This 30-minute Administrator Power Session will help leaders recognize what this explore-before-explain approach looks and sounds like in the classroom. In three-dimensional science instruction, vocabulary is no longer something students simply memorize before learning begins. Instead, students first explore phenomena, develop ideas, and use language to make sense of what they observe. Research recommends allowing students to build conceptual meaning and use their own ways of communicating before introducing technical scientific terms.
Scientific language should help students communicate their thinking more precisely—not replace the thinking itself. Technical terms are introduced “just in time,” after students have wrestled with an idea and developed understanding, so vocabulary becomes a useful shorthand for concepts they already know.
- For questions regarding this resource, please contact Arizona Science Teachers Association (ASTA).
- Contact Name: Sara Torres
- Phone No: 520-709-1886
- Email Address: astaexecdir@azsta.org