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Journal Critique: [Content and Curriculum]
EDUC 324 Teaching Elementary and Middle School Science
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Journal Critique: [Content and Curriculum]
The growth of scientific students' learning is greatly influenced by early science
education. A strong basis for future learning is established by introducing science at a much
younger age, even before elementary school. Building upon this knowledge as most students
reach higher learning levels is considerably simpler with this strong foundation. The article that I
have chosen is called Explore Early written by Jennifer Gallo-Fox and Lauren Stegeman. The
authors of this article that I have selected for evaluation has talked about the disparity in
science proficiency among kids and how to close it by concentrating on the youngest students.
This journal article's content makes it clear how early science education can lay a strong
foundation for kids as they get older.
Summary
The study I decided to use for this assignment is called Early Learning and it was
published in the journal Science and Children. The article talked about how elementary students
and middle school students are frequently given more attention than younger students.
Especially when it comes to introducing different scientific ideas, it is vital to address the science
achievement among the younger grades as well. This article seeks to demonstrate how
exploratory science centers can enhance student learning in a manner that direct instruction
cannot due to science's essential alignment with children's natural curiosity for scientific related
ideas. The article then goes on to discuss the many methods for developing these exploratory
centers, depending on how much structure is required. The author talks about two different
approaches one in which there is adult directed, meaning the teacher has predetermined
learning objectives. Second, a child directed method, which is similar to free exploration. This
article continues by going into the several circumstances in which these centers can be used
successfully and how, by paying attention to the standards that students will be studying in
advanced classes, these centers lay a strong basis for future learning! (Fox, Stegeman, July
2018).
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Analysis
This article's goal, in my opinion, was to support educators, especially those who work
with younger primary school students. Teachers who work with young students would benefit
most from this article's discussion on how to aid our youngest students and prevent the
achievement gap. The author's aims were quite obvious in this article, and they included specific
examples of how they believe they may encourage early student learning and how this should
be implemented. The authors provided a good amount of evidence to support their claims that
these exploratory centers support students' learning and the factors that contribute to their
efficacy. This article, in my opinion, is quite effective since it not only lists the problems but also
suggests solutions to each of them. To demonstrate how it can directly affect students and how
these centers actually have a positive impact on them, I believe that performing a study or at
the very least, including one would have been ideal for this piece.
Personal Application
I believe I have learned a great deal from this article. I felt like I understood how curious
and open to new ideas students are from all of my field placements and practicums, but I had
never thought about using what I learned from the article to teach science. Since young
students are exposed to knowledge they may currently build upon, it makes logical sense to
introduce them to the knowledge they will need later in their academic careers. There was also
time for me to think about how I could use this information in my own classroom later on.
Exploratory science is beneficial for students at all levels because a large part of science includes
students developing their own opinions and making connections to the subject. Since science is
all about individual theories and studies, students have a deeper comprehension of the subject
and become more engaged in their education.
Conclusion
After reading this article, I feel that I was able to recognize a new approach to laying the
groundwork for science education across disciplines. It's critical for educators to continuously
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look for new ways to advance their careers and give students the best chance possible. There
are always new techniques and ideas that teachers are working to keep up with every single
year. After reading this article, I have discovered methods to apply these strategies eventually
into my own classroom. I would love to work on improving the learning of my future students in
the best way possible. The article's description of exploratory science center’s allows students to
draw their own findings and provide a strong basis for future scientific instruction. I definitely
would like to put my own spin on the scientific centers, especially finding a way to create them
to make not only make it interesting but fun for them in the long run!
References
Gallo-Fox, J., & Stegeman, L. (2018). Explore Early. Science and Children, 55(9), 33-39.
https://go.openathens.net/redirector/liberty.edu?url=https://www.proquest.com/
scholarlyjournals/explore-early/docview/2062632871/se-2
