Problematic Teaching
in Science Classes
Kulautuva Basic School
Teacher of Chemistry: Kolomba Bulotienė
Translation to English: Viktorija Bernotienė
2015
„To foster everyone‘s creativity not in
order for everyone to become artists, but
for everyone to avoid being slaves“.
G. Rodary. „The Grammar of Fantasy“
One of the main targets of the present
day school is to help a child foster his or
her competence of creativity, which
enables to think and act originally,
productively, in a flexible and purpose
orientated manner. In other words, school
should raise a thinking, able to solve the
problems, independent, dashing and free
person.
The main concepts
 Education should firstly remove the
contradictions between the teacher and the
student.
 Relations with students should be based on
partnership.
 Life has a meaning when it is based on
communicating.
 People teach each other by going in
between the world and the well known
objects.
Problemic thinking
This is a constructive attitude towards
learning.
 While learning in this way the existing
knowledge is applied in order to identify
what skills are still missing.

How to plan a
problemic
lesson?
Choose teaching targets
The program and the textbook may serve
as helping tools.
 Make sure, that you explain what is
going to be evaluated and under what
conditions
the
task
should
be
accomplished.
 Submit the exact valuation criteria of
when the task is considered to be
successfully accomplished.

Evaluation
While forming the target, it should be
clearly identified, how the pupils would
show what they have learned – in a
written, oral or other forms.
 If the lesson takes more than one day, a
formative valuation might be applied.

Form a question or a
problem
Try to find or form the main open type
question, that would need several tools to
solve it.
 If it is possible, such a question should be
able to attract student‘s attention and they
should care of it. Only then they would
be motivated to find the solution.


Identify what sourses the students can use
in order to accomplish their task
( textbooks, the Internet, journals,
student‘s own exercise-books, etc.)

Decide, how much time would it take to
solve the problem (one or few lessons).
The phases of
problematic teaching
1. Read and analize the problematic situation.
2. Create the formula for the problem.
3. Name the actions, solutions and hypothesis.
4. Present the data / conclusions.
A successful
lesson
Subjects: Chemistry. Biology.
Theme:
THE EFFECT OF FERTILIZERS TO
THE ENVIRONMENT
The target of the lesson:
While analysing informative texts and
booklets, identify the effect of fertilizers
to the environment and alive organisms.
The planning of the lesson
Time
Activities
5 min.
5 min.
Teacher presents the situation and uses visual aids.
The problem being raised. The teacher gives
questions so that the students could evaltuate the
problem.
The students think of the plan to solve the problem.
They work in groups of 5 people.
The plan to solve the problem is presented. Each
group presents their plan and discuss it.
Solving the problem – students work in groups.
Groups present the solutions to solve the problem.
5 min.
5 min.
15 min.
10 min.
Motivation and the
analysis of the situation
Fertilizers are needed for plants, however
overusing them pollutes the environment –
the soil and water. Nitrates are being stored
in plants and their overdosing might harm
people‘s health. So, are fertilizers friends or,
on the contrary – enemies? Imagine, that
some of you are specialists of farming, some
are ecologists, the third one – biologists, the
fourth ones – consultants of health.
Tasks:
Describe the positive and negative
aspects of fertilizers‘ effect towards
environment.
2. Define the importance of micro and
macro elements for plants.
3. Find out:
a) The effect of fertilizers‘ surplus or
deficiency for plants;
b) What is needed to be known of nitrates
and nitrites.
1.
Means of teaching:
 The packet of slides ( how fertilizers effect
plants);
 Informative texts and booklets.
Methods:
 Integration between subjects.
 Group work.
 Independent work.
 Involving type of the lesson.
 Creative tasks.
Place, form, number of
students:
Kulautuva Basic School, 10th form,
18 students.
Students‘ activities
,,Ecologists” have analized the
informative text about the harm of
fertilizers.
Students‘ activities
,,Farmers” have analysed the text about the
benefits of fertilizers.
Students‘ activities
,,Biologists-chemics” have generalised
the information about micro and macro
elements and the consistance of fertilizers.
Students‘ activities
,,Specialists of health” have analysed the
booklet „ What we need to know about
nitrates and nitrites“.
Students‘ activities
All the groups present their solutions for the problem.
The strategy for teacher‘s activity
and questioning the students. The
tasks used. Evaluation.






The teachers have provided a chance to gain the skills that
will be valuable in the future activities and life of the
students.
The questions have motivated to solve the problem in the
most rational way.
The teachers have paid attention to the urgency of the topic in
the present day life and in this way they have increased the
level of students‘ motivation.
The tasks were concentrated on the problem. They were
connected to the proffessional activities, because students had
to imagine they were the representatives of certain
proffessions.
The tasks were evaluated by the classmates.
The tasks and the lesson were treated extremelly positivelly
by the students of the class.
Thank you for your
attention!