Exploring Science: Concepts, Inquiries, and Applications

1. Science EALR’s written by Will Nelson

2. EALR #1 • EALR 1 - Systems thinking makes it possible to analyze and understand complex phenomena. Systems concepts begin with the idea of the part-to-whole relationship in the earliest grades, adding the ideas of systems analysis in middle school and emergent properties, unanticipated consequences, and feedback loops in high school.

3. EALR #2 • EALR 2 - Inquiry is the bedrock of science and refers to the activities of students in which they develop knowledge and understanding of scientific ideas, as well as an understanding of how the natural world works. Students ask and answer questions that facilitate growth in their understanding of the natural world. Inquiry includes the idea that an investigation refers to a variety of methods that can be used to answer a scientifically oriented question, including: systematic observations, field studies, models and simulations, open-ended explorations, and controlled experiments.

4. EALR #3 • EALR 3 - Application includes the ability to use the process of technological design to solve real-world problems, to understand the relationship between science and technology and their influence on society, and to become aware of the wide variety of careers in scientific and technical fields. These abilities are needed for people to apply what they learn in school to meet challenges in their own lives, to understand and help solve societal problems involving science and technology, and contribute to the prosperity of their community, state, and nation.

5. EALR #4 • EALR 4 - The Domains of Science focus on nine Big Ideas in the domains of Physical Science, Life Science, and Earth and Space Science that all students should fully understand before they graduate from high school so that they can participate and prosper as citizens in modern society.

6. Grades 6-8 GLE (Students should know...) Corresponding EALR EARL #1 understanding systems EARL #2 inquiry EARL #3 application • Any system may be thought of as containing subsystems and as being a subsystem of a larger system. • Different kinds of questions suggest different kinds of scientific investigations. • People have always used technology to solve problems. Advances in human civilization are linked to advances in technology.

7. Grades 9-12 GLE (Students should know…) Corresponding EALR EALR #2 inquiry EALR #3 application EALR #4 the domains of science • Scientists generate and evaluate questions to investigate the natural world. • The technological design process begins by defining a problem in terms of criteria and constraints, conducting research, and generating several different solutions. • Electrical force is a force of nature independent of gravity that exists between charged objects. Opposite charges attract while like charges repel.

8. National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) • The NSTA curriculum shadows the Washington State EARL’s and GLE’s fairly closely. • Both place a heavy emphasis on inquiry and application. • There is agreement that students will learn more effectively if they can relate their studies to their everyday lives. • The NSTA seems to place less emphasis on understanding “systems” than the State does.

9. Common Core • The sciences are not addressed in length in the Common Core, but their main idea is that students should be able to apply scientific knowledge in a step by step process • Essentially the common core addresses EARL #3 (application) and EARL #4 which is essentially just the subject matter. • Inquiry (EARL #2) is barely touched on in the common core.