Activitymania

Activitymania involves pre-packaged cookie-cutter, hands-on science activities that are often used at the elementary level to "engage" students in science experimentation. However, as the article points out, "conceptual understanding and scientific literacy are not facilitated by this practice."  A better way of teaching science is through inquiry, which allows students to identify patterns and relationships in the world around them; asking questions and designing investigations to answer those questions according to their interests. One of the biggest flaws of activitymania, in my opinion, is that students know what the expected outcome is, so they disregard results that don't line up with the expectation and lose interest because their questions remain unanswered in the process.  But, activitymania remains popular because it "ensures science concepts will be addressed in the classroom".  What the producers of activitymania fail to realize though, is that ensuring that concepts are addressed is not the same as ensuring that students receive quality science education and understanding of those concepts. I feel fortunate that my preservice teacher training is focusing on teaching science as inquiry, where students' misconceptions are identified and addressed through higher order cognitive skills, like inquiry.  I will be able to better engage my students in scientific inquiry because I will have experienced how participating in this type of learning is more beneficial to retention and understanding. I will also be familiar with how to assess for understanding (formative and summative) and have an idea of how to incorporate scientific investigations into my classroom without relying on Activitymania.