Speaking... reading... writing... math... NRS... accountability... GED... standards... funding... persistence... attendance... learner goals.... So many concerns, so little time. Teach science, too? You must be crazy!

Well, crazy or not, I am also here to invite you all to blend a little science into your busy teaching schedules. And I'm going to tell you why. Why incorporate science into adult basic education? Science can be an exciting content through which you can engage learners in literacy and numeracy as well as encourage critical thinking and problem solving. You don't have to do traditional lab experiments and you don't need expensive equipment. You don't have to know tons of science either. (I teach GED social studies, but managed to avoid all history courses in college.) Science is about forming questions and problems and actively seeking resolution or solutions. The language and process of science is a context that permeates our daily lives: health, cooking, environment, weather, workplace safety, consumer issues, current events, and so on.

The study of science has value for its content (e.g., learning how to become and stay healthy) and for its process (formulating questions and figuring out how to answer them in a reasoned way). We all have a curiosity about the world we live in and a desire to know more. Adult learners are no different. Science is a broad content area that tickles our curiosity and invites us to observe, question, and explore through a process of inquiry or "doing science". And learning to apply the process of inquiry to resolve a problem is a good thing—a critical life-long learning strategy.

I also believe that as experienced teachers, you bring many instructional strategies to the classroom that are transferable to whatever content you are using to teach literacy and numeracy skills. Tapping into learners' prior experience, interests and strengths, posing engaging questions and encouraging students to do the same, and helping learners acquire the skill of finding appropriate information for reasoned decision-making are all strategies that will serve you well in trying out the science instruction waters.

Not yet convinced? You might want to put the Teacher's Guide that accompanies the most recent Massachusetts Science and Technology Framework for ABE on your summer reading list. But first, explore this issue of Field Notes. Lenore (a self-described non-scientist) has put together an exciting collection of teacher writings, activities, and resources.

We hope after reading this issue of Field Notes you might be motivated to try some science in your classes-through reading an Abenaki story of creation, through dissecting a chicken wing, through gathering and analyzing local trash. Anything counts, if you make it.