The effective science teaching will help students develop a conceptual understandings and inquiry abilities necessary to be productive citizens and science learners for the rest of their life. It emphasizes engaging in and learning about scientific practice (Anderson, 2001; Crawford, 2007). For example, beginning elementary teachers who in the US are generalists; They may be lacking substantial science subject matter knowledge (Anderson & Mitchener, 1994), may hold unsophisticated understandings of the nature of science and of scientific inquiry, and may focus mainly on engaging their students (Abell, Bryan, & Anderson, 1998) or may even avoid teaching science altogether (Appleton & Kindt, 2002). By …show more content…
A highly effective science teacher will need to employ a variety of assessment methods to ensure that students are learning within the integrated science instruction. Both formative and summative assessments are used to determine student understanding of the standards, mastery of skills and areas that require to be re-teaching. The science teacher may also implement performance based assessments, rubric scoring of classroom or cooperative work, and student self assessment as additional ways to discover what students understand. Based on the data collected from the assessments, a highly effective science teacher will adjust instructional goals, plans, and teaching strategies. After all, the purpose of assessment is to modify and shape instruction. This feedback may indicate that an entire class is struggling with a single topic, requiring systemic reteaching. Or a teacher may find that a group of students would benefit from a targeted instructional intervention to support the integrated science instruction. Instead, the teacher should be continually seeking ways to connect the integrated science instruction to other subject areas and real world experiences. The integration of math and science is a given as the two subject areas complement and rely on each other for true student