Accessible Science - Life science - Chapter 1 of 8

FRASER: The most important part of science is not so much being able to answer questions correctly on a test or knowing who discovered what. It's being able to become a problem solver and a thinker and develop critical thinking. ANNOUNCER: Teacher in a science lab with three students examining the spine on a human skeleton model. FRASER: Does anybody remember the name of those bones? Corinne? CORINNE: Vertebrae. FRASER: Vertebrae, correct. And by doing lab experiments and activities, the students become able to problem solve and to see that there's a thinking process about being able to ask a question, make a guess about what might happen if they did such and such a thing, then follow through a set of procedures, and then at the end evaluate if indeed what they did answered the question that they were asked in the beginning. So that... helping them to be problem solvers, helping them to be critical thinkers, is a really important part of science. ANNOUNCER: Students at a lab table with various taxidermy birds. FRASER: Why do you think the hawk might have a very sharp beak and very sharp claws? Addie? I think that many students can get the information to the same degree if the materials and the information is made accessible to them. That's the key, is creating access. And it requires a bit of creativity, and it takes a lot of time. And unfortunately, that's something teachers never have enough of, is time.