Teaching Standard D:
Teachers of science design and manage learning environments that provide students with the time, space, and resources needed for learning science.
While planning and designing their inquiry-based science curriculum, the science teacher should pay particular attention to the environment in which the students will be learning science. The scientific process – from observation to hypothesis to testing to observation – requires a significant investment of time, space, and resources. Even if the students are simply observing an in-class demonstration, it requires time for the student – or student groups – to make the observations and formulate a testable hypothesis. To perform the necessary experiments takes additional time and resources. However, this investment of time, space, and resources is crucial to process of learning.
In all subjects, students require time, space, and specific resources as they internalize the concepts of their chosen field. The specific resources simply vary between disciplines. This resource investment is pronounced in science due to the large space required for laboratories, as well as the (often) expensive equipment that is needed to conduct experiments.
Scientific knowledge is expanding at a very rapid pace. With the increasing amount of knowledge that students must learn, it becomes more important for the science teacher to manage the learning environment. This includes providing the students with sufficient time for case studies, other in-class exercises, or extended laboratory investigations. To more efficiently utilize time, I have used pathogen portfolios to increase student exposure to microorganisms of interest in Microbiology (BIOL 150).
Designing and managing the student-learning environment also includes providing students with the appropriate tools, materials, media, and technological resources in a safe working environment. However, as education becomes more expensive, it is becoming more difficult to provide the appropriate technological and laboratory resources for an inquiry-based science program. This can be partially addressed by expanding the classroom and laboratory space beyond the walls of the school, as seen in my development of the small-group microbiology research projects. There is great potential for further expansion beyond the classroom, since Columbia Union College* is located so close to Washington, DC and its wealth of biotechnological resources. (See also Standard E for development of the community of science learners at Columbia Union College.)