Home Education Magazine

March-April 1999 - Columns

Older Kids - Learning and Doing Science

Cafi Cohen

Prior to beginning our homeschooling odyssey, I earned two science degrees, one in chemistry, the second in medical technology. I had worked as a hospital lab technologist, a university research assistant, and an investigator for the Federal Food and Drug Administration. My resume included teaching immunology and microbiology at a Minnesota college plus a stint as a high school biology student teacher.

My background also included some self-instructional science. While pregnant with my son, I taught myself basic electronics and radio wave propagation theory sufficient to pass the FCC Amateur Radio License exams. Later, when our kids were still toddlers, my husband and I studied astronomy, including operation of a sophisticated telescope - all using self-instructional materials.

Some homeschooling parents might say I was lucky. I had the technical expertise to handle high school level science. And I had enough background to know that the whole world is a laboratory, that special equipment for science is unnecessary, even at the high school level.

Yes, I could "teach science." But my time in classrooms showed me that traditional high school science instruction - by and large - often leaves no more impression than asking a teenager to clean his room. On a good day, your efforts might lead to a temporary change - but that's it. From the word "go," I discarded the idea of three to four years of formal science instruction for my two teenagers. But where did that leave us?

It left us contemplating the two distinctly different disciplines called science in this country - classroom science and real world science. The dichotomy is reflected in the two principal dictionary definitions of science:

(1) a branch of knowledge or study dealing with a body of facts systematically arranged and showing the operation of general laws: and

(2) systematic knowledge of the physical world gained through observation and experimentation.

Classroom science instructors and textbook publishers - purveyors of traditional science instruction - focus on the first definition, the "body of facts" and "systematic knowledge" and "general laws." The result? Students taking biology read the text, complete worksheets, bumble through "experiments" (which, sadly, have but One Right Answer), and take exams to demonstrate that they can differentiate porifera from coelenterates. Classroom science, despite the efforts of some outstanding teachers, rewards memorization and regurgitation. Answers are prized; questions are discouraged. We all know the drill. And we all know that traditional instruction is more likely to discourage rather than encourage interest in science.

In contrast, real world scientists practice definition (2) above, "knowledge of the physical world gained through observation and experimentation." Notice the implied verbs - "observing" and "experimenting," in short DOING.

Although most scientists read and review previous research pertinent to their fields of study, they focus on doing, rather than on memorizing what everyone else has done. Instead of rehashing another's explorations and discoveries, real world scientists study the unknown, the not-yet-understood. Their questions are just as important as the answers. Unlike the situation with classroom science, real world scientists are often rewarded for asking new questions and for creative experimental design.

Another major difference between traditional science instruction and real world science is that scientists work on real problems, like roses that will not bloom, maximizing corn yield, treating a pet's broken leg, or predicting the weather. In contrast, classroom science uses predetermined "problems", which too often have little to do with real life. Here's an example from a biology "experimental" manual: "Draw a tapeworm and label all the parts."

Another distinction between real science and classroom science? Scientist work on one problem at a time until they are done or exhausted. Rather than surveying a field like biology or chemistry or nutrition, they experiment with one system or they seek to answer a single question. We do the same thing in our homes when we try recipe variations, organize a rock collection, or fix an appliance. Classroom science seldom allows time for the depth that is routine real scientists. Depth, in a classroom, almost always yields to breadth and "coverage." Coverage is nice, but it excludes depth. And breadth excludes what real scientists do to solve problems.

It's important to understand the differences between classroom science and real world science when deciding how to approach astronomy or chemistry or physiology with your teenagers. The lives of both Thomas Edison and Albert Einstein demonstrate that scientific competence in the real world does not always translate into classroom competence - or vice versa. Know primarily that there is no One Best Way to learn science and that there are many valid alternatives to textbooks.

Educational philosophy enters in, as well. Because homeschools, by definition, are mini-experiments in education, no two families will approach science with their teenagers in exactly the same way. Some families prefer an unschooling approach, applying scientific concepts as opportunities present themselves in everyday life. Others prefer a more formal presentation. Still others, like us, will use a mixture of interest-initiated learning and traditional textbook review. With that in mind, here are some tips and hints regarding approaches to science with teenagers.

Recognize The Science In Everyday Life

Typical science activities include observing, measuring, categorizing, asking questions, forming a hypothesis (guessing how something works), proposing solutions, trying solutions (experimenting), summarizing findings, evaluating results, recycling back to observing, and sometimes reporting. If your teenager fixes an appliance, that is science. If your daughter collects and classifies insects, that is science. If your son experiments with model rockets, that is science. Watching a PBS or TLC program on volcanoes is science. If your entire family reads and discusses everything they can find about a certain kind of cancer because a grandparent has recently been stricken, that is science.

Expand On The Science In Everyday Life

Let one thing lead to another. One teenager I know volunteers with a wildlife rescue group. At age 15, she has learned to nurse sick birds and other animals back to health. And that is not the end of it. She reads incessantly about wildlife and ecology. That has led to reading about chemical pollutants and chemistry in general. One of her wildlife mentors has noticed her interest and recommended her as an animal caretaker at the local children's museum.

Does your family like stargazing? Next time you are outside trying to remember the names of constellations, get out a star map and increase your vocabulary. Find the Milky Way and a planet or two. Check out recent issues of the magazine, Astronomy, and try The beginner projects.

Avoid being intimidated by the words "scientific method," wondering if you are doing things correctly. Think of the scientific method as a set of suggestions, and then do what real scientists do - use your common sense. Many scientists argue that the scientific reasoning only looks like a "method" in retrospect. They say that persistence, creativity in formulating questions and hypotheses, and plain old fashioned dumb luck are more important than rigorously following a preset thought process. Robert Pirsig, author of Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance agrees: "The traditional scientific method has always been at the very best 20-20 hindsight. It's good for seeing where you've been."

Beyond BCP (Biology, Chemistry, and Physics)

Most people equate the words "high school science" with biology, chemistry, and physics, usually in that order. There is nothing sacred about these topics, however. In fact, taking survey courses in biology, chemistry, and physics is probably one reason so many people are adverse to science, in general. With a survey course, you never have time to do what Real Scientists do, work on one problem in depth.

Instead, your teenagers may want to consider a specialized area, a single problem, in The following areas - astronomy, botany, geology, meteorology, electricity/electronics, nature studies, health and disease, nutrition, parasitology, paleontology, herpetology, history of science. College catalogs usually state two or three years of "science" as adequate preparation for their programs. Most do not specify biology, chemistry, and physics. And most do not specify that applicants must have taken a survey course. Choose an interesting area. Work on one topic or problem in depth.

Dabble in "School" Science

Despite the downsides of formal science instruction, texts can be a valuable adjunct to homeschool science learning. My teenagers and I agreed with David and Micki Colfax who say that if you want to play the game (at a traditional college), you will probably need to demonstrate that you know the rules and a some of the vocabulary.

Does that mean "know all the biology in the biology text?" No, I don't think so. Specific text content (is this advanced enough?) is not as important as familiarity with the read-worksheet-memorize -exam round-robin. Experience with the text-science-learning procedure is the real goal - specific content is secondary.

With respect to text content, we urged our kids to focus on two things: (1) basic vocabulary and (2) those topics that have everyday life applications. Survey courses in most subjects are just dressed up vocabulary exercises, so learning the vocabulary gives teens a good overview. That does not mean "Learn all the vocabulary." Just try to establish conversational knowledge of terms that have meanings outside of the specialized field. Examples of worthwhile vocabulary from a biology textbook might be: immunity, pathogen, evolution, parasite, symbiosis, taxonomy. Examples of less important vocabulary include centriole, blastula, cytokinin, and thallus.

We also appreciated that some textbook topics have applications in everyday life. We "covered" those concepts, usually by discussing them. Examples include transmission and spread of disease, understanding ecosystems enough to vote on environment concerns, and basic electricity (why does our 20-amp circuit breaker keep blowing?). Peruse texts and carefully select those subjects you and your kids agree that everyone should know. Never let a text intimidate you. Inclusion of a topic does not mean it's a need-to-know. Just ask yourself whether or not the knowledge of item X has been important in your life.

If a self-instructional stint with a text sounds too intimidating, consider correspondence and distance learning science courses, as well as local community college classes. Both our kids took biology from American School, which offered it as a lab science course. Our son took physics and engineering and geology at local colleges at ages 15 and 16.

Better Than Texts

Some of the best science materials available were not written as texts. The premier examples is Gerald Durrell's book, The Amateur Naturalist. The author, an enthusiastic, accomplished hobbyist, describes how to observe environments in your community, make collections, preserve specimens, and so on, beginning with your backyard. The Amateur Naturalist, like many books written for by hobbyists for the lay public, contains practical, interesting projects, together with beautiful photographs. Some other favorites appear in the resource sidebar.

Community Science Opportunities

Volunteering and youth community groups provide outstanding opportunities for hands-on science, solving real world problems - and having fun in the bargain. Our daughter volunteered in a veterinary clinic for a year. She learned how to take vital signs on cats, dogs, and horses. She prepared laboratory specimens, made up inoculations, and assisted with autopsies and biopsies. All in all, at age 13, she had a much more in-depth biology lab experience than any high school biology class could provide.

Our son (first with 4-H, then with Civil Air Patrol) experimented with model rocket designs for years. He entered competitions and constantly refined parameters like size, design details, payload, and fuel to obtain optimal results (length of flight). 4-H insect collections make marvelous science projects, as do many other 4-H activities.

Other ideas? Just look around. One poster to the HEM on-line bulletin boards recently wrote: "We're about to begin a three-year commitment with the county water quality commission to monitor the health of the creek that runs through our property. Another homeschool family on another creek is also participating, so we plan to do this jointly and compare results. Also, a highway will be built downstream from us, and we intend to take some samples below that to see how much it disrupts the stream flow; we can compare those samples to ours. I also just met a woman from the Pollution Control Agency, and she offered the use of their lab's microscopes as well as her own expertise."

Explore Multi-Media

When we were homeschooling (1980's-early 1990's), our multi-media options included PBS and a couple of cable television channels, The Learning Channel and the Discovery Channel. Since that time, programming on these channels has improved dramatically, bringing live operations, exploding volcanoes, and pictures of the ocean depths into our homes 24-hours a day. Take advantage of these offerings. It is much easier to understand bacterial replication from a live microscopic demonstration than from a textbook diagram of the same process.

In the last two-three years, the WEB has exploded. Is your teenager interested in space? Use "NASA" as a search term, and check out the incredible opportunities to participate in virtual science activities. The best lists of on-line science sites for kids and teenagers and the rest of us is at B. J. Pinchbeck's Homework Helper, www.tristate.pgh.net/~pinch13.

© 1999, Cafi Cohen

....(articles list) | columns list)....

HEM General Information

Subscribe to HEM