Elementary Science Methods: A Constructivist Approach

This popular text is the first science methods book to truly practice what it preaches, using a constructivist approach to guide students in learning how to teach in a constructivist manner. The text includes a wealth of open-ended inquiry activities, such as "Constructing Your Ideas," for students to complete in class. These activities help students to construct their own personal conceptualizations about teaching science in the elementary school. This text also features over 170 process-oriented activities for children, including "Constructing Science in the Classroom" and "In the Schools," each keyed to grade levels, and each open-ended, so teachers can encourage children to develop and perform their own investigations. All activities are linked to National Science Education Standards for appropriate content, professional development, assessment, and teaching, and the activities contain suggestions of appropriate accompanying children's literature. Martin's text takes the approach that it is more important for children to learn how to do science than it is for them to learn about science. Children learn how to do science by mastering the scientific processes and applying them in inquiries into scientific questions. Employing the constructivist approach, teachers help children form personally-constructed meanings from their own experience and thought. The text is predicated on the reality that teachers of elementary science do not need to know a great deal of science to be good science teachers, but need to be co-inquirers with their students.

David Jerner Martin is a respected science educator and author of several textbooks including CONSTRUCTING EARLY CHILDHOOD SCIENCE and ELEMENTARY SCIENCE METHODS: A CONSTRUCTIVIST APPROACH. He is Professor of Science Education at Kennesaw State University in Kennesaw, Georgia, and has over 30 years of teaching experience in all areas from elementary school through college. He has served as an elementary science education consultant throughout the United States and abroad. His text, ELEMENTARY SCIENCE METHODS: A CONSTRUCTIVIST APPROACH has been translated into Korean and is being used in Korean universities.