| Standards Summary |
Kindergarten through Grade 8 Standards
Indiana’s Academic Standards for science contain six standards for Kindergarten through Grade 5. Grade 6 through Grade 8 contain seven standards with the addition of Historical Perspectives. Each standard is described below.
The Nature of Science and Technology
It is the union of science and technology that forms the scientific endeavor and that makes it so successful. Although each of these human enterprises has a character and history of its own, each is dependent on and reinforces the other. This first standard draws portraits of science and technology that emphasize their roles in the scientific endeavor and reveal some of the similarities and connections between them. In order for students to truly understand the nature of science and technology, they must model the process of scientific investigation through inquiries, fieldwork, lab work, etc. Through these experiences, students will practice designing investigations and experiments, making observations, and formulating theories based on evidence.
Scientific Thinking
There are certain thinking skills associated with science, mathematics, and technology that young people need to develop during their school years. These are mostly, but not exclusively, mathematical and logical skills that are essential tools for both formal and informal learning and for a lifetime of participation in society as a whole. Good communication is also essential in order to both receive and disseminate information and to understand others’ ideas as well as have one’s own ideas understood. Writing, in the form of journals, essays, lab reports, procedural summaries, etc., should be an integral component of students’ experiences in science.
The Physical Setting
One of the grand success stories of science is the unification of the physical universe. It turns out that all natural objects, events, and processes are connected to each other. This standard contains recommendations for basic knowledge about the overall structure of the universe and the physical principles on which it seems to run, with emphasis on Earth and the solar system. This standard focuses on two principle subjects: the structure of the universe and the major processes that have shaped the planet Earth, and the concepts with which science describes the physical world in general - organized under the headings of Matter and Energy and Forces of Nature.
The Living Environment
People have long been curious about living things - how many different species there are, what they are like, how they relate to each other, and how they behave. Living organisms are made of the same components as all other matter, involve the same kinds of transformations of energy, and move using the same basic kinds of forces. Thus, all of the physical principles discussed in Standard 3 - The Physical Setting, apply to life as well as to stars, raindrops, and television sets. This standard offers recommendations on basic knowledge about how living things function and how they interact with one another and their environment.
The Mathematical World
Mathematics is essentially a process of thinking that involves building and applying abstract, logically connected networks of ideas. These ideas often arise from the need to solve problems in science, technology, and everyday life - problems ranging from how to model certain aspects of a complex scientific problem to how to balance a checkbook.
Common Themes
Some important themes pervade science, mathematics, and technology and appear over and over again, whether we are looking at ancient civilization, the human body, or a comet. These ideas transcend disciplinary boundaries and prove fruitful in explanation, in theory, in observation, and in design. A focus on Constancy and Change within this standard provides students opportunities to engage in long-term and on-going laboratory and fieldwork, and thus understand the role of change over time in studying The Physical Setting and The Living Environment.
Historical Perspectives
Examples of historical events provide a context for understanding how the scientific enterprise operates. By studying these events, one understands that new ideas are limited by the context in which they are conceived, are often rejected by the scientific establishment, sometimes spring from unexpected findings, and grow or transform slowly through the contributions of many different investigators. The historical events listed are certainly not the only events that could be used to illustrate this standard, but they provide an array of examples. Through these examples, students will gain insight into various scientific topics.
High School Standards
Indiana’s Academic Standards for each high school science course contain two standards, a general content standard and a Historical Perspectives standard. Ideas listed underneath each standard build the framework for each course. In addition, ideas from four supporting themes will enable students to understand that science, mathematics, and technology are interdependent human enterprises, and that scientific knowledge and scientific thinking serve both individual and community purposes. The supporting themes are represented by the following Kindergarten through Grade 8 standards: The Nature of Science and Technology, Scientific Thinking, The Mathematical World, and Common Themes.
Principles of Biology
Students work with the concepts, principles, and theories that enable them to understand the living environment. They recognize that living organisms are made of cells or cell products that consist of the same components as all other matter, involve the same kinds of transformations of energy, and move using the same kinds of basic forces. Students investigate, through laboratories and fieldwork, how living things function and how they interact with one another and their environment.
Principles of Chemistry
Students begin to conceptualize the general structure of the atom and the roles played by the main parts of the atom in determining the properties of materials. They investigate, through such methods as laboratory work, the nature of chemical changes and the role of energy in those changes.
Principles of Earth and Space Science
Students investigate, through laboratory and fieldwork, the universe, Earth, and the processes that shape Earth. They understand that Earth operates as a collection of interconnected systems that may be changing or may be in equilibrium. Students connect the concepts of energy, matter, conservation, and gravitation to Earth, the solar system, and the universe. Students utilize knowledge of the materials and processes of Earth, planets, and stars in the context of the scales of time and size.
Principles of Environmental Science
Students investigate, through laboratory and fieldwork, the concepts of environmental systems, populations, natural resources, and environmental hazards.
Principles of Integrated Chemistry – Physics
Students begin to conceptualize the general architecture of the atom and the roles played by the main constituents of the atom in determining the properties of materials. They investigate, using such methods as laboratory work, the different properties of matter. They investigate the concepts of relative motion, the action/reaction principle, wave behavior, and the interaction of matter and energy.
Principles of Physics
Students recognize the nature and scope of physics, including its relationship to other sciences and its ability to describe the natural world. Students learn how physics describes the natural world, using quantities such as velocity, acceleration, force, energy, momentum, and charge. Through experimentation and analysis, students develop skills that enable them to understand the physical environment. They learn to make predictions about natural phenomena by using physical laws to calculate or estimate these quantities. Students learn that this description of nature can be applied to diverse phenomena at scales ranging from the subatomic to the structure of the universe and including everyday events. Students learn how the ideas they study in physics can be used in concert with the ideas of the other sciences. They also learn how physics can help to promote new technologies. Students will be able to communicate what they have learned orally, mathematically, using diagrams, and in writing.
Historical Perspectives
Students gain understanding of how the scientific enterprise operates through examples of historical events. Through the study of these events, students understand that new ideas are limited by the context in which they are conceived, that these ideas are often rejected by the scientific establishment, that these ideas sometimes spring from unexpected findings, and that they grow or transform slowly through the contributions of many different investigators. |
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