Philosophy & Methodology
We believe that young children have inherent abilities to observe the world carefully and draw accurate conclusions about it.
We also believe that with proper guidance, teachers who do not have science backgrounds can be trained to lead children in the exciting process of science exploration, not by telling the children “scientific truths,” but by becoming co-investigators with the children – observing, questioning, measuring, discussing, and learning together. Further, we believe that the skills a child learns in science exploration are invaluable analytical tools for any discipline.
A Science Companion classroom should be a collaborative learning environment, where children work together in groups and share their ideas.
A Science Companion teacher is a facilitator for the explorations of the classroom. Her role is to provide
opportunities for investigation, to stimulate the children to share ideas and ask questions, and to help the children acquire the practical and thinking skills they need to delve deeper. She should know enough about the topic not to lead the children astray, or be able to say she doesn’t know.
Everything a child learns in school enhances science skills. Science, in turn, provides motivation and practical applications for other disciplines. The Science Companion curriculum provides ample opportunities for science to be used in support of mathematics, language arts, art, and other disciplines.
Unlike other programs, where these connections are developed separately as additional reading material and then bundled with the science materials, the connections found in Science Companion are developed along with the lessons, and are consequently an integral part of the scientific topics.
The Science Companion experience is hands-on. First graders learn about the weather by measuring it daily and graphing its monthly patterns with the data they collect. They explore seat belt safety (and, incidentally, inertia) by rolling toy cars with belted and unbelted doll passengers into walls. They observe and compare how insects, fish, and humans breathe to get oxygen. The children reflect on what they observe, draw conclusions, and systematically record what they learn.
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