Spatial Thinking and the National Science Standards - Education - K-12 Education

The relationship of the science standards to the basic concepts of spatial thinking is by no means as explicit as it is in the mathematics standards (NRC, 1996). A detailed reading of the science standards suggests that there is spatial thinking and spatial reasoning content, but neither phrase appears in the text, nor are the concepts addressed explicitly and systematically.

The science standards are similar in structure to those for mathematics. The one exception is that while the mathematics standards speak of "standards and principles," the science standards broadly apply the concept of standards to every element of the educational system that touches the student-teacher relationship. So in the science standards there are standards for teaching, assessment, teacher preparation, and content, while the mathematics standards handle many of these topics in the principles.

The science content standards contain six basic themes, for which standards are elaborated in each of three grade intervals (K-4, 5-8, and 9-12). These themes are unifying concepts and processes; science as inquiry; physical science, life science, Earth and space science; science and technology; science in personal and social perspective; and history and nature of science.

The content standards for physical, life, Earth, and space sciences build on a theme associated with spatial thinking. This theme is one of an orderly progression from naming and locating objects, to placing objects in relationship to each other, naming those relationships, and then progressing to explanations of the spatial and functional structure of objects and their relationships. This parallels the discussion of the historical process that astronomy has taken from first locating and naming objects in the sky to inferring the structure and evolution of the universe. These steps are recapitulated in the Earth science standard, which begins with finding and describing Earth materials and culminates with the origin and evolution of the Earth system at level 9-12, including explicitly in level 5-8 the spatial structure of the Earth system. In the life sciences standard a similar constructivist approach culminates at 9-12 with an understanding of matter, energy, and organiz es. bon of living systems, progressing in grades 5-8 through the study of structure and function in living systems.

The science content standards necessarily reflect spatial thinking and reasoning in an implicit way because many of the objects of study for science exist in the real world. Thus, it is necessary to place things in that world, to speak to their relationships, and to make inferences about their structure and function. The question of how an explicit focuson spatial thinking might enhance that process of study remains unanswered in the science standards, with one possible exception in the program standards for the design and implementation of science programs at the school and district levels. Standard C of the program standards states that "the science program should be coordinated with the mathematics program to enhance student use and understanding of mathematics in the study of science and to improve student understanding of mathematics".

Learning things is not limited to the scentific area. Instead it also has relations with some other things like speaking a language or using software, including Rosetta Stone Japanese and Rosetta Stone Korean. If you have a creative mind, you will make all your own differences in the end!