Innovative Teaching Methods in Science Education For

1
INNOVATIVE TEACHING METHODS IN SCIENCE EDUCATION FOR

JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL BASIC SCIENCE STUDENTS.
E.U.C. Nwaeze
Department of Integrated Science,
Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education, Owerri,
Imo State.
R.C. Onuoha
Imo State.
And
Ifeoma Ukogo
Imo State.
Abstract
The paper innovative teaching methods in science education, reviewed different
innovative teaching methods. Theoretical background of the study is the constructivist
theory that advocates active student participation unlike the ‘’talk and chalk method of
teaching where learners are spoon-fed information instead of discovering for themselves.
Concepts such as innovative and teaching methods were explained. Conventional teaching
methods were discussed. Innovative teaching methods were suggested. Some advantages
of the innovative methods include; creating a sense of responsibility in students as they
become more involved in their learning, building a team spirit in students, etc. Some
disadvantages are; it’s time consuming and maybe expensive. Notwithstanding the
disadvantages, they offer better teaching and learning option in that they are more learner-
centered than the traditional methods. Teachers are therefore encouraged to fully adopt
these methods or incorporate them into the traditional teaching methods they use.
Keywords: Innovative, Teaching method, Science, Education
Education is important in every self-sufficient, knowledgeable and think

clime and thus the right to education is rationally, (Damodharan and Rengarajan,
seen as a fundamental human right which 1997). Access to education is gotten not
should not be violated. The aim is not only only from informal settings like the home
to make a student literate but for him to be and the society in general but also from
Journal of Teacher Perspective, Volume 11 No. 2, December, 2016, ISSN: 2006 - 0173
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Innovative Teaching Methods In Science Education For Junior Secondary School Basic
Science Students.- E.U.C. Nwaeze; R.C. Onuoha And Ifeoma Ukogo
formal settings where learners are called Conceptual Framework
students and are taught by teachers. In Some concepts of interest in this study
order for the teacher to pass across the are;
message to the student in a formal setting,
different methods and means are devised Innovative
for this purpose. The conventional or The word innovative is the
traditional approach of learning has adjective of innovation. Thus in trying to
always been the face-to-face method of explain the word innovative, one should
talking and writing on boards also called first of all know the meaning of
the ‘‘talk and chalk method’’, In other innovation. Several definitions have been
words, the teacher delivers the lecture given such as; the act or process of
content and the students listen to the innovating; something newly introduced,
lecture. Thus, the learning mode tends to new method, custom, device, etc; change
be passive and the learners play little part in the way of doing things; renew, alter,
in their learning process. (Webster, 1982). Thus the basic idea
According to research, the behind the term is that it defines a new or
conventional lecture approach in novel way of doing things. In aiming for
classroom is of limited effectiveness in innovation in teaching, teaching strategies
both teaching and learning, because employed should be different from what
students assume a purely passive role and has been formerly obtainable, (Amidon,
their concentration fades off after 15-20 1995). The teacher has to think differently
minutes, (Damodharan and Rengarajan, from what he is used to in order to come
1997). Effective concentration leads to up with innovative teaching methods.
improved learning outcome. Thus there is
need for the use of alternative and Teaching methods
innovative teaching method that will entail Teaching method also called
active involvement of students in teaching teaching strategy or instructional strategy,
and learning process, removing the has variously been defined by several
element of passivity. The method should authors. Some of the definitions include
also be able to effectively pass across the that of Kizlik, (2016), who defined
message and ensure that the objective is teaching methods as processes that are
achieved. primarily descriptions of the learning
This review therefore aims at; objective-oriented activities and flow of
briefly discussing conventional teaching information between teachers and
methods in use currently, its advantages students. More than one teaching method
and disadvantages, enumerating various may be employed by the teacher in a
innovative teaching strategies available for particular lesson, and some teaching
the use of science educators in Nigeria. methods are class specific. For instance,
This will further discuss the edge it has methods for teaching primary school
over conventional methods if any. students may seem high while that for
3
nursery pupils may be very low for concepts for themselves through carefully
primary pupils. The essence of adopting set-up experiments.
an effective teaching method is to increase
students’ engagement and understanding Conventional Teaching Methods
of the topic thereby improving learning These are some of the traditional
outcome. teaching methods that teachers prefer to
use in their teaching. The essence of good
Theoretical Background teaching method is to make class sessions
The theoretical basis of this study more effective and to realize the stated
is the Constructivist theory propounded by lesson objectives. According to American
Jean Piaget, 1896-1980. This is a learning Association for the Advancement of
theory that explains how students can Science, (1990a); McDermott and Shaffer
acquire knowledge or learn and describes (1994); Mazur, (1996), some universal
how learning happens. Constructivism principles guiding effective teaching
encourages active learning or learning by methods are;
doing, active participation of the learner is • Teaching scientific ways of
advocated unlike formerly when the thinking, actively involving students in
learner is allowed a passive stance during their own learning.
learning. The theory suggests that humans • Helping students to develop a
construct knowledge and meaning from conceptual framework as well as to
their experiences. Constructivists teaching develop problem solving skills.
in which students direct the great majority • Promoting student discussion and
of their activities and engage in what group activities.
Bereiter & Bird (1985) referred to as • Helping students experience
collective knowledge building through science in varied, interesting, and
inquiry is the focus of this review. enjoyable ways.
This method of instruction is • Assessing student understanding
founded on the behavioral learning at frequent intervals throughout the
perspective where learning outcome is learning process.
dependent on what a learner does in the In order to do all these, it is important that
course of learning. A major feature of effective methods are used in teaching, so
constructivism is that it is student-driven as to maximize the periods of contact.
rather than teacher-driven. Students take Some of the traditional methods of
part in hands-on, collaborative and/or teaching are;
project-based learning. In science 1. Lecture Method
education, this is often called inquiry- This is the traditional ‘’chalk and talk’’
based learning. This is an important part method or textbook method, where the
of many contemporary science curricula, teacher is almost always the only active
in which students explore science person in class. There is evidence
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suggesting that oral presentations to large (1981) demonstrations are used to show
groups of passive students contribute very procedures and to explain techniques. It is
little to real learning, (Onwukwe, 2010). effective for illustrating concepts in class
In physics, standard lectures do not help but can result in passive learning if careful
most students develop conceptual attention to engage students is not taken. It
understanding of fundamental processes in is more effective as a teaching method if
electricity and in mechanics (Arons, 1983; the demonstration has a surprise,
McDermott and Shaffer, 1992; challenges or assumptions and otherwise
McDermott et al., 1994). abstract concept or mechanism, (Mundi,
Advantages 2006).
• It does not take much of the
teachers’ time. Advantages
• The teacher can pass much Some of the advantages of this method as
information across within a short time outlined by Olaitan (1984) and Mundi
since it is a one-way flow. (2006) include: -
• It saves time and facilitates
Disadvantages of lecture method material economy.
• There is a “one way flow” of • Students receive feedback
information. immediately through their own products.
• The teachers’ continuous talk • It gives a real-life situation of
leads to lack of feedback from the course of study as students acquire skills
students. in real-life situations using tools and
• Teaching and learning are materials.
concentrated more on theoretical method • It helps to motivate students when
rather than practical. carried out by skilled teachers and it is
• Students learn from memorization good in showing the appropriate ways of
rather than by understanding. doing things.
2. Demonstration Method Disadvantages

Demonstration can be explained as when • It is not suitable for a large
the teacher does what the learners are classroom as students at the back will not
expected to do at the end of the lesson by be able to see the demonstration.
showing them how to do it and explaining
the step-by-step process to them (Ameh, Discussion Method
Daniel and Akus, 2007). Mundi (2006) This method is often used in large classes
described it as a display or an exhibition by sectioning the class into small groups
usually done by the teacher while the to complement the lecture method,
students watch with keen interest. (Daluba, 2013). It can also be used
According to Chamberlain and Kelly concurrently with the lecture method in
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the same class. The difference between the sensory interactive application or
two methods is that there is an increased presentation to convey information to an
level of student participation in discussion audience, (Wideman, 2003). Interactive
than in lecture method. multimedia teaching process involves
teaching using game and simulations,
Advantages through activities that engage the senses.
• Helps in students’ problem Currently, many institutions are moving
solving skills as they bring out their own towards problem-based learning which is
ideas on issues. becoming increasingly popular in
• It helps in sharpening critical and educational institutions as a tool to address
quantitative thinking skills. the inadequacies of traditional teaching.
• Helps students learn how to Since these traditional approaches do not
explain in their own words what they are encourage students to question what they
thinking and doing and not just to have learnt or to associate with previously
memorize terms. acquired knowledge (Teo & Wong, 2000),
• It motivates students more to problem-based learning is seen as an
prepare for a class in which they are innovative measure to encourage students
expected to participate actively in. to ‘’learn how to learn via real-life
problems’’ (Boud & Feletti, 1999). The
Disadvantages teacher uses multimedia to modify the
• It is more time consuming. contents of the material, using different
• The teacher needs to be a good media elements. These media elements
facilitator to lead an effective discussion. can be converted into digital form,
modified and customized for the final
• Discussions are likely to become
presentation. By incorporating digital
disorganized or irrelevant, if not properly
guided. media elements into the project, the
students are able to learn better since they
• Some students may not function
use multiple sensory routes.
effectively in a class where much of the
The basic difference between the
time is devoted to student discussion, due
use of multimedia method and the
to shyness or other factors.
traditional method of teaching is that the
traditional strategy gives a one-way flow,
Types of Innovative Teaching Methods
meaning that the teacher is the only center
Some innovative teaching methods that
of attention. On the other hand,
can be in co-operated in the teaching of
multimedia method offers an interactive
basic science include;
learning process that can effectively retain
1. Multimedia Learning Process
students’ attention because of their
Multimedia, is the combination of various
colorful interface.
digital media types such as text, images,
Some multimedia tools are; Microsoft
audio and video, into an integrated multi-
PowerPoint which is slide-based and can
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be prepared with many of the popular strategy encourages cooperation in small
multimedia elements like graphs, sound groups and participation in doing science.
and video. This is useful in the teaching of Examples of some of these resources are;
the numerate science as it can present small sized aquariums, different
graphs and charts in colorful picture that collections of sample animals and bones,
will catch students’ attention thus also for basic field experiments like
enhancing learning. ecological studies of animals in their
Movie based multimedia tools habitats, weather monitoring
using Windows Movie Maker. This can be 3. Role Playing and Scenario
used in the teaching of life sciences Based Teaching
through making movies of important life Role-plays according to Onwukwe (2010)
processes such as germination of plants, are activities designed to allow the
reproduction etc. These topics can be participants (students) assume characters
taught better by engaging students to find that help them perform certain roles in an
out already produced movies of relevant imaginary social set up. In this method,
topics from the internet and present in the students do not just read, watch or tell
class. The interest generated from the about a topic but act it out as in a play.
project will help learning to take place Role-plays and simulations have been
even before the teacher has done anything. effectively used as teaching tools in
Teachers using this method reported a disciplines like social psychology, law
high level of professional and personal enforcement, legal practices, political
satisfaction derived from teaching in what science, just to mention but few (Owen,
they found to be a more meaningful and 1997).
effective manner, and from seeing the In a study on role playing in teaching of
positive impact their work was having on Chemistry, titled “Combined effects of
students, (Wideman, 2003). play-simulations and teaching with
2. Activity- Based Teaching on analogy on secondary school students’
Science Principles achievement in Chemistry’’, (Onwukwe,
This method is important as science 2010). The study investigated the effects
should not be done theoretically but needs of Play- Simulations and Teaching-With-
to also be praticalized. This is the practical Analogy (P STWA) on achievements in
based study of the theories in the course. Chemistry among secondary school
Thus it is important that all science students in Owerri Education Zone of Imo
subjects be taught practically as well as State. The results revealed that students
theoretically. Activity-based teaching can taught chemistry using PSTWA method
be done using resources such as achieved significantly higher than those in
Indoor laboratory or Field the control groups. Role-playing therefore,
laboratory – this can be set up in schools helps to transform information into
with very minimal resources especially for experience. By engaging in role-playing,
the life sciences. Use of this teaching students acquire new experience that helps
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them to view the information they have d. Enables students to see the
(their basic knowledge) in a new, realistic practical applications of the concepts they
light. have been taught as they try their hands on
4. Z to A Approach what they were taught.
In this method, the teacher takes the e. Creates long lasting
approach of attempting to explain the memory/correlation of a concept.
application part of a particular concept f. Facilitates collaborative work
first before explaining the concept itself. among students. In collaborating during
The teacher should explain the application assignments, peer tutoring was often
of a particular concept first and explain possible among students’ where
the effects of such applications. For knowledge is passed on from one person
instance, explaining Galileo's “leaning to another.
tower of Pisa experiment’’ of two g. Students tend to perform better,
different objects falling at the same rate i.e. research showed that student taught
using traditional method and Z-A chemistry using role playing performed
approach. Traditional way of teaching better than those taught using
method will be explaining the theorem conventional methods, (Onwukwe, 2010).
first and followed by its application. But
Z-A approach goes opposite in a manner Disadvantages
that the proof or application is explained a. Expensive to implement as
first and later the theory. resources are needed for these methods to
be effective unlike in the traditional
Advantages of the Innovative Methods methods.
over the Traditional Methods b. The method can be time
a. Good for students with low consuming to set up and execute.
attention span as it effectively retains c. Multimedia using ICT introduced
students’ attention because of the colorful new modalities of students’ work and
interface. presentation that are increasingly difficult
b. They are more student-centered to assess.
than traditional methods as the students do d. There is need for the teacher who
most of the work while the teacher more acts more as a facilitator to be
or less supervises. knowledgeable in the use of ICT.
c. Helps to create a sense of
responsibility, accomplishment and Conclusion
maturity in students as they are solely From this review, it can be seen
responsible for every decision they take in that there are so many methods of
the course of their projects and teaching at the disposal of the science
assignments. educator, who does not necessarily have to
rely only on the “talk and chalk’’ method.
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All the mentioned teaching methods and ii. Government should endeavor to
more all have advantages and provide enabling environment for the
disadvantages meaning that none is a maximum functioning of the teacher
perfect method. The essence of teaching through provision of necessary resources
being to expose students to knowledge, it in schools.
is therefore important that they are made iii. Parents in the form of school PTA’s
to be actively involved in the process. should (in situations where there are
Traditional methods do not allow for lapses) step in to ensure the provision of
active participation of students, thus the basic equipment for these teaching
need for innovative teaching methods methods.
which do. This is therefore where the
mentioned innovative teaching methods References
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INNOVATIVE TEACHING METHODS IN SCIENCE EDUCATION FOR

Education is important in every self-sufficient, knowledgeable and think

2. Demonstration Method Disadvantages

The Way Forward Arons, A. B. (1983). Achieving wider

Webster . (1982). Webster's New World

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