TAYTAY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

GOA, CAMARINES SUR

WHY TEACH SCIENCE?

ROMER C. PATOC
School Science Coordinator

WHY IS SCIENCE IMPORTANT IN YOUNG KIDS' LIVES?

Science involves a lot of

communication
with other people.
Science develops patience and
perseverance in kids.
It can help kids form a healthy dose
of skepticism.
Science teaches kids about the world
around them.
Science can spark in kids' minds that
they, too, can help solve the world's
big
problems.

OUR MOTTO FOR OUR KIDS:

GOALS FOR SCIENCE EDUCATION

Science is built up of facts as a house is

of stones, but a collection of facts is no
more a science than a pile of stones is a
house.
Henri Poincare,La
Science et
lHypothese(1908)

Tell me,
I forget.
Show me,
I remember.
Involve me,
I understand.
-Ancient Chinese Proverb

ACTIVE
ENGAGEMENT

In order for active student

engagement to occur,
teachers need to develop
effective classroom
management routines.

WHAT IS ACTIVE ENGAGEMENT?

Active engagement refers to the joint functioning of
motivation, conceptual knowledge, cognitive
strategies, and social interactions in literacy
activities.
(Guthrie & Anderson, 1999)

Active learning involves providing opportunities for

students to meaningfully talk and listen, write,
read, and reflect on the content, ideas, issues and
concerns of an academic subject.
(Meyers & Jones, 1993)
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FOCUS ON INSTRUCTIONAL
OBJECTIVES

1. What should students

know and be able to
2. How does this lesson
Do (objective)?
objective fit into the
big picture of
instruction this year?

3. How will I, and they,

know when they are
successful?

(Introduction of skill, review of skill,

introduction of skill at more
complex level)

4. What learning
experiences will
facilitate their success?
5. What resources will I
Use?

6. Based on data, how do

I refine the learning
experiences?

ZONE OF PROXIMAL DEVELOPMENT:

TEACHERS ROLE

The teachers role is to assist the

students in moving through the zone to
become expert users of their new
knowledge and skills.

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SCAFFOLDING
Definition:
Temporary devices
& Procedure used by
teachers to support
students as they learn
strategies

HOW ARE FRAMEWORK

LEARNING GOALS ORGANIZED?
PreK-2:
Development of wonder about the natural
world and the ability to apply basic process
skills
Grades 3-5:
Development of basic descriptions of natural
phenomena and the ability to perform simple
explorations
Grades 6-8:
Development of basic explanations for natural
phenomena, and the ability to apply
experimental procedures to acquire new
knowledge

LEARNING CYCLE
Engagement: stimulate students interest, curiosity and
preconceptions;
Exploration: first-hand experiences with concepts without direct
instruction;
Explanation: students explanations followed by introduction of
formal terms and clarifications;
Elaboration: applying knowledge to solve a problem. Students
frequently develop and complete their own well-designed
investigations;
Evaluation: students and teachers reflect on change in conceptual
understanding and identify ideas still under development.
See: 5E Model: http://www.newhavenscience.org/5e.doc

ELEM INQUIRY STANDARDS

SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY

Scientific inquiry is a thoughtful

and coordinated attempt to search out,
describe, explain and predict natural
phenomena.
SCIENTIFIC LITERACY

Scientific literacy includes

speaking, listening, presenting,
interpreting, reading and writing about
science.
SCIENTIFIC NUMERACY

Mathematics provides useful tools

for the description, analysis and
presentation of scientific data and ideas.

B INQ.1
Make observations and ask questions about
objects, organisms and the environment.
B INQ.2
Seek relevant information in books,
magazines and electronic media.
B INQ.3
Design and conduct simple investigations.
B INQ.4
Employ simple equipment and measuring
tools to gather data and extend the senses.
B INQ.5
Use data to construct reasonable
explanations.
B INQ.6
Analyze, critique and communicate
investigations using words, graphs and drawings.
B INQ.7
Read and write a variety of science-related
fiction and nonfiction texts.
B INQ.8
Search the Web and locate relevant science
information.
B INQ.9
Use measurement tools and standard units
(e.g., centimeters, meters, grams, kilograms) to describe
objects and materials.
B INQ.10
Use mathematics to analyze, interpret and
present data.

Practical uses for the science

curriculum

SOME INTERESTING FACTS

Students are not attentive to what is being said

in a lecture 40% of the time.
Students retain 70% of the information in the first
ten minutes of a lecture but only 20% in the last
ten minutes.
1993

Meyer & Jones,

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COOPERATIVE LEARNING

Cooperative learning is based on studentcentered learning.

Structured student interactions that

promote a sense of community among
students and involves Spencer Kagans four
principles of cooperative learning: positive
interdependence, individual accountability,
equal participation and simultaneous
interaction. (Mason, 2006)

COOPERATIVE LEARNING

Storch (2007) refers to group

and pair work as collective
scaffolding, a process whereby
learners pool their linguistic
resources in order to reach
resolutions to language-related
problems.

BENEFITS OF COOPERATIVE
LEARNING

Small groups give the learner more

opportunities to use the second
language for a range of functions other
than teacher-led activities (Storch,
2007).
Storch also says cooperative learning
facilitates learning by giving
opportunities to give and receive
feedback.

BENEFITS OF COOPERATIVE
LEARNING

One of the other benefits of cooperative

learning is that its interconnectedness can
help students transcend the gender, racial,
cultural, linguistic, and other differences they
may sense among themselves (Mason,
2006).

Peers of different proficiency levels could

benefit from working with one another, when
they work collaboratively (Watanabe &
Swain, 2007).

REQUIREMENTS FOR SUCCESSFUL COOPERATIVE

LEARNING

Teachers must provide language supports so

that students are able to succeed complete
the task successfully (i.e. vocabulary
supports)

Learners often go through a silent period in

which they listen more than they are able to
speak (Mason, 2006). This is a normal stage,
but it can cause some difficulties in
cooperative learning activities.

REQUIREMENTS FOR SUCCESSFUL

COOPERATIVE LEARNING

Often, in group work,

students who do not speak
up are viewed as not
fulfilling their responsibility
(Mason, 2006) it is
important for teachers to
take students comfort and
ability levels into
consideration, and to make
the cooperating students
aware of these.

REQUIREMENTS FOR SUCCESSFUL COOPERATIVE

LEARNING

Low self-esteem, fear of ridicule, and

lack of motivation can disrupt a
learners ability to comprehend and
respond to meaningful input (Mason,
2006).
Students need to be comfortable in
their environment, so they can learn to
their best capacity.

GENERAL PRINCIPLES

Tasks are designed so that individuals

must work together
Positive interactions are developed and
encouraged
Students have opportunities to work in
different groups
Social, language and content skills are
integrated into the task
(50 Strategies for Teaching English Language Learners, Herrell and Jordan, 2008)

PAIR WORK STRATEGIES

Think-Pair-Share

Buddy Reading

Research Interview

Conversation Role-Play

Convince Me
(50 Strategies for Teaching English Language Learners, Herrell and Jordan, 2008)

GROUP WORK STRATEGIES

Jigsaw

Group
Investigation

Skills
Grouping

DESCRIBE THE GENERAL STRUCTURE

AND FUNCTION OF SEED PLANTS.
3 (Excellent)

2 (Good)

1 (Poor)

Labels

- Spelling is perfect or
almost perfect
All plant parts are
labeled correctly

Spelling is good, but there

are 3-5 mistakes
- One or two plant parts are
wrong

Descriptions

- All or almost all the

important parts are
described in point form

- One or two plant parts are

not described in point form

- Most of the plant parts

are not described in point
form

Overall
neatness

The drawing and labels

are neat
- Writing is neat and easy
to read

The drawing and labels are

neat
- Writing is messy and hard to
read

Spelling has a lot of

mistakes
- Most of the plant parts
are wrong

The drawing and labels

are hard to understand
- Writing is messy and
hard to read

RUBRICS

Simple, easy-tounderstand language

Specific evaluation criteria
The key is to
communicate
expectations clearly

DESCRIBE THE PROCESSES OF DIFFUSION,

OSMOSIS, CONDUCTION OF FLUIDS,
TRANSPIRATION, PHOTOSYNTHESIS AND GAS
EXCHANGE IN PLANTS.

Example:
Students divide into groups.
Individual students represent individual molecules
(water, oxygen, etc.).
The other students join hands and represent a cell
membrane or cell wall.
Students rehearse and demonstrate the process or
processes they are assigned.
Could be combined with a short explanation of the
process to the class.
Or with a fill-in-the-blank worksheet that the rest of
the class completes.

Thank You

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