The focus for my blog posts is going to be on how elementary school teachers can effectively teach science in the classroom. Being in placements over the past two years I have noticed that some schools do a poor job at implementing a good science curriculum that allows the students to think and problem solve on their own. I watched a video on Effective Science Teaching in a California elementary classroom. In order to be an effective science teacher, it is the job of that teacher to understand how the students in his/her classroom learn. The video (courtesy of Discovery Channel) claimed that in order for students to learn science effectively the teacher must activate on the students' prior knowledge. In classes we have learned how important it is to activate on students' prior knowledge first to see where the students are at in the classroom. By knowing this right from the start, that will help the teacher better accommodate the lessons and activities to effectively teach science. Instead of teaching students facts about science, we as teachers should be teaching our students the big ideas about science. This is very similar to teaching Social Studies. In our Social Studies methods class we learned that teachers should not drill important dates and names of people into students brain. It is not about the facts, it is about the bigger picture. The same goes for science.
One of the main focuses in the video was the importance of inquiry in an effective science lesson. In order to teach science effectively inquiry must be implemented within the curriculum since it helps students learn better and make meaning of their learning. They are able to explore and ask questions that they want to know the answers to. The text that the students read should directly correlate with the science inquiry. In order for the students to make sense of what they are reading, the video mentioned that teachers need to teach reading strategies to the students so they know how to comprehend what they have read and make sense out of it. One quote that stood out to me towards the end of the video was, "teach for understanding and not coverage." I think we are so pressured in today's society to make sure that we cover what we need to cover for the standardized tests, that often times teachers dont focus on whether or not the students understood what they just learned. To be an effective science teacher, and a teacher, you must make sure that you are aware of what your students are learning and that you are willing to go that extra mile to ensure they have learned the material you wanted them to learn.
The week we taught our science units would have been so hard to even plan if we didn't do a pre-assessment to see what kind of prior knowledge our students had. I feel that if you are a teacher, you are only doing your students a disservice by not addressing their prior knowledge... how can you know that the content you're teaching is appropriate for them?
ReplyDeleteSara-That is so true!
ReplyDeleteNicole- I like your topic choice! One thing that really stuck out to me was the part about making sure the students are understand what they are reading/learning. I remember being in science class and being told something by a teacher, or reading something and thinking I was stupid because I did not know what it meant, but then when re-worded by someone else, I completely understood the topic. sometimes it is just a matter of how you say something! Teaching for understanding is so important, and I see where you are coming from about teachers now only worried about what is on the test. If a student can memorize something to pass the test, they still might not truly understand it. Great post!
OOOPs! I meant Jessica!
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