QUESTION
report on my understanding of teaching chemical science to grade 3 children. Needs to refer to Australian curriculum and the E5 instructional model (NOT the 5 E’s which is very similar) Needs to also reference teaching approaches and educational psychology (learning theories)
The unit guide is attached and the criteria and marking rubric is on page 12-14.. it says essay but it is actually a report and on each point I will add the following:
-what is your understanding on how children learn… refer to learning theories
-what is your rationale for the content (chemical/physical science) I am teaching.. refer to the new AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUM
-description and justification of your teaching approaches while at school.. I have used modelling of tasks and open questioning to accomodate higher order thinking and outside classroom space to have a different approach to teaching…
-how my teaching is influenced by the children I am teaching.. it is just about knowing your children and having the ability and foresight to adapt your lesson when the content is wrong or there are behaviour issues. knowing your students is the best way to get a hassle free lesson.
SOLUTION
To,
The Principal,
XYZ School,
Sydney, Australia
Dear Sir,
This report has been developed to depict my clear understanding of teaching Chemical Science to Grade 3 students in our school. The E5 Instructional Model and the Australian Curriculum has been referred, so that the students learn chemical science in most interactive manner, without feeling pressurised or scared of the subject.
Several learning Theories and teaching approaches have also been used for assistance to make the subject of chemical science most fun-learning and studying subject of the class.
Ways of learning in Grade 3 Students and impact on teaching Style
Supporting the scientific thinking of Grade 3 students is the central goal which the teachers should strive to achieve by attaining the chemistry learning in a better manner. Several documents emphasise that ICT should be used as the central idea in teacher education as well as various school programs too (The Finnish Ministry of Education, 2004). (Report of the Finnish National Board of Education, 2005).
Thinking of the teachers and their belief strongly influence the practice’s of teaching and thus impact student learning too (Zohar, 2004). Mainly it has been found that chemistry teachers play vital role in reforming the education of chemical science or chemistry (Bitner and Bitner, 2002).
Learning theories can be of great help in improving the ways of learning in the grade 3 students and to improvise the teaching style too at the same time.
CONSTRUCTIVISM
It is an educational philosophy which says that ultimately the learners are capable of constructing their own knowledge which exists within them and this is the reason why every person has their own unique knowledge as they are unique on their own (College of Education, University of Denver, n.d.). Educational philosophy uses Constructivism the most because of its profound implications and fits very well with high educational trends too (Constructivism, 1997).
Main perceptions:
- Anchored or Situated Learning: It presumes that most of the learning criteria in Grade 3 students is dependent on context and that is why cognitive experiences are depicted through authentic learning’s like project-based learning.
- Case-Based Learning or Cognitive Apprenticeship: Environment is the governing factors which show the outcomes as meaningful and richer experiences in students.
- Social negotiation of knowledge: A method by which the learners test and develop their constructs using dialogues either with other individuals or with the society.
Humanistic Perspective: It says that emotions and their affects play vital role in teach (Maslow, 1991). It states that experience is the primary phenomenon which helps in studying human behaviour and learning.
Transfer of Learning
One of the most neglected but vital goals in education is transfer of learning where the teachers want their students to gain skills and knowledge that they can apply in school and just outside the school and in future too.
Cooperative Learning
It is the instructional use of small groups where in the groups of students which are very small work together in order to maximise and their own learning curves (Johnson, Johnson and Holubec, 1993). A jigsaw model (Aronson et al., 1978) of cooperative learning is the best technique which can be used while teaching chemical science to the students
Rationale for the Content taught in the school-based sessions
As per the teaching standards of Australian Curriculum Science as Human Endeavour and Science enquiry skills across a span of two years. Since science gives us an empirical method of answering important questions which are interesting related to everyday life. The Australian Curriculum is very rationale as it gives the opportunities to the students to learn and develop very important understanding of scientific processes as well as concepts.
The science curriculum is a promotional tool for the six overarching concepts which is helpful in highlighting the common view of the scientific world and is applicable in various areas of scientific understanding and these six ideas are (Rationale : AUstralain Curriculum, n.d.):
- Order and Organisations
- Stability and Change
- Scale and Measurement
- Matter and Energy
- Forms and Function
- Systems
Content Description of Chemical Sciences
The teaching should cover the change of state between solid and liquid which can be done by adding heat or vice-versa can be done by removing heat. During the year three students should be able to observe the heat and its effect on solids as well as liquid. They should be able to understand eth energy flow with the help of simple system.
Achievement Standards
The Achievement Standards which are expected from the students are that the student should be able to demonstrate the clear understanding of materials and actions which result due to heat in order to suggest explanations for everyday observations. They should be able to make formal measurements and able to follow the right procedures in order to collect and present the collected observations in such a manner that they are able you answer the questions posed for investigation (YEAR 3 Student Science POrtfolio Summary, 2011).
Task given to the students
A class discussion was held regarding their everyday observations related to the effect of heating on various objects like food, water etc. The students explored the concept of fair testing and were shown the techniques which are being used for reading as well as using thermometers and the teachers educated them about safety need while handling thermometer (YEAR 3 Student Science POrtfolio Summary, 2011).
Description and justification of teaching approaches at school
Modelling of the tasks and open questioning are the few techniques which have been used by me in order to accommodate higher order of thinking. AT the same time I have tried to utilise the outside the classroom space also in order to have different approach to learning.
Modelling: The process of constructing and real-time representation of various models (Oversby, 2000) and it is developed in reference to specific kind of knowledge processing (Tiberghien, 1994). Modelling forms a vital part of processes for the development of scientific knowledge.
High-Order Thinking: It is set of cognitive processes which consist of:
- Remember
- Apply
- Understand
- Analyze
- Evaluate
- Create (Anderson and Krathwohl, 2001)
Mainly the last four categories that is applying, analysing, evaluating and creating are considered as high-order thinking skills. The teacher can develop high-order thinking amongst the students by using these skills especially in chemical sciences.
Meaningful Chemistry learning occurs when the student not just keeps in mind and remembers eth chemical science’s concepts but also makes sense out of it and is able to apply whatever they have learnt (Anderson and Krathwohl, 2001) (Bransford, Brown and Cocking, 2000).
Open-ended method applies to the investigation task as which are written in order to give opportunities to the students so that they can design and complete their investigation without any support in the learning environment and that too in an independent manner (Hegarty-Hazel, 1990).
Ways in which teaching is influenced by the children being taught
Teaching is just about knowing your children and having the ability and foresight to adapt your lesson when the content is wrong or there are behaviour issues. Knowing your students is the best way to get a hassle free lesson plan for your students. Since we have been following the learning theory of constructivism, it is thus up to the teacher how she/he facilitates the constructive learning process. However eth structure which should be used should be able to promote opportunities along with the events which not just encourage but also support the clear cut development of understanding amongst the students. The most convenient and easiest format which has been developed by Biological Science Study Curriculum to view and understand the concept of constructivism, where the five E’s are being used in this model. The five E’s are:
Figure 1: The Five E’s Instructional Model
E5 Instructional Model
This models was launched in 2009 and acts as a referencing point for not just the teachers but also the school leaders. It helps the teachers in understanding what does high standard and quality teaching practices in classroom involve (The e5 Instructional Model, 2011).
Engage: The teacher needs to foster a positive relationship between and with the students and at the same time try to develop shared expectations related to interactive learning. The capabilities involve:
- Developing shared norms
- Finding readiness for learning
- Establishing the learning goals
- Developing metacognitive capacity
Explore: the teacher needs to put forth some challenges related to the tasks so that the students develop investigative questions and collect relevant information and final create their ideas. It develops the capabilities; like:
- Structures the inquiry
- Prompts eth students towards inquiry
- Maintains the ,momentum of the session in interactive manner
Explain: the teachers should provide the opportunities to the students to show their current level of understanding by using verbal as well as non-verbal means. It helps in capabilities like:
- Presentation of new content.
- Strengthening the bond with students
- Developing the literacy and language skills of students
Elaborate: The teacher should engage them in a dialogue and keep on regularly refining and enhancing the understanding of the students. The capabilities which are extended:
- Helps in facilitating substantial conversation with students
- Monitoring the progress of students
- Cultivates the high-order thinking
Evaluate: The teacher’s role is to continuously support the student in refining and making improvements in their work by using assessment criterion while pr5eparing for performance of understanding. The capabilities which will be enhanced are:
- Facilitates self-assessment of students
- Helps in assessing performance against standards.
Bibliography
Anderson, L.W. and Krathwohl, D.R. (2001) A Taxonomy for learning, teaching, andassessing: A revision of Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives, New York: Longman.
Aronson, E., Blaney, N., Stephen, C., Sikes, J. and Snapp, M. (1978) The Jigsaw classroom, Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
Bitner, N. and Bitner, J. (2002) ‘Integrating technology into the classroom: Eight keys to sucess’, Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 95-100.
Bransford, J., Brown, A. and Cocking, R. (2000) ow people learn: Brain, mind,experience, and school, Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
College of Education, University of Denver, [Online], Available: http://carbon.cudenver.edu/ [17 April 2012].
‘Constructivism’, Asynchronous Learning Networks Magazine (March 1997).
Hegarty-Hazel, E. (1990) The Student Laboratory and the Science Curriculum, London: Routledge.
Johnson, D.W., Johnson, R.T. and Holubec, E.J. (1993) Cooperation in the classroom, 6th edition, Edina, MN: Interaction Book Company.
Maslow, A. (1991) Humanistic Theory of Learning, lifecircles-inc.com.
Oversby, J. (2000) Models in explanations of chemistry: the case of acidity, Dordrecht: Kluwer.
Rationale : AUstralain Curriculum, [Online], Available: http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/Science/Rationale [17 April 2012].
Report of the Finnish National Board of Education (2005), [Online], Available: http://www.edu.fi/julkaisut/tietojaviesti.pdf [17 april 2012].
‘The e5 Instructional Model’, Department of Education and Earkly Childhood Development (15 December 2011).
The Finnish Ministry of Education (2004), [Online], Available: Error! Hyperlink reference not valid. [17 april 2012].
Tiberghien, A. (1994) ‘Modeling as a basis for analyzing teaching-learning situations’, Learning and Instruction, vol. 4, pp. 71-87.
‘YEAR 3 Student Science POrtfolio Summary’, Australian Curriculum, assessmenta dn reporting authority (December 2011).
Zohar, A. (2004) Higher Order Thinking in Science Classroom: Students’ Learning and Teachers’ Professional Development, Dorchrecht: Kluwer.
KA89
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