Module 2/4: Teaching and Learning Strategies KPLI – KDC

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2.3.5 TEACHING MODELS BASED ON CONSTRUCTIVIST APPROACH

1. NEEDHAM’S FIVE PHASE CONSTRUCTIVE MODEL

This learning model was proposed by Richard Needham (1987 ) in his work
‘Children Learning in Science Project’. It consists of five phases namely the
orientation, the generation of ideas, restructuring of ideas, application of ideas
and lastly the reflection .
Needham Five Phases Constructivist Model is shown in the table below :-

PHASE PURPOSE METHODS

Orientation To attract students attention Experiment, video and film
and interest. show, demonstration, problem
solving.
Generation of ideas To be aware of the student’s Experiment, small group
prior knowledge. discussion, concept mapping
and presentation.
Restructuring of To realize the existence of
ideas alternative ideas , ideas needs
to be improved, to be
developed or to be replaced
with scientific ideas.

i. Explanation and To determine the alternative Small group discussion and

exchanging ideas. ideas and critically assess the presentation.
present ideas.

ii. Exposure to To test the validity of the Discussion, reading, and

conflict ideas. present ideas. teacher’s input.

iii. Development of To improvise, develop or to Experiment, project and

new ideas. replace with new ideas. demonstration.

iv. Evaluation. To test the validity of the new

ideas.
Application of ideas To apply the new ideas to a Writing of individual’s report
different situation. on the project work.
Reflection To accommodate ones idea to Writing of individual’s report
the scientific ideas. on the project work, group
discussion, personal notes.
Adapted from “Buku Sumber Pengajaran Pembelajaran Sains Sekolah Rendah, Jilid III” ( 1995)
ms 15-16.

Further reading:
Needham, R & Hill, P ( 1987 ), Teaching Strategies For Developing
Understanding in Science. University of Leeds.

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1. OSBORNE GENERATIVE MODEL

The generative learning model, developed by Roger J. Osborne and Michael C.

Wittrock (1983), is both a model of how children learn and a model of how to
PHASE
The preliminary phase - includes any activity that allows
the teacher to find out what prior knowledge the students
have relevant to the new concept. This can be as simple
as a brief pre-test, or it may include a quick
demonstration or activity that provides a discrepant event
(an activity with a surprising, unexpected results). This is
an opportunity for the teacher to find out what
prerequisite knowledge the students lack or what
misconceptions the students have that may interfere with
their understanding of the concept.
ACTIVITY
In conducting a lesson on buoyancy (sinking &
floating), teacher may find that some students
may lack a thorough understanding of the
concepts density, mass, and volume. A lack of
this knowledge will block students’ ability to put
together a sound understanding of buoyancy. If
the preliminary phase reveals that students lack
that knowledge, the teacher then knows she/he
will have to include time to develop those
prerequisite concepts.

The focus phase - provides an activity (which may be a
hands-on inquiry activity or a brain-teaser) that gives the
students an opportunity to play around with an example
of the concept (such as playing around with objects that
sink or float). To create a discrepant event that stimulates
the students’ curiosity, we would include objects that
students would expect to sink, but which actually float.
Students in small groups conduct an experiment
investigating buoyancy of several objects.
Conducting these activities in small groups is
very effective. The students often automatically
experiment with the materials, discuss their
results, and challenge and test their
explanations/ideas together.

The challenge phase - is a time for the students to Students present their findings and exchange
compare their own ideas with those of others. Although ideas; students debate and test out their
this can be done individually, it is a powerful group explanations. Teacher explains the concept of
learning activity. Class members are encouraged to buoyancy.
debate, challenge, and test each other’s ideas, while the
teacher encourages all the students’ ideas and provides
them with challenging questions about their explanations.
It is up to the students to test the ideas and eliminate
ideas that they determine don’t work. The teacher
facilitates this by helping them figure out how to test out
each idea. When the teacher determines that the
students are cognitively ready to understand the scientific
version of the concept, the teacher can present the
concept.
The application phase - provides students with In the lesson on buoyancy, the aluminum foil
opportunities to find out whether the concept is boat does not appear at first to fit the standard
applicable to a variety of situations. We suggest that concept. The concept must be re-defined to
students be given opportunities to examine at least five include boats. Finally, the teacher can refine the
situations to which the concept can be applied. New students’ understanding by providing one or two
examples may provide new twists on the concept that will non-examples of the concept, i.e., examples that
lead to a new round of discussion and testing look like they should follow the rule but, on closer
examination, do not. This will help deter students
from automatically applying the new concept to
all situations.

The generative learning model, developed by Roger J. Osborne and Michael C.

Wittrock (1983), is both a model of how children learn and a model of how to
teach children. This constructivist model is based on the premise that children
come to the classroom with a body of prior knowledge that may or may not be
compatible with the new concept being presented in the science lesson. The
learner must be able to connect between prior knowledge and new information

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to successfully construct new meanings. This teaching model outlines a series

of steps for a well-designed lesson, the preliminary, focus, challenge, and
application phases as shown in the table below application phases as
shown in the table below :-

3. INTERACTIVE MODEL ( FAIRE AND COSGROVE )

Learning is an interactive process (which actively engages the learner) not a

passive exercise in transmission of knowledge. Interactive learning promotes
development of scientific process skills , development of conceptual
understandings, student ownership of process and products of learning.

Learning begins with an initiating event which motivates and directs the
learner ' s attention to the task of learning e.g.

 a question to be answered
 a problem to be solved
 a challenge to be met
 a discrepant event to be explained

Learning proceeds to children actively engaging in the learning process by:

 asking their own questions

 stating their own existing ideas
 proposing hypotheses
 designing fair tests
 investigating and exploring
 refining their ideas
 stating and presenting their findings

THE TEACHER ' S ROLE IN AN INTERACTIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

 Provide the initiation to learning (by posing the question, challenge,

problem or discrepant event and motivating the learners to the
learning task).
 Facilitate the learning activities by:

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 defining the learning environment (e.g. grouping,

access to materials, setting the time frame, defining
expectations)
 probing children ' s ideas
 offering guidance in the formation of hypotheses
 helping children refine and focus their questions
 helping children set up their investigations
 providing feedback and encouragement in the
children ' s design of fair tests
 challenging children to test, apply, refine and extend
their ideas.

Sequential activities in interactive model are shown in the schematic diagram

below :-

Preparation
Teacher and students choose a topic
and search for information.

Pre-requisite Knowledge
Teacher determines student’s prior
knowledge

Exploratory Activity
Students investigate the topic through
reading , asking questions and
discussion

Students Ask Questions Comparison

Students pose questions regarding the
topic

Doing Research
Teacher and students select questions to
study in greater detail.

Observation
Additional Students present their findings and teacher
Questions observes for changes in students’ concepts.

Reflection
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Teacher guides student to reflects on what
they have learned and how they have learned.
Module 2/4: Teaching and Learning Strategies KPLI – KDC
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Activity 1 :
Adapted from “ Buku Sumber Pengajaran Pembelajaran Sains Sekolah Rendah, Jilid III” ( 1995 ), ms 67.
Define constructivism and its attributes in science classroom practices.

Activity 2:

Discuss the various techniques to identify student’s alternative framework on the

topic electricity or produce plastic cutlery .

Activity 3:

Choose a topic of your specialize area and discuss briefly the teaching and learning

activities using constructivist approach.

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