It is not always obvious that students will understand science concepts with ease. For students to make sense of scientific concepts, they need to think, reason, and discuss about these concepts. An inquiry-based strategy is a great way to aid students build on their existing scientific knowledge and finally develop deeper conceptual information (Tweed, 2009).
To achieve the above objectives, it is recommended that a teaching method that entails the following five features of an enquiry is implemented.
Different students have different understanding rates. On top of that, each students carries with them a unique understanding background. To plan well, a teacher needs to understand the student’s prior understanding.
To achieve that, it is recommended that a teacher should implement formative assessment to get feedback on the student’s understanding. Formative assessment entails natural questioning or actions during an instruction session. The feedback is used to alter the teaching or give an insight on the kind of information to provide to specific students.
Students usually have preset scientific ideas that maybe false. These ideas must be combated, otherwise, the students will continue building on these faulty ideas which will definitely be disastrous in future. The following steps are effective in handling student’s preconceptions.
For each new concept, teachers should provide sense-making activities. At the end of each lesson, the teacher should provide wrap-up activities. Through these activities, students understand the purpose of the concept being taught, they connect it to their previous knowledge, and they consider the transformation of their thinking because of the concept and then go ahead to apply their new knowledge (Tweed, 2009).
As opposed to a very common teaching practice, science is not a search for correct answers. Discussion is a key feature to ensure students learn. The teacher should get the students to talk about their everyday experiences that are in relation to the concept being taught. Next, the teacher should provide experiences that will ensure the students make sense of the concept.
In most cases, students are exposed to comprehensive scientific information that is shallow. This brief exposure to information limits the student’s understanding of concepts. Understanding is a gradual process that entails revising and restructuring ideas. The teacher should prune the curriculum, structure instructions such that they support the progressive learning process and provide opportunities where students can reflect on what they know.
Chapter 4: Environment
Creating a Positive Learning Environment
Since a teacher is responsible for the learning of each student, changing one’s beliefs is a very vital step in achieving this. Research has it that if a teacher deeply believes that students will learn, they most likely will learn. Changing ones belief is a hard process but it is possible. The first step is for the teacher to identify what he or she believes. If the beliefs negatively affect the learners, then it is necessary to change them. The teacher should then implement a different approach and observe how the students react.
Misconceptions about scientists have a negative impact on the learning process of students. From the first day students step in a science class, they should be trained to view the world scientifically. Following that line of thought, students should be given a chance to ask question, collect data, present and discuss their discoveries.
Students should ask questions and convert them into scientific questions. Based on observations and background research, the student should answer these questions. Thinking scientifically entails coming up with answers to scientific questions.
If the students have negative attitudes about science, learning becomes almost impossible. The teacher should be able to make the students feel that the class is important. Second, the instructors should make the students believe in their abilities. Developing a positive relationship with each student is a good way to get started.
Many students find science very frustrating. One of the greatest factors contributing to this is lack of feedback that lets them understand the depth of their scientific knowledge or help them progress in their endeavor to learn science. To improve a student’s performance in science, feedback should be timely, corrective, clear and criterion-referenced. Such kind of feedback should be helpful to the students since they will learn from their work.
Effort is necessary to succeed in science. Unfortunately, some students do not exert any effort. An atmosphere of competition and negative attitudes towards science are some of the reasons behind the laxity of some students in science. Such students should be taught how to exert effort. Teaching students to reinforce effort goes beyond just showing them the right answers, it entails showing students how to struggle to make sense out of what they are being taught.
With a wide curriculum and a limited time, many instructors just rush to finish the syllabus. This way, the students are limited to grasping definitions and a few facts. Since a deeper understanding of concepts is important, this approach is wrong. Thinking critically, reasoning scientifically and thinking about their own thought process are the proper ways for students to deeply grasp scientific knowledge.
Works Cited
Tweed, Anne. Designing Effective Science Instruction: What Works In Science Classrooms. NSTA Press, 2009. Print.
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