Basic Science Process Skills

Well, from the article before we've talked about assessment in student skills espescially for science process skills. We're already know that there are two categorized of “Science Process Skills”, basic and integrated science process skills. First, basic science process skills have been developed with six phase. There are observing, inferring, measuring, communicating, classifying and predicting. Second, integrated science process skills that developed by the basic one which have some phase like controlling variables, defining operationally, formulating hypotheses, interpreting data, experimenting, and formulating models.

One of important things is we must definite all of those terms operationally, so we can determine circumscription of them. On basic science process skills, we have observing, inferring, measuring, communicating, classifying and predicting.
1. Observing means that researchers/educators/teachers driving students for using their senses gathering information about an object, event or phenomena.
2. Inferring means that students must arranging an educated guess about an object, event or phenomena based on previous phase (observing). Measuring means that researchers/educators/teachers escorting students for using both standard and non standard measures or estimates to describe the dimensions of an object, event or phenomena.
3. Communicating means that student must using words or graphic symbols to describe an action, object, event or phenomena.
4. Classifying means grouping or ordering objects, events, or phenomena into cateogies based on properties or criteria.
5. Predicting means stating the outcome of a future event based on a pattern of a evidence.

Numerous research projects have focused on the teaching and acquisition of basic process skills. For example, Padilla, Cronin, and Twiest (1985) surveyed the basic process skills of 700 middle school students with no special process skill training. They found that only 10% of the students scored above 90% correct, even at the eighth grade level. Several researchers have found that teaching increases levels of skill performance. Thiel and George (1976) investigated predicting among third and fifth graders, and Tomera (1974) observing among seventh graders. From these studies it can be concluded that basic skills can be taught and that when learned, readily transferred to new situations (Tomera, 1974).

Teaching strategies which proved effective were: (1) applying a set of specific clues for predicting, (2) using activities and pencil and paper simulations to teach graphing, and (3) using a combination of explaining, practice with objects, discussions and feedback with observing. In other words-just what research and theory has always defined as good teaching.
Other studies evaluated the effect of NSF-funded science curricula on how well they taught basic process skills. Studies focusing on the Science Curriculum Improvement Study (SCIS) and SAPA indicate that elementary school students, if taught process skills abilities, not only learn to use those processes, but also retain them for future use. Researchers, after comparing SAPA students to those experiencing a more traditional science program, concluded that the success of SAPA lies in the area of improving process oriented skills (Wideen, 1975; McGlathery, 1970). Thus it seems reasonable to conclude that students learn the basic skills better if they are considered an important object of instruction and if proven teaching methods are used.

What have we learned about teaching integrated science processes? We cannot expect students to excel at skills they have not experienced or been allowed to practice. Teachers cannot expect mastery of experimenting skills after only a few practice sessions. Instead students need multiple opportunities to work with these skills in different content areas and contexts. Teachers need to be patient with those having difficulties, since there is a need to have developed formal thinking patterns to successfully "experiment."