| Arizona Standards
Science Standards
(Adopted 6/3/97)
Rationale for Science Standards
Students are naturally curious about the world
and their place in it. Sustaining this curiosity and giving it a scientific foundation
must be a high priority in Arizona schools. Students need to be actively involved in
scientific investigations, develop a rational and objective framework for solving
problems, and understand the concepts that unify the scientific disciplines. All students
must recognize how developments in science impact their personal, societal, and physical
environment and how scientific knowledge is developed, organized and interrelated.
Scientifically and technologically literate people know how to apply the methods of
science and technology for personal and professional growth and are able to use these
skills for advancing community well-being.
Science is not a blueprint for rote memorization, and
students should not simply be shown results. Science is a process of gathering and
evaluating information, looking for patterns, and then devising and testing possible
explanations. Knowledge of the history and nature of science and continuous opportunities
to conduct scientific inquiries provide a complement to learning the sciences and
understanding their relationships to other disciplines.
Students need to recognize the diversity and complexity of
the life forms found on earth in order to understand the network of interrelationships
among organisms and between living and non-living things. They must also understand how
organisms emerge and adapt in order to survive. Students need to have knowledge of the
properties and makeup of matter, the transfer and transformation of different forms of
energy, and the results of matter and energy interactions. Students must understand the
composition of the earth, the function of its resources, the impact of weather, and
earth's relationship to other planets in the solar system. Even students who plan no
further science study benefit from this information for it makes them better able to
appreciate their world and to understand the many scientific and technological issues that
face them.
Broad unifying concepts and processes provide a solid base
for understanding the specific discipline-oriented concepts presented in several of the
standards. The application of these concepts and processes provide students with
productive and insightful ways of considering and integrating a range of basic ideas that
explain the natural and designed world. Some unifying concepts and processes include
- systems, order and organization
- evidence, models and explanation
- change, constancy and measurement
- form and function
Because the understanding and abilities associated with major
conceptual and procedural schemes need to be developed over an entire education, the
unifying concepts and processes transcend disciplinary boundaries.
The science standards are set with the expectation that
science-related activities occur at all grade levels--from initial explorations in
kindergarten through increasingly organized and focused science investigations in higher
grades--and that science is taught in conjunction with all subject areas. The methods and
thought processes of science have application well beyond the bounds of science and can
support the broader goals of all subject areas.
The developers of the Arizona science standards relied
heavily on the very thoughtful and carefully crafted content standards found in the
National Science Education Standards. These standards should serve as the basis for
interpreting and teaching the standards outlined in this document.
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