The Art of Teaching Science

Introduction and Welcome

 The Art of Teaching Science
• Welcome to The Art of Teaching
Science. I hope you will find the book
valuable to you, and help you in your
quest as a science educator.
• The Art of Teaching Science is a science
teaching handbook/methods textbook
designed for the professional
development of middle and high school QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (LZW) decompressor

science teachers.
are needed to see this picture.

• I have written the Art of Teaching

Science to provide meaningful learning
experiences and connections with the
most recent research and understanding
of science teaching for this new cadre of
science teachers.
Jack Hassard
 Chapter Slide Shows
• There are 12 slide shows, one for each
chapter. They are designed to be used by
students and instructors. For students, the
slides give a multimedia overview for each
chapter. For the instructor, the slide shows
can be used in whole or part to augment
course syllabi, and online experiences for
students.
 Philosophy
• The Art of Teaching Science is • These tools involve:
rooted in the philosophy that – Inquiry and experimentation
initial and continuing preparation – Reflection through writing and
of science teachers should discussions
develop professional artistry. – Experiences with students,
• In this view, the learning to teach science curriculum and
process involves encounters with pedagogy
peers, professional teachers, and • Becoming a science teacher is a
science teacher educators. creative process. In the view
• A number of pedagogical espoused here, you will be
learning tools have been encouraged to "invent" and
integrated into the Art of "construct" ideas about science
Teaching Science. teaching through your interaction
with your peers, teachers and
your instructors.
 The Art of Science Teaching
Inquiry and Innovation
in Middle School and High School
Part Chapters

Part 1 The Art of Science Teaching Chapter 1 The Art of Science: A Reconnaissance
Chapter 2 Science for All

Part 2 The Goals and the Curriculum of School Science Chapter 3 The Goals and History of Science Education
Chapter 4 Science in the School Curriculum

Part 3 Connecting Theory and Practice in Science Teaching Chapter 5 How Students Learn Science
Chapter 6 Models of Science Teaching
Chapter 7 Designing Science Units and Courses of Study
Chapter 8 Assessing Active Science Learning
Part 4 Strategies of Science Teaching Chapter 9 Strategies Fostering Thinking in the Science
Classroom
Chapter 10 Facilitating Learning in the Science Classroom
Chapter 11 Science, Technology, and Society
Chapter 12: The Internet: Moving Toward Web-Based
Learning Environments
 Pedagogical Learning Tools in
The Art of Teaching Science
• Inquiry Activities • Problems and
• How to Read This Chapter Extensions
• Invitations to Inquiry • Reflective Teaching
• Think Pieces
• Microteaching
• Case Studies
• International
• Science Teachers Talk
Connections
• Research Matters Column
• Science Teaching
• On the Web
Literature • Readings
 Conceptual Organization of
Pedagogical Tools
International Reflective
Connections: Pedagogical Teaching in
Science Tools Chapter 6
Laboratory
Teacher Teaching
Talks Experiences
located in
located in the
Microteaching
First Part of in Chapter 9
Each Chapter: Second Part of
Science in Major Theme of Each Chapter:
Australia, the chapter The Gazette
Chile,
China,
Ghana,
Japan,
Russia Think Pieces;
Problems and
How to Extensions;
Read this On the Web;
Case Studies;
Chapter Research Readings
Matters;
Leads to Literature;
Initial Case Science
Inquiry Teacher Talk
Study
Activities in
the context Invitations
of the to Inquiry
content of
the chapter
 Inquiry Activities
• Inquiry Activities are designed to engage
teachers in a wide variety of science education Inquiry Science There are 42
learning activities focusing of the processes of Activities teaching Inquiry
inquiry, problem solving, and reflection. investigations Activities
Inquiry activities have been written using the
format of cooperative and collaborative enabling you located in the
learning. Although inquiry activities are to reflect on first section
typically explored by teams of peers, they can the important of each
be used for individual investigation as well.
• The inquiry activities have been designed with
concepts of chapter of the
the constructivist learning model as a referent science Art of
and teaching Teaching
– enable students to use their existing schema or using hands Science.
conception in a problem solving situation
– enable students to design a plan to investigate a on and minds
problem in a contextual situation on processes.
– can be solved in many ways thereby resulting in
multiple solutions
– engage students in minds on strategies that
include reflective and high level cognitive
thinking
– engage students in cooperative learning groups
 442-443

Inquiry Activity 12.1: Designing

Web-Based Science Activities
• In this inquiry you will become
familiar with 8 web-based
tools, anyone of which you can WEB-BASED
TOOLS

use to design a web-based Interpersonal

Exchange
Information
Collections
Problem
Solving

science activity.
• Read through the tools that are Key Pals
Online
Discussions
Pooled-
Data
Analysis
Tele-field
trips
Net
Publishing
Social
Action
Projects

listed in Table 12.1 (you’ll find

details on each one on pages Telementoring Virtual
Classroom

443-447.
• Identify an STS or science
inquiry goal and design a web-
based activity using one or
more of the Web-based tools.
 4

How to Read This Chapter

• This chapter is a reconnaissance of the profession of science teaching,
and also a place to begin the learning-to-teach process. There are
some activities that are designed to help you explore some of your
prior conceptions about science teaching (Inquiry Activity 1.1), and
other activities designed to have you investigate the ideas that
experienced teachers hold about teaching, and students about science.
All of these are here to help you build upon your prior knowledge and
to help you in the construction of your ideas about teaching. You
might get the most out of this chapter by skimming the main sections,
and then coming back to deliberately move though the chapter.
 168

Invitations to Inquiry
• How important is it to the secondary science teacher to know about learning theory?
• What is constructivism, and why has it emerged as one of the most significant
explanations of student learning?
• How do cognitive psychologists explain student learning?
• How do social psychologist explain student learning?
• How do behavioral theories explain student learning in science?
• What was the contribution of theorists like Skinner, Bruner, Piaget, Vygotsky, and von
Glasersfeld to secondary science teaching?
• What is meant by multiple intelligences and how does it impact student learning?
• How do learning styles of students influence learning in the classroom?
• What is metacognition, and how can metacognition help students learn science?
 Chapter 5 Map
Chapter 5
How Students
Learn Science
Cognitive Feminist Theory into
Constructivism Theories Perspective Practice

Theories Constructivist Sociocultural Behavioral Student The Gazette

Theories Theories Theories Learning
Styles

Operant
Theory to Idea of Inquiry 5.2: Inquiry 5.3: Inquiry 5.4: Inquiry 5.5: Conditioning Learning Brain- Case Teacher
Practice? Theory Conrete Formal Big Ideas Meeting of Styles 4MAT Based Studies Talk
Learning Learning the Minds Learning

Deweyan
Theories
Inquiry 5.1:
Student Inquiry 5.6:
Learning Learning
Styles
 Think Piece
• A Think Piece is a question that is answered by
means of a short essay (generally no more than
two pages) or a poster (no more than one large
poster board) that reflects a teacher's view on
some topic or subject in science education Each
volume of the Science Teaching Gazette contains
several think piece topics. Think pieces can be
assigned individually or can be used to stimulate
problem solving in cooperative groups.
 29

Think Piece
• Write an essay on the
topic “artistry of
teaching.” Make use
of your experiences as
a student and teacher.
 Case Studies
• Case studies are problem solving dilemmas based on actual and
fictional events about science teaching. Case studies have been
become a popular feature in the education of professionals in business,
and medicine, and recently have become an innovation in the
professional preparation of teachers. The case studies that are included
in The Art of Teaching Science consist of a brief presentation of the
case, followed by a problem or dilemma statement. Cases can be
explored in a variety of ways: role playing, cooperative team problem
solving, written responses followed by group discussions, and debates.
Case enactments can also be video taped for replay and analysis.
After some contextual work in schools, and experience with a few
cases, teachers can suggest their own case study topics, create the
scenarios and problems, and engage the class in their creations. Each
chapter begins with a Case Study.
 167

Case Study: A New Approach to

Learning
• The Case
• Ruth Wilson, a second year high school biology teacher in a • The Problem
community that has only one high school, took a graduate course
in the summer at the local university. In the course, she became
extremely interested in a theory of learning, called
• How would you deal with this
"constructivism” proposed by several theorists. Constructivism,
as she understood it, provided a framework to understand how
situation? What would you say to
students acquired knowledge. One of the basic notions underlying
the theory was that students “constructed and made meaning” of
the parent? Is Ms. Wilson on
their experiences. The theory provides more freedom for the
students in terms of their own thinking processes. Ms. Wilson
sound footing regarding her theory
feels strongly that this “constructivist” framework supported her
teaching philosophy better than the more structured approach she of teaching? How do explain your
was using during her first year of teaching. Prior to the opening
of school, Ms. Wilson changed her curriculum plans to reflect the teaching theory to your principal?
constructivist theory. She spent the first two weeks of school
helping the students become skilled and familiar with hands-on What is your personal view on this
learning. For many of her students, this was a new venture. She
planned activities where students had to make choices among approach to teaching and learning?
objectives, or activities, or content. Knowing that students like to
work together, she decided to place students in small teams. At
the end of the two weeks, she instructed the teams to decide and
select the activities and content in the first part of the text that
would interest them. They should formulate a plan, and carry it
out for the remainder of the grading period. A few weeks later, a
rather irate parent called Mr.. Brady, the principal of the school,
complaining that her son is wasting his time in Ms. Wilson's
class. The parent complained that her son was not learning
anything, and she demanded a conference with Ms. Wilson.
 Reflective Teaching
• The Art of Teaching Science provides teaching strategies that facilitate the
development of reflective science teaching. Reflective science teaching is a
concept that is open to a great deal of interpretation. On the one hand is the idea
that reflective teachers possess the ability to collaborate with others, while on the
other hand the ability to "reflect on" and think about one's teaching. Please refer to
Inquiry Activity 6.1 Reflective Teaching for details on how to implement the
approach. You will also find four Reflective Teaching lesson plans in Volume 6
of the Science Teaching Gazette which are to be used with Inquiry Activity 6.1:
– Lesson 1: Creatures
– Lesson 2: Shark's Teeth
– Lesson 3: The Balloon Blower Upper
– Lesson 4: Mission to Mars
• One of the powerful aspects of Reflective Teaching is that it "teaches" teachers a
metacognitve tool for thinking about their teaching, and once they understand the
process, teachers can apply the approach in any teaching situation.
 213-214

Inquiry 6.1: Reflective Teaching

• In this inquiry you’ll teach a science Reflective Teaching Lessons
lesson to a small group using any of the
models in the chapter using a three Lesson 6.1: “Creatures”
stage experience: Lesson 6.2: Shark’s Teeth
Lesson 6.3: The Balloon Blower Upper
– Prepare
Lesson 6.4: Mission to Mars
– Teach
– Reflect
• You’ll use the experience to find out Learner Satisfaction Form
how successful you were. You will find Name_________________________
a collection of lessons in the Gazette, 1. During the lesson how satisfied were you as a
pp. 248-250 which you can use. If you learner?
don’t use these, use the format shown, ______________ very satisfied
______________ satisfied
and create your own lesson.
______________ unsatisfied
• Details of the Reflective Teaching ______________ very unsatisfied
experience are outlined in Inquiry 6.1. 2. What could your teacher have done to
increase your satisfaction?
 Microteaching
• Microteaching is a laboratory approach to teaching developed some years
ago, and used quite effectively first by the Peace Corps, and then by
colleges of education in initial and continuing teacher education programs.
Although microteaching is used initially in Inquiry 1.2, it is formally
introduced and developed in Chapter 9, and used in the context of helping
teachers develop a model for practicing and receiving feedback about
teaching strategies. Since microteaching is scaled down teaching, it works
very well in small cooperative groups of peers, as well as with students in
a school context. You will find the approach to microteaching detailed in
Inquiry Activity 9.1. Students can prepare brief lessons, teach them to a
small group of peers or students, meet with a peer coach, and then reteach
the lesson based on suggestions made in the peer coaching conference.
 339-340

Inquiry 9.1: Microteaching

• Microteaching is scaled down teaching.
You will use it to explore the interactive
teaching strategies that are presented,
pp. 333-339.
• Prepare a 5 minute lesson and use it to
focus on one or more of the teaching
strategies (advance organizers,
questioning, using examples, etc.).
• Teach the lesson to a small group of
peers; use the video tape to reflect and
make changes in the lesson for a re-
teach episode.
• How successful were you?
 Science Teachers Talk
• Interviews with several practicing middle school and high school
science teachers from several countries were conducted to create the
Science Teachers Talk column in most of the volumes of the Science
Teaching Gazette. The teachers were asked to respond to a
questionnaire on science teaching. The questions corresponded to the
major unifying themes of the text, and these were used to create the
dialogs. The Science Teachers Talk feature can be used as a stimulus
for discussion, and problem solving. Teachers can be asked to
respond to the interview questions before reading the teachers'
responses, and afterwards, compare their approaches and opinions.
These craft-talk columns in the Science Teaching Gazette are rich with
the wisdom-of-practice that is an integral part of the knowledge of
science teaching.
 459-461

Science Teachers Talk

• How do you use technology (including
the Internet) in your science lessons?
Why do you, and what do you see as the
benefits for your students?
• Find out what the following teachers
say about these questions. How does it
compare with your thinking:
– Rachel Zgonc (a first year teacher)
– Ben Boza (Botzwana)
– Carol Myronuk (Canada)
– Barry Plant (Australia)
– Tom Brown
– Michael O’Brien (a first year teacher)

A web-based activity in action

 Research Matters
• There is a growing emphasis on the importance of
involving practicing science teachers not only in being
able to consume science education research, but being able
to conduct research on teaching, as well. Many volumes
of the Science Teaching Gazette include a column on
research entitled Research Matters which focuses on a
topic pertinent to the theme of the chapter. The columns,
written by members of the National Association for
Research in Science Teaching (NARST), appear from
time-to-time in the NARST News, the newsletter of
NARST.
 Science Education Literature
• Some of the volumes of the Science Teaching
Gazette includes excerpts from the literature of
science teaching. The literature pieces have been
included to enrich the investigation of science
teaching, to extend the context of learning to
include the work of the science and science
education community, and to introduce teachers to
journals and books in the field.
 30

Science is Not Words*

• Read Dr. George Feynman’s
article (pp. 30-32), “Science is
not words.”
• How does Feynman’s view of
science stack up with your
views? Is this a practical view
that might be applied to
teaching?
• Follow-up with a visit to a
Feynman Site:
http://www.amasci.com/feynma
n.html
 On the Web
• A collection of websites that relate to the
chapter. They are located in the Gazette,
and they are also linked in this website for
easy access to these resources
 Readings
• A collection of readings, for each chapter,
including books and journal articles. The
readings are designed to help you go further
in your exploration of science teaching.
 462

Problems and Extension

• Prepare a Web-based lesson using one of the following Web-
based tools: key pals, online discussions, chat, tele-mentoring,
pooled data analysis, tale-field trip or social action project.
Include the goals for the lesson, and how students would be
active learners in the lesson.
• Discuss the implications of using the Web to make your
teaching environment a “global classroom.” What do you think
will be the outcomes and benefits for your students, and
colleagues?
• Locate a science museum on the Web, and design a tele-field
trip using the museum as the basis for your project.
• Design a pooled data analysis project for a group of middle or
high school students in any content area of science. Visit some
of the examples of pooled data analysis projects identified in the
chapter. After studying these projects, outline a new project by
working with a group of peers. Share the project by putting it
on the Web, and presenting it to a group of peers.
 International Connections
• I asked colleagues from other countries to write brief
descriptions describing the curriculum and teaching issues
in Australia, Chile, China, Ghana, Japan and Russia. As
science educators, we are members of a community of
practice that is worldwide. What the issues in other
countries, and how do these help inform us about our own
issues? The authors of these international pieces have
based their writing on personal experiences with the
culture. In most cases the authors were born, educated and
taught in the country they described.
• Teachers from several countries participated in the Science
Teacher Talk sessions
 140-155

Science in…
• Australia
• Chile
• China
• Ghana
• Japan
• Russia