Given that kids are naturally curious and always ready to explore, learning science and its concepts can be a great way to satisfy their curiosity while allowing them to explore their surroundings better. Considering everything around us has its building blocks in science, learning the subject will certainly have its benefits outside the classroom.
If you’re a qualified teacher who’s interested in helping kids appreciate and understand this subject better, consider pursuing a Masters in Education degree that will help you teach students how to explore scientific complexities in a way that is engaging and not overwhelming.
Teaching science the correct way is incredibly important to ensure your students are interested and willing to think out of the box. Here’s why:
1. It teaches them how to be safe
Kids, by nature, are curious about everything around them and are always touching, lifting and squeezing things during their playtime and beyond. While these actions aid their motor skills, they also pose a safety concern for parents. A basic understanding of hot, cold, rough and soft will ensure your kids are careful about what they touch.
Aside from this, science teaches the importance of maintaining good health and hygiene, ensuring learners always indulge in practices that prevent infections or bacteria from growing. Using science as the basis for trying new experiments, testing new theories and learning the logic behind a specific outcome adds more fun to the growing years while reinforcing lessons that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.
2. It encourages creativity
Science compels a growing mind to think out of the ordinary, eventually encouraging kids to analyse situations, their potential outcomes and how they can contribute. It encourages children to question what they have learned, test and try new things, even if it involves failing in multiple trial-and-error attempts.
Students become aware that they can try again using a different thought process and approach if it doesn’t work the first time. This sense of knowing they can try again encourages them to think critically about the situation at hand and find a solution that solves the problem. This develops the ability to identify the problem, create a potential hypothesis and conduct direct experiments.
3. It develops critical thinking
Critical thinking involves analytics, logic, rationality and synthesis of a concept and its application in daily life. It is crucial for students, as critical thinking allows them to develop empathy and logical reasoning, make their own (good) decisions, learn from mistakes and give shape and form to new ideas.
Through critical thinking, children can understand and analyze large amounts of information they come across during the day and be able to form logical conclusions from the same. Moreover, as critical thinking cannot be taught, it becomes crucial to create circumstances where students are encouraged to think in detail and use their prior knowledge and imagination to find an effective solution.
4. It fosters never-ending learning
Everything we do has a scientific reason behind it. As kids grow and their learning curriculum evolves, they learn more about how things around them work, the challenges of the current world and how science & technology work together to create innovative solutions.
As science provides a logical reason behind the things happening around them, students are naturally interested in learning more. Due to this, learning about their surroundings becomes a perpetual process that goes on for life. This inherent love for learning encourages students, regardless of the field they are in, to continue learning.
Lifelong learning keeps the brain active as it is tasked with learning new information and creating pathways to accommodate the newly acquired knowledge. It also contributes to keeping cognitive function intact and prevents age-related deterioration. Moreover, knowing what’s happening in an area of your interest will boost your confidence and enable you to engage in discussions, increasing your chance to network.
Bottomline
Science is a fascinating subject that allows students to understand the logical reasoning behind everyday events and occurrences. Learning the subject opens the mind to exploring new opportunities and devising and testing one’s hypotheses.
However, the way science is taught is paramount. Without incorporating adequate teaching methodologies, students might not be able to understand (and appreciate) the complexities of the subject. If you are an aspiring teacher who wants to unlock the miracles of science for your students, incorporate creativity and innovative teaching techniques into your methodologies.
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