Science
The primary goal of the Middle School Science Program is to foster the development of each student’s ability to ask and answer their own questions using the scientific method. By placing a priority on the ability to think, question, and communicate in a scientific manner and stressing inquiry-based, scientific process over specific content, we believe that the students will be better prepared to evaluate new information and ideas in a scientific manner. This is essential for preparing them to be informed citizens in our rapidly evolving, highly technological society.
While some Middle School students possess the ability to succeed in a lecture discussion format, this faculty firmly believes in the following statement from the National Science Education Standards, “Learning science is something that students do, not something that is done to them.” Therefore, concrete laboratory experiences, demonstrations, and problem-solving activities are used to tap the student’s innate curiosity and creativity. Many of these experiences will involve working with a partner or group of partners. Such work improves interpersonal communication skills and emphasizes the collaborative nature of scientific investigation.
Throughout the Middle School science curriculum, students will be introduced to and asked to utilize the skills necessary to effectively design and conduct “controlled” scientific experiments. By involving students in experimental design, our goal is that they will view science as a dynamic, creative process. Such a system requires both students and faculty to become active learners and promotes the notion that we are a “community of learners.”
During their Middle School years, students will also be exposed to and become comfortable using computers and interfacing technologies to collect, analyze, and graph experimental data. Students will learn to determine the appropriate technologies for a variety of scientific experiments.
While a firm grasp of the scientific process is our primary goal, mastery of specific content is necessary to facilitate comparison between our laboratory investigations and previous discoveries. Since the interplay between historical knowledge and independent experimentation is where true scientific inquiry begins, it is imperative that age appropriate content be interwoven with the lab experiences and problem solving activities.
Each year, students will complete an independent research project, which may be solo or collaborative efforts. The research curriculum has been developed so that students gain the basic skills of research and collaboration in Middle School.
