TEA Science
Workshop #7
October 25, 2012
Kim Lott
Utah State University
Recent Teaching Innovations
 Understanding
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

Stage 1. Identify Desired Results
Stage 2. Determine Acceptable Evidence
Stage 3. Plan Learning Experiences and Instruction
 Flipped


by Design (Backwards Design)
Classroom
Lectures are watched at home and class time is
used for activities or problem sessions.
http://www.techsmith.com/flipped-classroom.html
How do students learn?


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Learning occurs as we interact with our
environment
We collect information through our senses
and then make meaning from it
We try to connect new information with
existing understanding
When new information does not fit, we must
assimilate or create new frameworks of
understanding
Accommodation disequilibrium  assimilation
 equilibrium
From “How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and
School.”
Constructivist Theory of
Learning
 Learning
is an active process
 Students need time to:
Experiences exploring a phenomena (handson explorations/ manipulatives)
 discuss their ideas with their peers
 referred
to as interpretive discussion or sensemaking discussions

Teacher guidance in developing
scientifically acceptable explanations
(teacher-led interpretive discussions)
Student Prior Knowledge
If I had to reduce all of educational psychology to
just one principle, I would say this: The most
important single factor influencing learning is what
the learner already knows. Ascertain this and
teach him accordingly” (Ausubel, 1968, p18).
Student Misconceptions
 Biology
 Physics
 Chemistry
 Geology
 Astronomy
Assessing Student
Misconceptions
 Force
Choice Instruments
Example:
After cooking some eggs in the boiling water, Mel cools the
eggs by putting them into a bowl of cold water. Which of the
following explains the cooling process?
A. Temperature is transferred from the eggs to the water.
B. Cold moves from the water into the eggs.
C. Hot objects naturally cool down.
D. Temperature is transferred from the water to the eggs.
E. Energy is transferred from the eggs to the water.
Assessing Student
Misconceptions
 Drawings

Examples:
 Draw
from memory
 Draw a prediction
 Concept

Maps
Example:
 Using
the following terms, create a concept
map: Kingdom, Protozoa, Monera, Euglena,
Paramecium, Bacteria
Assessing Student
Misconceptions
 Card

Sorts:
Example: Sort the following terms into 3
Headings “Matter” “Not Matter” and “I
Don’t Know”
How do we address student
misconceptions?
 Discrepant
activities-Helps students see
that they have a misconception.
 Guide students through activities in a
step-wise fashion to assist them in creating
new conceptual frameworks.
Seven Principles of Good
Teaching

Encourages student-faculty contact

Encourages cooperation among students

Encourages active learning

Gives prompt feedback

Emphasizes time on task

Communicates high expectations

Respects diverse talents and ways of learning
5 E Learning Cycle
 Engage
 Explore
 Explain
 Elaborate
 Evaluate
Engage



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
Engage students in the lesson
May include: question, discrepant event,
short demonstration or activity
Students are asked to think about their
current understandings
Teacher assesses student understanding
No vocabulary is presented
Explore
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
Activity-oriented
Students are immersed in exploration of
the topic or concept
Students develop ideas through handson activities
Teacher asks probing questions and
redirects investigations
Critical to allow sufficient time for this
stage
Explain
 Outgrowths
of Explore phase
 Teacher develops a questioning
sequence that relates to the new
knowledge
 moving from observation to inference
 from concrete to abstract
 from the known to the new
 Concepts are named and discussed
 Vocabulary introduced & developed
Elaborate
 Activity
oriented
 Students APPLY concepts in new
situation
 Provides re-enforcement for the
concept
 Closure includes a teacher-led
discussion of the activity and how
the activity applied to concept
Evaluate
 Integrated
throughout learning cycle
 Guides instruction
 Check for understanding
 Match purpose to activities
 Matches lesson objectives
 Measurable:
 What did children learn about objective
 How did they demonstrate that
learning?
Evaluation Techniques
 Performance
assessment
 Written responses
 Traditional paper/pencil test
 Project
 Science notebooks
 Discussion responses
5 Model Summary
Engage
Elaborate
Evaluate
Explain
Explore