Engaging Primary School Students in Science: Ways to Make Them Feel Like Real Scientists

Sociology
Technology in Education
Name
Professors’ name
Institution
Date

Sociology
Introduction
Studies conducted have shown primary school students engagement in science has really gone
down (Uttal, Miller, Newcombe, 2013). Various reasons have been proposed that have led to this
trend some of which will be discussed below. This write-up seeks to determine some of the ways
to make primary school children engaged in science.
Section I: The Problem
The problem here is that science curriculum in primary school education is not engaging as it
should be. The curriculum is designed in such a way it is based on more on theory and it forgets
the practical aspect of science. Science is a discipline that involves understanding theory as well
as putting the theoretical aspect into practice (Kaya, 2015). Studies conducted have shown that
primary school students are often interested in learning new things in science and other related
disciplines. The only problem is that these students are not provided with an avenue to relate the
knowledge that they have gained about science in their own lives.
This problem often happens because of the modes and methods of teaching that are involved in
teaching science in the primary school level. Some of the reasons that have contributed to this
problem are outlined below;
As we all know, diagrams plays a very crucial role as far as supporting science is concerned.
Effective and well-presented diagrams tend to present different scientific knowledge to primary
students in a way that they can be able to relate as well as understand. Studies have, however,
shown that the use of diagrams in teaching science in primary students has not effectively used
(Tseng, Chang, Lou, Chen, 2013). This tends to bring about issues such as students not actively
engaged in learning science in primary school.

Sociology
In addition to this, illustrations, as well as images, can be effectively and strategically
incorporated in textbooks and facilitate primary school student engagement in science. Science is
a discipline that requires learning through various aspects such as inquiry as well as observation.
Primary school students have, however, failed to include this in teaching. In most cases, teachers
are faced with so many challenges in teaching various science concepts through observation.
There are certain phenomena's and/or concepts in science that need direct observation such as the
issue of weather conditions and the solar system. Primary school students have failed at a very
great extent towards addressing this issue and therefore this has made students reluctant in being
engaged into the learning of science in primary schools.
Science is a tool that has been so useful in explaining how things around us work. It is therefore
important for students to study science as it provides a basis of earning as well as understanding
the world around us. Primary school students not being in a position to fully get engaged while
learning science in their classrooms could be really catastrophic. This is so because when they do
not engage, they are likely not to be in a position to understand some really important aspects of
life as well as how things around them work (Salih, 2014). In addition to this, science is also a
career discipline. Having students who are not engaged in learning science possess a great threat
to the future of science and various technological advancements that are associated with it (Han,
Capraro, Capraro, 2015).
Section II: The idea
In order to make primary school students get engaged in science, there are a number of ways that
can be adopted. The main idea here is making the students feel like real scientists. Studies have
shown that student especially primary school students often tend to build their self-esteem in

Sociology
cases where they are engaged in active role-play (DeWitt & Archer, 2015). Through having an
active role-play student gain scientific knowledge as well as develop various social and
emotional roles vital for their overall growth and development. Making students feel that they
can be real scientists often makes them want to get engaged in all activities in class. This can be
achieved by, for instance, designing experimental days where students get to use and learn how
to use simple scientific apparatus such as test tubes, beakers and measuring cylinders among
others. Making them feel like real scientists will make the get engaged in a science class in the
sense that they will tend to want to know ‘why'. Learning as well as making them feel like
scientists also allow them to ask questions and perfume experiments in class (Gonzalez &
Kuenzi, 2012).
Making students feel like real scientists in a science class can be achieved in various ways. Some
of these ways are outlined below;
First and foremost teachers and educators should ensure that they use real data when teaching the
students. Studies have shown that when students gather and analyze their own data they tend to
be more interested in what the data has to say and what it represents (Zhai, Jocz, Tan, 2014). In
most cases students who are mathematically as well as scientifically proficient often have
experience in collecting their own data, analyzing the data and drawing explanations as well as
making conclusions based on the obtained data. When a teacher allows students to collect their
own data they tend to be more proactive in class and therefore their engagement levels go up
(Kaya, 2015).
Various studies conducted by various scholars and academicians have shown that when primary
school students use real data, they often develop more incentive to understand what the data