Self-Education Science

[Luanne]

Are any of you doing science for self-education? If so, what are you using/doing for it and what kind of science are you working on? I can't even decide where to start. I didn't have hardly any science when I was in school. It seems interesting to me, but I still have no idea how to get started learning about it.

[Colleen in NS]

Are any of you doing science for self-education? If so, what are you using/doing for it and what kind of science are you working on? I can't even decide where to start. I didn't have hardly any science when I was in school. It seems interesting to me, but I still have no idea how to get started learning about it.

If I ever take the time to do this, I would read the Wiley guides that I bought (they were rec'd in WTM rhetoric science), and read the GB science books listed in WTM. I"d maybe outline, pick topics, and write short papers about topics of interest to me. This is all very ideal, though - I don't know if I'll get to it anytime soon! :)

[Jane in NC]

You might want to start the old fashioned way with what was once called Natural History. Do you have guide books for birds, insects, trees? Take some walks with your books and begin to observe. Observation is the cornerstone of science.

Secondly I highly recommend some of the programs available from PBS which are available for download. Last week's Nature episode was on sea turtles. There is also Nova which covers everything from quantum physics and string theory to explaining hurricanes. These hour long programs are well done and will expose you to a variety of subjects.

Discover magazine makes what is happening right now in science accessible to the non-scientist. Your library should have it.

Given the vast number of topics under the umbrella of science and the constant change through which these topics undergo, science, as a concept, may seem intimidating. To participate in the excitement of science, you just need to take the plunge. Start somewhere, anywhere. You need not be methodical in the beginning. After you find something that is intriguing, you can begin a more indepth investigation.

Enjoy!
Jane

[elegantlion]

If I ever take the time to do this, I would read the Wiley guides that I bought (they were rec'd in WTM rhetoric science), and read the GB science books listed in WTM. I"d maybe outline, pick topics, and write short papers about topics of interest to me. This is all very ideal, though - I don't know if I'll get to it anytime soon! :)

:iagree:with this. I started looking into those materials last night actually.

Another book I'm LOVING is Science Matters. (http://www.amazon.com/Science-Matters-Achieving-Scientific-Literacy/dp/0307454584/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1242214779&sr=8-1)It is rec in LCC. It a regular book that covers most areas of science in short understandable chapters. I'm reading it to my ds right now, we have an older edition. We read a chapter on quantum mechanics this week. I have no knowledge of the subject but came away with a better understanding, ds ate it up. He hates doing fractions, but quantum mechanics didn't phase him at all. :001_huh:

Most of my self-ed in science is going to focused on staying ahead of my very science-oriented ds.

[Kathy in MD]

Are any of you doing science for self-education? If so, what are you using/doing for it and what kind of science are you working on? I can't even decide where to start. I didn't have hardly any science when I was in school. It seems interesting to me, but I still have no idea how to get started learning about it.

Do you have any strong interests? I'd start there first. If you don't, you might get TTC's The Joy of Science, the main text, The Sciences, and work your way through that. I'd also read the optioal texts. That would give you a good overview of basic high school science. Of course, if something intrigues you, follow it even if you haven't finished the course.

If you're interested in natural history and ecology, there's a lot of avenues available. The Kamana Training Program is one my sil took and highly recommends. This program teaches you how to become a naturalist specializing in your own region. It is a correspondence school. Also many zoos, museums, and nature centers will have classes, lectures and "ask the scientist" days for more intensive training. If you can volunteer, many of these avenues offer good docent education programs free of charge. Also see if you can find a birding group to join.

If you can't do any of these, keep your own nature journal. Record the day, time, location, wind direction and speed and temp. The record what you see in words and drawings. Avoid photos because you don't learn to observe. The go home and research what you've seen.

Can you tell what my main interest is?

[outtamyshell]

Bill Bryson's book 'A Short History of Nearly Everything' is a great intro book on sciences. It's an easy, entertaining read and may inspire you to pick one area for deeper study. Our library has both the book and the audio book.

[MIch elle]

http://www.hippocampus.org/Biology;jsessionid=0B8199B40CC31F032279D8628F994B1 A

http://www.pass.leon.k12.fl.us/Book%20Subject%20Areas/Science.aspx

[sagira]

I'm learning alongside ds. So far I've already been developing new habits such as observing nature and thinking about the world differently through doing lessons from BFSU (Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding K-2 by Dr. Nebel) with ds. We're also bird-watching and next year doing a few Natural History topics (Weather & Climate, Birds, Trees and The Human Body) using the Handbook of Nature Study among other things.

I also borrowed Nurturing Inquiry by Charles Pearce from the library, which is a neat way to look at thinking about and teaching science.

I'll be reading the self-teaching guides before ds starts middle school science to keep abreast of things too :)

[Colleen in NS]

Oh, and there are also those Teaching Company DVDs - some of the sets cover basic branches of science and I would Loooooovvvvveeeee to buy some someday....if I did what I talked about above, I think I'd enjoy these DVDs as a supplement.

[sagira]

Oh, and there are also those Teaching Company DVDs - some of the sets cover basic branches of science and I would Loooooovvvvveeeee to buy some someday....if I did what I talked about above, I think I'd enjoy these DVDs as a supplement.

Yes! Yes! :w00t: I drool over the catalog but haven't ordered anything yet -- not until dc are older :drool:

[LoriM]

Please, please, please read this book if you have no idea where to start:

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-Whirligig-Beautiful-Basics-Science/dp/0618242953

It is beautifully written for adults who wished they'd received an outstanding science education when they were younger, but don't really know what is actually going on in the primary fields of science today, or where to start "remembering" those basics they did learn in school.

I read it last summer shortly after I got a job teaching science to middle schoolers, and realized how inadequate I was to the task! :) I know *about* science, but I don't know science the way I know math. So, it's been my primary area of personal study this year, in both Life Science (which I teach to 6th graders, and can't believe how much I've forgotten, even after teaching high school biology twice!), and then specific topics for my 7th/8th grade classes.

I've read a lot of good science books and writing this year, and joined the National Science Teachers Association, where there are *great* articles and journals available online for me. Plus, honestly, directing 50 students through science experiments for our science fair pushed me to the limits of my imagination and ability (grin) in understanding physical, chemical and biological experiments and the specific challenges of the nature of the science in those areas.

Over the summer, I want to spent some time running four or five separate experiments, keeping a nature journal, and reading histories of scientists.

I've honestly considered a MS in Science Education...if I weren't so ridiculously busy. :)