Theories of Science -

Teaching - Biology
-Chemistry
Learning is a complex, multi-faceted
phenomenon and it is therefore unlikely
that a single model could explain all
aspects of the process. The twentieth
century has seen the development of
many different models of learning,
referred to as learning theories.
Objectives
In this topic we will examine theoretical
approaches to the learning and teaching
of science including the nature of
scientific knowledge, theories of how
children learn science, and perspectives
on addressing diversity in science
classrooms.
An expert scientist is not necessarily an effective
teacher. An expert science teacher, however,
knows the difficulties students face and the
misconceptions they develop, and knows how to
tap prior knowledge while presenting new ideas
so students can build new, correct
understandings.

Schulman, L.S. (1986)

Pedagogical content
knowledge (PCK) in
science
Pedagogical content knowledge
Pedagogical content knowledge is a type of
knowledge that is unique to teachers, and is
based on the manner in which teachers relate
their pedagogical knowledge (what they know
about teaching) to their subject matter
knowledge (what they know about what they
teach).
Pedagogical content knowledge
 THEORIES of Teaching Science

A. CONSTRUCTIVISM F. SITUATED LEARNING

B. SOCIAL COGNITION G. REFLECTIVE LEARNING

C. LEARNING STYLES H. DISCOVERY LEARNING

D. BRAIN-BASED LEARNING THEORY I. COOPERATIVE LEARNING

E. EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
What is Constructivism?
A. CONSTRUCTIVISM

Constructivism is an approach to learning that

holds people actively construct or make their
own knowledge and that reality is determined
by the experiences of the learner’ (Elliott et al.,
2000, p. 256).
Constructivism is a major learning theory, and is
particularly applicable to the teaching and
learning of science. Piaget suggested that
through accommodation and assimilation,
individuals construct new knowledge from their
experiences.
Constructivism views learning as a process in
which students actively construct or build new
ideas and concepts based upon prior knowledge
and new information.
Principles of constructivism:
- Knowledge is constructed, rather than innate, or
passively absorbed
- Constructivism's central idea is that human
learning is constructed, that learners build new
knowledge upon the foundation of previous
learning.
- This prior knowledge influences what new or
modified knowledge an individual will construct
from new learning experiences (Phillips, 1995).
Three main types of constructivism:

Cognitive constructivism based on the work of

Jean Piaget;

Social constructivism based on the work of Lev

Vygotsky;

and Radical constructivism of Ernst von

Glasersfeld.
What is the role of the teacher in a
constructivist classroom?
The primary responsibility of the teacher is to
create a collaborative problem-solving
environment where students become active
participants in their own learning.

From this perspective, a teacher acts as a

facilitator of learning rather than an instructor.
What is the role of the teacher in a
constructivist classroom?
The teacher makes sure he/she understands the
students' preexisting conceptions, and guides
the activity to address them and then build on
them (Oliver, 2000).
 What is the role of the teacher in a
constructivist classroom?
Scaffolding is a key feature of effective teaching,
where the adult continually adjusts the level of his or
her help in response to the learner's level of
performance.

In the classroom, scaffolding can include modeling a

skill, providing hints or cues, and adapting material or
activity (Copple & Bredekamp, 2009).
What is Social Cognition?
B. SOCIAL COGNITION

Social cognitive theory (SCT), used in

psychology, education, and communication,
holds that portions of an individual's knowledge
acquisition can be directly related to observing
others within the context of social interactions,
experiences, and outside media influences.
The theory states that when people observe a
model performing a behavior and the
consequences of that behavior, they remember
the sequence of events and use this information
to guide subsequent behaviors.
Bandura asserts that most human behavior is learned
through observation, imitation, and modeling.
Observation + 4 Necessary
Steps = Learning
Attention:
First off, the learner needs to pay attention. If they
are distracted, this will influence the amount or
quality of learning that occurs. I don’t think anyone
disagrees with this statement. We have all gotten
distracted and know that it affects our learning and
quality of work.
Additionally, the more interesting or unique the
model or situation is, the more fully the learner
will attend to the learning. This explains why you
might not be able to put down a good book or
give up on any one of your passions no matter
the obstacles you encounter.
Retention:
How you can to store the information learned
(i.e., retention) is important. Let’s face it. We
have all learned so much content throughout our
years of schooling, but how much do we retain?
Maybe you can remember the more significant
learning in a certain way through any number of
memory techniques (e.g., mnemonic devices,
writing it down, repetition, etc.). Or maybe you
applied the learning to a real-life situation which
aids in retention.
Reproduction:
Reproduction relies on the first two steps:
attention and retention. After completing these
steps, you move toward performing the
observable behavior. Then with further practice,
you will undoubtedly improve and sharpen your
skills. The adage “Practice Makes Perfect”
applies here.
Motivation:
The last step is motivation. To have the most
success for any observational learning, you need
to be motivated enough to imitate the behavior
that was modeled. In this step, both
reinforcement and punishment impact
motivation.
If a student sees someone being rewarded, they
are more likely to continue the behavior.
Likewise, if they see someone punished or
ignored, they may extinguish the behavior.
Implications of Social Cognitive Theory on
teachers and student learning;
Certainly, this theory can be used to teach
positive behaviors to students. Teachers can use
positive role models to increase desired
behaviors and thus change the culture of a
school. Not only will individual students benefit
from positive role models in and out of the
classroom, but the entire class and student body
will do so.
Implications of Social Cognitive Theory on
teachers and student learning;
Other classroom strategies such as encouraging
children and building self-efficacy are rooted in
social learning theory. For example, if a teacher is
positive with their students and they encourage
them, this positive energy and verbal
encouragement, in turn, helps build self-efficacy,
the belief in one’s abilities to succeed in various
situations.
 Implications of Social Cognitive Theory on
teachers and student learning;
A person’s self-efficacy impacts how their tasks,
goals, and challenges are approached. Those
individuals with strong self-efficacy view challenges
as tasks to master, develop deep interests in the
activities they participate in, form a strong sense of
commitment to activities and interests, and bounce
back from disappointments and setbacks easily.
Implications of Social Cognitive Theory on
teachers and student learning;
However, those with a weaker sense of self-
efficacy tend to avoid challenges, think difficult
tasks and situations are beyond their abilities,
think negatively about their failures and
outcomes, and lose confidence easily in their
abilities.
What is Learning Styles?
C. LEARNING STYLES
A learning style can be defined as the application,
within a learning situation, of an individual’s typical
mode of problem solving, thinking, perceiving and
remembering (Cassidy, 2004)

Learning Styles Theory focuses on the ways we

perceive information. The learning styles focus on
how we process information using our senses.
Learning modalities
We can learn through any of our five senses, but
the three most valuable are vision, hearing, and
touch. Theorists and practitioners claim that
learners have a preference for one learning style
over another. Visual learners learn best by
watching, while auditory learners learn best by
verbal instruction, and kinesthetic learners learn
best by manipulation.
Walter Burke Barbe and colleagues
proposed three learning modalities (often
identified by the acronym VAK):
Visualising modality, Auditory modality,
Kinesthetic modality
The theory’s three ways to learn
information, or learning styles, are
auditory (hearing), visual (seeing), and
tactile/kinesthetic (touching and moving).
Learners most often prefer one learning
style over the others. As a result, there
are:
Visual learners
- who learn best by
using images,
graphs, maps, and
drawings
Auditory learners
- who prefer to learn
by hearing and
speaking
information
Tactile/Kinesthetic learners

- who learn best by

experiencing,
touching, and
performing tasks
Barbe and colleagues reported that learning
modality strengths can occur independently or in
combination (although the most frequent modality
strengths, according to their research, are visual or
mixed), they can change over time, and they
become integrated with age. They also pointed out
that learning modality strengths are different from
preferences; a person's self-reported modality
preference may not correspond to their empirically
measured modality strength.
What is Brain-Based Learning Theory?
D. BRAIN-BASED LEARNING
THEORY
Brain-based learning refers to teaching methods,
lesson designs, and school programs that are
based on the latest scientific research about
how the brain learns, including such factors as
cognitive development—how students learn
differently as they age, grow, and mature
socially, emotionally, and cognitively.
Brain-based learning is motivated by the general
belief that learning can be accelerated and
improved if educators base how and what they
teach on the science of learning, rather than on
past educational practices, established
conventions, or assumptions about the learning
process.
What is Experiential Learning?
E. EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
Experiential learning also known as (EXL) is the
process of learning through experience, and is
more specifically defined as "learning through
reflection on doing"
Experiential learning is often used synonymously
with the term "experiential education", but while
experiential education is a broader philosophy of
education, experiential learning considers the
individual learning process. As such, compared to
experiential education, experiential learning is
concerned with more concrete issues related to the
learner and the learning context.
Experiential learning requires self-initiative, an
"intention to learn" and an "active phase of
learning"
Kolb's experiential learning model
Elements
Experiential learning can exist without a teacher
and relates solely to the meaning-making process
of the individual's direct experience. However,
though the gaining of knowledge is an inherent
process that occurs naturally, a genuine learning
experience requires certain elements.According to
Kolb, knowledge is continuously gained through
both personal and environmental experiences.
Kolb states that in order to gain genuine knowledge
from an experience, the learner must have four
abilities:
- The learner must be willing to be actively involved in the
experience;

- The learner must be able to reflect on the experience;

- The learner must possess and use analytical skills to

conceptualize the experience; and

- The learner must possess decision making and problem

solving skills in order to use the new ideas gained from the
experience.
Teachers role:
Teacher as facilitator - putting the student at the
centre and involving them in the decision making and
problem solving. The teacher as facilitator also means
facilitating the transfer of knowledge to the real world.
In this role, teachers adopt a warm and affirming style
to draw out learners’ interests and intrinsic motivation.
This approach is helpful to develop strong relationships
with students. Typical activities include brainstorming
and group discussions.
Teachers role:
Teacher as subject expert - As subject experts, teachers help
learners to organise and connect their reflections to the
subject knowledge base. They often teach by example,
modelling and encouraging critical thinking. To be able to do
this competently demands teachers learn continuously. The
need to constantly develop themselves is paramount to their
students’ improved achievements. Teachers should be aware
of changes in their field and not wait for formal, top-down
training to advance their knowledge and skills.
Teachers role:
Teacher as standard setter/evaluator -The standard
setter or evaluator role is crucial for subject areas
with precise performance requirements. In this role,
teachers will often adopt an objective, results-
oriented style to help learners evaluate their
learning. This approach fosters the development of
thinking, deciding and acting learning styles. Typical
learning activities include case studies and
simulations.
 Teachers role:
Teacher as coach - The role of coach is a collaborative
and encouraging style of teaching that helps learners
apply knowledge to achieve their goals. With this
approach, teachers often work one-on-one to
personalise the experience based on the student’s own
life context. The role of coach involves providing
feedback wherever possible and using instructional
techniques such as fieldwork and applied projects.
What Is Situated Learning?
F. SITUATED LEARNING
Situated learning is a theory that explains an
individual's acquisition of professional skills and
includes research on apprenticeship into how
legitimate peripheral participation leads to
membership in a community of practice. Situated
learning "takes as its focus the relationship between
learning and the social situation in which it occurs".
Elements
Put in terms developed by William Rankin,the
major elements in situated learning are content
(facts and processes of a task), context (situations,
values, environmental cues), and community (the
group where the learner will create and negotiate).
Situated learning also involves participation
(where a learner works together with others in
order to solve a problem).
Situated learning deals with how one's
knowledge over the course of an activity and
how they create and interpret.
Content: In situated learning, no importance is
given to the retention of the content. Rather,
situated learning stresses reflective and higher
order thinking where the results are used in
solving problems faced in daily life. Situated
learning is thus more application-based.
Context: Context provides a framework for the
usage of the product or the result at the right
time, place and situation in the social,
psychological and material environment.
Context creates a platform to examine the
learning experiences.
Community: Community helps the learner to
create, interpret, reflect and form meanings. It
provides opportunities to share experiences
among learners and also to interact.
Participation: It is where interchange of ideas,
problem solving and engaging of the learners
take place. This takes place in a social setting
which includes reflecting, interpreting and
negotiating among the participants of the
community
Role of Teacher in Situated Learning Environments

In situated learning contexts, teachers adopt the

role of expert. The use scaffolding, coaching,
and modeling techniques. Learners should be
able to articulate to the teacher their thought
processes, and vice versa.
What is Reflective Learning?
G. REFLECTIVE LEARNING
Reflective learning is a form of education in which
the student reflects upon their learning experiences.
A theory about reflective learning cites it as an
intentional and complex process that recognize the
role of social context and experience. The goals of
the process are the clarification and the creation of
meaning in terms of self, which then lead to a
changed conceptual perspective.
What is Discovery Learning?
H. DISCOVERY LEARNING
Discovery Learning was introduced by Jerome
Bruner, and is a method of Inquiry-Based
Instruction. This popular theory encourages
learners to build on past experiences and
knowledge, use their intuition, imagination and
creativity, and search for new information to
discover facts, correlations and new truths.
Discovery learning is a technique of inquiry-
based learning and is considered a constructivist
based approach to education. It is also referred
to as problem-based learning, experiential
learning and 21st century learning.
Discovery learning takes place in problem
solving situations where the learner draws on his
own experience and prior knowledge and is a
method of instruction through which students
interact with their environment by exploring and
manipulating objects, wrestling with questions
and controversies, or performing experiments.
 Characteristics
Discovery-based learning is typically characterized
by having minimal teacher guidance, fewer teacher
explanations, solving problems with multiple
solutions, use of hand-on materials, minimal
repetition and memorization.
There are multiple essential components that are
required for successful discovery-based learning
which include the following:
- Teacher guidance where the emphasis is on
building upon students’ reasoning and connecting
to their experiences

- Classroom culture where there is a shared sense

of purpose between teacher and students, where
open-mindedness and dialogue are encouraged

- Students are encouraged to ask questions,

inquire through exploration and collaborate with
teacher and peers
Teacher's role

It has been suggested that effective teaching

using discovery techniques requires teachers to
do one or more of the following:
1) Provide guided tasks leveraging a variety of
instructional techniques

2) Students should explain their own ideas and

teachers should assess the accuracy of the idea
and provide feedback

3) Teachers should provide examples of how to

complete the tasks.
A critical success factor to discovery
learning is that it must be teacher
assisted
What is Cooperative Learning?
I. COOPERATIVE LEARNING
Cooperative learning is an educational approach
which aims to organize classroom activities into
academic and social learning experiences. There is
much more to cooperative learning than merely
arranging students into groups, and it has been
described as "structuring positive
interdependence."Students must work in groups to
complete tasks collectively toward academic goals.
Unlike individual learning, which can be
competitive in nature, students learning
cooperatively can capitalize on one another's
resources and skills (asking one another for
information, evaluating one another's ideas,
monitoring one another's work, etc.).
Furthermore, the teacher's role changes from
giving information to facilitating students'
learning.
 Cooperative Learning Techniques:
Think-pair-share

Allows students to contemplate a posed question or problem

silently. The student may write down thoughts or simply just
brainstorm in his or her head. When prompted, the student pairs up
with a peer and discusses his or her idea(s) and then listens to the
ideas of his or her partner. Following pair dialogue, the teacher
solicits responses from the whole group. When teachers use this
technique they don't have to worry about students not volunteering
because each student will already have an idea in their heads;
therefore, the teacher can call on anyone and increase discussion
productivity.
Cooperative Learning Techniques:
Jigsaw

Students are members of two groups: home group and

expert group. In the heterogeneous home group, students
are each assigned a different topic. Once a topic has been
identified, students leave the home group and group with
the other students with their assigned topic. In the new
group, students learn the material together before
returning to their home group. Once back in their home
group, each student is accountable for teaching his or her
assigned topic.
Cooperative Learning Techniques:
Jigsaw II

Variation of Jigsaw in which members of the home

group are assigned the same material, but focus
on separate portions of the material. Each member
must become an "expert" on his or her assigned
portion and teach the other members of the home
group.
Cooperative Learning Techniques:

TGT (or Team Game Tournament)

Students are placed into small groups to study

and prepare for a trivia game. This gives
students incentive to learn and have some fun
learning the material. This is a group exercise so
not one student is to blame.
Cooperative Learning Techniques:

Inside-outside circle

This is a cooperative learning strategy in which

students form two concentric circles and take
turns on rotation to face new partners to answer
or discuss the teacher's questions.This method
can be used to gather a variety of information,
generate new ideas and solve problems.
Expert teachers have a firm
understanding of their respective
disciplines; knowledge of the
conceptual barriers that students
face in learning about the discipline
and knowledge of effective
strategies for working with
students.
Teachers' knowledge of their
disciplines provides a cognitive
roadmap to guide their assignments
to students, to gauge student
progress, and to support the
questions students ask.
Expert teachers are aware of
common misconceptions and help
students resolve them.
Theories of Science -
Teaching - Biology
-Chemistry