General Science Framework Draft Comments for

Key Points responding to the proposed Science Framework

1. Teachers should be encouraged to use the natural environment to teach science.
2. Education Resource Appendix - We would like to see an addition of an appendix of environmental science resources for teachers. Listing contact information for the California Regional Environmental Education Community (CREEC) Network would be a crucial first step, since CREEC can refer teachers to the environmental science program that suits their needs in their area. The listings should include organizations and other resources such as: the California Outdoor School Administrators (COSA), where teachers can learn about outdoor science schools in their area; the Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education (AEOE), Project Wild, Project Learning Tree, Project WET, nature centers, arboretums, school and community gardens, science programs available at National, State, and local parks, marine education programs, museums, astronomy programs through NASA and Jet Propulsion Laboratory...
3. Attendance at a Residential Outdoor Science School - As the curriculum at all accredited outdoor science schools is aligned with the State Science Standards and Framework, this experience should be recommended for 5th and 6th grade students. Such a trip will reinforce, in a hands-on way, the concepts being taught in the classroom. Here students will have a first hand look at a variety of ecosystems and be given opportunities for investigation and experimentation. The outdoor setting is an ideal place to observe all that makes up an active ecosystem.
4. Hands-on Education - The current draft of the Framework and Standards recommends only 25% of science instruction be conducted in a hands-on manner. Many science teachers would agree that this is simply not enough . Gardner’s Eight Multiple Intelligences illustrate the importance of presenting concepts and information in a wide variety of ways. In general, well planned hands-on learning is essential to true understanding.
5. Action Projects - Once students understand the science behind environmental quality issues, they should be encouraged to develop action projects for their local community and at their school. The state of California is currently in an energy crisis. Energy conservation projects could be the bridge between science and current events. Other great school projects include: water conservation, recycling, school gardens, composting and vermicomposting, and local habitat restoration projects.
6. Environmental Science Education - The Science Framework and Standards present such a great diversity of science topics, but many of them are presented in a fragmented manner. We would like the Framework to encourage the use of environmental science education as a unifying theme so that students understand the connections and interrelationships between many of the science topics. The previous science framework (p.27) states: “Themes are necessary in the teaching of science because they are necessary in the doing of science....discrete pebbles of particulate knowledge build nothing. Using the environment as an integrating principle has also been shown to improve student performance in other subject areas (Lieberman and Hoody, 1998).
7. Investigation and Experimentation - An appendix of how to teach this important concept should be included.
8. Science Process Skills - The previous framework, Chapter 6, had a great section on Scientific Thinking Processes (Observing,Communicating, Comparing, Ordering, Categorizing, Relating, Inferring, and Applying) that would be valuable to include in this framework.

AEOE > Online Articles & Issues > Science Framework Key Points