Theories/Approaches Narrative Notes
The Learning Cycle (5e)
Researcher(s) Connected
● John Dewey
● Kurt Lewin
● David Kolb
● Ronald Fry
● Peter Honey
● Alan Mumford
Something Beneficial Gained
● Student growth and improvement from
using at least 3 of the 5 phases.
● Commitment to using this model will allow
students to achieve a higher understanding
of learning and have a reflective attitude on
what was learned.
How would the approach be useful for
teaching science?
● The model can inform many of the
instantaneous decisions science teachers
make in classroom situations.
● It allows science teachers to place much of
the learning on the students as it supports
student inquiry and promotes real-life
experiences.
Project-Based Learning (PBL)
Description
● An instructional model that consists of 5 phases
that each have a specific function and has been
used to help frame the sequence and organization
of programs, units, and lessons.
1. Engagement- students’ interest is captured and the
topic is established.
2. Exploration- student is allowed to construct
knowledge in the topic through facilitated
questioning and observation.
3. Explanation- students are asked to explain what
they have discovered, and the instructor leads a
discussion of the topic to refine the students’
understanding.
4. Elaboration- students are asked to apply what they
have learned in different but similar situations,
and the instructor guides the students toward the
next discussion topic.
5. Evaluation- the instructor observes each student’s
knowledge and understanding and leads students
to assess whether what they have learned is true.
This should take place throughout the cycle.
How class would be organized/Restructured
● The teacher clearly sets rules and procedures.
● The students require access to tangible materials
and concrete experiences.
● Desks should be set up in a way that promotes
student interaction, collaboration, and discussion.
What challenges exist?
● Lack of science resources and materials
● Time restrictions- science is often pushed aside in
favor of math and reading instruction. The 5
phases would also be time-consuming and
difficult to fit into a set schedule in the day-to-day
Researcher(s) Connected
● John Dewey
● Maria Montessori
● Jean Piaget
Something Beneficial Gained
● Students take ownership of their project
decisions.
● Allows students to be problem solvers and
active learners.
How would the approach be useful for
teaching science?
● It allows science students to stay engaged
and become motivated to learn.
● It provides students with real-world issues
that can be connected to what a real
scientist can experience.
Democratic Curriculum
Description
● A teaching method in which students learn by
actively engaging in real-world and personally
meaningful projects.
● A method of instruction that is based on meeting
the curriculum through hands-on learning to make
sense of the world around us.
● It takes into account the standards and brings
them together with real-life problems to solve.
● Students are encouraged to work together using
critical thinking and problem-solving innovations
to work on a solution.
How class would be organized/Restructured
● The teacher designs the project and essential
question, then acts as a guide to ensure students
are moving in the appropriate direction.
● Students would take on roles in a team. They will
communicate with others, be responsible, and be
creative with their project.
● Desks will need to be arranged to allow for
student collaboration.
What challenges exist?
● Promoting students to be responsible and
independent enough to take ownership of their
learning in this manner.
● Having students successfully work together as a
team to complete the project.
● Time constraints- projects usually last 2-3 weeks
Researcher(s) Connected
● John Locke
● Lev Tolstoy
● Janusz Korczak
● Michael Apple
● James Beane
● John Dewey
● Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Something Beneficial Gained
● Promotes a unique curriculum for each
child that develops motivated, self-
determined learners who will eventually
contribute to society.
● Democratic classrooms build self-
determined students who want to learn.
● Students learn to care and have empathy
for others.
How would the approach be useful for
teaching science?
● With a Democratic Curriculum, students
are able to pick science topics that are
important to them and their community.
● The democratic curriculum theory helps
students explore the world around them
and determine the role they play in it.
STEAM
Researcher(s) Connected
Description
● Theory of learning to prepare students to self-
regulate and live and prosper in a democratic
society.
● Promotes an approach where students become
valued parts of their own learning community.
● This theory has been compared to Montessori
schools including curriculum, behavior, and
expectations.
● Students work together to discover their own
interests and make learning meaningful to their
lives.
How class would be organized/Restructured
● The classroom will be student-centered.
● Desks will need to be arranged to allow for
students to collaborate.
● Representation of various cultures, races, and
socioeconomic groups will need to be present.
● The classroom environment will need to be seen
as a safe place for students to discuss their real-
life experiences with social issues.
What challenges exist?
● A lack of self-regulation and motivation in some
students would not align with the ideals behind a
democratic curriculum.
● Time constraints- how can we fit a democratic
curriculum, where students get to choose topics,
into the limited amount of time we have to teach
the required curriculum from the county?
Description
  Schaaf
Something Beneficial Gained
● School attendance improvement.
● Holds students accountable for their
learning.
How would the approach be useful for
teaching science?
● STEAM programs have changed science
instruction by allowing for more
meaningful teacher collaboration
opportunities.
● STEAM provides students with
opportunities to go beyond lecture learning
and apply their knowledge and
understanding of scientific concepts to real-
world applications.
Environmental Education
Researchers Connected
● STEAM stands for science, technology,
engineering, arts, and math.
● Began as a result of U.S. workers falling behind
other countries in fields like technology and
innovation.
● Students are required to investigate, ask
questions, and discover alongside their peers with
the teacher acting as a facilitator.
● STEAM learning encourages collaboration and
problem solving that students need to be
productive and contributing members of society.
How class would be organized/Restructured
● There would be a shift from the classroom being
teacher centered to it being student centered.
● Desks should be arranged in a way to allow for
group collaboration.
What challenges exist?
● Student motivation may not allow them to take
ownership and accountability for their learning.
● Students may not want to participate in a certain
role such as leader, materials manager,
photographer, speaker, etc.
● Limited or lack of materials and resources.
Description
 ● Jean Jacques Rousseau
● Louis Agassiz
● Jennings
● Disinger
Something Beneficial Gained
● As students begin to take ownership and
responsibility of environmental issues and
draw on their own experiences, they will be
confronted with differing opinions of their
peers. This will alter the way science is
taught because the students will need
support and examples of how to further
develop their Environmental Education
with the understanding that each issue
presented may result in a different result
when collaborating with peers.
How would the approach be useful for
teaching science?
● Environmental Education is crucial for
science education to create awareness for
students on evolving environmental issues
and allow them opportunities to create
ideas and efforts to contribute in improving
them.
● Environmental Education makes science
more relevant to students by promoting the
use of hands-on learning and real-world
applications.
Inquiry
Researcher(s) Connected
● A practice that focuses on students being allowed
to explore environmental issues and use problem-
solving and investigative skills to improve those
issues.
● Awareness of issues related to our environment,
how people interact with them and each other, and
go about solving them.
● Environmental Education is majorly concerned
with how this analyzed and interpreted data can be
disseminated to the public.
● There are three topics within Environmental
Education: nature study, conservation education,
and outdoor education.
How class would be organized/Restructured
● Teacher takes on the role of facilitator and creates
assignments based on real-world scenarios.
● Students will take responsibility for learning and
share learning responsibilities and roles in group
settings.
● Desks should be arranged in a way that allows
collaboration.
What challenges exist?
● Time, resources, and materials to effectively
incorporate Environmental Education into science
instruction.
Description
  Jean Piaget
 Zambak
Something Beneficial Gained
● Students find their own answers and lead
their own learning.
● Inquiry can be integrated into all content
areas.
How would the approach be useful for
teaching science?
● Instead of students learning from behind
their desks and listening to a teacher
lecture, by using inquiry based teaching in
science, students are doing research and
finding their own answers.
● Using inquiry based learning, there is a
shift from learning through instruction to
learning through the process.
Conceptual Change
Researcher(s) Connected
● Allows instruction to be based on the students'
questions.
● Students are shown a stimulus that is related to
the intended learning target to get students’ minds
thinking.
● Students then develop questions and search for
their own answers to the questions.
● Students lead the lessons as they try to figure out
the answers to their questions.
● Inquiry is based on 4 main types of student
independence: structured inquiry, controlled
inquiry, guided inquiry, and free inquiry.
How class would be organized/Restructured
● The classroom will be student-centered.
● Desks will need to be arranged to allow for
students to interact and learn from each other.
● Stations/ center rotations would be conducive to
an inquiry based classroom (students are not all
doing the same exact thing).
What challenges exist?
● The rigor of inquiry based learning may not be
welcomed by all students.
● Giving up control can be difficult for some
educators.
● Time constraints- it takes time for students to
inquire about their topics fully.
Description
 ● Jean Piaget ● Refers to how our understanding of concepts
● Thomas Kuhn changes over time.
● R. Driver ● 4 stages that a student must go through for
● L. Viennot conceptual change to take place:
● A. Tiberghien 1. Students become dissatisfied with their
● D. Hawkins previous conceptions.
● J. Clement 2. Students must view the new conception as
● J. Minstrell intelligible.
● M. McCloskey 3. The new conception must be plausible or
● Susan Cary seem reasonable.
● Posner 4. It must be fruitful for future pursuits.
● Strike

Something Beneficial Gained How class would be organized/Restructured

● This theory moves away from teaching
scientific concepts through defining
vocabulary and explaining ideas.
● The classroom needs to be a safe environment
where students feel comfortable expressing their
beliefs without fear of judgment.
● Classroom should be flexible enough to allow for
whole group, small group, partner, and individual
work.
● Hands-on exploration is encouraged.

How would the approach be useful for What challenges exist?

teaching science?
● This approach causes teachers to be more
concerned with understanding what
students bring to the classroom from their
individual backgrounds, cultures, and
experiences.
● Allows teachers to provide opportunities to
actively engage in doing science so they
will gain a correct conceptual
understanding.
● Some teachers may not have an accurate
conceptual understanding of the standard(s) being
taught.
● Time constraints- students may have multiple
misconceptions and it is difficult to find time to
uncover them all.

Differentiated Instruction
Researcher(s) Connected Description
  Carol Ann Tomlinson
 Preston Search
 Frederic Burk
 Mary Ward
Something Beneficial Gained
● This theory moves away from the “one size
fits all” approach to teaching.
● Differentiated instruction should be fluid
and should adapt to the students’ needs as
they progress though the school year.
How would the approach be useful for
teaching science?
● Differentiated instruction has the ability to
take science to the next level.
● Using differentiated instruction, science
can be integrated across multiple content
areas.
● Asks teachers to plan and adapt activities to meet
the specific needs of all learners.
● Gives students the option of how they
demonstrate their knowledge of a topic or
standard.
● Matches students with an assignment on their
level and is an effective way of teaching to ensure
success for all students.
How class would be organized/Restructured
● Teachers monitor student growth through formal
and informal assessments.
● Assessment data is used to guide the planning of
lessons.
● Before designing a lesson, teachers must identify
the different types of learners in their classroom.
● The classroom should be set up in a way that
allows for a variety of instruction (i.e. whole
group, small group, individual, one on one, etc.).
What challenges exist?
● Lack of time.
● Lack of data.
● Lack of resources and materials.