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Frequently Asked Questions: This page contains answers to common questions
of students and parents.
- What is science?
- What does it mean to think like a scientist?
- Want to know how to get better grades? Get motivated to do Homework?
- What is the Design Process?
- What is Global Warming?
- Does Parent involvement make a difference?
What is science? It is simply the study of the world around us. We can act like
scientists just by observing the world and asking questions about
it. Then by doing experiments, research and collecting data we
can find answers to those questions.
What does it mean to think like a scientist? It means:
1. Being curious
2. making better observations
3. Asking lots of questions
4. Searching for the answers by conducting experiments and doing
research
5. Can you add anything to this list
Want to know how to get better grades? Get motivated to do Homework? Visit the wikiHow web page at: http://www.wikihow.com/Find-
Motivation-to-do-Homework. This web site offers tactics and
strategies to help you do better in school. Visit the web page by
clicking on LINKS to wikiHow. This site also offers many HOW TO
fun activities as well. Check it out!
What is the Design Process? The design process can be applied to any aspect of building or
problem solving. Follow these steps: Ask-What do I want to do?
What's the problem?
Imagine-What are some solutions, Brainstorm ideas, Plan-Draw a
diagram of your idea, Make a list of materials you'll need, How
will you test it?
Create-Build a Protoype, Test it. Talk about what works, what
doesn't and what could you do better!, Make modifications/
adjustments or improvements to your design- Think about how you
could improve your product. Draw new designs. Make it better.
Retest.
What is Global Warming? It is the increase in the earth's atmospheric temperature due to
an increase in the amounts of Greenhouse gases: Carbon Dioxide,
Methane, Nitrous Oxides and water vapor, that trap heat and warm
the planet. Scientists now believe the increase is due to the
burning of fossil fuels: like Coal, oil and natural gas. This
increase will lead to ice melting, warmer climates, changes in
the ocean temperatures and an increase in the numbers and
intensities of weather storms.
We can Help. We need to demand that power companies use
less fossil fuels and more renewable-so-called;Green fuels, like:
solar, wind, hydro, bio, and fuel cells. We can Turn off the
lights when not needed, ride bikes instead of the car, close the
door when it's cold outside, use less hot water, recycle more,
switch to energy effecient applianaces and light bulbs-CFL-
Compact Flourescent Lights.
Can you add to this list?
Does Parent involvement make a difference? NSTA Position Statement:
Parent Involvement in Science Learning
The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) believes the
involvement of parents and other caregivers in their children’s
learning is crucial to their children’s interest in and ability
to learn science. Research shows that when parents play an active
role, their children achieve greater success as learners,
regardless of socioeconomic status, ethnic/racial background, or
the parents’ own level of education (PTA 1999; Henderson and Mapp
2002; Pate and Andrews 2006). Furthermore, the more intensely
parents are involved, the more confident and engaged their
children are as learners and the more beneficial the effects on
their achievement (Cotton and Wikelund 2001).
Historically, innovations in science and technology have been
powerful forces for improving our quality of life and fueling
economic development worldwide. To continue to reap the economic
and social benefits that accrue from such innovation, as well as
to find solutions to challenging problems in the areas of health,
energy, and the environment, we must ensure parents and children
value science learning and recognize the tremendous opportunities
that can arise from being more scientifically and technologically
literate and better prepared to participate in the 21st-century
workforce.
Parents and other caregivers have a critical role to play in
encouraging and supporting their children’s science learning at
home, in school, and throughout their community. Teachers also
play an important role in this effort and can be valuable
partners with parents in cultivating science learning confidence
and skills in school-age youth. NSTA recognizes the importance of
parent involvement in science learning and offers the following
recommendations to parents.
Declarations
Children are naturally curious about the world around them.
Parents and other caregivers can nurture this curiosity in
children of all ages by creating a positive and safe environment
at home for exploration and discovery.
• Acknowledge and encourage your children’s interests and
natural abilities in science, and help them further develop their
interests and abilities over time.
• Encourage your children to observe, ask questions,
experiment, tinker, and seek their own understandings of natural
and human-made phenomena.
• Foster children’s creative and critical thinking, problem
solving, and resourcefulness through authentic tasks such as
cooking, doing household chores, gardening, repairing a bike or
other household object, planning a trip, and other everyday
activities. Actively engage with your children during mealtime
discussions or group games requiring mental or physical skills,
or by talking about books they are reading or television programs
about science they have watched.
• Provide frequent opportunities for science learning at
home and in the community through outdoor play; participation in
summer programs; or trips to parks, museums, zoos, nature
centers, and other interesting science-rich sites in the
community.
• Provide your children easy access to science learning
resources such as books, educational toys and games, videos/DVDs,
and online or computer-based resources.
• Join your children in learning new things about science
and technology. Take advantage of not knowing all the answers to
your children’s questions, and embrace opportunities to learn
science together.
Schools are essential resources for science learning. The more
actively engaged parents and other caregivers are in their
children’s schooling, the more beneficial schools can be for
building their child’s appreciation and knowledge of and
confidence and skills in science and technology (Cotton and
Wikelund 2001). This holds true throughout the school-age years,
from preschool through college.
• Become a partner in your children’s schooling.
Communicate regularly with your children and their teachers,
school administrators, and counselors to learn more about your
children’s science learning opportunities and performance.
• Encourage your children to participate in extracurricular
opportunities focused on science, technology, engineering, and
math (STEM), such as clubs, field trips, after-school programs,
and science research competitions.
• Seek out opportunities to meet and get to know teachers
of science. Volunteer in the classroom or on a field trip; serve
on a science curriculum review or policy development committees;
or attend a school’s open house or family science night event.
• Be informed about the science program at your children’s
school. Learn more about the school’s curriculum and the amount
of time devoted to science learning and hands-on laboratory
experiences at each grade level, and find out whether teachers
believe they have the necessary resources and experience to teach
science effectively. Become involved with the local school board
to ensure that science learning is a top priority in the school
system and that adequate resources are available. If you are home
schooling, be sure that you are meeting or exceeding the same
science standards covered in the local school curriculum.
• Establish high expectations for your children’s science
learning, as well as for the school system that fosters it.
• Be an advocate for science learning by supporting local,
state, and national science education policies and investments in
science resources, including school curriculum materials,
laboratory equipment, and teacher and administrator professional
development. It is also important to advocate for organizations
that support schools and home school families, including museums,
libraries, and other science-rich nonprofit organizations.
• Reach out to policy makers to impress upon them the value
of science and technology learning and its importance to your
children’s future.
Parents and other caregivers play an important role in ensuring
that their children have the necessary knowledge and skills in
science and technology to become scientifically literate and
informed citizens. It also is imperative that we develop a strong
science- and technology-skilled workforce. Parents can encourage
children to consider and pursue a science- or technology-related
career and to obtain the necessary knowledge and skills that will
allow them access to and success in such a career.
• Seek out opportunities to introduce your children to
individuals in your community whose work relates to science or
technology. This may include trades and professions such as
construction or manufacturing, public safety, medicine, natural
resource management, or research.
• Participate in “Take Your Child to Work” days, and expose
them to the science and technology in your workplace. Encourage
your employer to promote and support these opportunities.
• Attend career fairs with your children. Help them explore
a broad range of career options and learn about and understand
the necessary skills and coursework required to pursue these
careers.
• Look for special events and programs in your community
that enable your children to meet scientists, or visit a worksite
or local university where science and technology are prevalent.
Support your children's participation in online academic
mentorship programs that pair students and scientists to carry
out STEM projects.
• Find opportunities in your community to connect science
and technology businesses, schools, and non-school learning
venues such as museums, libraries, and clubs. Encourage both
financial and personnel investments in science learning. Ask
businesses to give employees release time to support science
learning at school or in the community and to become mentors for
school-age youth.
• Encourage your children to disbelieve negative
stereotypes about scientists, and help them understand that
anyone can have a career in science.
• Model values that support learning, self-sufficiency,
responsibility, and hard work so your children will develop at an
early age the confidence and determination to pursue their career
interests in science or technology.
—Adopted by the NSTA Board of Directors
April 2009
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