WHY SCIENCE

Why Science?
Kevin VanHaaren

By having a major in Kinesiology, I am often not taken seriously as an

aspiring teacher. The response to my explanation that I am a prospective

WHY SCIENCE

teacher with a glorified Phys Ed degree is often that I simply want to play
sports for the rest of my life. While being a physical education teacher would
definitely be enjoyable for me, it is not why I chose to do an undergrad in
kinesiology and education. While applying to University, I was certain that I
one day wanted to be a teacher but not just a gym teacher. The reason for
this decision was science. While the Kinesiology program at LU still offers an
exposure to physical education, the primary focus is on sciences and
particularly body science. This has always been a huge interest for me due to
my interest in healthy living as well as having excellent teacher influences in
both my exercise science and biology class. Through these experiences, I
have gained not only a greater understanding of not only what science is but
also how it should be taught. Despite respected all the aforementioned
people, there are still some things that they have done that I personally will
change when I am teaching. Through this paper, I hope to share my opinions
and express why I am choosing to be involved with science for the rest of my
life.
Firstly, science is a very wide subject area. It can cover anything from
how the human body works to why a Pepsi bottle fires off like a rocket when
a Mentos is added. To me, science is the continual study of everything in our
world including why it is, how it is and how it may change. To study science
we must first ask ourselves what do we know and/or think of the subject at
hand. This could involve prior experiences or concepts that have been
taught. Here, hypotheses are formed and scientific theories can be initiated.

WHY SCIENCE

It is then possible to act on our ideas and thought processes. This could be
through observation or even through scientific experimentation. I would
assume that when most people think of science, experiments come to mind
first. While they dont make up the entirety of the discipline, experiments are
definitely a key and often fun component. Whether it is through
independent/dependent studies, placebo affects or a wide variety of other
methods, experiments can yield a lot of scientific information. This leads to
my third point which is the analyzing of this data. At this point, conclusions
can be drawn and we can look back at what our original thoughts were about
the scientific issue at hand.
With this general idea of science in mind, I have my own personal
methods that I would instruct science but in particular biology and exercise
science. Whats great about science is that there are so many different
methods in which one can explore to gain knowledge. For instance, most
physical education classes involve kinesthetic learning as the primary mode
for teaching. English classes would likely rely on verbal or comprehension
activities as their method of teaching. However, like I said, science classes
offer in my opinion a greater opportunity to be versatile. I personally would
use this to keep my classes interesting and engaging. I would use a
combination of lecturing and reading activities with kinesthetic and practical
application of the material learned in class. This could range from acting out
body movements, designing experiments or even performing dissections of
animals. Each student learns in a different way and being able to provide

WHY SCIENCE

each student with a different method of learning is essential in keeping

science relatable and enjoyable for everyone.
I dont think anyone can truly be passionate about anything without having
some form of role model to show them the wonders of the discipline in
question. The same can be said in my situation as I had three great
influences in the field of science. My biology teacher was very strict; however
he ensured that we always were exposed to hands on experiences. This
included dissecting a fetal pig which I learned later was not always possible
in every school due to lack of departmental funding. He also designed fun
and interactive activities on a daily basis that allowed us to step away from
the textbook and into some real life scientific experiences. My exercise
science teacher was also very engaging and creative. He brought in model
figures of different bones and body parts. He also brought in real bones and
skulls that we could analyze to visual grasp locations of anatomical figures.
The final and most influential scientific figure in my life is definitely my mom.
As a dietitian, she exposed me to the science of food and nutrition at a
young age. To this day she keeps me updated on new trends in the nutrition
world and when Im home treats me to delicious yet nutritious meals.
It is clear that science encompasses many facets of our world. It can be
seen in anything from foods, human bodies and even machines along with
countless other domains. As a prospective science teacher, I want to ensure
my students enjoy the same experience that I have and to do so I need to

WHY SCIENCE

incorporate many of the strategies that my previous teachers used. The

diversity of their lesson plans ensured everyone could find something to love
about science. It is this, I believe, that makes science so unique. Science
surrounds us on a daily basis and whether you are a teacher, a nurse or even
a mechanic, science plays a pivotal role in how we see and experience our
world. Therefore when I ask myself why science, I must also wonder how
anyone could possibly function without it.