Even before elementary school, children ask questions of each other and of adults about things around them, including the natural and designed world. If students develop the practices of science and engineering, they can ask better questions and improve how they define problems.
Science and Engineering Practice Poster
What are the Science and Engineering Practices?
- Asking questions and defining problems
- Developing and using models
- Planning and carrying out investigations
- Analyzing and interpreting data
- Using mathematics and computational thinking
- Constructing explanations and designing solutions
- Engaging in argument from evidence
- Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information
Science and Engineering Practice Poster
(student friendly language)
“The new emphasis on practices reinforces the need for school science programs to actively involve students through investigations and, in the 21st century, digitally based programs and activities. Science and engineering practices should be thought of as both learning outcomes and instructional strategies. They represent both educational ends and instructional means. First, students should develop the abilities described in the practices, and they should understand how science knowledge and engineering products develop as a result of the practices. Second, as instructional strategies, the practices provide a means to the learning outcomes just described and other valued outcomes such as students’ understanding of the core ideas and crosscutting concepts expressed in the framework. In brief, the practices represent one aspect of what students are to know, what they are able to do, and how they should be taught,” explains Rodger W. Bybee.
Click HERE to read the entire article by Rodger W. Bybee with further explanations of the 8 Science and Engineering Practices.
