Republic of the Philippines

SAMAR COLLEGES, INC.

COLLEGE OF GRADUATE STUDIES
Catbalogan City, Samar

Subject Code : EE-209

Schedule Code : MA039
Course : MAEd – Elementary Education
Course Description : Advanced Teaching Strategies III
Professor : Ruperto N. Torrechiva
Academic Term and School Year : 1st Semester, SY 2023-2024
Topic : The Nature of Teaching and Learning in Science
Discussant : Jessel B. Nablo
Reporter No. : 7
Reference : https://www.nsta.org/nstas-official-positions/nature-
science https://www.fizzicseducation.com.au/articles/methods-for-teaching-science/
http://yayoi.senri.ed.jp/ois/curriculum/science_aims_objs.htm

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INTRODUCTION

THE NATURE OF TEACHING AND LEARNING IN SCIENCE

Science is the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world
through observation, experimentation, and the testing of theories against the evidence obtained.
Science consists of observing the world by watching, listening, observing, and recording.
Science is curiosity in thoughtful action about the world and how it behaves.

Nature of science (NOS) is a critical component of scientific literacy that enhances students’
understandings of science concepts and enables them to make informed decisions about
scientifically-based personal and societal issues.

TEACHING AS AN ART OF SCIENCE LEARNING

Teaching contains two major concepts of learning, the Art and the Science. In teaching, Art is
defined as “the product of creating human activity in which material is shaped or selected to
convey an idea, emotion or in a visually interesting form”. This describes exactly what a teacher
does. While in teaching, science is defined as, “a study of anything that can be tested, examined
or verified”. The teacher is always studying the situation and examining what they can do.
Teaching is hence both, an Art and Science.

Teaching requires both art and science. They both play a role in each other because if a teacher
demonstrates only one of these types of teaching, they cannot do effective teaching.

Teaching as an Art

Teaching as an Art exhibits ways in which the teacher uses creative ways to teach the students
and so the students find it to be fun and interesting to learn. It is alleged that even though when
using the artistic methodology to teach the students, the teachers must know the subject
themselves and research the material well before they begin to teach.

As a teacher, they need to determine the methods and strategies that work best for them.
Teachers are not standardized products. What works for one teacher, might not work for another.
Thus, all the teaching strategies a teacher learns should be adopted and adapted to meet particular
teaching situation and their personal teaching style. A teacher must carve out their own teaching
philosophy and discover their own unique talents and learn how to use them.
METHODS OF TEACHING

There are a variety of science teaching methods you can draw upon when helping students
understand their world. Whilst there are several approaches to try, the most important thing to
keep in mind is that our role as science educators is to help students understand how the
scientific method actually works and why science impacts upon their own lives.

Things to keep in mind when considering a science teaching method

 Group dynamics.
Who works well with who? Who can handle cooperative group situations and who needs
time to work by themselves?
 Student ability.
This is not simply about science understanding, this also about their ability to undertake
the work with the materials at hand.
 Timeframe.
Is the teaching method likely to be successful given how long it takes to get students on
task and the anticipated outcomes?
 Context.
How does the scientific concept relate to their lives?
 Content.
Which teaching method will help the students best understand the lesson material?

Methods for teaching science

All science teaching methods come down to either teacher-centered or student-centered

instruction. Both types of instruction have their place, however in practice have very different
dynamics in the classroom.

Lecture (teacher-centered)
In this approach, it is the teacher that is the focus. Students either passively take notes or ask
questions through the teacher’s presentation. Handy for large groups of students or for when you
need to get through a large body of information. The key to this lesson style is to keep it lively
by inserting graphics, video snippets, animations, science demonstrations, audio grabs or guest
appearances via video conference.

Hands-on activities (student-centered)

Break out the experiment materials! Whether the students work in small groups or by
themselves, the lesson has a clear question that students need to find an answer to with the
teacher acting as a facilitator. There are a few variations here;

 Students follow an experimental procedure with a clear set of instructions and scaffold
for their scientific report.
 Students explore the materials themselves to design and test their own fair experiment,
keeping variable testing in mind. This version is better for students who already have a
clear understanding of the scientific method and are now ready for independent thinking.
 Station-based rotations. Here the students rotate around the classroom to explore a variety
of hands-on materials that all cover an aspect of your lesson topic. The trick here is to
ensure that there is enough time for the students to complete each activity and that there
are no bottlenecks in terms of access to resources or one particular activity taking too
long to complete. A fun way to link all the stations together to pull together a scenario
such as a forensics investigation; some students will enjoy the role-play!

Project Based learning (student-centered)

This teaching method draws on the hands-on nature of the activities above and extends this to
involve students in a deep dive into a given topic. Time is the key here, as students will be
engaged over an extended period of time in researching their topic, designing their experiment or
model, writing a scientific report or creating a poster and presenting their findings in a short talk.
When planning this in your scope and sequence, consider access to resources both within and
beyond your school and how the students might be able to involve the community in their
research or as an audience for the final presentation at a school science fair. Often part of
inquiry-based instruction, the outputs of Project Based Learning (PBL) can include several of the
following as a major work;

 Field journal
 Student Podcast
 Working model
 Science poster
 Research paper
 Video diaries
 Augmented reality or Virtual reality
 App creation

Peer-led team learning (student-centered)

Peer-led team learning (PLTL) is about empowering the students to teach other students. Often
employed in undergraduate studies, this approach also works in schools where it is most
effective when connecting older students with younger students. Alternatively, PLTL can also be
used when pairing students with a high subject aptitude with students needing help. Guidance is
important here as you need to ensure that what is being covered is correct and safely performed.
With supervision, this approach can be effective for students to learn leadership skills and can
create a positive atmosphere around scholarship.

Flipped learning (student-centered)

Flipped learning has gained a lot of popularity in recent years. The idea is that the instructional
content is given to the students outside of normal school time, with the intention that students
can then come to school with deeper questions for teacher clarification. you can present this
content via a series of videos, articles and books to read, podcasts to listen to, investigating a
problem and so on. There is much debate on how to best implement this in the classroom; in
essence, you need to consider how your students will respond to flipped learning and how you
can motivate them to trial it. A handy app to use with this is Flipgrid, whereby you can record a
very short video question to your class and the students then respond to you with their answers
via video as well.

Differentiation (student-centered)
Differentiation is all about ensuring that students of all levels can be involved in your lesson.
You may want to create worksheets with different tasks or levels of difficulty, perhaps have a
variety of activities for students to choose from or create a variety of job roles for students when
running PBL. Of course, with differentiation comes a time requirement to prepare the lesson,
however it can help with students being more on task as they can choose tasks that they can
achieve. You can differentiate tasks as both extension activities as well as design activities for
students who need more support.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES IN SCIENCE TEACHING

Aims

The aims of the teaching and study of sciences are to encourage and enable students to:

 develop inquiring minds and curiosity about science and the natural world
 acquire knowledge, conceptual understanding and skills to solve problems and make
informed decisions in scientific and other contexts
 develop skills of scientific inquiry to design and carry out scientific investigations and
evaluate scientific evidence to draw conclusions
 communicate scientific ideas, arguments and practical experiences accurately in a variety
of ways
 think analytically, critically and creatively to solve problems, judge arguments and make
decisions in scientific and other contexts
 appreciate the benefits and limitations of science and its application in technological
developments
 understand the international nature of science and the interdependence of science,
technology and society, including the benefits, limitations and implications imposed by
social, economic, political, environmental, cultural and ethical factors
  demonstrate attitudes and develop values of honesty and respect for themselves, others,
and their shared environment.

Objectives

The objectives of sciences listed below are final objectives and they describe what students
should be able to do by the end of the course.

A. One world

This objective refers to enabling students to understand the interdependence between science and
society. Students should be aware of the global dimension of science, as a universal activity with
consequences for our lives and subject to social, economic, political, environmental, cultural and
ethical factors.

At the end of the course, and within local and global contexts, students should be able to:
 describe and discuss ways in which science is applied and used to solve local and global
problems
 describe and evaluate the benefits and limitations of science and scientific applications as
well as their effect on life and society
 discuss how science and technology are interdependent and assist each other in the
development of knowledge and technological applications
 discuss how science and its applications interact with social, economic, political,
environmental, cultural and ethical factors.

B. Communication in science

This objective refers to enabling students to develop their communication skills in science.
Students should be able to understand scientific information, such as data, ideas, arguments and
investigations, and communicate it using appropriate scientific language in a variety of
communication modes and formats as appropriate.

At the end of the course, students should be able to:

 communicate scientific information using a range of scientific language
 communicate scientific information using appropriate modes of communication
 present scientific information in a variety of formats, acknowledging sources as
appropriate
 demonstrate honesty when handling data and information, acknowledging sources as
appropriate
 use where appropriate a range of information and communication technology applications
to access, process and communicate scientific information.

C. Knowledge and understanding of science

This objective refers to enabling students to understand the main ideas and concepts of science
and to apply them to solve problems in familiar and unfamiliar situations. Students are expected
to develop critical and reflective thinking and judge the credibility of scientific information when
this is presented to them.

At the end of the course, students should be able to:

 recognize and recall scientific information
 explain and apply scientific information to solve problems in familiar and unfamiliar
situations
 analyze scientific information by identifying components, relationships and patterns, both
in experimental data and ideas
 discuss and evaluate scientific information from different sources (Internet, newspaper
articles, television, scientific texts and publications) and assess its credibility.

D. Scientific inquiry

This objective refers to enabling students to develop scientific inquiry skills to design and carry
out scientific investigations.
At the end of the course, students should be able to:
 define the problem or research question to be tested by a scientific investigation
 formulate a hypothesis and explain it using logical scientific reasoning
 design scientific investigations that include variables and controls, material/equipment
needed, a method to be followed, data to be collected and suggestions for its analysis
 evaluate the method, commenting on its reliability and/or validity
 suggest improvements to the method.

E. Processing data

This objective refers to enabling students to record, organize and process data. Students should
be able to collect and transform data by numerical calculations into diagrammatic form. Students
should be able to analyze and interpret data and explain appropriate conclusions.

At the end of the course, students should be able to:

 collect and record data using appropriate units of measurement
 organize and transform data into numerical and diagrammatic forms, including
mathematical calculations and visual representation (tables, graphs and charts)
 present data in a variety of ways using appropriate communication modes and
conventions (units of measurement)
 analyze and interpret data by identifying trends, patterns and relationships
 draw conclusions supported by scientific explanations and a reasoned interpretation of
the analysis of the data.

F. Attitudes in science

This objective goes beyond science and refers to encouraging attitudes and dispositions that will
contribute to students’ development as caring and responsible individuals and members of
society.

This objective is set in the context of the science class but will pervade other subjects and life
outside school. It includes notions of safety and responsibility when working in science as well
as respect for and collaboration with others and their shared environment.

During the course, students should:

 carry out scientific investigations using materials and techniques safely and skillfully
 work effectively as members of a team, collaborating, acknowledging and supporting
others as well as ensuring a safe working environment
 show respect for themselves and others, and deal responsibly with the living and non-
living environment.