Using Scientific Inquiry Model in High School Biology

Deciding that I wanted to be a teacher didn’t take much effort; deciding what kind of teacher I want to be however, takes much more thought. There are numerous educational philosophies, most of which can be traced back to one of four major perspectives: idealism, realism, pragmatism, and existentialism. All of these philosophical systems have an impact on educational thought; however, I find it hard to choose

As a student of education, I have been able to gather many ideas and opinions about practices and ideals I want to implement in my future classroom. My philosophies about education are still being formed and continually change with every class I visit and with every educator I encounter. My ideas, admittedly, come from random experiences and intangible texts, but as I gain more experience in the field through my courses, my philosophies about teaching will become more clearly defined. These few ideas I have now will undoubtedly be added upon as I enter student teaching and my professional career, nevertheless, they are concepts of which I hope to never lose sight.

An educational philosophy is a personal statement of a teacher’s goals or belief. A teacher comes to the classroom with a distinctive set of principles and ideals that affect how a student learns and expand the child’s potential in his or her venture into knowledge. I believe that education should be active, and focus on the whole child, rather than just the content or the teacher. The three (3) principles I believe that work harmoniously with my educational philosophy are the teacher acting as a facilitator to foster critical thinking, allowing the child’s natural curiosity to steer his or her learning for personal development, and

Rita Pierson, an American educator, once stated, “Every child deserves a champion, an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection, and insists that they become the best that they can possibly be” (“Every Kid,” 2013). Her comment is reflected within my philosophy of teaching. One’s philosophy of education defines who they strive to be as an educator; it clearly forms the way one will teach and guides their expectations for their students. Children are the future of our country. Therefore, I believe it is the responsibility of a teacher to strive to be the best educator possible by having cultural competence and pedagogical knowledge to effectively teach their students. This can be done by motivating students to learn through self-discovery based on their interests and what is relevant to their lives. It is a teacher’s responsibility to guide students towards their own goals to grow intellectually and personally as a unique individual. Accordingly, students will be inspired to use acquired skills and knowledge towards the real world.

I did not always know I wanted to be a teacher. For me, the profession that I would ultimately choose to spend the rest of my life doing did not come as easily to me as it did to some of my peers. I did, however, know from a very young age that I have always wanted to help others. I also knew that I really enjoyed being around two types of people: the elderly and the young. It was not until my senior year of high school when I became a teaching assistant to a kindergarten class that I realized I wanted to become a teacher and help the lives of many. I have experienced and witnessed many different kinds of teaching philosophies, some that have worked increasingly better than others. The unstated philosophies of teaching I have encountered through kindergarten to this point thus far have shaped my personal philosophy on teaching. As a teacher, I will strive to spark enthusiasm for positive learning, acknowledge and support learning differences and needs, provide students with a strong foundation for lifelong learning, and make a difference in the lives of my students.

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

science -inquiry concepts. In the video clip from lesson 4,minute Students will work together to form hypothesis, observe ,follow procedure ,collect and analyze data, write a conclusion. This lab has four stations, with each stations student were dealing with situation involving phenomenon that they see outside of the classroom, likely on daily basis. so, with each station the Students can be seen using data and their observations as evidence to explain why they were seeing this real-world phenomenon. then students need to answer the lab analysis questions that also connect them with real world. video 2. Furthermore, to help students construct their explanations, I asked questions that push students to make connections to the real world. For example, in video 2, minute , I ask students why organic compounds dose not conduct electricity ? and how about if we try using water and salt ?

Like a good business plan, every teacher should have a personal educational philosophy in place. Witcher, Sewall, Arnold, and Travers in Teaching, leading and learning: It’s all about philosophy (2001) say that a

When I first began teaching over twenty years ago, I do not believe I had a clear idea of what my vision of education was. I was hungry for knowledge myself and took every opportunity I could to attend professional development and implement new curriculum and instructional strategies. During the early part of my career as a teacher, I developed a

I remember the early years of my childhood when I arrived at school and was received by the warm greeting of my teachers, who seemed to have special abilities to perceive if I was angry, sad, or hungry. In the classroom, I felt safe and had the confidence to tell my dreams without fear that they would make fun of them, when I was a child, my teachers made me feel loved and protected.

Aristotle once said, “The one exclusive sign of thorough knowledge is the power of teaching.” Teaching enables students to gain the intelligence needed to excel in life. I believe that a teacher’s philosophy of education is a crucial role in his or her approach to leading students on their educated path. A philosophy of education is the set of beliefs that every school and every teacher stand behind. The certain philosophy that one chooses provides the answers to many vital questions, such as the purpose of schooling, a teacher’s role, and what should be taught in the classroom.

After reviewing these teaching philosophies and educational theories, many of them reflect my own personal educational philosophy and my instructional practices and choice of classroom curriculum. The four that I found the most appealing are: Realism, Pragmatism, existentialism and progressivism. I find the combination of the three very complementary.

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

In the field of education there could arise many philosophical ideas of each individual teacher. Many of the past philosophies have been and still are used in today’s education programs, such as the Socratic method. My philosophy will also contain some of the many philosophies of the past and possibly the future. I will state the nature of students, the nature of knowledge, the purpose of public education, method, and curriculum according to my own philosophies, which also may be based the philosophical ideas of previous individuals.

As a future teacher in today’s society and generation, I believe the educational system must accommodate the individual and the diverse needs of each child. Many factors should be thought about when forming a philosophy on education. Factors as far as the increase of single parent families and dual careers, the family structure is changing and this may play a significant part in our students. Furthermore, the issues such as teen pregnancy and drugs and much more, children are facing more complicated issues than they ever had before. A sound philosophy on education must be developed within the framework of social value systems. Our children are our future resources. All children can be guided to become well adjusted, functional and intelligent adults for their own benefit and the benefit for others in society. An educator should motivate and stimulate each child to perform to the best of their ability. Regardless of the various experiences, abilities and needs of the child. Therefore, all children must be well educated and given the opportunity