Logic Of Natural Sciences Through Historical Approach: Science For 5-6 Graders

Abstract

The goal of this study is to implement the Developmental Instruction approach in the middle school science curriculum. We assume that ancient technologies can serve as a proper cultural-historical context for creating meaningful classroom activities such as experimenting and model building. This context is realized by means of a series of short texts that describe ancient technologies and let students interpret them in terms of the already learned material. The text-lab-model triad as a unit of model building and development is discussed. We have realized these principles in two linked science courses for students from 5th to 7th grades, called “Narture” and “Introduction to Chemistry”; the latter can serve as a prelude to the systematic chemistry course starting at 8th grade. The features of the texts used in these courses, the organization of “students” experimental work, examples of model building, and students’ outcomes are presented. The approach promotes students’ critical thinking, conceptual understanding, learning initiative, and learning independence.