Discussions in the elementary science classroom are crucial to understanding scientific concepts. Unfortunately, the term discussions may lead us to imagine the whole group reading, followed by questions generated by the teacher, students restating what was previously read, and finally the teacher evaluating the students’ statements for correctness. This method of discussion is commonly known as initiation-response-feedback or IRF (Willington, 2011). This unfortunate scenario can be replaced by a more meaningful exchange known as inquiry based discussions.
An alternative to IRF is inquiry based discussions. Students are introduced to a concept and discuss prior knowledge before instruction begins. Students participate in small group discussions to prove or disprove what they know or what they have learned. They share their thinking amongst themselves and with other groups. Following group discussions, students may present their findings to the whole class. Because more students are actively engaged in discussions and are constructing their own understanding, this is a more meaningful exchange than teacher led discussions.
Teachers should allow time for students to participate in meaningful discussions for a number of reasons. One primary reason to make time for meaningful discussion is because science has a certain kind of language that should be practiced (Willington, 2011). Scientific terms are not used regularly in most communications with others. Many terms are only used in a scientific environment. In order for students to make connections and construct a meaningful scientific vocabulary these terms should be used appropriately and regularly. For example consider the terms: mitosis, oxidation, osmosis, and clavic...
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Teachers and students provide the following feedback to the Secondary Science Education Department at the University of Nebraska:
Michael, S.et al. (2008). Prospects for improving K-12 science education from the federal level. Journal of Education 69(9): 677-683.
I absorbed many teaching strategies and classroom management skills while observing Mr. Fauth interact with his students. One instructional strategy Mr. Fauth does well and often in his class is modeling. One way he does this is through his modeling of critical thinking skills. I have observed his students become more critical about the sources they read and are always encouraged to ask questions. Another strategy that is used often in Mr. Fauth’s classroom is reciprocal teaching. Classroom discussion is a large part of the class and Mr. Fauth creates an atmosphere in which the students feel comfortable about sharing their ideas,
Mrs. Grubbs frequently wanted students to engage in class activities and discussions. However, some students did not participate because they were afraid of giving incorrect answers. For this reason, she decided to create captivating ways for students to
Table 2.2 describes these variations. I created activities that were concrete and straightforward. The investigations were a tool for me to connect students to abstract concepts such as force and motion. McDonald et al. (2002, p. 5) believes that “learners need access to the world in order to connect the knowledge in their head with the knowledge in the world”. To give this access, teachers need practices such as hand-on investigations. Each investigation was aligned with Newton’s Laws of Motion. The concepts in the investigations were observable, and students not only designed the investigations, but they were able to observe the scientific phenomenon through carrying out multiple trials. I chose activities that were not overly challenging or too easy and were suited to the skill and knowledge level of the 7th and 8th grade students. By using the recommendations of Colburn (2000) with structured-inquiry learning segments, students in my study had more control of their
This journal entry will be about the observation of a Six Grade Science class. There are twenty-four students in this classroom with one teacher, Mr. Kessler. The energy and knowledge that this teacher portrayed during his lesson was exciting and engaging. He showed that an excitement for the subject you are teaching encourages the students to learn. His students were captivated by this excitement the moment they walked into the classroom. He was energetic and joyful and the kids showed these same feelings as they sat down to begin the warm up exercise for the day.
In conclusion, at primary level, science enquiry skills have evolved over time to encompass a flexible structure that allows children to explore, discover and acquire cognitive knowledge. Constructivists have influenced and advanced children’s learning, and teaching techniques, allowing misconceptions to be identified and readily adjusted.
Students who speak English, but have limited science vocabulary as it is used within the textbook and in class
...o listen carefully to ensure that kids are discussing scientific ideas, not socializing. The teacher's role is to ensure that students achieve their primary goal: meaningful understanding of scientific concepts. The practices described in this article help bring this about in several ways. When instruction centers on students and focuses on hands-on experience with scientific phenomena, science class becomes an exciting place. When instruction concentrates on the investigation of current problems and issues through scientific inquiry, science class becomes a relevant and meaningful place. When instruction emphasizes the development of communication skills, science class becomes an invaluable place for preparing children to tackle the challenges of adulthood. And the education community owes it to its students to assess their academic progress fairly and accurately.
When integrating Nature of Science into curriculum, assumptions are made about students and instructors. These assumptions include that students are all at the same level in terms of science understanding and concepts as the rest of their classmates, and also assumes that the students learn at the same rates (NGSS: Appendix A). These assumptions are detrimental to science education when focus needs to be on the content being taught rather than teaching background of science as a standalone. Teaching NOS explicitly becomes increasingly difficult when students aren’t given access to proper science learning environments. As mentioned in the High Hopes – Few Opportunities reading, it is stated that, “California students do no typically experience high-quality science learning opportunities[.]” (Dorph et al., 2011). When students don’t have a basis for scientific concepts, it becomes increasingly difficult to teach NOS. America’s Lab Report further expands on the idea that this style of learning is not likely achievable, as “[N]o single […] experience is likely to achieve all of these learning goals.” (Schweingruber et al., 2005) where learning goals is referencing the goals of laboratory experiences that include understanding Nature of Science. Again, when a lack of understanding for general science exists, its arguably much more difficult to teach
Posing questions on materials covered and the quality of materials selected can create the desired environment for students to thrive. I want to inspire my students to think outside the box and to ask questions. Society needs thinkers not robots. The classroom plays an important part in aiding the growth of an individual. It is my duty as a teacher to impart knowledge because ideas have a way of changing lives. Examining and discussing ideas with students allows them to move to a new level of understanding, so that ultimately, they may be transformed.
In Science, teachers serve as the facilitator of learning, guiding them through the inquiry process. Teachers must ask open-ended questions, allow time for the students to answer, avoid telling students what to do, avoid discouraging students’ ideas or behaviors, encourage to find solutions on their own, encourage collaboration, maintain high standards and order, develop inquiry-based assessments to monitor students’ progress, and know that inquiry may be challenging for some students so be prepared to provide more guidance. There are three types of Science inquiry: structured, guided, and open. Structured is the most teacher-centered form of inquiry. This type of inquiry is mainly seen in laboratory exercises where the teacher needs to provide structure, however the students are the ones who conduct the experiment and find conclusions. Guided inquiry is where the students are given tools to develop a process and find the results. As an example, the teacher would instruct the students to build a rocket, but not tell them how to design it. This leaves creativity and uniqueness for the students to be able to apply their knowledge and skills. Open inquiry is when students determine the problem, i...
Murcia, K. (2008). Teaching for scientific literacy with an interactive whiteboard. Teaching Science - the Journal of the Australian Science Teachers Association, 54(4), 17-21. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.
Children in grades 3 through 5 are moving from "learning to read" to "reading to learn" and from "learning to write" to "writing to communicate". Students learn to work independently. They learn to read words and make mental pictures. Third through fifth graders also learn to write paragraphs, short essays and stories that make a point. The curriculum becomes more integrated. "Reading to learn" helps third through fifth graders better understand the scientific method and how to test hypotheses about the physical world. Additionally, "reading to learn" aids students in graphing and calculating scientific observations and then writing up their conclusions. Third grade science class will open new worlds of wonder and invite curious mind to explore (Williams, 2012).
In closing, science education is like an invisible force that pushes everything forward. It is not always noticed, but the results of teaching science in schools could be world-changing. Science has helped in so many different industries such as the medicine field where it has been helping throughout the ages to save lives. In addition, if earth science is taught, everyone will live in a world with cleaner air, because more people will be educated to make the right decisions and help this planet. With that it is clear that teaching science education in classes is extremely important for everyone’s future.