The Art of Teaching Science

Introduction and Welcome

 The Art of Teaching Science
• Welcome to The Art of Teaching
Science. I hope you will find the book
valuable to you, and help you in your
quest as a science educator.
• The Art of Teaching Science is a science
teaching handbook/methods textbook
designed for the professional
development of middle and high school QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (LZW) decompressor

science teachers.
are needed to see this picture.

• I have written the Art of Teaching

Science to provide meaningful learning
experiences and connections with the
most recent research and understanding
of science teaching for this new cadre
of science teachers.
Jack Hassard
 Chapter Slide Shows
• There are 12 slide shows, one for each
chapter. They are designed to be used by
students and instructors. For students, the
slides give a multimedia overview for each
chapter. For the instructor, the slide shows
can be used in whole or part to augment
course syllabi, and online experiences for
students.
 Philosophy
• The Art of Teaching Science is
rooted in the philosophy that
initial and continuing
preparation of science teachers
should develop professional
artistry.
• In this view, the learning to
teach process involves
encounters with peers,
professional teachers, and
science teacher educators.
• A number of pedagogical
learning tools have been
integrated into the Art of
Teaching Science.
• These tools involve:
– Inquiry and experimentation
– Reflection through writing and
discussions
– Experiences with students,
science curriculum and
pedagogy
• Becoming a science teacher is a
creative process. In the view
espoused here, you will be
encouraged to "invent" and
"construct" ideas about science
teaching through your
interaction with your peers,
teachers and your instructors.
 The Art of Science Teaching
Inquiry and Innovation
in Middle School and High School
Part
Part 1 The Art of Science Teaching
Part 2 The Goals and the Curriculum of School Science
Part 3 Connecting Theory and Practice in Science Teaching
Part 4 Strategies of Science Teaching
Chapters
Chapter 1 The Art of Science: A Reconnaissance
Chapter 2 Science for All
Chapter 3 The Goals and History of Science Education
Chapter 4 Science in the School Curriculum
Chapter 5 How Students Learn Science
Chapter 6 Models of Science Teaching
Chapter 7 Designing Science Units and Courses of Study
Chapter 8 Assessing Active Science Learning
Chapter 9 Strategies Fostering Thinking in the Science
Classroom
Chapter 10 Facilitating Learning in the Science Classroom
Chapter 11 Science, Technology, and Society
Chapter 12: The Internet: Moving Toward Web-Based
Learning Environments
 Pedagogical Learning Tools in
The Art of Teaching Science
• Inquiry Activities • Problems and
• How to Read This Chapter Extensions
• Invitations to Inquiry • Reflective Teaching
• Think Pieces
• Microteaching
• Case Studies
• International
• Science Teachers Talk
Connections
• Research Matters Column
• Science Teaching • On the Web
Literature • Readings
 Conceptual Organization of
Pedagogical Tools
International Reflective
Connections: Pedagogical Teaching in
Science Tools Chapter 6
Laboratory
Teacher Teaching
Talks Experiences
located in
located in the
Microteaching
First Part of in Chapter 9
Each Chapter: Second Part of
Science in Major Theme of Each Chapter:
Australia, the chapter
Chile, The Gazette
China,
Ghana,
Japan,
Russia Think Pieces;
Problems and
How to Extensions;
Read this Case Studies; On the Web;
Chapter Research Readings
Matters;
Leads to Literature;
Initial Case Science
Inquiry Study Teacher Talk
Activities in
the context Invitations
of the to Inquiry
content of
the chapter
 Inquiry Activities
• Inquiry Activities are designed to engage
teachers in a wide variety of science Inquiry Science There are 42
education learning activities focusing of the Activities teaching Inquiry
processes of inquiry, problem solving, and investigations Activities
reflection. Inquiry activities have been
written using the format of cooperative and
enabling you located in the
collaborative learning. Although inquiry to reflect on first section
activities are typically explored by teams of the important of each
peers, they can be used for individual concepts of chapter of the
investigation as well. science Art of
• The inquiry activities have been designed
with the constructivist learning model as a
teaching Teaching
referent and using hands Science.
– enable students to use their existing schema or on and minds
conception in a problem solving situation on processe s.
– enable students to design a plan to investigate
a problem in a contextual situation
– can be solved in many ways thereby resulting
in multiple solutions
– engage students in minds on strategies that
include reflective and high level cognitive
thinking
– engage students in cooperative learning groups
 442-443

Inquiry Activity 12.1: Designing

Web-Based Science Activities
• In this inquiry you will become
familiar with 8 web-based tools,
anyone of which you can use to
design a web-based science
activity.
• Read through the tools that are
listed in Table 12.1 (you’ll find
details on each one on pages
443-447.
• Identify an STS or science
inquiry goal and design a web-
based activity using one or
more of the Web-based tools.
 4

How to Read This Chapter

• This chapter is a reconnaissance of the profession of science teaching,
and also a place to begin the learning-to-teach process. There are some
activities that are designed to help you explore some of your prior
conceptions about science teaching (Inquiry Activity 1.1), and other
activities designed to have you investigate the ideas that experienced
teachers hold about teaching, and students about science. All of these
are here to help you build upon your prior knowledge and to help you
in the construction of your ideas about teaching. You might get the
most out of this chapter by skimming the main sections, and then
coming back to deliberately move though the chapter.
 168

Invitations to Inquiry
• How important is it to the secondary science teacher to know about learning theory?
• What is constructivism, and why has it emerged as one of the most significant
explanations of student learning?
• How do cognitive psychologists explain student learning?
• How do social psychologist explain student learning?
• How do behavioral theories explain student learning in science?
• What was the contribution of theorists like Skinner, Bruner, Piaget, Vygotsky, and von
Glasersfeld to secondary science teaching?
• What is meant by multiple intelligences and how does it impact student learning?
• How do learning styles of students influence learning in the classroom?
• What is metacognition, and how can metacognition help students learn science?
 Chapter 5 Map
Chapter 5
How Students
Learn Science
Constructivism Cognitive Feminist Theory into
Theories Perspective Practice

Theories Constructivist Sociocultural Behavioral Student The Gazette

Theories Theories Theories Learning
Styles

Operant
Conditioning
Theory to Idea of Inquiry 5.2: Inquiry 5.3: Inquiry 5.4: Inquiry 5.5: Learning 4MAT Brain- Case Teacher
Practice? Theory Conrete Formal Big Ideas Meeting of Styles Based Studies Talk
Learning Learning the Minds Learning

Deweyan
Theories
Inquiry 5.1:
Student Inquiry 5.6:
Learning Learning
Styles
 Think Piece
• A Think Piece is a question that is answered by
means of a short essay (generally no more than
two pages) or a poster (no more than one large
poster board) that reflects a teacher's view on
some topic or subject in science education Each
volume of the Science Teaching Gazette contains
several think piece topics. Think pieces can be
assigned individually or can be used to stimulate
problem solving in cooperative groups.
 29

Think Piece
• Write an essay on the
topic “artistry of
teaching.” Make use
of your experiences as
a student and teacher.
 Case Studies
• Case studies are problem solving dilemmas based on actual and
fictional events about science teaching. Case studies have been
become a popular feature in the education of professionals in business,
and medicine, and recently have become an innovation in the
professional preparation of teachers. The case studies that are included
in The Art of Teaching Science consist of a brief presentation of the
case, followed by a problem or dilemma statement. Cases can be
explored in a variety of ways: role playing, cooperative team problem
solving, written responses followed by group discussions, and debates.
Case enactments can also be video taped for replay and analysis. After
some contextual work in schools, and experience with a few cases,
teachers can suggest their own case study topics, create the scenarios
and problems, and engage the class in their creations. Each chapter
begins with a Case Study.
 167

Case Study: A New Approach to

Learning
• The Case
• Ruth Wilson, a second year high school biology teacher in a • The Problem
community that has only one high school, took a graduate
course in the summer at the local university. In the course, she • How would you deal with this
became extremely interested in a theory of learning, called
"constructivism” proposed by several theorists. Constructivism, situation? What would you say to
as she understood it, provided a framework to understand how
students acquired knowledge. One of the basic notions the parent? Is Ms. Wilson on
underlying the theory was that students “constructed and made
meaning” of their experiences. The theory provides more sound footing regarding her theory
freedom for the students in terms of their own thinking
processes. Ms. Wilson feels strongly that this “constructivist” of teaching? How do explain your
framework supported her teaching philosophy better than the
more structured approach she was using during her first year of teaching theory to your principal?
teaching. Prior to the opening of school, Ms. Wilson changed
her curriculum plans to reflect the constructivist theory. She What is your personal view on this
spent the first two weeks of school helping the students become
skilled and familiar with hands-on learning. For many of her approach to teaching and learning?
students, this was a new venture. She planned activities where
students had to make choices among objectives, or activities, or
content. Knowing that students like to work together, she
decided to place students in small teams. At the end of the two
weeks, she instructed the teams to decide and select the
activities and content in the first part of the text that would
interest them. They should formulate a plan, and carry it out for
the remainder of the grading period. A few weeks later, a rather
irate parent called Mr.. Brady, the principal of the school,
complaining that her son is wasting his time in Ms. Wilson's
class. The parent complained that her son was not learning
anything, and she demanded a conference with Ms. Wilson.
 Reflective Teaching
• The Art of Teaching Science provides teaching strategies that facilitate the
development of reflective science teaching. Reflective science teaching is a
concept that is open to a great deal of interpretation. On the one hand is the
idea that reflective teachers possess the ability to collaborate with others, while
on the other hand the ability to "reflect on" and think about one's teaching.
Please refer to Inquiry Activity 6.1 Reflective Teaching for details on how to
implement the approach. You will also find four Reflective Teaching lesson
plans in Volume 6 of the Science Teaching Gazette which are to be used with
Inquiry Activity 6.1:
– Lesson 1: Creatures
– Lesson 2: Shark's Teeth
– Lesson 3: The Balloon Blower Upper
– Lesson 4: Mission to Mars
• One of the powerful aspects of Reflective Teaching is that it "teaches" teachers
a metacognitve tool for thinking about their teaching, and once they
understand the process, teachers can apply the approach in any teaching
situation.

Inquiry 6.1: Reflective Teaching
• In this inquiry you’ll teach a science
lesson to a small group using any of the
models in the chapter using a three
stage experience:
– Prepare
– Teach
– Reflect
• You’ll use the experience to find out
how successful you were. You will find
a collection of lessons in the Gazette,
pp. 248-250 which you can use. If you
don’t use these, use the format shown,
and create your own lesson.
• Details of the Reflective Teaching
experience are outlined in Inquiry 6.1.
213-214
Reflective Teaching Lessons
Lesson 6.1: “Creatures”
Lesson 6.2: Shark’s Teeth
Lesson 6.3: The Balloon Blower Upper
Lesson 6.4: Mission to Mars
Learner Satisfaction Form
Name_________________________
1. During the lesson how satisfied were you as a
learner?
______________very satisfied
______________satisfied
______________unsatisfied
______________very unsatisfied
2. What could your teacher have done to
increase your satisfaction?
 Microteaching
• Microteaching is a laboratory approach to teaching developed some years
ago, and used quite effectively first by the Peace Corps, and then by
colleges of education in initial and continuing teacher education programs.
Although microteaching is used initially in Inquiry 1.2, it is formally
introduced and developed in Chapter 9, and used in the context of helping
teachers develop a model for practicing and receiving feedback about
teaching strategies. Since microteaching is scaled down teaching, it works
very well in small cooperative groups of peers, as well as with students in
a school context. You will find the approach to microteaching detailed in
Inquiry Activity 9.1. Students can prepare brief lessons, teach them to a
small group of peers or students, meet with a peer coach, and then reteach
the lesson based on suggestions made in the peer coaching conference.
 339-340

Inquiry 9.1: Microteaching

• Microteaching is scaled down teaching.
You will use it to explore the interactive
teaching strategies that are presented,
pp. 333-339.
• Prepare a 5 minute lesson and use it to
focus on one or more of the teaching
strategies (advance organizers,
questioning, using examples, etc.).
• Teach the lesson to a small group of
peers; use the video tape to reflect and
make changes in the lesson for a re-
teach episode.
• How successful were you?
 Science Teachers Talk
• Interviews with several practicing middle school and high school
science teachers from several countries were conducted to create the
Science Teachers Talk column in most of the volumes of the Science
Teaching Gazette. The teachers were asked to respond to a
questionnaire on science teaching. The questions corresponded to the
major unifying themes of the text, and these were used to create the
dialogs. The Science Teachers Talk feature can be used as a stimulus
for discussion, and problem solving. Teachers can be asked to respond
to the interview questions before reading the teachers' responses, and
afterwards, compare their approaches and opinions. These craft-talk
columns in the Science Teaching Gazette are rich with the wisdom-of-
practice that is an integral part of the knowledge of science teaching.
 459-461

Science Teachers Talk

• How do you use technology (including
the Internet) in your science lessons?
Why do you, and what do you see as
the benefits for your students?
• Find out what the following teachers
say about these questions. How does it
compare with your thinking:
– Rachel Zgonc (a first year teacher)
– Ben Boza (Botzwana)
– Carol Myronuk (Canada)
– Barry Plant (Australia)
– Tom Brown
– Michael O’Brien (a first year teacher)

A web-based activity in action

 Research Matters
• There is a growing emphasis on the importance of
involving practicing science teachers not only in being able
to consume science education research, but being able to
conduct research on teaching, as well. Many volumes of
the Science Teaching Gazette include a column on research
entitled Research Matters which focuses on a topic
pertinent to the theme of the chapter. The columns, written
by members of the National Association for Research in
Science Teaching (NARST), appear from time-to-time in
the NARST News, the newsletter of NARST.
 Science Education Literature
• Some of the volumes of the Science Teaching
Gazette includes excerpts from the literature of
science teaching. The literature pieces have been
included to enrich the investigation of science
teaching, to extend the context of learning to
include the work of the science and science
education community, and to introduce teachers to
journals and books in the field.
 30

Science is Not Words*

• Read Dr. George Feynman’s
article (pp. 30-32), “Science is
not words.”
• How does Feynman’s view of
science stack up with your
views? Is this a practical view
that might be applied to
teaching?
• Follow-up with a visit to a
Feynman Site:
http://www.amasci.com/feynma
n.html
 On the Web
• A collection of websites that relate to the
chapter. They are located in the Gazette,
and they are also linked in this website for
easy access to these resources
 Readings
• A collection of readings, for each chapter,
including books and journal articles. The
readings are designed to help you go further
in your exploration of science teaching.
 462

Problems and Extension

• Prepare a Web-based lesson using one of the following Web-
based tools: key pals, online discussions, chat, tele-mentoring,
pooled data analysis, tale-field trip or social action project.
Include the goals for the lesson, and how students would be
active learners in the lesson.
• Discuss the implications of using the Web to make your
teaching environment a “global classroom.” What do you think
will be the outcomes and benefits for your students, and
colleagues?
• Locate a science museum on the Web, and design a tele-field
trip using the museum as the basis for your project.
• Design a pooled data analysis project for a group of middle or
high school students in any content area of science. Visit some
of the examples of pooled data analysis projects identified in the
chapter. After studying these projects, outline a new project by
working with a group of peers. Share the project by putting it
on the Web, and presenting it to a group of peers.
 International Connections
• I asked colleagues from other countries to write brief
descriptions describing the curriculum and teaching issues
in Australia, Chile, China, Ghana, Japan and Russia. As
science educators, we are members of a community of
practice that is worldwide. What the issues in other
countries, and how do these help inform us about our own
issues? The authors of these international pieces have
based their writing on personal experiences with the
culture. In most cases the authors were born, educated and
taught in the country they described.
• Teachers from several countries participated in the Science
Teacher Talk sessions
 140-155

Science in…
• Australia
• Chile
• China
• Ghana
• Japan
• Russia