For many ELT schools, more time in the school day or year presents an opportunity to add time for science. Under pressure to improve student’s scores in math and English language arts (ELA), schools around the country have added time for math and ELA at the expense of science and social studies. Now, with ELT, schools no longer have to choose between these important subjects. Students can learn science while still receiving the instruction needed to advance their math and literacy skills.
Science teachers at ELT schools especially value the additional time they have with their students because more class time allows them to offer the science labs, hands-on projects, and experiments that are such a fundamental part of good science instruction. These activities, which deeply reinforce students’ understanding of scientific concepts, take time to implement.
Carole Learned-Miller, the principal of the Martin Luther King, Jr. School in Cambridge during it’s first three years of ELT implementation states: “Through ELT we can now teach all of the different subjects. When we just had a six-hour school day, honestly, I never saw science being taught walking from class to class. That was the thing that was often cut. But that is the subject that philosophically is most in line with our teaching because it is very hands-on and project-based. It was something the teachers didn’t want to cut, but because we were so focused on meeting AYP both in math and English language arts, that was the thing that would sort of fall by the wayside. So I think just seeing all the subjects get taught is, from a principal’s perspective, a success.”
To add time for science some schools add science-focused electives such as robotics or forensics that students can choose according to their interests. POST SUMMIT See [Examples of Science-Focused Electives Across ELT Schools link to: elt-promising-enrichment-sample-stem.doc].
The following resources may be helpful for schools considering how ELT can expand and improve science instruction.
Case Studies & Helpful Resources
Discovering Science at the City View Discovery School POST SUMMIT link to: elt-promising-core-science-cityview.doc
Applied Science: Forensics, Robotics, and More at Kuss Middle School POST SUMMIT link to: elt-promising-core-science-applied science.doc
Videos
Making Time for Hands-On Learning
Mission Discovery: Using More Time to Enhance Science
