INTRODUCTION

► The biggest challenge before a teacher is how to teach Science

lessons.

► If this teaching – learning activities are effective, students can reach

the goals of life by acquisition of knowledge, skills and values in
Science.
As defined by Dr. Rosalyn Yalon, a Nobel Laureate in Medicine,

science is… “… not simply a collection of facts. It is a discipline of

thinking about rational solutions to problems after establishing the basic
facts derived from observations. It is hypothesizing from what is known to
what might be and then attempting to test the hypothesis….logical thinking
must come first; the facts can come later.
 Knowledge, Process Skills and Attitudes.

Knowledge is sometimes labeled as the products of science.

It generally refers to facts, concepts, principles, laws, and
theories.
Process skills are the empirical and analytic procedures used
by scientists in solving problems.

Scientific attitudes refer to the general predispositions that

characterize the work of scientists.
 Some of the important attitudes students will
have to learn and demonstrate in science include

Curiosity Perseverance
Honesty Skepticism
Objectivity Withholding
Openness Judgment.
 Characteristics of Learners which are relevant to
Science Teaching.

1. Learners learn and develop as a whole person.

The learners’ cognitive, affective, physical, social and emotional
areas are intricately intertwined. Learners cannot grow in one area
without affecting the other areas.
2. Learners grow through the same predictable stages but at different
rates.
This means that children of the same age group may not exhibit uniform
characteristics. Some may be more intellectually or socially advanced than
the others in the same age group.

3. Learners learn best through active involvement with concrete

experiences.

Research studies show that the use of hands-on activities can result in
significant improvements in academic performance and attitude of
students towards science.
4. Learners are curious and eager to learn.

When the teacher fits the learning environment to learners’

interests, needs and their levels of maturity, they become highly
motivated.
5. Learners have different learning styles.
Learning styles are preferred ways that different individuals have
for processing and responding to environmental stimulus
(Kuchuck and Eggen, 1997). Learning styles are also referred to
as cognitive styles.
“Teaching Strategies”
 “Teaching Strategies”
STRATEGY: - Strategy is the art and science of directing and
controlling the movements and activities of the army. If strategy is
good, we can get victory over our enemies. In teaching this term is
meant those procedures and methods by which objectives of
teaching are realized in the class.
A major goal of parents and teachers is to produce educated and
concerned citizens, and scientific literacy is a critical component of
this endeavor. Scientific literacy is more than just knowledge of
scientific concepts; it is the ability to apply scientific knowledge to
everyday problem-solving situations that impact health, safety, and the
environment.
1. Enhanced context strategies

- The science curriculum must be made relevant to students by framing

lessons in contexts that give facts meaning, teach concepts that matter
in students’ lives, and provide opportunities for solving complex
problems.

- Relating learning to students’ previous experiences or knowledge

and engaging students’ interest by linking learning to the
students’/school’s environment or setting are ways to encourage
students to make connections.
 Examples of Enhance Strategies:

1. Look at the big picture – unifying concepts such as systems, form &
function, models & their limits

2. Use problem-based learning

3. Begin and end a lesson or unit with KWL (What I Know, What I Want
to Know, and What I Learned) – use to determine students’
preconceptions, generate questions for inquiry, and summarize findings

4. Incorporate real-life situations/data as contexts for problem solving

5. Integrate current events, such as using a:

❑ Hurricane to illustrate
❑ Effects of energy conversions and heat transfer
❑ Effects on animal life
❑ Weather patterns
❑ Effects of oceans on land
2. Collaborative grouping strategies

Collaborative grouping occurs when teachers arrange students in flexible

groups to work on various tasks such as exploring significant problems
or creating meaningful projects.
The ability to collaborate is a necessary skill for success in the real
world and requires working with others rather than competing with
them.
a. Laboratory exercises
b. Inquiry projects
c. Learning/instructional games
d. Kinesthetic activities; for example, small groups modeling a concept such as
movement of earth/moon/sun system or behavior of atoms/molecules in the
states of matter
3. Questioning strategies
- The teacher’s use of a variety of questioning strategies can facilitate the
development of critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making skills
in students.
- Questioning is interactive and engages students by allowing them to share
their ideas and thoughts.

1. Vary timing, positioning, or cognitive levels of questions

2. Ask more open-ended questions
3. Increase wait time for student responses and, after incorrect
responses, allow time for reprocessing
4. Allow students to take risks and be wrong without feeling censured
4. Inquiry strategies

- most science teachers would agree that it involves exploration,

asking questions and constructing explanations about natural
phenomena.
- According to the National Science Education Standards, “Scientific
inquiry refers to the diverse ways in which scientists study the natural
world and propose explanations based on the evidence derived from
their work.
 Types of scientific inquiry for K-12 students

1. Descriptive research design or descriptive study - “Uses descriptive

statistics: frequency, mean, median, mode, range; display of data in
frequency table and bar chart or graphs(as appropriate for grade
level/student skills) “
Used to describe a natural phenomenon that not much is known about

Ex.
What kinds and how many of each kind of plants are in a 1 m2
representative sample in a given site?
2. Comparative research design (or comparative data analysis study) - Used
to identify statistically significant linkages between factors (e.g., health issues)

Ex.
Does blood pressure increase as a person ages?

3. Experimental research design or experimental study - Used to determine

causation

Ex.
At what salinity do lettuce seeds germinate the fastest?
5. Assessment strategies

- The role of assessment in effective teaching has broadened from primarily

evaluating student achievement to include diagnosing student needs, advising
instructional decisions, and auditing student progress.

Examples of Assessment Strategies

1. Diagnostic assessments – before instruction to inform unit and lesson

planning; enable teacher to build
a. Science journals (entries guided by questions about upcoming lessons)
b. Interviewing/questioning
c. Pretests
2. Formative assessments – during instruction, enable prompt individual
feedback to guide learners and inform instruction
Ex.
a. Checks for understanding
b. Homework
c. Self-assessment
d. Quizzes

3. Summative assessments – after instruction of lesson or unit, used to

measure student understanding for scoring or grading, generally not used
for instructional purposes

a. Traditional paper & pencil posttests

b. Performance tasks
2 APPROACHES
IN TEACHING
SCIENCE:
 1. Inquiry-based learning

"Inquiry" is defined as "a seeking for truth, information, or knowledge --

seeking information by questioning."

An old adage states: "Tell me and I forget, show me and I remember,

involve me and I understand." The last part of this statement is the
essence of inquiry-based learning
Figure 1. Inquiry – based Learning diagram
 2. Problem/issue solving – based learning

Working in groups, students identify what they already know, what they
need to know, and how and where to access new information that may
lead to the resolution of the problem.

teacher presents you with a problem, not lectures or assignments or

exercises.

In PBL, your teacher acts as facilitator and mentor, rather than a

source of "solutions."
1. Explore the issues
Your teacher introduces an "ill-structured" problem to you.

2. List “What do we Know”

What do you know to solve the problem?

3. Develop, and write out, the problem statement in your own words
a written statement, the agreement of your group on the statement

4. List out possible solutions

List them all, then order them from strongest to weakest
Choose the best one, or most likely the successed
5. List actions to be taken with a timeline
What do we have to know and do to solve the problem?

6. List "What do we need to know?"

Research the knowledge and data that will support your solution
You will need to information to fill in missing gaps.

7. Write up your solution with its supporting documentation, and submit it.
You may need to present your findings and/or recommendations to a
group or your classmates.

8. Review your performance

This debriefing exercise applies both to individuals and the group.
METHODS IN
TEACHING:
1. Lecturing
2. Demonstrating
3. Collaborating
4. Debriefing
5. Laboratories
 1. Lecturing

The lecture method is convenient and usually makes the most sense,
especially with larger classroom sizes
lecture method gives the instructor or teacher chances to expose students to
unpublished or not readily available material
lecturer must make constant and conscious effort to become aware of student
problems and engage the students to give verbal feedback
 2. Demonstrating

Demonstrating is the process of teaching through examples or

experiments.

Demonstrations are similar to written storytelling and examples in that

they allow students to personally relate to the presented information.
 3. Collaborating

Collaboration allows students to actively participate in the learning process by

talking with each other and listening to other points of view

Collaboration establishes a personal connection between students and the topic

of study and it helps students think in a less personally biased way

a. Classroom discussion
It is also a democratic way of handling a class, where each student is given
equal opportunity to interact and put forth their views
A discussion could also follow a presentation or a demonstration
5. Debriefing 3. Debriefing

The term “debriefing” refers to conversational sessions that revolve around

the sharing and examining of information after a specific event has taken
place.

It takes into consideration the experiences and facilitates reflection and

feedback.
 References:

✔ http://www.studygs.net/pbl.htm
✔ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inquiry-based_learning
✔ Instruction Elements of Research-based Science Education (Timothy P. S. Ph.D.,
Carolyn S., Ph.D., et al)