Teaching For Conceptual Understanding Of Science, By Richard Konicek- Moran And Keeley

The purpose of this report is to show an analysis of the role and responsibilities of teachers, incorporating some research topics including codes of practice, and also the boundaries and relationship between the teaching role and other professional roles.

Another major issue that is addressed in the article is with the teachers and their teaching styles. The method in which most teachers teach their

The process skills approach to teaching is defined as the educator helping children develop science skills and processes to confidently undertake their own investigations (Campbell, 2012). These skills are developed through: communicating, science language, asking questions, making sense of phenomena, predicting, modelling, conducting investigations, planning, testing, observing, reasoning, and drawing conclusions of science concepts (Campbell, 2012). When the educator assist children’s learning, it is important to put the emphasis on the nature of science and scientific concepts. Guided discovery approach to teaching requires the educator to ask effective questions that encourage children to explore and extend their investigations throughout science learning (Campbell, 2012). This can be developed through play experiences as children explore their world around them. An interactive approach to teaching children is based on questions that lead explorations and the educators to provide essential resources to guide these explorations (Campbell, 2012). It is the educators’ responsibility to support children’s development, ideas, questions, ways of thinking, and develop scientific thinking. Furthermore, an inquiry approach to teaching relates to children investigating the answers to their own

My methodology for writing this essay is so that I can gain my Ctlls qualification and support my own teaching practices. In my research for this assignment I have used books, the Internet for various websites and my notes from the lessons, as well as my own experience from teaching.

I believe that I can pass along my own wisdom while simultaneously helping them to develop a knowledge base of their own. I believe that I can get through to students and allow them to reach new realizations. I believe that I can help them to see the process of schooling as an experience that is both interesting and enlightening. What follows is my interpretation of the teaching profession. It details the methodological and ideological frameworks that I would use to construct a learning experience that is meaningful for students.

Following the collation of information about teaching contexts and histories, the remaining questions were analysed and studied to see if there were any common themes. Where common themes occurred, they will form the basis of the detailed analysis and

During the course of the year, we learned about the Investigation-Colloquium Method (I-CM) of the teaching science which emphasizes that children learn more by interacting with their peers, sharing their thoughts and collaborate information among themselves. As the word colloquium suggests, it is an informal gathering of peers during a discussion, it is during this discussion children expand on their learning experiences. This method is similar to what Vygotsky would have considered as the “Zone of Proximal Development.” His theory suggested that during a colloquium children tend to sharpen their perception which will, in turn, promote mental growth. As a future teacher of science, my goal is to base my lesson plans on the I-CM method by using it as a benchmark for my instructional practices. Some of these approaches would include concepts, materials, investigations, use of data charts, creative dramatics, and closure to name a few. Each of these subcategories of I-CM further enhances the concept of this method which will be discussed later in further detail. However, in my opinion, the role of a teacher is the pinnacle entity for a successful colloquium among children and an even more successful pedagogy of science.

Acknowledges that many factors contribute to the teaching process and require study within a greater social cultural, and historical context

Piaget and Vygotsky both believed that young children actively learn from their hands-on, day-to-day experiences. Jean Piaget portrayed children as "little scientists" who go about actively constructing their understanding of the world. His theories hold the essence of developmentally appropriate curriculum since Piaget believed that children undergo cognitive development in a stage-based manner, such that a very young child would not think about things the same way that an adult might. He referred to the knowledge and the manner in which the knowledge is gained as a schema. In order to build on the cognitive stages that children experience, informal learning opportunities, formal instructional sessions, and the utilized curriculum must all dovetail with a child's current cognitive stage so that assimilation of the new knowledge may occur. Working with what the child knows and experiences, parents and teachers create bridges to the next cognitive stage that are characterized by the child's accommodation. Piaget argued that optimal learning took place in this manner and that adults should avoid thinking that they can accelerate a child's development through the age-based, maturity-referenced stages. This is because a child works toward establishing an equilibrium between the assimilation and application of new knowledge and changing their behavior to accommodate their newly adopted schemas.

Many see scientific lessons as being a gateway into mimicking real world science to students, some feel that science is a way to gain a better understanding of the workings of the world around us while others believe that science educates outside of that understanding, helping children to see things from a different perspective. Being in the world but also understanding from an objective viewpoint can only help to expand a child’s knowledge of what is around them. Science, as an ever expanding field, changes constantly, moving with society’s demands for constant explanations and better methods of doing this. For instance illness and technology. Science is developing new ways of detecting and treating illnesses in a constant search for cures that are less and less intrusive. Where biology may uncover the illness, chemistry will provide the interactive possibilities whilst physics and technology will help to develop methods of treating it. The education pertaining to middle school and high school science means different things to different people. As an educational researcher in science education I am often disappointed with the lack of consensus that exists in our community. Some researchers argue for skill building tasks and projects in the classroom in an effort to mimic "real" scientists and introduce "real-world" science to students; others argue for the expansion of content knowledge; and, still others look at science education as a gateway for students into the raw

In this essay, I aim to only discuss what I have been taught and to see how I have assimilated ‘professional jargon' terms and the range of teaching tools into my consciousness; to see how I can address different styles of

Analysis of the three identified stages stated on the lesson planner shall take place within this assignment. Links will be shown between the teaching methods that were incorporated in this lesson planner which met particular learning characteristics, traits and needs of the group or an individual(s) and relevant educational and theoretical principles. The lesson planner has been placed in the appendices, as a referral resource, for this assignment.

The National Curriculum for Science (2013), anticipates to advance all pupils’ scientific knowledge and conceptualise understanding through the segmented scientific approaches; biology, chemistry and physics. In addition, pupils should have an awareness of the nature, processes and approaches used within science, through the various scientific enquires that enable pupils to answer questions related to the world and life. Finally, the aims of the science curriculum also consider that children must have the resources to fund the knowledge that is necessary to use science in the, present and future tense states the Department of Education (2013).

Initially, the book points to the main objective of science education that is teaching for conceptual understanding. A concept is defined as variations of meaning that determine similarities and differences, and the frameworks through different events. To reach that goal, scientific societies are need to be convinced by the validity and reliability of this approach. One of the most persuasive strategies is setting a comparison between the traditional style of teaching which depends on teaching students by telling knowledge, and teaching by implementing scientific

Science is, by its nature, inquiry based and science knowledge is built through processes in which discoveries of the natural world are made (Abruscato, 2000). It utilizes discovery and scientific thinking process to explore and learn knowledge and skills. Learning by doing is the new efficient method in teaching science. For kindergarten, this method leads to better understanding of science concepts and builds skills that children will use in future life .What a child can do with assistance now, they can later do on their own (Vygotsky, 1978). John Dewey (1916) stated that children must be engaged in an active quest for learning and new ideas. Inquiry is important in educating kindergarteners because it not only keeps them interested in lessons but also helps them retain more information when performing exploration and investigation. Children are naturally motivated to learn and actively seek out information to help their understanding (Piaget, 1950).The success of students who participate in hands- on inquiry activities suggests that if students have first hands experience with science, concepts are easier to understand and apply and students are generally more favorable to science and have better understanding of the nature of science .Within a conceptual framework, inquiry learning and active learner involvement can lead to important outcomes in the classroom. In kindergarten, students who are actively making observations, collecting results and drawing