Novare Science Details
In science instruction today, challenges abound, from determining correct teaching methods to deciding how best to ensure students’ retention of content beyond the course. These challenges are compelling thoughtful science educators to continually ask, “Where do we start?” In the search for a program taught from a godly perspective that will improve science education and increase student achievement, Novare Science stands as the solution
Novare Science founder and author John D. Mays created his 7th–12th grade curriculum based on the core principles of wonder, integration, and mastery, 3 areas of focus that are evident in each of Novare’s middle and high school textbooks. The study of science should always begin with wonder. The world is a stunning place, full of surprises and jaw-dropping phenomena. Unfortunately, it is common today for young people to grow up spending most of their time indoors with digital media, which means the natural draw of nature for budding scientists is now commonly missed. Only if students know the world will they begin to love it, and only then will they be motivated to take care of it as they encounter the environmental challenges of our modern context. Keeping the cultivation of this sense of wonder in mind, the content of each text is carefully selected, presented, and assessed cumulatively so that students can truly master the entire body of material in a standard academic year. Last but not least, integrative instruction avoids isolating science, and instead draws connections to other subjects such as math, writing, and history. Serving as the foundation for these 3 principles is the kingdom perspective, which is present in each text and helps students to see the fingerprints of God in creation and the world around us. (For more on each of the core principles and the kingdom perspective, click here.)
The tone, style, and graphics in each Novare text are age-appropriate, coherent, and engaging, designed to draw students upward toward the adult world of scientific inquiry and study. Combining the 3 core principles with rich, appealing design results in the deeper learning of less material and ultimately in a superior science education that faithfully affirms God’s creative design of the universe and His intimate, ongoing involvement with His creation.
Classical Academic Press has acquired Novare Science!
Read the official announcement.
What’s special about Novare’s curriculum?
To promote mastery and long-term retention, Novare textbooks feature subject matter that has been carefully curated and limited to the central, most important material for each course. Each text also includes specific learning objectives (supplied at the beginning of each chapter); clear, proven problem-solving strategies incorporated into all example problems; and answer keys to all computations in the text. The student editions integrate connections to history, mathematics, language, and philosophy, while regularly inviting students to pause and consider the sophistication of design in nature, the regularity of natural law, the human ability to model nature mathematically, the fitness of the earth as a dwelling place for mankind, and other telling aspects of Creation.
Why does Novare emphasize “putting physics first”?
We recommend that all high school students take physics first for these reasons:
- Every high school student should take a strong physics course before graduating. If schools only offer physics courses that require students to first acquire upper-level math skills, such as vector math and trigonometry, then approximately 80–90 percent of high school students will graduate without ever taking an introductory or even grade-level physics course.
- There are substantial educational benefits to having a solid background in physics prior to taking chemistry and biology. Novare’s physics course includes a number of topics important for chemistry, such as energy, heat, energy transfer, phases of matter, electrostatic attraction, temperature scales, light, types of substances, and the internal structure of the atom. Covering such topics in an introductory physics course as freshmen pays dividends when students encounter these topics in more detail later.
- A solid introductory physics course is the ideal way to provide students with critical practice in mathematical skills as applied in science. Two highly important skills in science are performing unit conversions and using scientific notation, both of which all students should master as freshmen. An introductory physics course will also prepare students to understand the importance of accuracy and precision in scientific measurements, and help students become comfortable working with significant digits.
