| In a world
filled with scientific achievements and rapid
technological developments, science and scientific
thinking play a vital role in the lives of
students. Students need to be fully aware of and
skilled in science and its related fields in order
to succeed in their further endeavors in education,
careers, and everyday life. Additionally,
scientific reasoning remains the backbone of
critical thinking and analysis in many diverse areas
of study besides science and applied science such as
economics, sociology, and even in some forms of
philosophy. Chapin's science program strives to
also create an interest and excitement in science
itself leading to future contributions to the fields
of science by some of the students. At Chapin, the
study of science with its great scope contributes to
a student's understanding of the diversity of all
that exists and an appreciation of the balance and
value of that diversity. To these ends, a program
emphasizing scientific inquiry is at the core of
Chapin's science curriculum.
The Chapin School's science
curriculum has five major goals that encompass the
program from Pre-Kindergarten through eighth
grade. The first is to introduce the scientific
method and have students effectively implement it in
investigations that they carry out themselves. (See
below for Chapin's description of the scientific
method.) The second is to foster curiosity and
inquiry, which help to facilitate the active
engagement of students in the subject matter. The
third is to stimulate an interest in and excitement
about science, specifically the areas of earth
science, life science, and physical science. The
fourth is to expose students to technology and
scientific equipment and to train them in the
appropriate use of these. The fifth is to promote
an awareness of new developments in science,
technology, math, and other related fields.
In the Upper School,
students take four years of integrated science,
including access to a fully equipped laboratory in
grades 5 through 8. In all four grades laboratory
investigations and experiments constitute an
essential element of the science program. In
addition to these, there are other longer term
projects such as making a musical instrument or a
Rube Goldberg machine involving "hands-on" activity
as well as cooperative learning groups. In fifth
grade, the students will typically cover units on:
life and microorganisms, botany, meteorology, and
energy. In sixth grade: the units are models and
design, matter, sound, light and water. In seventh
they study: geology, electricity and magnetism,
cellular biology, and environmental science. The
eighth graders culminate their work with units on
classification, animal anatomy, human anatomical
systems, basic chemistry, and mechanics.
The Scientific
Method
-
Inquiry: Pose a
question regarding the physical universe
-
Gathering
Information: This can be work done by previous
scientists, casual observation, or prior
knowledge.
-
Hypothesis:
Propose a hypothesis to answer the question.
-
Experiment:
Design and carry out an experiment that will
prove or disprove the hypothesis. This should
include appropriate controls.
-
Observations:
Make appropriate measurements with appropriate
tools and organize that data into tables and
graphs.
-
Conclusion:
Analyze the data, and state whether it proves or
disproves the hypothesis and why. Due note
should be made of potential sources of error
such as design flaws, human, and equipment.
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