To add to Dick Hake's call for transforming elementary school science, in
part to repair deficient language skills:
Some work is being done. As an example, here's an excerpt from an article
by two outstanding K-12 science coordinators who report on a project in El
Centro, CA, where language skills of K-6 children are markedly improved
using inquiry science.
cheers,
Jane Jackson
"THE RESEARCH ON STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT (ref. 1):
... the El Centro (California) School District, under the leadership of
Superintendent Michael Klentschy, implemented a districtwide focus on
inquiry-based science instruction five years ago. In this traditionally
low-performing district with high levels of poverty and minority
enrollment, teachers and principals received extensive training in
inquiry-based science that continued over the four years of the study, and
they were encouraged to focus their efforts on inquiry-based science
instruction. The results ... indicate that not only did science achievement
scores improve the longer students were taught using the inquiry and kit
methods, but El Centro children in grades 4 and 6 also showed impressive
improvements in their SAT 9 mathematics and READING scores, as well as on
the district's WRITING proficiency exam. Klentschy's project developed out
of "a belief that the skills of reading and mathematics are strengthened
when taught using [the] engaging, high-interest content" of inquiry-based
science.
The results in El Centro speak for themselves. The district's fourth- and
sixth-graders who received inquiry-based science instruction for the full
four years scored approximately 35% better in math and 28% better in
reading, on average, than their classmates who had not been exposed to
inquiry-based instruction. Furthermore, on the district's writing
proficiency exam, sixth-graders who had not received inquiry-based science
instruction scored 23% on the test, while those who had been taught using
the hands-on methods with science kits for the full four years of the
program scored 89%.
El Centro's incredible success is attributable to Klentschy's vision and to
the energies of committed, focused educators at each school. But the
academic foundation for the revolutionary achievements in reading, math,
and writing are rooted in the singular educational focus of the district
over four years: inquiry-based science instruction."
...
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References:
1. Jorgenson, Olaf; and Vanosdall, Rick (2002). THE DEATH OF SCIENCE? What
We Risk in Our Rush Toward Standardized Testing and the Three R's. Phi
Delta Kappan 83:8 April 2002.
Online at <http://www.pdkintl.org/kappan/k0204jor.htm>
2. Amaral, Olga; Garrison, Leslie; and Klentschy, Michael (2002).
INQUIRY-BASED SCIENCE INSTRUCTION: Helping English Learners Increase
Achievement Through Inquiry-Based Science Instruction. Bilingual Research
Journal 26: 2 Summer 2002 214. Online at
<http://brj.asu.edu/content/vol26_no2/pdf/ART2.PDF>