange both objects and events
binary classification system, a set of objects is
according to various attributes or properties
simply divided into two subsets. This is usually
(1.1). In second grade, students should classify
done on the basis of whether each object has
items using two or more attributes (2.1). In
or does not have a particular property. For
third grade, students should classify objects
example, animals can be classified into two
with similar characteristics into at least two
groups: those with backbones and those with-
sets and two subsets, and they should also
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sequence natural events chronologically (3.1). asking students questions about their observa-
In fourth grade, students should classify tions we can encourage the students to think
data to create frequency distributions (4.1); about the meaning of the observations.
in fifth grade, students should identify rocks, Thinking about making inferences in this way
minerals, and organisms using a classification should remind us that inferences link what
key (5.1); and in sixth grade, students should has been observed together with what is
develop a classification system based on already known from previous experiences. We
multiple attributes (6.1). use our past experiences to help us interpret
our observations.
M AKING I NFERENCES AND P REDICTIONS Often many different inferences can be
Unlike observations, which are direct evidence made based on the same observations. Our
gathered about an object, inferences are expla- inferences also may change as we make
nations or interpretations that follow from the additional observations. We are generally
observations. For example, it is an observation more confident about our inferences when
to say an insect released a dark, sticky liquid our observations fit well with our past exper-
from its mouth, and it is an inference to state, iences. We are also more confident about
the insect released a dark, sticky liquid from its our inferences as we gather more and more
mouth because it is upset and trying to defend supporting evidence. When students are trying
itself. When we are able to make inferences, to make inferences, they will often need to
and interpret and explain events around us, go back and make additional observations
we have a better appreciation of the environ- in order to become more confident in their
ment around us. Scientists’ hypotheses about inferences. For example, seeing an insect
why events happen as they do are based on release a dark, sticky liquid many times
inferences regarding investigations. whenever it is picked up and held tightly
will increase our confidence that it does this
Students need to be taught the difference
because it is up-set and trying to defend itself.
between observations and inferences. They
Sometimes making additional observations
need to be able to differentiate for themselves
will reinforce our inferences, but sometimes
the evidence they gather about the world as
additional information will cause us to modify
observations and the interpretations or infer-
or even reject earlier inferences. In science,
ences they make based on the observations.
inferences about how things work are contin-
We can help students make this distinction
ually constructed, modified, and even rejected
by first prompting them to be detailed and
based on new observations.
descriptive in their observations. Then, by
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Making predictions is making educated guess- R ESOURCES
es about the outcomes of future events. We are
• A Key to Science Learning. Yockey, J. A.
forecasting future observations. The ability
(2001). Science & Children, 38(7), 36-41.
to make predictions about future events
allows us to successfully interact with the An article at the elementary school level,
environment around us. Prediction is based describing a simple writing technique to help
on both good observation and inferences made students communicate the important science
about observed events. Like inferences, predic- concepts they have learned.
tions are based on both what we observe and
also our past experiences the mental models • Centimeters, Millimeters, & Monsters.
we have built up from those experiences. So, Goldston, J. M., Marlette, S., & Pennington,
predictions are not just guesses! Predictions A. (2001). Science & Children, 39(2), 42-47.
based on our inferences or hypotheses about
An article at the elementary school level,
events give us a way to test those inferences or
describing a humorous way to teach
hypotheses. If the prediction turns out to be
metric units.
correct, then we have greater confidence in our
inference/hypothesis. This is the basis of the
• Drawing on Student Understanding. Stein,
scientific process used by scientists who are
M., McNair, S., & Butcher, J. (2001).
asking and answering questions by integrating
Science & Children, 38(4), 18-22.
together the six basic science process skills.
This article, at the elementary school level,
In summary, successfully integrating the
describes how children can use drawings
science process skills with classroom lessons
to communicate their understanding of
and field investigations will make the learning
animals. In the process, student learning
experiences richer and more meaningful for
about the animals is reinforced, as the
students. Students will be learning the skills
children are encouraged to think deeply
of science as well as science content. The
about what they know and have observed.
students will be actively engaged with the
science they are learning and thus reach a
deeper understanding of the content. Finally • Learning and Assessing Science Process
active engagement with science will likely lead Skills. Rezba, R. J., Sprague, C. S., Fiel, R.
students to become more interested and have L., Funk, H. J., Okey, J. R., & Jaus, H. H.
more positive attitudes towards science. (3rd Ed.). (1995). Dubuque, IA:
Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company.
TEACHING THE SCIENCE PROCESS SKILLS 6/10
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A comprehensive text describing both the
basic science process skills and the inte-
grated science process skills in detail, along
with suggestions of activities incorporating
the skills with science content and approp-
riate assessment methods.
• Oh Say Can You See ? Checkovich, B. H., &
Sterling, D. R. (2001). Science & Children,
38(4), 32-35.
An article at the elementary school level,
describing a simple strategy for improving
students’ observation skills.
• Teaching & Learning The Basic Science Skills:
Videotape Series. Rezba, R. J. (1999). Office
of Elementary and Middle School Instruc-
tional Services, Virginia Department of
Education, P.O. Box 2120, Richmond, VA
23218-2120. Call media office for copies of
videotapes at 804-225-2980.
• When a Hypothesis is NOT an Educated
Guess. Baxter, L. M., & Kurtz, M. J. (2001).
Science & Children, 38(7), 18-20.
An article at the elementary school level,
discussing the difference between making a
prediction (an educated guess about the out-
come of a test) and forming a hypothesis (an
educated guess about why the outcomes
occurred).
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