A Problem Solving, Simulation, and Teamwork Approach to Teaching Integrated Science

科学教育的三大问题是教育技术、基于问题的学习和综合科学教学。由于目前单一学科为基础的教学结构，改变是困难的。该项目正在改变核心课程，通过计算机模拟和问题解决教学法将不同学科的课程联系在一起，使用教育技术来教授综合科学。在早期的教育中，学生们开始看到科学具有共性，如科学方法、可量化和可验证的数据、统计和概率的使用以及批判性思维。无论是在地质学、生物学还是物理学领域，计算机模拟都不能取代而是扩展了实验室经验。通过整合学科，让学生在模拟问题上进行团队合作，作为实验室经验的延伸，我们的项目通过超越传统的学科界限和结合教育技术来振兴科学课程。我们正在以解决问题的形式将基于科学的综合计算机模拟纳入课堂。学生团队试图解决复杂而重要的问题，如全球变暖或森林砍伐，这些问题的解决方案需要从许多不同的科学领域获取知识和技能。

Three major science education issues are educational technology, problem-based learning, and teaching integrated science. Change is difficult because of the present structure of single discipline-based teaching. This project is changing the core curriculum to one which uses educational technology to teach integrated science by tying courses from different disciplines together via computer simulations and problem-solving pedagogy. Early in their education students begin to see that the sciences have commonalties such as the scientific method, quantifiable and verifiable data, the use of statistics and probabilities, and critical thinking. Computer simulations do not replace but extend the laboratory experience, whether in geology, biology, or physics. By integrating disciplines and having students work in teams on simulated problems as an extension of the lab experience, our project revitalizes the science curriculum by transcending traditional disciplinary boundaries and incorporating educational technologies.We are incorporating integrated science-based computer simulations into classrooms in a problem-solving format. Student teams attempt to solve complex and important problems, such as global warming or deforestation whose solutions require knowledge and skills drawn from many different scientific fields.