"Why We Need to Understand Science", by Carl Sagan
"Science
is much more than a body of knowledge. It is a way of thinking.
This is central to its success.
Science invites us to let the facts in, even when
they don't conform to our
preconceptions.
It counsels us to carry alternative
hypotheses in our heads and see
which best match the facts. It urges on us a
fine balance between
no-holds-barred
openness to new ideas, however
heretical, and the most rigorous
skeptical scrutiny of everything - new ideas
and established wisdom.
We need wide appreciation of this kind of thinking.
It works. It's an essential tool
for a democracy in an age of change. Our task
is not just to train more
scientists
but also to deepen public understanding of
science."
"You Don't Have to be a
Rocket
Scientist to Think Like
One", by Dr. George
Nelson,
Director of Project 2061,
American Association for the
Advancement
of Science
"We are committed to helping our young people prepare to live
interesting, responsible and
productive
lives in a world increasingly shaped
by science and technology. For
those who are scientifically literate, the 21st
century will be an exhilarating
adventure. For those who are not, it will be
bewildering and dangerous."
The Natural World - Level 1
begins what we believe to be an unsurpassed
science program in the 7th and
8th grades. The Natural World provides the
necessary structure and support
system to allow the teacher to serve more as
a facilitator than as a task
giver.
Thus, the teacher can give maximum attention
to the progress of each learner.
The program requires that the student obtain
information by means of concrete
laboratory activities.
The Natural World - Level 1
is an introductory physics course. At this level,
the student studies, by means of
laboratory activities, the concepts of force,
work, energy, heat, and
electricity.
Near the end of the 7th grade curriculum,
the student constructs mental
models
of electricity and heat. These models are
tested and modified according to
new information gathered by the student.
The Natural World - Level 1
includes a set of supplementary activities called
excursions. These excursions are
of two types: one type is remedial with
respect to certain skills; the
other type is enriching in that the activities provide
greater depth in certain
concepts.
The course is further supplemented by
teacher designed activities and
field trips.
Grading
Each student's average for a
given
quarter/marking period is the simple
average of the student's grades
on chapter tests and quizzes (with the quiz
average for the quarter counting
as one test grade). Additionally, the student's
lowest quiz grade of the given
quarter is dropped, and opportunities are given
for both retests and extra credit
work. It is primarily the student's responsibility
to keep track of his/her own
progress
and to take advantage of these
opportunities.
Each student's effort grade
for
a given quarter is based on both objective and
subjective evaluations of the
student's
classroom/laboratory behavior and
attention to task, active and
positive
contributions to the class, completion of
assignments/homework, and
achievement
compared to proven/perceived
ability.
