Science Program Philosophy

Avon Grove students will experience science through hands-on collaboration as they develop the critical thinking skills outlined in State and National Standards. Our shared purpose is to provide a rigorous, engaging, and diverse curriculum that will prepare students with real-world transferable skills through a variety of courses that meet the needs of all of our learners. Students will acquire the mindset and scientific knowledge needed to solve complex problems and make well-informed decisions that impact current and future generations.

Science Beliefs

• We believe that all students have the right to a high-quality education that engages and prepares them to be lifelong critical thinkers, problem solvers, and independent learners conscious of their surrounding environment.
• We believe that all students have the right to feel connected, accepted, and valued within their learning environment.
• We believe all students should be able to analyze and solve problems that model real-world scenarios, and authentic experiences.
• We believe students must have time to explore, investigate, observe, hypothesize, and make conclusions based on scientific content, concepts, and practices regularly.
• We believe students should develop skills such as observing, questioning, problem-solving, evaluating, analyzing, and synthesizing through curricular experiences.

Science Program Philosophy

Transfer goals highlight the effective uses of understanding, knowledge, and skill that we seek in the long run; i.e., what we want students to be able to do when they confront new challenges – both in and outside of school. Students will be able to independently use their learning to:

1. Approach science as a reliable and tentative way of knowing and explaining the natural world and designed world.
2. Weigh evidence and use scientific approaches to ask questions, investigate, and make informed decisions.
3. Make and use observations to analyze relationships and patterns in order to explain phenomena, develop models, and make predictions.