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- 1. Is there ascience to teaching science?BY CATHLEEN GARCIA, FALL 2002
- 2. WHAT IS THESTUDY OF SCIENCE? *what we know- content and how we come to know it- process *A way of observing and thinking about the world, and communicating those thoughts to others
- 3. HOW HAS SCIENCEINSTRUCTION CHANGED? Early history…exercised students’ minds through rote memorization of information 1960’s…research by Piaget, Bruner and others looked closely at learning styles and environments and suggested changes Currently…NSTA and other professional science organizations promote activity-driven, inquiry- based, thematic science instruction
- 4. What methods ofscience teaching are the most prevalent today? *CONTENT-BASED programs (textbook based) *INQUIRY-BASED programs (activity-based or hands-on) The questions of how children learn, what is important to learn and how learning should take place in a classroom are the fundamental differences…
- 5. HOW ARE CONTENT-BASEDPROGRAMS CHARACTERIZED? Textbooks, lectures and written assignments Less integration and a wide range of content on a more superficial level Teaches information through interpretation of the printed word More vocabulary and factual recall learning Directed hands-on activities using the lower level process skills Shallow treatment of topic few opportunities to apply knowledge
- 6. HOW ARE INQUIRY-BASEDPROGRAMS CHARACTERIZED? De-emphasized reading activities Vocabulary and rote facts receive minimal focus Dynamic-depict science as an ongoing process of exploration and discovery Deep understandings reached by integrating knowledge into new situations Focus is on the higher level process skills of predicting, inferring, hypothesizing, experimenting and controlling variables
- 7. What does currentresearch indicate are the “Best Methods” for nurturing intellectual development in children? *Involvement in learning (the key to intellectual development) *Physical manipulation of objects (enhances early stages of cognitive development) *Direct experiences (extensions of natural behaviors with natural phenomena) *Experiential learning (provides a base for the development of abstract reasoning/critical
- 8. WHY WE SHOULDCHANGE OUR SCIENCE INSTRUCTION FOCUS… *Hands-on science is intrinsically fun and more interesting *Hands-on science increases student creativity, positive attitudes towards science, logic development, communication skills and reading readiness *Hands-on science benefits students with learning difficulties due to ESL, learning barriers or physical/behavioral deficiencies
- 9. TOP 5 REASONSFOR NOT CHANGING SCIENCE INSTRUCTION METHODS… *Text teaching is easier to prepare, assess and administer *Text teaching is usually more organized, disciplined and predictable *Content-based programs are easier to put into place in large independent school districts *History has cultivated a dependency on textbook use in the science classroom And the #1 reason for not changing…
- 10. Teachers’ uncertainty, discomfort andlack of resources as well as sometimes-limited backgrounds in science content and science teachingIn other words…
Editor's Notes
- #3 The science of teaching science has become a subject of much talk among science educators. Research indicates that current public school science instruction is not producing the needed science literacy, especially in relation to the world’s greater scientific needs probable in the future. Science is no longer considered just rote recall of scientific facts. It also involves how we come to know and believe those facts, as well as how we communicate what we know and what we have seen to others.
- #4 The early paths of science instruction involved learning and memorizing the known facts in all the areas of the sciences. During the 1960’s educational research began to focus on the learning environment itself as playing a role in learning. The newly developed philosophies of learning styles and environments seems to support the assumption that learners actively construct individual world views based on personal observations and experiences, and that learners responded to instruction in terms of pre-existing intuitive perspectives. Thus, the learning experience is as important as what is learned. Those early theories and philosophies have matured to the point that science teaching organizations such as NSTA have begun promoting more inquiry-based science instruction in the classroom. This new tenet is a philosophical deviation from the traditional science instruction typical in most elementary classrooms today.
- #5 Content-based instruction and inquiry-based instruction represent two very different educational approaches to elementary science instruction. Because of the differences in how one answers the questions of how children learn, what is important to learn and how learning should take place, it is improbable to use both in the classroom.
- #6 Despite recent research findings, the majority of public schools have adopted a textbook-based, content-acquisition approach to science education. In addition to the facts listed here, content-based program assessments are typically straightforward measures of recall of vocabulary and concepts and are virtually exclusively factually based items. Few opportunities are provided for in-depth coverage of topics. Usually many topics are taught throughout the year at a cursory level, treatment of science topics is broad and the focus is relatively shallow with few opportunities for students to study the information in depth or to apply new knowledge to different contexts.
- #7 Inquiry-based programs provide a strong contrast to curriculum that is textbook based. While science information can be taught through books, lectures and memorization, deep understanding of a concept doesn’t occur until students have the ability to integrate the knowledge that they have learned into new situations. Inquiry-based programs engages students in the investigative nature of science. It involves activity and skills, and focuses on the active search for knowledge and understanding. Activities are intended to lead learners to actively explore their environments and develop their own hypothesis.
- #8 Piaget and Bruner were the main early proponents of these “Best Methods” of learning. Activity-based theory is based on the premise that humans advance through a predictable sequence of stages of cognitive development over time. As learning moves from experience to abstraction, interactions with objects and organisms provide a foundation for developing needed critical thinking and abstract reasoning skills.
- #9 According to current research students who are exposed to an inquiry approach to science express a more positive attitude to learning, increased enjoyment of school, increased skill proficiency in many areas, increased independent thinking abilities and increased perception than those taught the traditional way.
- #10 A textbook-based curriculum can be easier to put in place without much guidance in huge independent school districts where there is less control over the scientific training of the district’s teachers. Also, teaching science using a hands-on approach also costs districts more money in materials than just buying a textbook that can be used for five or more years without further investment. Teaching science using hands-on activities in the classroom is harder, more hectic and noisier. But the benefits for the students clearly outweigh the difficulties.
- #11 Changing teachers’ attitudes may prove to be a hard habit to break.