When we first started on this project, the two seemed like puzzle pieces that did not fit together. Nevertheless, we have learned a few things about how to create curricula that connect science learning in school and at work. We create our classroom lessons by mapping backwards from such essential questions. Students get inter-ested in such issues, and from there we develop projects and activities through which students can learn the science needed to answer these questions. We then connect scientific concepts and skills with their uses in real work sites.
Heat is transmitted through conduction, convection, and radiation.
Unfortunately, most kids never understand science when it is taught this way. In Working to Learn we develop understandings by drawing concepts like these from work experience. In order to answer either of these questions, students need to understand the concepts of conduction, convection, and radiation, rather than simply knowing the definitions. For students who are working with heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems, understanding how heat is transmitted helps them understand their tasks at the work site. Many scientific concepts and skills that are used at work sites, however, are typically not taught in school science.