CONSTRUCTIVIST TEACHING STRATEGIES Dr. Graham W. Dettrick School of Education Monash University - Gippsland Campus CHURCHILL Australia 3842 Office Phone: (051) 22 6364; [00 11 61 51 22 6364] Message: (051)22 6375; [00 11 61 51 22 6375] Facsimile: (051) 22 6361; [00 11 61 51 22 6361] Internet: graham@giaeb.cc.monash.edu.au PART A: "INQUIRY" APPROACHES TO TEACHING SCIENCE Definition of "inquiry" The essence of the inquiry approach is to teach pupils to handle situations which they encounter when dealing with the physical world by using techniques which are applied by research scientists. Inquiry means that teachers design situations so that pupils are caused to employ procedures research scientists use to recognise problems, to ask questions, to apply investigational procedures, and to provide consistent descriptions, predictions, and explanations which are compatible with shared experience of the physical world. "Inquiry" is used deliberately in the context of an investigation in science and the approach to teaching science described here. "Enquiry" will be used to refer to all other questions, probes, surveys, or examinations of a general nature so that the terms will not be confused. "Inquiry" should not be confused with "discovery". Discovery assumes a realist or logical positivist approach to the world which is not necessarily present in "inquiry". Inquiry tends to imply a constructionist approach to teaching science. Inquiry is open-ended and on-going. Discovery concentrates upon closure on some important process, fact, principle, or law which is required by the science syllabus. How to teach using an inquiry approach There are a number of teaching strategies which can be classified as inquiry. However, the approaches have a number of common aspects. The rationale for the inquiry approach has strong support from constructionist psychology. The teacher applies procedures so that: (a) there is a primary emphasis on a hands-on, problem-centred approach; (b) the focus lies with learning and applying appropriate investigational or analytical strategies (This does not have anything to do with the use of the so-called "scientific method".); (c) memorising the "facts" of science which may arise is not as important as development of an understanding of the manner of development of scientific constructs. Inquiry Strategy 1: The pupil-centred inquiry model: "free inquiry" An example of this approach is presented very simply by the authors of a Junior High School "text book" prepared by the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study. The approach is outlined as a letter addressed to the pupils for whom the text book was written: Dear Students, You are about to become a biologist - a person who investigates problems about living things. Animals and plants will be the objects of your studies. Some of the plants and animals will be large enough for you to see and hold in your hands. Other plants and animals will be too small to see without the aid of a microscope or a magnifying glass. The living world is filled with unusual and exciting organisms. It is our hope that you will find your study of biology an exciting adventure. We have designed this course for you as an individual. What you do and what you learn will be decided by you. It is possible that you will decide to work on a problem in biology that no one else in your class will be working on. Your teacher will act as your helper during this course. He or she will provide the materials you need for your investigations, help you solve problems you may run into, and help you learn new skills you will need for working with plants and animals. This book is not like any other book you have used in the past. It is not filled with the factual information of biology. Instead, this book contains a large number of problems: questions about living things. Each of these questions can lead you to design experiments of your own so that you may learn more about biology. You will be able to learn how living things respond to their environments, or how living things are put together. The important thing to remember is that you will decide which questions you want to answer. You may find that you have questions about biology that we did not think about. If this happens, feel free to design experiments to get answers for your questions... ...Just as this book is different from any other books you have used, so will your class be different from each of your other classes. It will be different in the following ways: 1. You will not have to compete against other class members to see who is the "best or "smartest". 2. You will be given the freedom to decide what you want to learn in the way that is best for you. Neither your teacher nor your classmates will force you to do what they do. 3. You will be expected to do what you are capable of doing and to learn as much as you can about the problems you investigate. 4. The amount of time you spend on each problem will be decided by you. The length of your school year and the number of days you are in biology class each week will also affect that decision. If you are interested and involved in meaningful investigations, you will not be interrupted by others. You should find a number of things in each problem will be of interest to you. Bothering and disrupting others will not be part of your freedom in this class. The rights and privileges of others must be respected at all times. Your success in this biology course will depend mostly on your curiosity, enthusiasm and initiative. As the school year progresses, we hope you will feel that you are becoming a person who knows how to ask questions and solve problems about the world of life around him. Sincerely, August, 1973 Boulder, Colorado The authors The preceding extract, which is written for a biological context, illustrates a number of features common to the student centred on "free" inquiry approach: (a) learning stems from seeking responses to questions about the physical world and pupils are encouraged to formulate the questions which interest them; (b) the search for understanding of one question invariably leads to the posing of other related questions so that investigation becomes a continuing event; (c) questions, investigations, and learning are directly and immediately related to concrete (hands-on) experiences and activities undertaken by pupils; (d) investigations stemming from the same topic may follow numerous paths so that many different activities may be occurring in the one class at the same time; (e) questions, investigations and learning are all highly individualised so that it makes little sense for the teacher to have instructional lessons for the whole class; (f) the rate of progress is determined by the capacity of each pupil and the difficulty or complexity of the investigation undertaken thus, methods of evaluation other than class tests and examinations must be used; (g) the pupil exercises great deal of choice and shares responsibility for learning so a pertinent teacher =B4 pupil relationship must be developed= ; (h) the teacher has a number of key roles: (i) provision of an appropriate question framework in the absence of any pupil questions; (ii) helper and facilitator of pupil investigatio= ns; (iii) motivator, class manager and disciplinarian; (iv) interested listener, challenger and evaluate= r. The BSCS text together with the foregoing statements summarising the main aspects of "free inquiry" may act as a guide for a teacher who wishes to undertake "free inquiry" in physics, chemistry, geology, astronomy, etc. Exract reference: The Biological Sciences Curriculum Study. 1973: Biological Science - Invitations to Discovery. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., p. viii. (Comment: The preferred title of this book *should* have been "Invitations to Inquiry". It will become clear after perusing the BSCS book and the description of inquiry methods in Part A here, which are contrasted with Bruner's "discovery" method in Part B, that "inquiry" and "discovery" are not only different strategies but that the metaphysics underlying each approach is different.) Inquiry Strategy 2: The Schwab inquiry model: structured laboratory inquiry Joyce and Weil (1980) present Schwab's approach in such detail in Chapter 8 that the approach will not be reproduced here. The authors appear to suggest that Schwab's inquiry approach is applicable to the Biological Sciences only. It is true that Schwab developed the inquiry approach in conjunction with his Biological Sciences Curriculum Study work, but the approach may be applied to any area of science and the extract should be studied with this in mind. During the discussion of the "Model of Teaching" which is developed through the last five pages of Chapter 8, it should be noted that the approach is much more prescribed and explicit than the relatively informal approach outlined in the "Free Inquiry" Model, above. The Schwab model of inquiry teaching proposes a four phase "syntax": Phase 1: The teacher "proposes" an area of investigation to the pupil together with appropriate methodologies; Phase 2: Pupils structure the problem with teacher guidance so that the thrust of the problem is identified; Phase 3: Pupils "speculate" about the problem to identify the investigational difficulty or possible theoretical inconsistency; Phase 4: Pupils "speculate" about ways of dealing with the difficulties through further investigation, data reorganisation, experiment design, or concept development. The approach is essentially reflective and judgemental with respect to investigations which have already been undertaken by research scientists. It is through the process of reflective criticism that the pupils learn the procedures and thought processes of research scientists and how to improve upon them. Some readers may recognise this as a means of facilitating metacognition. The principal role of the teacher is to guide pupils to the generation of hypotheses, interpretation of data, and the development of constructs which are seen as acceptable ways of interpreting the nature of the physical world. It is worth pointing out that this approach may end by focussing on the importance of the current paradigmatic viewpoint that is the research might be confirmatory, but equally, the strategy might be used to illustrate (using a suitably chosen piece of research) how research may lead to the refutation and the suggestion of change from the current point of view. What ever the case, the major emphasis lies not with the content but with reflective criticism of research procedures and thought processes of scientists. Joyce, B. & Weil, M. 1980: Models of Teaching. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice -Hall Inc., pp. 130-142. (It appears that the Schwab approach to inquiry has been dropped from the latest edition of Models of Teaching which appears to me to be an error of judgment.) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- CONSTRUCTIVIST TEACHING STRATEGIES - 2 Inquiry Strategy 3: The Suchman inquiry model: Structured inquiry reasoning While the Schwab approach is fundamentally laboratory or field centred to the extent that research activities in the laboratory and the field are an important basis for the inquiry, once the problem has been structured appropriately by the teacher, the Suchman model of inquiry teaching (Eggen et al., 1979, Chapter 8) does not require the pupils to work in the field or laboratory. The approach depends upon the use of known conditions, known variables, and existing data as a basis for teaching and practising reasoning strategies which a research scientist might be expected to apply to the problem which the teacher has chosen as the focus. While the Schwab approach emphasizes reflective criticism, the Suchman model deals with the use of data, the formulation of questions, and the application of inference. The teaching procedure could be characterised simplistically by the game "20 questions" where the players apply reasoning to the data and conditions supplied to progressively develop an acceptable response to the problem set. The Suchman Model is presented in such a detailed fashion in Eggen, et al. (1979) that it is unnecessary to discuss the approach further here. Eggen, P.D., et al. 1979: Strategies for Teachers. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall Inc., pp. 309-344. Inquiry Strategy 4: The "creating knowledge" model: an entry point for pupil negotiated inquiry Lesson 1 This approach to inquiry teaching shares some features of the "pupil centred model" to the extent that the teacher's role includes motivator, facilitator, and class manager. In a similar fashion, the teacher has no role as direct transmitter of factual information. At this point, however, the approaches diverge. The "pupil centred model" is almost entirely devoted to continuous hands-on investigation in the laboratory or field. The "creating knowledge" model begins with the class in a conventional class teaching/seating arrangement with the teacher at the front of the class. The approach has substantial support from constructionist psychology. Piaget (1964) should be studied carefully in conjunction with the lesson plan. Social transmission and personal experience are the two most important means by which teachers may influence cognitive development and knowledge growth. Both are used here. Conflicts and disagreements resulting from group discussions or class debate are an important means of establishing the disequilibration of inappropriate knowledge schemes in preparation for further knowledge growth. The steps in the teaching procedure are as follows: Step 1: The teacher waits for or establishes a quiet atmosphere at the beginning of the lesson. The teacher may announce the topic by saying something like: "This period we are going to begin work on topic X." (In this model lesson, topic X will be sea gulls - it could be igneous rocks, or what influences the "tick-tock" rate of a pendulum, or any number of other topics. The teacher continues:) "On the chalk board, I have drawn two columns with headings. Copy the columns and the headings into your work-book. When you have finished, watch me." Example Sea Gulls (Title) What I know about sea gulls. What I'd like to know about sea gulls. (Two column headings.) (Space under the headings... Imagine a two column table on a sheet of paper...) Step 2: The teacher waits a reasonable time for the work to be completed and says: "Watch me", (or the equivalent) to gain attention. "The activity which follows is a 'Do it yourself job'. There is to be no talking or discussion, no movement, and no copying or looking on." Some rules such as the foregoing will be necessary. However the rules should be few and brief. This way the few simple rules are easily monitored and enforced and pupils have a better chance of remembering and working to them. Step 3: "You are to add as much as you can to the two columns. Keep to the rules". At this point the teacher should move to a position from which it is an advantage to supervise the class activity. (It is wise to take up a first position near the point you might expect the first rule-breaking to occur. Reinforce the rules quietly and firmly by applying methods supporting pupil self-control where possible. Do not shout commands to offenders across the room. Move to other positions of advantage around the room. Do not take up a supervising position where some of the class is behind your back. Do not talk to pupils during the activity. Watch to see how the activity is progressing and note an anticipated finish time. Do not read over any pupil's shoulder while the writing is progressing. (This is very threatening and reduces pupil input. It also causes pupils to write content which they imagine will gain the teacher's approval.) Step 4: When a satisfactory amount of work has been done, stop the work and have the pupils face you. (Look around to see that you have all eyes facing your way. If someone is not attending, quietly say :"X, I'm waiting for you." At this point you will form the class into 4-groups. This should be done quickly without fuss. The fastest way is to nominate the four members of a group and the discussion position in the room for the whole class. Keep noise and random movement, which can disturb the working tone of the lesson, to a minimum through class management. Then say: "You are about to work in your groups with what you have written in the columns. Keep the discussion noise level low. What you are to do is share what you have written with others in your group and you are to add to both of your columns during the discussion". Animated discussion will follow. The teacher should move from group to group to listen to the discussion. (See Study Guide 7: Practicum Voluntary Activities 1 and 2.) No attempt should be made to take over the discussion, or correct "errors". If pupils stop discussing when you come to the group, just say: "Keep going, I'm just here to listen." If someone asks a question of fact, e.g., "Do sea gulls have yellow legs?" respond by saying: "That's a good question to add to your 'What I'd like to know about sea gulls.' column." Control should be maintained constantly. If the discussion noise level begins to rise say: "Quieter, please." Do not leave this too late so that you have to shout to be heard. If you find you have to raise your voice to something resembling a shout you are on the verge of losing control of the class if control has not been lost already. When listening to the group discussions place yourself in a position where you can supervise the whole class. Do not let misbehaviour or non-lesson related behaviour pass unchecked. Do not discipline pupils from across the room. Move close quickly and speak to the offending person(s) to reinforce the rule(s) in operation at the time. Step 5: When the pupils have had a useful length of time to complete the task close the discussion by saying: "Stop work. [Pause and wait.] Watch me." (As a matter of interest, when you teach this lesson you will find that all pupils manage to add to both columns. That is, not only does each pupil learn new things through the discussion process but they are able to adjust beliefs. Further, the "What I'd like to know..." column often grows faster than the "What I know..." column.) At this point the teacher will introduce some form of SENSE DATA related to the topic. Pupils will use the sense data provided to create additional knowledge, correct statements in their "What I know..." columns, or add more questions to the "What I'd like to know..." columns. In the case of the sea gulls topic, sense data in the form of a film strip would be suitable. (See the MACOS Film Strip: "Herring Gulls", for example.) The sense data could be in the form of posters, rock samples in a geology lesson, test-tube reachions in a chemistry lesson, a video of an event in physics, or a set of sequenced photographic slides in astronomy. If the sense data is in the form of a film or a videotape, the sound from the machine should be turned OFF because the narration often provides many facts and clues. This would turn the lesson into a copying session rather than an active thinking "creating knowledge" lesson. To introduce the sense data the teacher might say: "We are about to view a film strip. See what you can add to each column as the film progresses. Once again, this is a 'do your own thing' activity - no discussion, no copying". Dim the room quickly (not black-out). Run the film strip so that there is a reasonable time to view each frame. Allow time for writing. If a question arises which is not a question of fact about sea gulls answer the question briefly, e.g., Pupil: "What is that thing on the left of the seagull?" Teacher: "That is a red stick." If on the other hand, a pupil asks a question of fact, or sense data interpretation use the "add to" response, e.g., Pupil: "Do sea gulls always have three eggs?" Teacher: "That's a good question to add to your 'What I'd like to know...' column". When the film strip showing has been completed restore the lighting level. Step 6: Return to 4-group discussion. Have the pupils share and add to both columns again. Repeat the teacher supervisor/listener procedure. Do not answer questions of fact. If facts are supplied, inquiry ceases and motivation to continue with the inquiry will plummet accordingly. Step 7: If listening indicates that a repeat showing of the film strip would be useful, show the film strip for a second time. [Repeat Step 5.] If not, introduce another set of sense data which has the capacity to extend knowledge and challenge, for example, a film of social behaviour of sea gulls [SOUND OFF] could be used. Alternatively, each pupil could be supplied with a short photocopied research diary of seagull observations. Other ideas could be substituted here. Pupils proceed to add to their columns as a personal "Do your own thing." action (not a group activity). Step 8: Repeat the group discussion procedure. (Whether or not step 7 or 8 occurs during the same class period as steps 1 through 5 will depend upon the progress of the lesson and the time available.) Step 9: Draw the discussion to a close. Advise the class that the sea gull knowledge table must be brought to the next class. (If it seems unlikely that this will happen, the sheets should be retained. A simple effective procedure is to make paper available for the work at the beginning of the lesson so that the named sheets can be collected at the end of the lesson. There is an additional advantage in collecting the work-sheets in that the teacher can review the assembled ideas and gain some advance notice of the investigations which are likely to flow from the process of knowledge creation.) Lesson 2 (summary only) The two major tasks to be accomplished in this lesson are: (1) the preparation of a continuous prose group report written on the basis of each group's "What I know..." columns, and (2) the planning of subsequent investigations and activities by the group. Task 1: Establish order and quiet. (Pass out the work-sheets if these were held over from the last class. Use non-disruptive pupil assistants.) Establish the 4-groups. Instruct the pupils to prepare the reports. A format could be suggested. The teacher should act as if learning to be scientifically literate is important. In this part of the lesson, the teacher should concentrate on the development of communication skills including sentence construction, grammar, use of words, spelling, punctuation, and so on. If computers and word processing packages are available, these would be of assistance at this stage. The prose reports may be read to the class by a member of each of the groups, or the reports could be photocopied (or printed if printers and computers are available) and circulated. Following the presentation of the "What I know..." reports, a class debate should be organised and chaired by the teacher or an appropropriately skilled pupil to permit pupils to explore any controversial issues in a controlled fashion. The teacher must resist any tendency or desire to use the opportunity to correct matters of "fact". If there are contradictions or divergences of opinion, the matters should be listed as unresolved and added to the "What I'd like to know..." columns. When the debate has run its course the class should be reorganised into the 4-groups in preparation for task 2. Task 2: Each 4-group is given the task of firstly preparing a list of "What I'd like to know-s..." and secondly producing activity sheets containing cognate questions, investigations, or activities in preparation for subsequent practical field work, laboratory investigations and library research activities. By this stage of the lesson sequence, the teacher should be familiar with the likely directions the activity sheets will follow. The teacher should prepare additional activity sheets which open areas not being considered by the class. A wide range of activities might be considered, for example: 1. make origami sea gulls (exploring spatial relations through paper folding); 2. make sea gull ceiling mobiles (exploring balancing - the mobiles should be made in parts "on the floor" and not "in the air"): 3. make papermache sea gull models of different named sea gulls - to size, colour and markings (taxonomy); 4. explore the shape of sea gull wings - include the making of glider models - test for stability, length of flight, load carrying capacity and the like (aerodynamics of flight); 5. create movement activities which mimic the actions of sea gull chicks, adults, and adult gull social interactions (mime); 6. read and write stories or poems which create wonder and empathy for aspects of sea gull life e.g., Jonathan Livingstone Seagull (communication skill development); 7. explore the possible financial benefit and/or cost of sea gull populations to fishing, tourism, etc. (economics); 8. ...etc.: explore the geographic distributions of sea gull populations...predator/prey relationships...nest building strategies by sea gull type...preferred foods...growth...mating...adult behaviours and social order in gulls..invite an ornithologist to speak to the class and answer questions...and so on. Once the activity sheets are prepared the pupils and the teacher should review the possibilities in terms of practicality and cost. Some activities or investigations may not be possible because of the implications for supervision. Others may have to be ruled out because necessary equipment is unavailable. In as far as it is possible, investigations should be encouraged on an individual (1-group) level. 2-groups may be used. Cooperation, discussion, and sharing of ideas and findings of groups working on cognate areas should be encouraged. Investigations and activities may continue for some time: possibly for two or three weeks - or longer if the activities are running productively and motivation remains high. Displays, demonstrations and presentations should be arranged periodically as appropriate. The teacher should assist pupils to prepare for these presentations and assist with the development of self-evaluation and quality. Piaget , J. 1964: "Development and Learning." in Journal of Research in Science Teaching. 2, 2, 176-186. Other references: Renner, J.W. et al. 1976: Research, Teaching and Learning with the Piaget Model. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. Gruber, H.E. & Voneche J.J. (Eds.) 1977: The Essential Piaget: An Interpretative Reference and Guide. New York: Basic Books. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- CONSTRUCTIVIST TEACHING STRATEGIES - 3 Inquiry Strategy 5: The theme-based model: pupil centred, "multi-disciplinary free inquiry" The idea of "theme" or a "thematic approach" to teaching is not new. Thematic approaches, and there were many of them, became popular in the '60s and '70s particularly in primary schools. This accompanied the shift from a traditional or subject facts view of curriculum to a more open and flexible approach which could transcend familiar subject boundaries. This latter viewpoint can be associated with what is sometimes described as a "liberal-progressive" type of curriculum organization. The liberal-progressive approach to curriculum was dealt with in an earlier mailing. The thematic approach derives its validity from two sets of assumptions. The first set involves a belief about the nature of knowledge. Knowledge, it is argued is a function of one's personal integration of experience and therefore does not fall into neatly separate categories or "disciplines". This idea is explored in R.S. Bath: Open Education and the American School. Material presented to the pupil and any experiences the pupil may have are more meaningful and relevant if it occurs in a context which assists integration and helps the development of interlocking experience and idea networks devoid of artificially imposed boundaries. The second set of assumptions is about the nature of pupils' learning. This includes the belief that pupils, who are encouraged to do so by the non-threatening and supportive nature of their school environment, will show natural exploratory and learning behaviour. This is a point which has been made by Jean Piaget and many other writers. A further belief is that pupils have both the competence and the right to make significant decisions concerning their own learning and that is a pupil has a choice, apart from exceptional circumstances, there will be full involvement and enjoyment associated with any activity the pupil has chosen to do. As a result of the effect of self-motivation, more effective learning will take place. Certain implications regarding classroom practice follow from these assumptions: (1) There is a need to create a flexible use of time so that pupils as individuals, or in small groups, can vary the amount of time and effort spent on a task, according to their abilities and interests. (2) It is necessary to reduce the unnecessary subject fragmentation of the curriculum and, in particular, reduce the dominance of the textbook and increase the possibility of relevant personal experience in learning. (3) It is important to develop each pupil's concept in self, for self concept is highly related to desire to learn and capacity to learn. A climate supporting each pupil's development of a positive attitude in a socially cooperative rather than a strongly competitive atmosphere is essential. Some general aims which might be developed for a science programme on the basis of the foregoing assumptions are: * To help pupils understand the nature of science by locating its place in the totality of human experiences and activities. * To help pupils to develop skills in observation, the formulation of relationships, and the exploration of any meaning which may be made out the network of experience. * To help pupils master the concepts and techniques of science which they can confidently apply to everyday puzzles and problems. * To help pupils to form favourable attitudes towards science and all other human activities. * To help pupils to acquire confidence in their ability to reason, make independent judgements, and reflect upon justifications for their ideas by giving them the opportunities to make decisions and choices. Pupils' attitudes and motivation are of importance to all teachers and the basis for positive attitude is developed in situations which invite pupils to become active learners and apply their learning in a variety of ways to things they come across in everyday life or are presented as options for involvement through the efforts of teachers. Pupils who are taught to view science as part of the totality of human activities and experience rather that a mass of subject matter to be memorized find that science gives them pleasure because it helps them to develop ways of "finding out", it provides stimulation for their curiosity as they probe what for them is unknown and worth knowing, and that science is purposeful and satisfying because it can be related to the environment and people and life all around them. TEACHING IDEAS GUIDE FOR THE THEME "DAYTIME ASTRONOMY" Introduction: What follows is a collection of semi-hastily arranged ideas about daytime astronomy. They are designed to be used as part of a thematic approach to the topic - at any age level including adult. The ideas are suitable for adolescent or adult non-science majors in particular. Essentially, the ideas are about the physical world, but since theme based teaching is cross-disciplinary, there are some ideas which are not supposed to be "science". The Daytime Astronomy Theme: To develop a theme one begins by having a brainstorming session to develop cognate ideas - it's useful to develop a concept map. To design the concept map, just put the theme in the centre of a large piece of paper and as your major ideas come, drawn them connected with lines to the central idea so you have something like the spokes of a wheel. Then, go around the spokes and see if you can elaborate any of the principal ideas further into topics which might be a centre of interest. Hook these together with more lines. After ten minutes or so, I ended with the following: DAYTIME ASTRONOMY... Measuring distances... Mapping... Navigation... Heights and Altitudes... Orienteering... Finding directions... Space... Science Fiction... Space Travel... Infinity... Sun... Sun Worship... Art & Religion... Eclipse... Light... Shadows... Heat Energy... Atmosphere... Weather... Rainfall Pressure Temperature Moon... Tides... Stars?... Movement... Astrology... Gravity... Earth... Structure... Motion... Size... Shape... Change... As a self-development exercise, brain-storm on your own or with someone else to expand the list of topic areas and topics in the concept map ... One of the major ideas which might have been included above was "time". This major idea could be expanded into its own concept map (as could all of the other major ideas) viz., TIME... Evolution... Units... Day, hour, minute, second... Greenwich Mean Time Measurement... Eastern Standard Time... Daylight Saving Time Calendars... Months (origin)... Days (origin)... Years... AD...BC Moslem Calendars Jewish Calendars Mayan Chinese, Roman... Clocks... Water, Sun, Sand... Mechanical...Pendulum...Pulse... Candle...Biological...Computer... Dates... Archaeology... Arch. Evidence... Diggings History Zones... Time Differences... etc., etc... One uses the topics and ideas like racks and coat-hangers for activities, e.g., one of the topics might have been "sun shadows". SUN SHADOWS: Questions which may form the basis for an inquiry. 1. Make a shadow stick. Put a suitable dowel vertically into a supporting base. Make the dowel about 1m. Choose specific times during the day to measure the length of the shadow. Don't forget a compass to find the direction. Work out the angle of elevation of the sun. Do this for an extended period. Graph the results daily/weekly. Try to figure out what is happening. 2. Exchange shadow records with a friend in another state. Make sure that the times of day and days correspond so that comparisons may be made. What are the similarities and differences. Is there some way or some model which you can construct which you can use to show how things are the same (or different) in two different places. 3. Try (2.) with a friend in another country - preferably in the N. hemisphere. (S for you!) What are the similarities and differences. Is there some way or some model which you can construct which you can use to show how things are the same (or different) in two different places. 4. Can you use your shadow records to find directions? About now you might notice that I've shifted from giving instructions to asking questions. Inquiry is NOT about following instructions you may remember, it's about responding to puzzles, and questions. 5. Can you use your shadow stick to tell the time of day? CAUTION: NEVER LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE SUN 6. Where is the sun at noon? 7. What is a shadow? 8. How do shadows form? REMEMBER, "WHY" QUESTIONS ARE USUALLY TOO DIFFICULT FOR YEAR 7-10 PUPILS AND "WHY" QUESTIONS ARE CERTAINLY TOO DIFFICULT FOR ALL BUT THE VERY BRIGHTEST PUPILS IN YEARS 5 AND 6. INITIALLY, THEY MAY ALSO BE TOO HARD FOR OLDER ADOLESENTS AND ADULTS BECAUSE "WHY" QUESTIONS GENERALLY DEMAND FORMAL REASONING STRATEGIES. PRACTICE ASKING: "WHERE", "HOW", "WHAT", "HOW MUCH", "CAN YOU SHOW ME", "WHAT DO YOU THINK IS HAPPENING", "ARE THERE ANY EVENTS WHICH RECUR REGULARLY", "HAVE YOU FOUND ANY EVENTS WHICH APPEAR TO BE RELATED", AND "ARE THERE ANY IDEAS YOU HAVE MADE UP TO EXPLAIN THAT". THE FOREGOING QUESTIONS MOSTLY DEMAND CONCRETE REASONING STRATEGIES. Examples of a wide range of questions which may be used are outlined in another paper. 9. Can you make light shadows and dark shadows? 10. Can you make shadows inside shadows? 10A. Can you draw shadows which tell a story? 11. Is there a noon shadow? Is there always a noon shadow everywhere? 12. Do sun shadows change with the seasons? How? Graph the shadows' lengths. 13. Is there a relationship between sun shadow length and daily temperature? Rainfall? 14. Is there any relationship between the length of a shadow and the elevation? Can you use this to work out the height of things - trees, tall buildings? 15. Do you think you could make a shadow calendar? 16. Can you make a model which shows how the sun shadows act the way they do? 17. Are there any places which don't have noon shadows? 18. Are there places where there may be no daytime shadows for weeks on end? 19. How did Eratosthenes of Cyrene "measure" the earth's circumference about 250 BC by using a shadow? 20. What can you find out about how Stonehenge may have been used as a calendar? 21. How quickly do sun shadows move? 22. Can you predict what shadows would be like on different parts of the globe at the one time? 23. Can you investigate moon shadows? 24. Do shadows effect the way we build our houses or plant our gardens? 25. Can there be sunlight without shadows? 26. When is a sun shadow longest? Shortest? 27. Is the middle of the daytime shadow the same length as the noon shadow? 28. Can you use your shadow stick measurements to show the sun's position at different times of the year? 29. How does a sextant work? 30. Can you make a simple sextant with a protractor, some string, a washer, pin, thumb tack, and a soda straw? REPEAT WARNING: NEVER LOOK AT THE SUN DIRECTLY. 31. Your turn... TIME 1. See if you can make a sundial. It has to be able to tell the time. 2. Design and make other sundials. 3. How does a water clock work? See if you can make your own water clock. 4. Once people used a candle to tell time. Can you make a candle tell time? 5. How useful is your built-in clock for telling time? (Galileo used his as a portable timer in many of his investigations.) 6. How do clocks work? See if you can get an old clock which doesn't work and work out how the gears work. Can you tell how many times the faster gears turn for one turn of a slow gear? 7. What is an almanac? 8. What are the similarities and differences between different calendars? (Jewish, Gregorian, Islamic, Chinese, Mayan...) How did calendars originate? 9. What is an equinox? 10. How do our feast days and festivals relate to the phases of the moon? Start with Easter. What about seasons of the year? 11. How can you use a pendulum to tell the time? 12. What makes a difference to the time it takes for a pendulum to swing to and fro? 13. Can you plot the results of your pendulum investigations on a graph? 14. What is a Foucault pendulum? 15. Where do meridians come from? Lines of longitude? Latitude? How are they used? 16. Can you make a moon-pie time chart? 17. Can you find out what events are dated by eclipses? {Example: Amos (viii), 9 can be dated as June 15, 763 BC.} How about other celestial events like comets? 18. How long would it take for you to run to your favourite planet? 19. Your turn again... Finally a few on the moon... WHERE IS THE MOON? 1. Can you ever see the moon during the day? Is there any pattern to daytime moon sightings? 2. Where is the moon when you can't see it (day or night)? 3. How does the moon move? 4. Can you draw a number of pictures or make a model to show how the moon moves across the sky? 5. Can you predict where the moon will be? 6. Is the moon visible all night? All day? 7. When you look at all the sky you can see, how much of the whole sky can you see? 8. Can you ever see the whole sky from where you live? 9. Does the moon rise earlier, later, or at the same time each day? 10. Why is Venus in the "same" place every evening just about sunset but the moon isn't? (Remember that "why" questions are very tough for pupils.) 11. Your turn again... You can see that three very definitely underworked topics have been turned into sixty inquiry ideas. Now you have the general notion, with a little practice, you and your colleagues can generate hundreds of really great ideas for activities related to a theme. With this strategy behind you, I'm sure you will agree that there is no need for boredom in your science classes - not ever. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- CONSTRUCTIVIST TEACHING STRATEGIES - 4 Part B: THE DISCOVERY APPROACH The discovery approach was first popularised by Jerome Bruner in a book The Process of Education which was written as a consequence of his involvement with a conference of science educators at Woods Hole in USA. The stimulus for the conference was the perceived failure of the US to beat the USSR in the space race. The USSR won by putting "Sputnik" in orbit first on October 4, 1957. The concept behind the discovery approach is that the motivation of pupils to learn science will be increased if they experience the feelings scientists obtain from "discovering" scientific knowledge. Further, the idea was supported by the notion that pupils would learn about the nature of science, and the formation of scientific knowledge through the process of "discovery". It could be said that Bruner's heart was in the right place, but that his rationale was faulty. Even your limited studies in the history and philosophy of science to this point should indicate that Bruner's idea poses some philosophical problems about the nature of science and the formation of scientific knowledge. The discovery approach is presented by Schulman (Good, 1972). This could be followed by reading Strike (1975) and Feifer (1971). These readings deal with the procedures of discovery learning and relevant issues and conflicting points of view. In a discovery lesson, the teacher decides, in advance, the concept, process, law or piece of scientific knowledge which is to be "discovered" or un-covered by the pupils. The lesson proceeds through a hierarchy of stages which may be associated with Bruner's levels of thought, viz., Stage 1: Enactive level Pupils perform "hands-on" activities which are directly related to what is to be discovered. This is where the pupil is able to think about the nature of the physical world in terms of personal experience. For example in teaching Boyle's Law by this method, pupils would do activities which the teacger knows would show that as pressure is increased volume is diminished - pupils might draw some air into a large syringe, plug the exit, and mount the syringe vertically in a hole in a board and then load the top of the plunger/piston successively with equal weight objects: one textbook, two textbooks; three, four..., and note the result on the air trapped in the syringe by either length or volume. (It might be interesting to have a brief "aside" discussion to explore why one can measure the length of the air column and ifer something about the volume. The teacher should expect that the column length-column volume relationship will *not* be obvious to pupils.) Stage 2: Ikonic level The teacher directs the thinking of pupils to deal with the experiential situations in terms of mental images of the objects used in the activities upon which the "discovery" is to be based. At this stage the pupils might describe what happened or discuss what data tables show in terms of "pressure increase" (number of book weights pushing on the piston area: pressure = force + surface area), "volume decrease", or the equivalent. Stage 3: Symbolic level This is the stage where the pupils move to replace the mental images with symbols in a move to increased generality and abstraction which results in the "discovery" planned by the teacher in advance. In the case of the example here pupils would "discover" that p *is proportional to* 1/V (at a given temperature) and go on to conclude that pV = k (a constant). It should also be possible for pupils to predict (at this stage) what the book weight versus volume graph would look like without plotting the graph from the data tables from stage 1 and generalise from this to all corresponding situations. Naturally, there are serious problems at the symbolic level (c.f. formal reasoning) when teachers try to have concrete reasoning pupils "discover" relationships which are abstract and which require formal reasoning processes for invention, understanding or application. Teachers are generally driven to amazing verbal games in science classes to literally "put the words in the mouths" of the pupils so that the "discovery" process can be completed. As an aside, I am led to remark that pupils can float and sink things for ever without re-inventing Archimedes' Principle. What actually happens in science classes is usually a far cry from Bruner's hopes that pupils experience the positive feelings scientists obtain from "discovering" or un-covering scientific knowledge and that pupils are motivated to assimilate the "facts of science" through the process of "discovery" they actually experience in class. It is worth commenting that most science teachers who use the term "discovery" with respect to a teaching approach could NOT recount the professional knowledge embedded in the description of discovery above, or debate the issues and conflicts in the points of view in the readings provided. It follows then, that most science teachers who talk about "discovery" literally do not know what they are talking about. Bruner, J.S. 1960: The Process of Education. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press. Feifer, N. 1971: "The Teacher's Role in the Discovery Approach: Lessons from the History of Science." in The Science Teacher, 38, Nov., 27-29. Schulman, L.S. 1972: "Psychological Controversies in the Teaching of Science and Mathematics" in R.G. Good, Science <--> Children: Readings in Elementary Science Education. Dubuque: Wm. C. Brown Co., Publishers, pp. 227-243. Strike, K.A. 1975: "The Logic of Learning by Discovery" in Review of Education Research 45, 3, 461-483. Coming (maybe): Process teaching in Science.