Instructional Methods
"INVESTIGATION & EXPERIMENTATION" FRAMEWORK
Investigation: Students look for patterns and potential relationships among natural phenomena or data. Students in this phase are working in collaborative groups, sharing ideas, generating possible hypotheses, and rearranging data presentation. Students work in the same mode as contemporary scientists formulation ideas about manipulated, responding, controlled, relevant and irrelevant variable for study.
Experimentation: Students formalize a question to address. A study is designed, conducted, and results are analyzed using the traditional scientific method. The key part of the phase is that teams of students are answering their own questions instead of the traditional verification and error analysis laboratory. The phase is concluded when students report the method and results of their experiment through written, oral, poster-style, or multimedia-based presentations.
Extension: Students inductively explore generalizations of their own experimental results, to formally and constructively critique other student's work, or to conduct further experiments regarding identified weakness in their studies. The important component is to simulate the ongoing authenticity inherent to scientific investigations.
Two models for K-12 Hypermediated Earth System Science Lessons Based on Internet Resources, School Science and Mathematics Journal, 98(1), 1998. T.F. Slater and R.L. Fixen
"JIG SAWING" APPROACH
A cooperative learning strategy in which each student becomes an "expert" in a particular area, then shares his or her learning knowledge with other members of the group so that eventually all members of the group learn the concepts.
Traditional Jigsaw: Students are first divided into research teams. Each team member is assigned a task to perform or a portion of the material that is being studied. Once this has been completed, those students from each team with similar assignments gather to form an entirely new group of experts. It is within the workings of these new expert groups that the students become authorities in their assigned area or learn how to best perform their assigned task and then teach their original team.
Modified Jigsaw: The class is divided into equal expert groups, with each of these groups working on an isolated portion of an activity. Once each expert group has completed their task they report their findings, as a group, to the entire class. There are two important advantages of having a group report back to the entire class rather tan just one individual reporting to a subset of the class. One advantage is that it allows for greater flexibility in student presentation style. The second advantage is that the entire class gets the same information at once and it offsets the possibility that students unintentionally misrepresent information, forget information, or otherwise divulge information that is incorrect, incomplete, or just different from what other students in other groups are receiving.
Teaching Astronomy by Internet Jigsawing. Leading an Learning with Technology Journal, 26(4), 1998. B. Beaudrie, T.F. Slater, S. Stevenson, and D. Caditz
"ROLE PLAYING" APPROACH
Student take on assigned roles to present evidence and persuade an
educated panel of peers that they have an accurate scientific conception. A
role-playing strategy seems to work well when there appears to be multiple
correct approaches to solving a problem.
e.g., Students serve on the
Yellowstone National Park Usage Committee and classmates are challenged to
convince committee members whether to allow unlimited snow-mobiling and hunting
in the park this year.
Possible Roles for Students in various situations:
- Storytellers
- Poster/Brochure Designers
- Data Analysts
- Journalist/Reporters
- Mission Specialists
- Meteorologists
- Geologists
- Historians
- Cultural and Environmentalists
- Instrumentation Design
- Public Affairs
Integrating K-12 Hypermediated Earth System Science Activities Based on World-Wide-Web Resources. Journal of Geoscience Education, 46(2), p. 149-153, 1998. T.F. Slater, B. Beaudrie, and R.L Fixen
"5 E" FRAMEWORK
Engage: Create interest and generate curiosity in the topic of study; raise questioning and elicit responses from students that will give you an idea of what they already know. Use literature and captivation demonstrations.
Explore: Create opportunities for students to work together without an explicit agenda. Help students frame questioning by asking them questions and focusing on aspects of observations. Use "HOW CAN WE KNOW?" as a prompt whenever possible.
Explain: Encourage students to explain concepts in their own words, ask for evidence and clarification of their explanation, listen carefully to one anothers' explanations and those of the teacher. You can provide definitions and explanation using students' previous experiences as a basis for this discussing but be careful not to simply tell.
Extend: Students should apply concepts and skills in new (but similar) situations and use formal labels and definitions. Student should be using the previous information to ask questions and look for answers that use observation, evidence, and inference.
Evaluate: Observe students' knowledge, skills, and attitudes through their applications in novel situations. Students should also assess their own learning. Ask open-ended questions and look for answers that use observation, evidence, and inference.
"LEARNING CYCLE" FRAMEWORK
Exploration: Provide students with opportunities to make observation that often directly conflict with common mental models. These should be carefully designed to raise questions or complexities that cannot be resolved with accustomed problem solving strategies or learned reasoning patterns. Students should attempt to make explanations in their own words while the teacher has no explicit agenda (cognitive-conflict strategy).
Concept Introduction: Build consistent concepts in students with scientifically accurate vocabulary and map between their natural language and more traditional language (social transmission, teacher-centered). Deal with common misconceptions using "Pat-said, Chris-said, who is right?" Provide examples to students.
Concept Application: Create novel situations for students to apply the concepts and provide an environment for enhancing communication skills. Use writing oral reports, posters, projects, etc. (student-centered).
Science teaching and the development of reasoning. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, v. 14, p. 169-177, 1977. Karplus, R.
Use of microethnographic strategies to analyze some affective aspects of learning-cycle-based minicourses in paleontology for teachers. Journal of Geoscience Education, 41(3), 208-218, 1993. Rischbieter, M. O., Ryan, J. M., and Carpenter, J. R.
Information Compiled by T. F. Slater
for Space Science
Institute, Boulder, CO
and Montana State University, Bozeman, MT
A Sampling of Roles for Scientists in Education
| LEVEL OF INVOLVEMENT | ADVOCATE | RESOURCE | PARTNER |
|---|---|---|---|
| K-12 STUDENTS | *Participate in PTA. *Talk to school board about importance of science education. |
*Judge a science fair. *Answer student e-mail. *Give tour of research facility |
*Mentor a student in your laboratory. *Partner with students in a research project. |
| IN-SERVICE K-12 TEACHERS | *Speak out in support of appropriate professional development opportunities for teachers. | *Answer teacher e-mail about science content
questions. *Present in teacher workshop or some aspect of science |
*Work with a teacher to implement curriculum. *Hire a teacher intern. |
| SCHOOLS OF EDUCATION (Pre-Service Teachers, Graduate Students, Faculty Members) |
*Speak out in your department or organization in favor if
closer ties with Colleges of Education *Speak favorably of teachers and the teaching profession in your undergraduate classes. |
*Teach a science course or workshop segment for pre-service
teachers. *Collaborate with education faculty to improve courses on teaching science. |
*Hire a graduate in education to work as evaluator or
co-developer of education project. *Develop a science course or curriculum for teachers-to-be. |
| SYSTEMIC CHANGE (District, State, National) |
*Speak out at professional meetings about the importance and value of scientist involvement in systemic change. | *Review science standards for science accuracy. *Review the state framework for science education. |
*Collaborate on writing or adapting science
standards *Participate on state boards for adoption of standards, instructional materials, or teacher certification. |
| EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS DEVELOPMENT (NSRC, EDC, Lawrence Hall) |
*Speak out at a school board meeting for adopting exemplary educational materials | *Agree to serve on an advisory board for a science education
project. *Review science educational materials for science accuracy. |
*Collaborate to create exemplary science education materials. |
| INFORMAL EDUCATION (Science Centers, Scouts, Planetaria) |
*Participate on the board of a science center, planetarium, environmental center, or museum. | *Review science content of scripts for science exhibits,
planetarium shows, or environmental programs. *Give talk at a science center. |
*Collaborate in creation of a museum science exhibit or
planetarium show. *Serve as science coordinator for a scout troop. |
CA Morrow Space Science Institute 2/97 *The idea for Figure 1 emerged from a 2-day meeting co-convened by Project ASTRO and Space Science Institute (SSI) in February 1997. Key scientist-educators from around the country considered what the proper content of a 1-day workhop in education for scientists should be. The group that produced the table's framework included Cherilynn Morrow (SSI), Dennis Schatz (Pacific Science Center), and Michael Bennet (Project ASTRO). After this meeting, Morrow filled in the boxes with a sampling of roles that reflect the different types and levels of involvement a scientist can have in K-12 education.
Last Modified: 2007-09-21 at 12:09:00 -- this is in International Standard Date and Time Notation