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As you walk into a science class, you should see students working and talking together. There should be questioning, making hypothesis', collecting evidence, and more questioning! And teachers should be playing the role of a mentor or a guide. Far too often, science is taught through rote memorization, worksheets, text books, and boring lectures. I'm here to tell you it doesn't have to be that way! In fact, teaching science in such a bleak way can be detrimental to students. If students are only taught to remember the specific information about science and they never learn how to problem solve, we might be setting our students up for failure. The video on the left is an example of a classroom that exhibits traits of an effective pedagogy of science education. Below I discuss some of the misconceptions about science education, some best practices in teaching science, and how I plan to use an effective science pedagogy in my classroom! |
Misconceptions About Science EducationMyth: Science is a collection of facts.
Fact: Scientific facts are crucial to science, but it is not the focus. The focus of science education is to help students gain understanding of the natural world. --------------------------------------------------- Myth: Teachers are the ultimate knowers of information. Fact: While teachers have a lot of knowledge, students should also be seen as having knowledge. In science education, teachers need to focus on drawing students knowledge out with real world experiences. --------------------------------------------------- Myth: Science is taught best through a teacher-centered model. Fact: The best way to teach science is actually through student-centered activities, discussions, and lessons. |
Best Practices in Science EducationQuestion Everything:
Students/kids ask the weirdest, off the wall questions. Why is the sky blue? Where do babies come from? etc. etc. It is so important for teachers to keep the questions going. Scientists are always asking questions. In fact, that is most of what they do. So, in turn, that is what we want our students to do. Also, instead of letting all their questions go unanswered, they need to learn how to make a plan to figure out possible answers. --------------------------------------------------- Don't always have the right answer: To goal of science is to understand the natural world. In science, its important to help kids understand that science wont necessarily always have a right answers. We want students to focus on the questions they have and the data they've found, rather then on the right answer. We are teaching them the process of solving problems, not having the right answers. |
Effective Science PedagogyA good model that puts all of these components together is
The 5 E's Instructional Model. This model first engages students in a real world experience. Then, it has students explore that real world topic, in a student-centered activity. Next, students explain what they have found and what they think it means. Then, the students elaborates on their findings by connecting them to other possible topics. Lastly, the teacher evaluates whether or not the students learned the concepts the lesson was designed for. If they did not, the cycle starts again with a different engagement activity. This is the model I plan on using in my classroom to help me ensure my students will be in an effective science pedagogical setting. |