Transcript Chapter 7 How Adolescents Learn Science How Students Learn Science Case to Consider: A New Approach to Learning Ruth Wilson took a graduate course.

Chapter 7
How Adolescents Learn Science
How Students Learn Science
Case to Consider:
A New Approach to Learning
Ruth Wilson took a graduate course for
teachers in the summer. In the course, she
became extremely interested in a theory of
learning, called constructivism. One of the
basic notions underlying the theory was that
students “constructed and made meaning” of
their experiences. The theory implies that
learning experiences should provide freedom
and support for the students as they form their
conceptions or gain understanding of the
subject matter.
Prior to the opening of school, Ms. Wilson
changed her curriculum plans based on the
constructivist theory. Ms. Wilson sought to
develop a teaching approach that would
develop her students’ capacity to work at
science learning in a manner that more fully
represented the nature of science. In some
instances she designed instruction that
allowed students to make choices among
learning activities, and specialize in aspects
of certain topics such that particular students
and groups might develop deeper knowledge
about areas of interest. At the end of the two
weeks, she helped the student groups to
decide and select curricular topics and
related learning activities that interested
them.
Much to Ms. Wilson’s surprise, a rather irate
parent called the school principal early in the
semester, complaining that her son felt like
Ms. Wilson didn’t know what she was doing.
The parent complained that her son was not
learning anything, and demanded a
conference with this teacher.
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The Problem
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How would you deal with this situation?
What would you say to the parent? Is Ms.
Wilson on sound footing regarding her theory
of teaching? How do explain your teaching
theory to your principal? What is your
personal view on this approach to teaching
and learning?
How Students Learn Science
How to Read This Chapter
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This chapter considers theories of learning and learning styles relating to
adolescents science learners.
John Dewey wrote about science learning in the early part of the last century,
and from then on, science education researchers have worked with practicing
science teachers to try to explain how students learn. You will find the
learning theories divided into three categories:
– constructivist
– socio-cultural
– behavioral
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You might want to look at any one of these three approaches to learning, and
see how they relate to your own ideas about learning. You also might be
interested in exploring ideas on student learning styles, and how these ideas
influence science instruction. You will also find that Chapter 8, Models of
Teaching, is correlated with the theories that are presented here. This chapter
is more theory-oriented; the next chapter is more practical. Together they
serve as a resource to help you connect theory and practice.
How Students Learn Science
Invitations to Inquiry
• How important is it for the secondary science teacher to
understand learning theory?
• What did Dewey, Bruner, Piaget, Vygotsky, and von
Glasersfeld offer for our understanding of learning?
• What is constructivism, and why has it emerged as one of
the most significant explanations of student learning?
• What is meant by multiple intelligences? How will these
impact student learning and your teaching practice?
• How do learning styles influence adolescents’ achievement
in school science?
• What is metacognition, and how can it help students learn
science?
How Students Learn Science
Chapter 7 Map
How Students Learn Science
Inquiry 7.1: How Do
Adolescents Learn Science?
• Interview adolescent
learners in middle or high
schools, their teachers and
parents to elicit a variety
of perspectives on how
adolescents learn science.
• Refer to this activity in the
text for suggested
questions and procedures.
How Students Learn Science
Learners, Schooling, and Education
“Learning science
meaningfully is simply
not achievable for the
vast majority of
students in the context
of traditional school
science.”
“Education is one with
growing. The criterion
of the value of a
school education is the
extent in which it
creates a desire for
continual growth and
supplies the means for
making the desire
effective in fact.”
How Students Learn Science
Dimensions of Science Learning
They can learn about:
They can learn how to:
Processes they undergo:
• Knowledge Products of
Scientific Inquiry (Facts,
Principles, Theories)
• Nature of the Scientific
Enterprise (Methods, Habits
of Thought, Approaches to
Problems)
• Values and Attitudes (of the
Scientific Community,
Society at Large, Local
Community, One's Racial or
Cultural Group, One's
Family)
• Applications and Risks of
Science and Technology
(Societal Context, Personal
Context)
• Science Careers (What
Scientists Do, Who
Scientists are, How
Scientists Get Educated)
• Themselves (Interest in
Science, Capacity to Do
Science)
• Act Upon or Apply Information
(Evaluate, Manipulate,
Solve Problems)
• Learn (Strategies to Seek and
Acquire New Information,
and to Seek and Acquire
New Skills
• Produce Knowledge (Question,
Test, Evaluate)
• Internalize Values (About the
Utility and Risks of Science
and Technology, Habits of
Thought and Conceptual
Skills, and Who Does
Science
• Assess Self (Interest in Science,
Capacity to Do Science)
• Make Choices (About Studying
Science, Science Careers,
and Applying Science
Knowledge and Skills to
Daily Life)
How Students Learn Science
Theories of Learning
Learning Theory or Perspective
Key Ideas
Constructivist Perspective
1. Constructivism-Von Glasersfeld
2. Cognitive Theories-Piaget, Bruner
Construction of knowledge with
individual mechanisms or social
influence; Changes in mental structures
Sociocultural
1. Sociocultural Theories-Vygotsky
2. Feminist Perspective
3. Deweyan Theory of Experience
Social organization is the agent for
change for the individual.
Knowledge is “gendered”.
Learner engages in “an experience”.
Behavioral Perspectives
Operant Conditioning-Skinner
Changes in overt behavior of the learner
as a result of experience
How Students Learn Science
The Deweyan Theory of Experience
• Dewey said that teachers cannot
“give ideas directly to students
as if they were bricks”.
• How does nonschool learning,
informal learning, incidental
learning, and transformative
experiences relate to Dewey’s
theory of experience?
• Design an activity that takes
Dewey’s ideas into
consideration.
How Students Learn Science
Inquiry 7.2:
Concepts versus Big Ideas
• In this inquiry you will learn to
distinguish between scientific
concepts and Dewey’s notion of
a “big idea”.
• Review Table 7.3.
• Consult content Standards or a
state curriculum guide, select
one or more concepts, and use
them to identify big ideas that
correspond to them.
• Discuss strategies for teaching
for conceptual understanding
and appreciation of the big idea.
How Students Learn Science
Big Ideas
Big Ideas
How Students Learn Science
Discovery Learning
• Find out what the
following ideas mean, and
how it helps explain
Bruner’s notion of
discovery learning:
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Curiosity & Uncertainty
Structure of Knowledge
Sequencing
Motivation
How Students Learn Science
Cognitive Learning Theory
1) Importance of
Content Knowledge
2) Integration of Skills
and Content
3) Intrinsic Nature of
Motivation
4) Role of Learning
Groups
How Students Learn Science
Cognitive Processes
Learning occurs not by passive
reception of transmitted
information, but by active
interaction with objects and
ideas. The nature of this
interaction is an adaptation
involving three mental
processes described by Piaget.
• Assimilation
• Accommodation
• Equilibrium
Teachers involved in a constructivist and
discovery summer workshop at Georgia State
University.
How Students Learn Science
The Learning Cycle
Figure 7.3.
The Learning Cycle & the 5E and 7E Models
Atkin and Karplus
Bybee – 5E
Eisenkraft – 7E
Exploration
Invention
Discovery
Engage
Explore
Explain
Elaborate
Evaluate
Elicit
Engage
Explore
Explain
Elaborate
Evaluate
Extend
How Students Learn Science
Conceptual Change Teaching
• Help the student become dissatisfied with their
existing conception.
• Help the student achieve a minimal initial
understanding of the scientific conception.
• Make the scientific conception plausible to the
student.
• Show the scientific conception as fruitful or
useful in understanding a variety of situations.
How Students Learn Science
How Students Learn Science
Vygotsky & Sociocultural
Perspectives on Learning
Vygotsky was among the first to assert that schooling provided the
environment for a dialogue between the student’s pre-existing
conceptions and the logic of scientific concepts.
He argued that the development of scientific concepts could be
achieved in cooperation with adult interaction, and indeed with others
(peers and other adults).
Vygotsky coined the phrase “zone of proximal development,” meaning
the place where the student’s rich experiential knowledge meets the
systematic and logical thinking of the adult world. Central to the “zoped” would be dialogue which would enable the student to develop
“upwardly” their spontaneous concept meeting the abstract scientific
concepts in their “downward” development toward concreteness.
The implication for science teachers is to make science knowledge
available on the social plane, and to provide opportunities for students
to make sense of science via thoughtful discussion with their
classmates, teacher, even parents, siblings, and other children.
How Students Learn Science
Role of Cooperative Learning in
the Sociocultural Perspective
• “One of the key implications of
the sociocultural perspective on
student learning is
collaboration within groups in
the classroom. Collaborative
learning (cooperative learning)
is viewed as a promising
application of sociocultural
theory”
• Give support for this notion.
• What is the meaning of
sociocultural theory?
How Students Learn Science
Feminist Perspectives and Participation
Does the scientific enterprise generate value-free
truths or situated knowledge embedded in cultural
values?
Feminist pedagogies “… attempt to give more
consideration to students’ ideas and needs than
traditional teaching. The teacher acts less like a
dispenser of knowledge and more like a midwife,
helping students in delivering their own ideas.”
How Students Learn Science
Multicultural Perspectives on Learning
In a constructivist view, a multicultural
perspective would see science classrooms as
socially constructed, which would mean that the
multiple forms of knowledge would be
incorporated into a teacher’s approach.
Multicultural classrooms would value consensual
and democratic learning, and would focus on
cooperative learning instead of direct instruction.
How Students Learn Science
Inquiry 7.3: Meeting of the Minds
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What would they talk about if you
brought together a theorist from the
following perspectives:
Constructivism
Behaviorism
Socioculturalism
Feminism
Role play, and use the procedures
provided to facilitate the activity.
Upon reflection, which theorists
provided the most powerful
argument explaining how students
learn?
How Students Learn Science
Inquiry 7.4:
Ideas about Learning Styles
• Draw a concept map about
Factors Affecting Student
Learning Styles
• Draw a second concept map
about Ways to Accommodate
Students with Different
Learning Styles
• Discuss with colleagues,
applying emerging conceptions
to your work with adolescents.
Learning Style Test MI Test
How Students Learn Science
Psychology of Learning Styles
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Consult Figure 7.3, Learning Style
Model developed by Rita and Ken
Dunn. Use the model to discovery
elements of student learning styles
including:
– Environmental elements
– Emotional elements
– Physical elements
– Sociological elements
– Psychological elements
How can these elements be of
practical value in setting up a
classroom? In planning lessons?
How Students Learn Science
Brain Hemisphericity
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Look at the lists to the right. Check
off those items that you prefer over
the others. Do you prefer left or
right brain things, or was there no
difference?
Find out who was Joseph Bogan
and Roger Sperry.
How do researchers think the brain
hemisphericity might impact:
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The Left Hemisphere
Does verbal thing s
Like sequence
Sees the trees
Likes structure
Analyzes
Is rational
Is theoretical
Motivation
Creativity
Rationality
Emotions and feelings
How Students Learn Science
The Righ t Hemisphere
Sees Relationships
Grabs for the whole
Likes random patterns
Sees the forest
Is fluid and spontaneous
Is Intuitive
4MAT
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4MAT is a learning style system
that identifies 4 types of learners:
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Imaginative learners
Analytic learners
Common sense learners
Dynamic Learners
Refer to Figure 7.4 and describe the
variables that define each type of
learner.
Design a lesson in which you take
into account the four types of
learners.
Visit the 4MAT site at: About
Learning, Inc.
How Students Learn Science
Metacognitive Strategies
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Mind Mapping
Illustrating & Drawing
Brainstorming
Planning
Generating questions
Evaluating action
Teaching capability
Communication skills
Journal keeping
How Students Learn Science