Exemplary Science: Best Practices in Science Teaching Today
Caryn Asherson
California State University, Northridge
December 6, 2006
As teachers, we are in constant pursuit of better ways to impart knowledge
and spark the flame of curiosity in our students. This mission to improve our
teaching practice drives our personal and professional growth. We seek to
understand success. In the following pages I attempt to identify the
characteristics of high quality teaching and learning in the sciences. I will
examine instructional and organizational features that lead to student
accomplishment, as well as which teacher behaviors are important in an expert
teacher.
Exemplary teachers provide an environment in which learners can acquire
ideas, inquiry skills, and positive attitudes toward science. Several educators
disagree on what can be considered exemplary teaching practice. The Oxford
English Dictionary defines exemplary as “fit for imitation.” For the purposes of
this analysis, exemplary practice will be defined as a variety of pedagogical
methods that promote higher student achievement in science. This evaluation
does not intend to suggest that exemplary teachers are perfect in the way they
teach. Rather, it proposes to investigate teachers who are considered effective
in encouraging active learning and higher-order thinking skills in the hopes that
other teachers can benefit from such accomplishments.
Exemplary teachers are experts in the subjects they teach. They have a
vast amount of content knowledge and model enthusiasm for their subject.
(Tobin and Fraser, 1990; Alsop, Bencze, Pedretti, 2005) This enthusiasm is then
transfused into the students as a result. Teachers’ subject confidence is a key
feature in exemplary teaching.
Exemplary teachers have good management strategies that facilitate
student engagement. (Tobin and Fraser, 1990) Researchers characterized the
classrooms of exemplary teachers as relaxed, with few occurrences of
misbehavior. Students worked well together and there was an easy flow from
one activity to the next. Class time was used efficiently and there was little time
off task. Effective management enables the teacher to focus on teaching and
learning rather than on regulating bad behavior.
Exemplary science teachers do not rely on textbooks (Tobin and Fraser,
1990) to present content to a class of learners. Depending on the textbook can
lead to a lack of motivation among students and a failure to connect science to its
potential applications in the outside world. Exemplary teachers find ways for
students to the relate science to the world outside of the classroom (Tobin and
Garnett, 1988) and to make connections to their own lives, to their interests, and
to their futures. For example, Richard, a sixth grade science teacher skillfully
maneuvers from “classroom science” to “outside of the classroom science.”
Since it was raining on the day he was going to teach about solar energy, he
explained to his class that the lesson that had been previously scheduled would
be postponed so that he could introduce them to the properties of water. (Tobin
and Garnett, 1988) In addition, a tenth grade physics teacher has his students
use sound level meters in the lab to measure the decibel levels of a television set
and become familiar with the meter’s scales. Then they go to a remote corner of
the school grounds and the class shouts or screams as loudly as they can, one
at a time as others measure the sound intensity level. (Alsop, Bencze, and
Pedretti, 2005) These instances illustrate how teachers can make science
content more personal by linking it to students’ lives. Learning science is more
than gaining content knowledge, it is about helping the student to identify with
science. This is essential to their success. Pintrich states, “If a students sees
himself or herself becoming a scientist…then science content and tasks may be
perceived as being more important, regardless of his or her mastery or
performance orientation to learning.”
Stake and Easley (1978) found that many teachers emphasize facts about
science and provide students with few opportunities to develop high level thinking
skills. Mark Twain once said, “If teaching were the same as telling, we’d all be so
smart we could hardly stand it.” According to Deacon (1987), Garnett (1987),
and Treagust (1987) exemplary science teachers encourage active engagement
and emphasize understanding of science content rather than rote memorization
of facts. They provide numerous occasions for students to be mentally active
and to assume responsibility for their own learning. For example, in an openinquiry activity, “students must determine questions to investigate, procedures to
address their questions, data to generate, and decide what the data means.”
(Colburn, 2003) Exemplary teachers shift the focus of the curriculum from the
teacher to the learner.
In teaching the process of inquiry, exemplary teachers enable their
students to collaborate, interact, and problem solve with other students. As a
follow-up to a kidney dissection, Keith Hicks, a tenth grade biology teacher
grouped students into teams of four to produce a model of a nephron (the basic
functional unit of a kidney), and prepare a presentation of their model for the
class. Each model became a shared piece around which group members could
express their own understandings of kidney function. Students had opportunities
to learn from each other, since the teacher had set up the task in such a way that
group members were required to come to a consensus regarding the structure of
the model. (Alsop, Bencze, Pedretti, 2005) Thus, exemplary science teachers
advocate peer interaction to promote learning.
Exemplary teachers make it possible for learners to construct their own
knowledge from real-life problems. Real-life issues create powerful opportunities
for organizing science curriculum. Susan Yoon, a ninth grade science teacher
was inspired to use a real-life issue to create a powerful learning experience for
her students. The issue centered on the question of whether or not to relocate a
family of beavers. Susan’s students researched various viewpoints, constructed
arguments based on research, and participated in a town hall meeting. Their
fieldtrip to the outdoor education center was what inspired the role-playing that
would continue in their science class over the next two weeks. (Alsop, Bencze,
Pedretti, 2005) This example shows how real-life issues can inspire inquiry and
curiosity among students.
Children develop academically at different rates and in different ways.
Exemplary teachers differentiate instruction in order to meet the diverse needs of
students. (Tobin and Fraser, 1990) For instance, Karen Kettle, a ninth grade
science teacher had her students dramatize the lives of famous scientists by
acting out a dramatic moment or turning point in the person’s life. For those
students who were uncomfortable with performing on stage, Karen encouraged
them to choose a situation where there was a reason to have a script with them.
For example, Charles Darwin reviewed his letter to his mentor (Dr. Henslow),
from aboard the HMS Beagle as he toured the Galapagos Islands. (Alsop,
Bencze, and Pedretti, 2005).
Exemplary teachers frequently evaluate student understanding and seize
every opportunity to respond to teachable moments. They make learning
concrete to help learners relate to science concepts. For example, when
teaching about abstract ideas in molecular geometry, Josie Ellis, an organic
chemistry teacher, had her students build three-dimensional molecular models.
(Alsop, Bencze, Pedretti, 2005) Through her use of model kits, she was able to
have her students build physical molecules that could be manipulated, examined,
and analyzed. She made learning easier and more enjoyable than if she only
used the two-dimensional pictures in the textbook. The physicality of the model
contributed to the students’ learning.
Exemplary teachers create a favorable learning environment. They create
an atmosphere in which students feel safe and free to make mistakes. (Tobin
and Fraser, 1990) They often incorporate humor into their teaching. When
biology teacher, Keith Hicks teaches about ultrafiltration in the kidney he attaches
a garden hose poked full of holes to a tap. By gently squeezing the end of the
tube so that the pressure is increased, the water can be made to come out of the
holes with some force, thereby making him wet. (Alsop, Bencze, Pedretti, 2005)
Consequently, he turns what can often be a dull lesson into one that is infused
with humor.
In the past, researchers have focused on problems in education and
offered few possibilities for improvement. However, current research has shifted
its focus to identify aspects of science programs that do work, rather than
concentrating on what does not work. It is clear that exemplary teachers have a
vast knowledge of how students learn, as well as what to teach and how best to
teach it. There is a great deal to be learned from exemplary science teachers
that can be of use to others. By focusing on highly effective teachers we can
begin to understand the aspects of teaching that work well. This can lead to
improvements in science teaching by motivating and guiding other teachers’
attempts to improve their practice. Trial and error associated with educational
improvement can be reduced and “school programs can begin building on what
is known to work.” (Pennick and Yager, 1983) As a result, we can invest our
resources in the practices that are known to work, rather than on experimental
programs. In conclusion, we should not just try to imitate the practices of
excellent science teachers. Rather, we should use the practices of these
exemplary teachers as catalysts for ongoing collaborative discussions of
teaching practice that leads to empowering education for every student.
References
Books
Alsop, S., Bencze, L., Pedretti, E. (Eds.). (2005) Analysing Exemplary Science
Teaching. London: Bell and Bain Ltd.
Colburn, A. (2003) The Lingo of Learning: 88 Education Terms Every Science
Teacher Should Know. Arlington, VA: NSTA Press.
Stake, R.E., and Easley, J.A. (1978) Case Studies in Science Education (Vols. 1
and 2) Urbana: Center for Instructional Research and Curriculum Evaluation,
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champagne.
Journals
Deacon, J. (1987) Forces which shape the practices of exemplary high school
physics teachers. Exemplary Practice in Science and Mathematics Teaching.
Perth: Cutin University of Technology.
Garnett, P. (1987) Teaching for understanding: Exemplary practice in high school
chemistry. Exemplary Practice in Science and Mathematics Teaching. Perth:
Cutin University of Technology.
Penick, J.E. and Yager, R.E. (1983) The search for excellence in science
education. Phi Delta Kappan, 64: 621-23.
Pintrich, P., Marx, R., Boyle, R. (1993) Beyond cold conceptual change; the role
of motivational beliefs and classroom contextual factors in the process of
conceptual change. Review of Educational Research. 63(2): 167-99
Tobin, K. and Fraser, B.J. (1990) What does it mean to be an exemplary
teacher? Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 27(1): 13-25.
Tobin, K. and Garnett, P. (1988) Exemplary practice in science classrooms,
Science Education, 72(2): 197-208.
Treagust, D.F. (1987) Exemplary practice in high school biology classes.
Exemplary Practice in Science and Mathematics Teaching. Perth: Cutin
University of Technology.