TEACHING STRATEGIES FOR ELEMENTARY SCIENCE by ctu_sanfran

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A Course Module for

Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science (Physics, Earth, and Space Science)

Eden Joy Pastor Alata Elen Joy Pastor Alata A u th o rs

Greg Tabios Pawilen C o o rd in a to r

m TEACH Series

OUTCjOMESBASED

.EDUCATION

C o n ten ts Preface.............................................................................................................................v

UNIT I: THE ELEMENTARY SCIENCE CURRICULUM Lesson i: What is Science?.................................................................................i Lesson 2: Science Education............................................................................ 8 Lesson 3: Elementary Science Curriculum Physics, Earth, and Space Science................................................................. 14 Lesson 4: Constructivist Theory in Teaching Science...............................20

UNIT II: INSTRUCTIONAL PLANNING Lesson 5: Components of Instructional Planning........................................ 25 Lesson 6: Instructional Planning C ycle........................................................30 Lesson 7: Five E Model in Planning Science Lessons..................................34 Lesson 8: Developing Instructional Plans for Elementary Science........42

UNIT III: INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES FOR SCIENCE Lesson 9: Strategy 1 - The Power of Observation..........................................53 Lesson 10: Strategy 2 - Experimentation ...................................................... 63 Lesson 11: Strategy 3 - Inductive Guided Inquiry.......................................... 71 Lesson 12: Strategy 4 - Cooperative Learning............................................... 78 Lesson 13: Strategy 5 - Using Research as a Teaching Strategy................. 86 Lesson 14: Strategy 6 - Using Case Study as a Teaching Strategy............. 96

Lesson 15: Strategy 7 - Using Role-play as a Teaching Strategy................107

Lesson 16: Strategy 8 - Gamification.............................................................. 117 Lesson 17: Strategy 9 - Design Thinking....................................................... 123 Lesson 18: Suggested Activities that Explore Earth Science.....................133

UNIT IV: ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES FOR SCIENCE Lesson 19: Assessing Learning in Science.................................................... 137 Lesson 20: Traditional Assessment in Science........................................... 142 Lesson 21: Using Performance T ask..............................................................145 Lesson 22: Designing Learning Portfolios................................................... 154 References.....................................................................................................................161 Index..............................................................................................................................167 About the Book............................................................................................................173

UNIT I: THE ELEMENTARY SCIENCE CURRICULUM

Lesson 1: What is Science? r

........................

■

—

Learning Objectives At the end of the lesson, you are expected to: •

define science;

•

characterize scientists;

•

discuss the steps in the scientific process;

•

explore why some students love science and others do not;

•

brainstorm ways on how teachers can make the teaching and learning of Science engaging for students; and

•

II.

characterize features and elements of an engaging science classroom.

Learning Activities Science is valued because it has helped in satisfying many basic human needs and improving living conditions. Advances in technology and science are transforming our world at an incredible and unimaginable pace. We cannot escape from and we cannot measure the significance of science. Science has shaped the world. Technology and the products of scientific • knowledge surround us every day. Public and private policy decisions that impact every aspect of our lives are driven by scientific process and scientific evidence. The enormously complex physical world around us illustrates boundless scientific concepts. Being "science literate" has become not just an advantage but an absolute necessity in the 21st century. Science is our way of understanding the world— its wondrous structure, natural events, interrelated elements and systems, and processes. It is an exciting and, at the same time, a useful endeavor that benefits our community and society at large. Another important goal of science has emerged during the past decades: to find a way to responsibly and ethically use natural resources to guarantee their continuity and that of humanity itself; an endeavor and advocacy that is referred to as "sustainability." UNIT I: THE ELEMENTARY SCIENCE CURRICULUM I

Aside from sustainability movement, education could become the most important application of science in the next decades ("Importance of Science...", 2017). It is crucial to provide humanity with a basic understanding of how science has shaped the world and human civilization. It is for this reason that education institutions need to constantly equip science educators with the tools and competence to advance science education and to engage the learners in the love for learning and doing science. The word "science" is derived from the Latin word scientia meaning knowledge. Science is commonly referred to as a systematic and organized body of knowledge in any area of inquiry that is acquired using "the scientific method." Science has many facets and definitions that can be summarized into the following:

•

Science as a broad body o f knowledge - Physical sciences consist of disciplines such as physics (the science of physical objects), chemistry (the science of matter), and astronomy (the science of celestial objects). Earth sciences consist of disciplines such as geology (the science of the earth).

•

Science as a set o f skills - The science process skills form the foundation of scientific methods. There are six basic science process skills: observation, communication, classification, measurement, inference, and prediction. These basic skills are integrated when scientists design and carry out experiments. All six basic skills are important individually as well as when they are integrated.

•

Science as an intellectual activity-Science is the intellectual, practical, and systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment.

•

Science as a social activity -Science is a social activity shaped by history, institutions, beliefs, and values. Society shapes science and vice versa.

•

Science as problem-solving - Problem-solving skills are necessary in all areas of life, and the science class provides the students opportunity to develop and utilize their problem-solving skills, which include the ability to critically analyze a problem, determine all its elements, and prepare a feasible solution. These are valuable skills one can acquire in life.

•

Science as a career - Individuals who have devoted themselves in studying and doing science have established careers in science, such as biologists, chemists, environmentalists, astronomers, medical practitioners, among others.

•

Science as a global human endeavor - Science is a result of human imagination, ingenuity, and creativity. Individuals and teams from many nations and cultures have contributed to science and to advances in technology.

•

Science as a process - The scientific method is a set of steps for verifyi ngandbuilding scientific knowledge. When performing this process, one employs skills necessary to research a topic, develop a plan and timeline, and draw conclusions from research results.

Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

A. ACTIVATE Activity A. 1. Defining Science Do you remember how your previous teachers, readings, and classes define science? Create a word cloud below to illustrate/show these definitions or keywords. Be guided by the sample word cloud on knowledge below. c

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B. AN ALYZE Activity B. 1. The Facets of Science Science means several things to various individuals and institutions. You can see the various facets of science in the first column below. On the opposite column, write your insights and reflection about each of the facets of science.

Insights and Reflection

Facets of Science 1.

Science as a broad body of knowledge

Science as a set of skills

Science as an intellectual activity

Science as a social activity

Science as problem-solving

Science as a career

Science as a global human endeavor

Science as a process

UNIT I: THE ELEMENTARY SCIENCE CURRICULUM 3

Activity B. 2. The Scientific Method Scientific method refers to a set of steps for verifying and building scientific knowledge. Steps include making valid observations, interpreting results, and generalizing results.The scientific method allows researchers to independently and impartially test preexisting knowledge and priorfindingsand subject them to scrutiny and enhancements.

Recall a problem or challenge that you were able to solve recently. Identify the steps you did or went through. Write the steps on the corresponding box in the worksheet. M ake a HYPOTHESIS:

Name: Date: A sk a QUESTION:

T est th e HYPOTHESIS: Supplies:

(

Procedures:

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Record th e RESULTS:

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Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

A B S TR A C T Activity C. 1. The Scientific Irony Science is a very exciting subject and process, but why do teachers have difficulty engaging all tne students in learning and doing science? In pair or triad, reflect on this question. Write the reasons why the students love learning and doing science in the first column and the reasons for their disinterest in the third column. In the second column titled BUT, write the manifestations of the students' disinterest in the subject.

Students love Science

BUT

they hate Science class

Activity C. 2. Designing My Future Science Class Your goal as a future science teacher should be to engage your students to love learning and doing science. What are the features of an ideal science class? Characterize each of the elements below.

Elements

Characteristics/Features

Teacher

Curriculum

W Students

UNIT I: THE ELEMENTARY SCIENCE CURRICULUM 5

Classrooin

Other support systems

FSlt D. APPLY Activity D. 1. Characterizing an Inspiring Science Teacher Research shows that the teacher is the most important factor in the effective delivery of classroom instruction. Engaging classes are facilitated by inspiring science teachers. But what are the important traits of an inspiring science teacher? Write descriptions and simple illustrations below. ANATOMY OF A PRIMARY

SCHOOL TEACHER

Do you embody these traits? What steps do you undertake to develop them?

6 Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

Activity D. 2. Characterizing an Engaging Science Class Interview some of the students about their previous science classes. List down below the topics that the students find most interesting to learn. Ask also how the teachers taught them effectively in the classroom.

Favorite/Most Interesting Lessons in Science

Teaching and Learning Strategies

Lesson Synthesis What should be the purpose for every science class?

What makes an engaging and inspiring science class? An effective science teacher?

UNIT I: THE ELEMENTARY SCIENCE CURRICULUM 7

Lesson 2: Science Education f

Learning Objectives At the end of the lesson, you are expected to: •

discuss the purpose and objectives of the science education and

•

reflect on one's competence in science in light of the strands of scientific proficiency.

II.

Learning Activities Science education is concerned about learning, teaching, and understanding science. There are three dimensions of science that are all important in science education: science knowledge, processes of doing science, and scientific attitudes. Science is one of the most important subjects that must be learned because of its relevance to the students' lives. In the science class, the students use and develop life skills such as problem-solving and critical thinking, which they need to succeed in school, career, and beyond. These lifelong skills allow students to generate ideas, weigh decisions objectively, and understand the evidence. Teaching science is important because of several reasons. First, the nation is dependent on the technical and scientific abilities of its citizens for its economic growth and national activities. Moreover, science is a significant part of human culture and represents one of the highlights of human capacity. Also, it provides a laboratory of common experience for development of language, logic, and problem-solving skills. Finally, for some of the students, it will become a lifelong vocation or career. Understanding science is multifaceted. Current research indicates that proficiency in one aspect of science is closely related to proficiency in others. Like strands of a rope, the strands of scientific proficiency are linked. The National Academy of Sciences developed the strands of scientific proficiency that address the knowledge and reasoning skills that the students must acquire to be considered fully proficient in science. The students who are proficient in science: •

know, use, and interpret scientific explanations;

•

generate and evaluate scientific evidence and explanations;

•

understand the nature and development of scientific knowledge; and

•

participate productively in scientific practices.

A. A C TIV A TE Activity A. 1. The Aims of the Study and Teaching of Sciences The aims of teaching and learning science can be summarized below. Recall classroom activities or learning experiences you had that aimed at developing these outcomes among the students. Recall also your feelings and insights when you experienced those activities in class. 8 Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

Aims

Classroom Activities/ Learning Experiences

Your Feelings and Insights

Develop inquiring minds and curiosity about the world

Acquire knowledge, conceptual understanding, and skills to solve problems and make informed decisions

Communicate scientific ideas, arguments, and practical experiences

Think analytically, critically, and creatively to solve problems, judge arguments, and make decisions

Appreciate the benefits and limitations of science and its applications

Understand the international nature of science and the interdependence of science, technology, and society

Demonstrate attitudes and develop values of honesty, responsibility, and respect for oneself, for others, and for the environment

B. AN ALYZE Activity B. 1. Historical Development of Science Education in the Philippines The table below, adapted from Pawilen (2005), lists some of the key events in the development of science education in the Philippines. Read each item carefully. With a partner or triad, read print and online sources on other legislations and events that contributed to the improvement of the quality of science education in the Philippines.

UNIT I: THE ELEMENTARY SCIENCE CURRICULUM 9

Highlights

Year 1960s

•

Printing and distribution of science textbooks by the United States Operations Mission-National Economic Council (USOM-NEC) Project and UP Science Teaching Center

1970s

1980s

•

Teaching of Integrated Science and Health in schools

•

Development of The Elementary Learning Continuum (ELC)

•

Introduction of Science, Technology, and Society (STS) approach to teaching

•

Development of science and technology textbooks for secondary schools

1990s

•

Recognition of the UPISMED

•

Start of the Needs-Based Curriculum Project

•

Development of "Science Made Easy” video course and television programs like "Sine Eskuwela" for science in the elementary level

2000

•

Development of an Indigenous Curriculum for science in selected local communities

2011

•

Integration of language and science for Grades I and II

•

Increased time for learning science

•

Development of the Science Framework for Philippine Basic Education by Department of Science and Technology Science Education Institute and University of the Philippines National Institute for Science and Mathematics Education Development

2013

President Benigno Aquino III approved Republic Act (RA) 10533, signing into law the K-12 program

Contemporary (Write your answers here.) Programs

Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

A B S TR A C T Activity C.1. It was previously stated thatscienceteaching is concerned aboutthe teaching of scientific knowledge and development of science process skills, scientific attitudes, and values among the learners. Read relevant print and online examples on these domains. Give and write your own examples on the corresponding column.

Domains of Teaching Science Scientific Knowledge

Definition/Examples

Your Own Examples

Scientific knowledge refers to the knowledge that is based on scientific methods. Examples: -

Cell Theory

Binomial System of Nomenclature

DNA Synthesis

Science Process Skills •

Observation

•

Communication

•

Classification

•

Measurement

•

Inference

•

Prediction

Scientific Attitudes

•

Critical-mindedness

and Values

•

Respect For Evidence

•

Honesty

•

Objectivity

•

Open-mindedness

•

Precision

•

Curiosity

•

Persistence

•

Patience

UNIT I: THE ELEMENTARY SCIENCE CURRICULUM II

APPLY Activity D.1. Public and private institutions alike are making an effort to encourage today's youth to take sciencerelated courses and careers. Examine the following programs and innovations below and see how well they have gone in making science careers enticing to the youth. Write a short description about each program below.

Program/Innovation

Description

Balik Scientist Program

http://pcieerd.dost.gov.ph/news/latest-news/297-balik-scienti5taet-appfoved-as-dost-celebrates-3rd-annual-bsp-convention All content is in the public domain unless otherwise stated.

Project Noah

DOST Project NOAH [Public domain]

Aghambayan

fjM .

The microsatellites Diwata 1 and 2 and nanosatellite Maya 1

RoyKao»fvi; ;CC 3Y-SA 4-Oihtto* >V»*»t<ve««fWT>©f\».©»9/licen»e*fl»y-S*</4.0}l

Philippine Journal of Science

Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

Science schools in the Philippines •

Manila Science High School

•

Philippine Science High School System

•

Special Science Elementary Schools Project

•

Quezon City Regional Science High School

•

Central Visayan Institute Foundation

How would you encourage teens to take science-related courses and careers?

Lesson Synthesis 1.

What defines the quality of science education in the Philippines?

What are the opportunities and challenges in teaching science in the Philippines?

UNIT I: THE ELEMENTARY SCIENCE CURRICULUM 13

Lesson 3: Elementary Science Curriculum Physics, Earth, and Space Science I.

Learning Objectives At the end of the lesson, you are expected to: •

explain the intent, content, and structure of the basic education science curriculum;

•

discuss the science curriculum framework for basic education;

•

explain the importance of science education to national development;

•

discuss the historical development of science education in the Philippines; and

•

II.

identify the opportunities and challenges in teaching science in the Philippines.

Learning Activities Science education aims to develop scientific literacy among the Filipino learners that will prepare them to be active and engaged citizens in the society. As a whole, the K-12 science curriculum is learner-centered and inquiry-based, emphasizing the use of constructivist pedagogy in teaching. Concepts and skills in life sciences, physics, chemistry, and earth sciences are presented with increasing levels of complexity from one grade level to another in spiral progression, thus paving the way to a deeper understanding of core concepts. The science curriculum promotes a strong link between science and technology, including indigenous technology, thus preserving our country's cultural heritage (K to 12 Curriculum Guide Science, 2016). This curriculum is designed around the three domains of learning science: understanding and applying scientific knowledge in local setting as well as global context, performing scientific processes and skills, and developing and demonstrating scientific attitudes and values. The acquisition of these domains is facilitated using the following approaches: m ulti/ interdisciplinary approach, science-technology-society approach, contextual learning, problem/ issue-based learning, and inquiry-based approach.The approaches are based on constructivism, social cognition learning model, learning style theory, and brain-based learning. Science content and science processes are linked in the K-12 curriculum. Organizing the curriculum around situations and problems that challenge the learners' curiosity motivates them to learn and appreciate science. The aim of the K-12 science curriculum is for the learners "to demonstrate understanding of basic science concepts and application of science-inquiry skills. They exhibit scientific attitudes and values to solve problems critically, innovate beneficial products, protect the environment and conserve resources, enhance the integrity and wellness of people, make informed decisions, and engage in discussions of relevant issues that involve science, technology, and environment" (K to 12 Curriculum Guide Science, 2016).

14 Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

A. ACTIVATE How well do you know and understand science education in the Philippines? Let us check your knowledge and understanding by performing the following activities.

Activity A.1. Read carefully the introduction and conceptual framework of the basic education science curriculum guide and answer the questions below: 1.

What is the overall goal of basic education science?

What is the content of the science curriculum?

How is the content of the science curriculum organized?

B. AN ALYZE Activity B.1. The curriculum guide explicitly discusses important concepts, such as domains of learning science, theoretical foundations, teaching approaches, and curriculum features. Fill out the table below by selecting the set of items that should be under each column. Copy the elements in the corresponding column.

Domains of Learning Science

Theoretical Foundations

Approaches to Teaching Science

Curricular Features

UNIT I: THE ELEMENTARY SCIENCE CURRICULUM 15

Set A: Learner-centered, Inquiry-based, Spiral progression of concepts and skills, Intertwined science content and science processes, Problem-based

Set B: Multi/interdisciplinary approach, Science-technology-society approach, Contextual learning Set C: Constructivism, Social cognition learning model, Learning style theory, Brain-based learning Set D: Understanding and applying scientific knowledge, Performing scientific processes and skills, Developing and demonstrating scientific attitudes and values

Activity B. 2. This time, focus on the curricular features of basic education science. Write the features below and cull textual pieces of evidence from the Curriculum Guide (CG) to support your answer.

Curriculum Features

Sample/Textual Pieces of Evidence from the CG

C. A B S TR A C T The Department of Science and Technology developed the Science Framework for Basic Education. Included in this document are the guiding principles for the formulation of the science framework. Read the principles carefully. Highlight the key concepts.

Activity C.1. The Guiding Principles of Science Curriculum Framework 1.

Science is for everyone.

Science is both content and process.

School scienceshould emphasize depth ratherthan breadth, coherence ratherthanfragmentation, and use of evidence in constructing explanation.

School science should be relevant and useful.

School science should nurture interest in learning.

School science should demonstrate a commitment to the development of a culture of science.

Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

School science should promote the strong link between science and technology, including indigenous technology.

School science should recognize that science and technology reflect, influence, and shape our culture. From these principles, the two frameworks below were formulated/derived. Can you explain the

connection/how they came up with these frameworks?

Activity C. 2. Below is the science curriculum framework for basic education in the Philippines. A curriculum framework is a set of standards or learning outcomes that defines the content to be learned in terms of clear, definable standards of what the students should know and be able to do.

Inquiry Skills

Scientific A ttitu d e s

Below is the conceptual framework of science education in the Philippines. A conceptual framework is used to understand the place of and inform the direction of a research project. Can you explain to a peer the meaning of this framework and the relationship among the various features of the curriculum?

UNIT I: THE ELEMENTARY SCIENCE CURRICULUM 17

Scientific, Technological and Environmental Literacy

M ulti/ Interdisciplinary A p p ro a ch

Science TechnologySociety Approach/ Contextual Learning

Problem /lssuebased Learning

Inquiry-Based A p p ro a ch

Social C o g n itio n Learning M o d e l

Learning Style Th e o ry

Brain-based

Constructivism

learning

Compare the two frameworks. What patterns, common concepts, themes, target outcomes do you see?

What do these themes and patterns mean to you?

Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

D. APPLY Activity D. 1. How does a 21st century science classroom look like? List down below the features of the science curriculum you wish to see and explore in the classroom. What do you think the teacher and students are like inside the classroom to manifest such features? Write in the corresponding column below.

Science Curriculum Features

Samples from Actual Practice/Observations

III.

Lesson Synthesis How does the learning of science foster cultural development?

UNIT I: THE ELEMENTARY SCIENCE CURRICULUM 19

Lesson 4: Constructivist Theory in Teaching Science I.

Learning Objectives At the end of the lesson, you are expected to:

II.

•

familiarize yourself with the principles of constructivist teaching;

•

describe how one wishes to be taught in science class;

•

classify teaching strategies as constructivist or non-constructivist;

•

select appropriate teaching strategies to match target topics and competencies; and

•

examine the effectiveness of constructivist teaching approaches.

Learning Activities Constructivist teaching is anchored on the fundamental belief that learning occurs as individuals are actively involved in meaning-making and knowledge-construction processes. Dewey's idea of transformative education suggests that education must foster the development of critical thinking among the learners via reflection, exploration of the environment, and handson experiences. Piaget's role in the constructivist teaching highlights that we learn by expanding our knowledge through experiences. These experiences are generated through playing from infancy to adulthood, which is necessary for learning. In the constructivist classroom, the teacher's role is to prompt and facilitate meaningful exchange of ideas and learning. The teacher's main focus is guiding the students by asking questions that will lead them to develop their own insights and conclusions on the subject. Constructivist teaching is governed by the following principles: •

Engage the students in the discovery and examination of relevant and meaningful problems

•

Organize curriculum into activities and broad primary concepts

•

Explore and value the students' perspectives

•

Encourage the students to investigate and challenge their assumptions

•

Use assessment to diagnose and guide the student learning.

20 Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

A. ACTIVATE Activity A. 1. Recall the best moments you had in your science class. What were you doing? What was your lesson? Who was your teacher? What made rt the best moment?

B. A N ALYZE Activity B.1. From the list below, circle the principles of constructivist teaching and learning. 1.

Engage the students in the discovery and examination of relevant and meaningful problems

Organize the curriculum into activities and broad primary concepts

Explore and value the students' perspectives

Encourage the students to investigate and challenge their assumptions

Use assessment to diagnose and guide the student learning

The teacher uses multiples forms of assessment and flexible groupings.

Knowledge is shaped by experience.

Learning is a personal interpretation of the world.

Learning is solely by doing.

Activity B. 2. How does a constructivist classroom look like compared to a traditional classroom? Characterize a constructivist classroom by completing the list of features in the second column.

Traditional Classroom

Constructivist Classroom

Adherence to fixed curriculum

UNIT I: THE ELEMENTARY SCIENCE CURRICULUM 21

Textbooks and workbooks

The instructor gives and the students receive

Knowledge is inert

Assessment via paper-and-pen test

The instructor assumes authoritative role

The students work individually

C. A B S TR A C T Activity C. 1. How would you like to be taught in science? 1.

Ask your colleagues the same question and tabulate your answers.

Find out patterns and themes.

Categorize your responses as constructivist or non-constructivist approaches.

Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

teaching and learning

Come up with your personal definition of constructivist teaching.

APPLY Activity D.1. Try out your knowledge and understanding of constructivist teaching strategies by selecting appropriate strategies that will complete the table of alignment below. Make sure that the teaching strategies match the target topic and competencies.

Competencies

Topics

Constructivist Teaching Strategies

Describe different objects based

Characteristics of solids, liquids, and

on their characteristics (e.g., shape,

gases

weight, volume, ease of flow)

Human sense organs Enumerate healthful habits to protect the sense organs Animals

Describe animals in their immediate surroundings

Heat and electricity

Describe sources of light, sound, heat, and electricity

Proper disposal of waste

Identify the effects of decaying materials on one's health and safety

UNIT I: THE ELEMENTARY SCIENCE CURRICULUM 23

III.

Lesson Synthesis Are there downfalls in using constructivist teaching approach?

When does constructivist teaching strategy work best?

Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

UNIT

II: INSTRUCTIONAL PLANNING

Lesson 5: Components of Instructional Planning I.

Learning Objectives At the end of the lesson, you are expected to:

II.

•

describe to a colleague your typical instructional

planning process;

•

identify events that must be included in an instruction plan;

•

examine the elements of an effective instruction and their relationship; and

•

characterize an effective instructional plan.

Learning Activities All teachers engage in the process of planning, managing, delivering, and evaluating instruction. Planning instruction involves three steps: (1) deciding what to teach, (2) deciding how to teach, and (3) communicating goals and expectations to the learners. Each of these steps includes specific tasks. Examine the table below.

Instructional Planning Domain Deciding what to teach

Steps 1.

Assess the students' skills and knowledge

Analyze the instructional task

Establish a logical instructional sequence

Consider the classroom elements that may affect instruction

Identify gaps between actual and expected performance

UNIT II: INSTRUCTIONAL PLANNING

Deciding how to teach

Communicating goals and expectations to the learners

Set instructional goals

Select instructional methods and materials

Pace instruction appropriately

Monitor performance and re-plan instruction

Involve the students in learning

State expectations

Maintain high standards

A C TIV A TE Activity A. 1. How do you plan for instruction? Describe to your colleague the process you do.

B. A N ALYZE Activity B.1. The Great Schools Partnership has developed the Elements of Effective Instruction framework that identifies five elements of instructional practice. When integrated into learning experiences, these elements promote student engagement and academic achievement. Provide description for each element below. •

Learning environment

•

Clear, shared outcomes

26 Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

Varied content, materials, and methods of instruction

•

Practice and feedback

•

Complex thinking and transfer

Activity B. 2. Illustrate in a diagram or graphic organizer the relationship among these elements. How do they foster student engagement?

A B S TR A C T Activity C.1. Robert Gagne developed Nine Events of Instruction that has guided trainers and educators in designing instruction for trainings and classroom-based teaching. 1.

Gaining attention (reception)

Informing learners of the objective (expectancy)

Stimulating recall of prior learning (retrieval)

Presenting the stimulus (selective perception)

Providing learning guidance (semantic encoding)

Eliciting performance (responding) UNIT II: INSTRUCTIONAL PLANNING

Providing feedback (reinforcement)

Assessing performance (retrieval)

Enhancing retention and transfer (generalization)

In small groups, discuss answers to the following questions: 1.

Which of the nine events do you include in your instructional planning?

What do you consider in choosing these priorities?

Which is most important and why?

D. APPLY Activity D.1. Gather examples of instructional plans from friends and colleagues. Examine the presence of any of the Nine Events of Instruction proposed by Gagne. Did you find any new element? Identify and discuss.

Instructional Plan Samples

Events of Instruction

Remarks

1. 2. *

3. 4. 5. •

Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

Lesson Synthesis .Vhat new insights did you learn from this lesson?

What is the importance of instructional planning?

What is the importance of planning for elementary science?

UNIT II: INSTRUCTIONAL PLANNING

Lesson 6: Instructional Planning Cycle I.

Learning Objectives At the end of the lesson, you are expected to: •

explain the importance and purpose of instructional planning

cycle;

•

examine the selected instructional planning model; and

•

discuss the relationship among the steps in ADDIE(Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation and Evaluation) instructional design process.

il.

Learning Activities How do the teachers know if learning plans are effective and if the students are learning? It is crucial that the teachers take steps to reflect not only on their delivery of instruction but on quality of learning that is taking place in the classroom. Great teachers reflect on their practice and keep learning. They keep building on their strengths and working on their weaknesses. They are not afraid to learn about their weaknesses and areas for improvement. They make reflection and constant growth. A simple way to perform the instructional planning cycle is to do these three steps.

Stage 1: Stating the Intended Instructional Outcomes Effective teachers begin the instructional cycle by identifying the content standards that the lesson or unit will address. At this stage, the teacher has a clear idea of what the students need to know, understand, and be able to do to meet the standards.

Stage 2: Planning In this stage, the teachers design varied, challenging, and appropriate instructional activities. It is also important that teachers plan ongoing formal (e.g., standardized tests) and informal (e.g., teacher-made tests, portfolios) assessments to determine the students' progress.

Stage 3: Assessment In this third stage, the teachers implement their planned assessments to determine whether the students have met the intended learning outcomes.

30 Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

A. A C TIV A TE Activity A. 1. In pair or triad, discuss and share answers to these questions: 1.

Have you experienced teaching science to elementary learners? How was it like?

Do you reflect on your teaching and facilitating? In what ways?

When do you say you have done well in facilitating learning?

What are your sources of data? »

B. AN ALYZE Activity B. 1. Examine the ADDIE instructional design process below. What do you observe with the steps? How about the relationship among the five steps?

UNIT II: INSTRUCTIONAL PLANNING

C. A BSTRA C T Activity C.1. In groups of 4-5 members, complete the table below with expected output when performing the ADDIE instructional design process.

Steps Analysis (the process of defining

Sample Tasks •

Needs assessment: learners, goals

•

Problem identification

•

Task analysis

Design (the process of specifying

•

Write objectives

how it is to be learned)

•

Develop test items

•

Plan instruction

•

Identify resources

•

Select delivery system

Development (the process

•

Work with producers

of writing and producing the

•

Develop worksheets, materials

Implementation (the actual

•

Teachertraining

delivery of instruction)

•

Tryout

Evaluation (the process of

•

Record test results

determining the adequacy,

•

Interpret test results

•

Survey graduates

•

Revise activities

what it is to be learned)

materials)

effectiveness, and efficiency of instruction; maybe formative or summative)

Sample Output

*Adapted from San Jose University, Instructional Technology Program

Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

D. APPLY Activity D.1. Perform the instructional improvement cycle. Fill out the table below with your insights and reflection.

Insights/Outcome

Steps

III.

Select and instructional strategy

Implement the strategy

Collect data on strategy implementation

Analyze the data and reflect on the results

•

Lesson Synthesis After going through the complex yet exciting process of instructional planning, what is it like?

UNIT II: INSTRUCTIONAL PLANNING

Lesson 7: Five E Model in Planning Science Lessons I.

Learning Objectives At the end of the lesson, you are expected to:

II.

•

discuss distinct features of the 5E model;

•

describe each of the elements of the 5E model;

•

examine a sample lesson plan using 5E model;

•

gather examples of 5E model instructional plans;

•

revise an instructional plan using the 5E model;

•

interview teachers on the effectiveness and applicability of 5E model in the classroom; and

•

make generalizations and recommendations based on interview findings.

Learning Activities In 1962, educators J. Myron Atkin and Robert Karplus propositioned that effective learning cycles involve three key elements: exploration, concept introduction, and concept application. Exploration allowed the learners to get interested in the subject, ask questions, and identify points of dissatisfaction with their current understanding. Introduction of new terms or concepts follows. Finally, the concept application provided the learners with opportunities to apply their ideas and learning and apply them in new pieces of context. The findings of Atkin and Karplus informed the creation of the 5E model. This teaching model focuses on providing students opportunity to understand a concept over time through a series of steps or phases: Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate. The 5E model was developed in 1987 by the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study. The model promotes collaborative, active learning in which the students work together to solve • problems and examine new concepts by asking questions, analyzing, interpreting, evaluating, and drawing conclusions. It is based on the constructivist approach to instruction. The model is most effective when: •

The students are encountering new concepts for the first time because there is an opportunity for a complete learning cycle.

•

It is used in a unit for two to three weeks in which each phase is the basis for one or more distinct lessons.

34 Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

The table below outlines the stages of the 5E model, describes each stage, and provides sample teaching strategies.

Engage

Sample Teaching Stra tegies Activities

What the Teacher Does

Stage •

Determine the students'prior

•

Asking opening questions

knowledge and knowledge

•

The students write down what

gaps • • •

Explore

•

they already know about the topic

Foster an interest in the upcoming concepts

•

Prepare the students to learn

KWL(K means KNOW or what the students already know

new concepts

W -w ant to learn or what the

Introduce topic for the first

students want to learn

time

L - ultimately learned or what the students learned from the lesson or actvity) chart •

Maps of conceptual change

•

Laboratory experiments

•

Scientific method drills

•

Hands-on activities

•

Performance tasks

•

Field work

Facilitate a discussion and

•

Interactive discussion

synthesis of new knowledge

•

Viewing clips, documentaries

Have the students ask questions for clarification

•

Reading online discussions

Allow the students to actively explore the new concept through concrete learning experiences

•

Guide the students in going through the scientific method

•

Let the students make observations and share findings to their peers

Explain

•

• •

Have the students share their

and materials like Khan Academy, online

insights and feelings about the

encyclopedias

activity in the Explore stage •

Discuss scientific terms and

•

Taking computer-assisted interactive games

concepts •

Utilize videos, multimedia software, games, or other tools to boost understanding of concepts and science processes UNIT II: INSTRUCTIONAL PLANNING

Elaborate

•

Give the students space and opportunity to apply what they have learned

•

Creating digital or print infographics to illustrate learning

•

Ask the student to create presentations or conduct additional investigations to reinforce skills

•

Creating slide presentations

•

Jigsaw discussions

•

Fishbowl discussions

Conduct formal and informal

•

Self-assessments

assessments to check the students' content and performance mastery

•

Peer assessments

•

Paper-and-pen tests

•

Objective tests

whether they have a complete

•

Performance tasks

grasp of core concepts

•

Game-based exams

•

Allow the students to establish knowledge before evaluation

Evaluate

•

Observe the students to see

•

Note how the students approach problems

•

Recognize that there are multiple ways to approach and solve a problem

A C TIV A TE Activity A. 1. Recall the activities you had in your science classes when you were a student. What thinking skills did those activities target? Do you think your teachers employed the 5E model in teaching and facilitating learning?

Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

B. ANALYZE Activity B. 1. Read carefully the following learning plan utilizing the 5E model in teaching force and motion. Examine the appropriateness of the teaching strategies and applicability inside the classroom. Answer the questions below. 1.

Are the activities aligned with the standards?

Are the activities appropriate to the level of learners?

Do the activities facilitate the use of higher-order thinking skills?

What science process skills are utilized?

What scientific attitudes and values are cultivated?

TOPIC: Force and Motion Grade Level: Grade 3 Learning Competencies The learners should be able to: 1.

describe the position of a person or an object in relation to a reference point such as chair, door, another person;

2. identify things that can make objects move such as people, water, wind, magnets; and 3. describe the movements of objects such as fast/slow, forward/backward, stretching/compressing.; ENGAGE Let the students observe two objects, one that is moving while the other is stationary. (Use materials available from the laboratory room). Share their observations in class. EXPLORE Show the students videos on force and motion (example: moving car, machines). Ask them to describe the movement of the objects whether slow/fast, forward/backward, stretching/compressing. EXPLAIN Force is anything that has the potential to change the state of rest or motion of an object. Forces change the speed or direction of the motion of an object. The greater the force applied on an object, the greater the change that will be observed in motion. If an object is more massive, a given force will have lesser effect upon the motion of the object.

UNIT II: INSTRUCTIONAL PLANNING

ELABORATE Materials for each group: a ping pong ball, a golf ball, a piece of cm/in ruler, spherical objects of varying weights (such as tennis ball or basketball) 1.

Provide each group a ping pong ball, ruler, and a golf ball.

Ask the students to predict and observe what happens when force is applied to anobject, and compare the relative effects of a force of the same strength on objects of different weight by snapping the ping pong ball gently with a finger and measure the distance the ball covered with a ruler. Record the distance in centimeters on the force chart (see chart below).

Let the students move the ping pong ball as hard as possible with one finger. With a ruler, measure and record the distance the ball covered on the force chart.

Repeat the second and third steps using a golf ball. Use a different type of ball if golf ball is not available.

Have the students compare data with other groups and draw conclusions about force applied to objects and its effect on the direction of the object.

Give the students enough time to explore the effect of force applied to spherical objects of varying weights.

Convene the students and let them share in class what they have discovered. Guide questions for the discussion.

What did you discover about the ping pong ball as a force in motion?

What did you discover about the golf ball as a force in motion?

Which ball produced the greater direction/distance and why?

Did the balls move farther when a greater or lesser force was applied to the balls?

How would the speed of the object and distance change if force had increased or decreased in strength?

What does weight have to do with force?

Guide the students in making a list of forces they see every day (examples: kicking a ball, shooting an arrow, strong winds blowing, flowing water).

Help the students come up with the conclusion that the greater the force applied to an object, the greater the change in speed or direction it will produce on the object.

Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

FORCES CHART Ball

Soft Movement (Measured in cm)

Hard Movement (Measured in cm)

Greatest Distance

Ping Pong Ball Golf Ball EVALUATE 1.

Instruct the students to write a paragraph considering this case: What would happen if a golf team decided to practice with a golf club and a ping bong ball instead of a golf club and a golf ball?

Let the students discuss the relationship between force applied to an object and the speed or direction of the object.

C. A B S TR A C T Activity C.1. 1.

In groups of 4-5 members, interview 4-5 elementary science teachers on their use of 5E model in class.

Ask about their best practices and challenges in implementation.

Prepare a table like the one below to write your field notes.

Make generalizations and recommendations afterward.

Stage

Challenges to Implementation Best Practices in the Philippine Classrooms

Engage Explore Explain Elaborate Evaluate

Generalizations and Recommendations

UNIT II: INSTRUCTIONAL PLANNING

D. APPLY Activity D.1. 1.

Gather sample learning plans from teachers teaching elementary science.

Check the use of 5E model in the instructional plan.

If the teachers do not employ the 5E model, revise one learning plan into one that uses the 5E model.

You may use the template below.

Teacher: Date: Subject/Grade Level: Materials: Content Standard: Performance Standard:

Lesson Objective(s):

Different strategies to meet diverse learner needs:

NGAGEMENT Describe how you w ill capture the students' interest. W hat kind of questions should the students ask themselves after the engagem ent?

XPLORATION Describe what hands-on/m inds-on activities the students w ill be doing. List "big idea" conceptual questions you w ill use to encourage and/or focus the students' exploration.

Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

EXPLANATION •

The students' explanations should precede introduction of term s or explanations by the teacher. W hat questions or techniques w ill you use to help the students connect th e ir exploration to the concept under exam ination?

•

List higher-order th in kin g questions you w ill use to solicit the students' explanations and help them ju stify th e ir explanations.

ELABORATION •

Describe how the students w ill develop a more sophisticated understanding of the concept.

•

W hat vocabulary w ill be introduced and how w ill it connect to the students' observations?

•

How is this knowledge applied in our daily lives?

EVALUATION •

How w ill the students dem onstrate that they have achieved the lesson objective? This should be em bedded thro ughou t the lesson as well as at the end of the lesson.

III. Lesson Synthesis What are benefits and affordances of using the 5E model in classroom instruction?

UNIT II: INSTRUCTIONAL PLANNING

Lesson 8: Developing Instructional Plans for Elementary Science I.

Learning Objectives At the end of the lesson, you are expected to:

II.

•

unpack the standards in the curriculum guide;

•

determine the nature of competencies;

•

identify topic or content of instruction;

•

select assessment strategies; and

•

plan learning experiences.

Learning Activities

A. A C TIV A TE Activity A. 1. How do you use the curriculum guide for science?

B. AN ALYZE The curriculum guide serves as the teacher's blueprint in planning and designing the curriculum. It should not be taught as is. It will be your job to interpret these standards using

unpacking strategies. Unpacking means extracting the component knowledge and skills required by a standard in order to understand the learning expectations and clearly articulate those expectations to the students and the parents. Unpacking serves three purposes: (a) to establish focus of standards and competencies; (b) to link standards, competencies, and teaching; and (c) to contextualize teaching.The following are the steps you need to undertake when unpacking the elements of the curriculum guide in order to plan for classroom instruction: 1.

Analyze the standard.

Read the competencies. Determine the target domain of the competencies.

Determine the nature of competencies (knowledge, skills, values).

Determine the target topic or content. Identify time allotment.

42 Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

Select assessment strategies.

Plan learning experiences.

Design learning materials.

The first unpacking strategy involves analysis of the standards. Standards articulate what a student should know, understand, and be able to do by the end of the year, and they set equitable benchmarks across classrooms and schools. Read the discussion below on the various types of standards stipulated in the curriculum guide.

Performance Standard

Content Standard •

Answers the question, "What do

•

the students want to know, be able to do, and understand?"

Answers the question, "What do we want the students to do with their learning or understanding?" and "How do we want them to use their learning or understanding?"

•

Defines what the students are

•

Defines the expected proficiency level

•

Products and/or performances as evidence that the students can transfer or use their learning in real-life

expected to know (knowledge: facts and information), what they should be able to do (process or skills) with what they know •

The meaning or understanding that they construct or make as they process the facts and information

situations

Types of Standard Core Learning Area Standard (This defines the broad outcomes for the K-12 science.) e.g., The learners demonstrate understanding of basic science concepts and application of science-inquiry skills. They exhibit scientific attitudes and values to solve problems critically, innovate beneficial products, protect the environment and conserve resources, enhance the integrity and wellness of people, make informed decisions, and engage in discussions of relevant issues that involve science, technology, and environment.

Key Stage Standard (This defines the specific outcomes for key stages such as K-3, Grades 4-6, Grades 7-10, and Grades 11-12.) e.g., At the end of Grade 3, the learners should have acquired healthful habits and have developed curiosity about self and their environment using basic process skills of observing, communicating, comparing, classifying, measuring, inferring, and predicting. This curiosity will help the learners value science as an important tool in helping them continue to explore their natural and physical environment. This should also include developing scientific knowledge or concepts. UNIT II: INSTRUCTIONAL PLANNING

Select assessment strategies.

Plan learning experiences.

Design learning materials.

Content Standard •

Performance Standard

Answers the question, "What do the students want to know, be

•

Answers the question, "What do we want the students to do with their learning or understanding?" and

able to do, and understand?"

"How do we want them to use their learning or understanding?" •

Defines what the students are

•

Defines the expected proficiency level

•

Products and/or performances as evidence that the students can transfer or use their learning in real-life

expected to know (knowledge: facts and information), what they should be able to do (process or skills) with what they know •

The meaning or understanding that they construct or make as they process the facts and information

situations

Grade Level Standard (This defines the specific outcomes for each grade level.) e.g., Kindergarten - The learners will demonstrate an emerging understanding of the parts of their body and their general functions; plants, animals, and varied materials in their environment and their observable characteristics; general weather conditions and how these influence what they wear; and other things in their environment. Understanding of their bodies and what is around them is acquired through exploration, questioning, and careful observation as they infer patterns, similarities, and differences that will allow them to make sound conclusions.

Activity B. 1. Read carefully the curriculum guide. Copy some some examples of standards on the table below.

Content Standard Performance Standard Learning Area Standard Key Stage Standard Grade Level Standard

C. A B S TR A C T: (20 minutes) The K-12 science curriculum is characterized as learner-centered and inquiry-based. It puts premium on the use of evidence in constructing explanations. Concepts and skills in life sciences, physics, chemistry, and earth sciences are presented with increasing levels of complexity from one grade level to another in spiral progression. This facilitates deeper understanding of concepts along with the integration across science topics and other disciplines.

Activity C. 1. Examine the example of spiral progression of topics below. What are the recurring topics or themes?

How do teachers facilitate a deeper understanding of these topics or themes?

Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

nat kind of activities are designed inside the classroom?

■

SEQUENCE OF DOMAIN/STRANDS PER QUARTER mi l l

i —

■ |

■

1“ Quarter

3rt Quarter

4th Quarter

i w

Matter

■

Matter

i l l . |

Force,

Matter

2nd Quarter

■

Motion, & Energy

Living Things

and Their Environment

and Their

Living Things and Their

Living Things

and Their Environment

Environment

Force, Motion, &

Energy

Force, Motion, & Energy

Energy

Earth & Space

and Their

K t o 72 Science Curriculum G u id e A u g u s t 2016 Learning Materials and equipm ent technical specifications m ay b e accessed a t http.Z/lrmds. deped. go v.p h (

Living Things and Their

Earth & Space

Environment

Force, Earth & Space

Matter

Earth & Space

Motion, & Energy

Living Things and Their Environment

Living Things

Force,

and Their Environment

Motion, & Energy

Matter

Page 8 of 203 *These materials are in textbooks that have be en delivered to schools.

The second unpacking strategy is to determine the target domain, the broad group of topics in science. There are five domains of science indicated in the curriculum guide.

Domain/Component

Code

Living things and their environment

Force, Motion and Energy

Earth and Space

Matter

Examples:

Domain

Competencies Describe sources of light and sound, heat and electricity

Earth and Space (ES)

(S3ES-IVg-h-5) Practice safety and precautionary measures in dealing with different types of weather (S3FE-lllg-h- 4)

Force, Motion and Energy (FE)

UNIT II: INSTRUCTIONAL PLANNING

The third unpacking strategy involves determining the nature of competencies (Knowledge, Skills, Values). The target of the competency may be knowledge (conceptual and factual understanding), skills (ability to perform or demonstrate science process skills), and values (development of right attitudes and values in science). Examples:

Nature

Competencies Describe sources of light and sound, heat and electricity

Knowledge

(S3ES-IVg-h-5) Practice safety and precautionary measures in dealing with Skill different types of weather (S3FE-lllg-h- 4) For Steps 4-7, use the template below.

Competencies

Topic/Content

Assessment

Learning Experiences

Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

Materials

Step 4. Determine the topic or content and time allotment. The target competency contains specific topic or lesson. The first column of the cut.iculum guide L-irter/Week/Theme provides clue to the topic.

Competencies

Nature

Topic

Describe sources of light and sound, heat and electricity (S3ES-IVg-h-5)

Knowledge

Energy: Light, sound

Skill

3ractice safety and precautionary measures in dealing with different types of weather (S3FE-lllg-h- 4)

Earth and Space: Weather

The curriculum guide provides the minimum standard for the Filipino learners. The time allotment in the first column of the curriculum guide proper also serves as the minimum duration of learning the topic. Our learners may acquire or develop the target competency much ahead of the expected time.

Competencies

Time allotment

Nature

2 weeks (Weeks 7-8) Describe sources of light and sound, heat and Knowledge electricity (S3ES-IVg-h-5)

Topic Energy: Light, sound

2 weeks (Weeks 7-8) Practice safety and precautionary measures

Skill

in dealing with different types of weather

Earth and Space: Weather

(S3FE-lllg-h- 4) The table below culled from the curriculum guide is a Code Book Legend that will help us understand and appreciate the coding used in labeling the competencies. CODE BOOK LEGEND Sam ple: S 8 E S -lld -1 9 l l B

l i —

. m Learning Area and Strand/Subject or Specialization

Science

Grade level

Grade 8

Living th in g s a n d th e ir e n viro n m e n t

Force, M o t io n a n d E ne rg y

Earth a nd Space

M a tte r

First Entry

Uppercase Letter/s

Domain/Content/ Component/Topic

Earth and Space

Roman Numeral 'Zero if no speof’CQuarter

Quarter

Second Quarter

Lowercase letter/s 'Pvt ohypken(\m between letters to indicate more than a specific week

Week

Week Four

Competency

Infer why the Philippines »s prone to typhoons

•

Arabic Num ber

UNIT II: INSTRUCTIONAL PLANNING

Step 5. Select assessment strategies. The most important principle to remember when selecting assessment strategies is constructive

alignment. It is the coherence among the learning outcomes, assessment, and learning experiences in an educational program. Consider the objectives or competencies of the subject first. These competencies embody the knowledge and skills the teachers want their students to have learned at the end of the quarter. Once the competencies have been established, the second stage involves consideration of assessment. The backward design framework suggests that the teachers should consider these overarching competencies and how the students will be assessed prior to consideration of how to teach the content. Example:

Time Allotment 2 weeks (Weeks 7-8)

Competencies

Describe sources

Nature

Knowledge

of light and sound, heat and electricity (S3ES-

Assessment Strategies

Topics

Energy: Light,

•

Answering short-response test on sources of light and sound,

sound

heat and electricity •

IVg-h-5)

Describing the sources of light and sound, heat and electricity indicated by the picture prompts

2 weeks (Weeks 7-8)

Practice safety

Skill

• Earth and Space: Weather

Simulating different weather

dealing with

conditions and the right response or reaction to each weather condition in the

different types of

classroom

and precautionary measures in

weather (S3FElllg-h- 4)

•

Participating in institutional/ departmental earthquake drills

Clearly, the verb used in the competency provides clue as to the type of assessment strategies to be used in the classroom. In the example, the target competency involves the ability to describe; the assessment, therefore, should provide the learners the opportunity to recall previous or acquired knowledge on the target content. The second competency requires the students to apply knowledge of safety measures dealing with different types of weather. The assessment provides them the opportunity to show their responses and reactions to different weather conditions.

Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

Step 6. Plan learning experiences. Via ice sure to match the learning activities with learning outcomes. Examine the table below.

Learning Activities/Experiences

Target Competencies Describe sources of light, sound, heat, and electricity

•

Interactive discussion on sources of light, sound, heat, and electricity

•

Describing the sources of light, sound, heat, and electricity indicated by the picture prompts

; Practice safety and precautionary measures in dealing with different types

•

Viewing dips/lecture on safety and precautionary measures when dealing with different types of weather

•

of weather

Simulating different weather conditions and the right response or reaction to each weather condition in the classroom

•

Participating in institutional/departmental earthquake drills

Step 7. Design learning materials. The teachers should keep the following guidelines when designing learning materials for elementary science. •

The materials should be aligned with the content and performance standards in the curricu lum guide.

•

The materials should contain activities that allow different forms of interaction among the students and between the teachers and the students.

•

The activities should be varied and may employ a combination of the following: inquiry-oriented investigations, cooperative groups, use of technology, and simulations.

•

The activities indicated in the materials should provide adequate time and opportunities for the students to acquire knowledge, skills, and attitudes

•

Opportunities must be provided for the students to develop an understanding of scientific inquiry.

•

The content should be accurate and developmentally appropriate for the learners.

•

Opportunities to learn should be consistent with contemporary models of learning.

•

There should be consistency between learning goals and assessment.

•

Assessments should stress the application of concepts to new or different situations.

•

Assessment tasks should be fair for all the students. Scoring guide or rubric should be included as well.

UNIT II: INSTRUCTIONAL PLANNING

O. A PPLY Activity D. 1. On yourown, chose one competency to unpack. Identify assessment strategies, learning experiences, and materials aligned with it. Complete the table below with your answers.

Content Standard: Performance Standard: Competency

Topic/Content

Materials

Assessment Experiences

III.

Lesson Synthesis What are the benefits of unpacking strategies in the curriculum guide?

How do you feel about our week-long plan? Is it feasible? Can you implement your plan?

Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

UNIT

III: INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES FOR SCIENCE

Introduction This unit discusses various teaching strategies that can be adapted in the classroom forteaching physics and earth science.

The Basic Elements of Inquiry Methods All inquiry methods are predicated on specific assumptions about both learning and learners. Inquiry teaching requires a high degree of interaction among the learner, the teacher, the materials, the content, and the environment. The most challenging part is that it allows both the learner and the teacher to become persistent seekers, interrogators, questioners, and ponderers.The end result is whenever the learner poses the question every Nobel Prize winner has asked: "I wonder what would happen i f ... ?" It is through inquiry that new knowledge is discovered. It is by becoming involved in the process that the learners become historians, economists, scientists, engineers, poets, businessperson, artists, writers, researchers-even only for an hour or two in class.

Basic Tenets of Inquiry Teaching (Orlich etal., 2007) •

Inquiry methods require the learners to develop various processes associated with inquiry.

•

The teachers and the principals must support the concept of inquiry teaching and learn how to adapt their own teaching and administrative styles to the concept.

•

The students at all ages and levels have a genuine interest in discovering something new or in providing solutions or alternatives to unsolved questions or problems.

•

The solutions,alternatives, or responses provided bythe learnersare notfound in textbooks.The students use reference materials and textbooks during inquiry lessons just as scientists and professionals use books, articles, and references to conduct their work.

•

The objective of inquiry teaching is often a process. In many instances, the end product of an inquiry activity is relatively unimportant compared to the processes used to create it.

•

All conclusions must be considered relative or tentative, not final. The students must learn to modify their conclusions as new data are discovered.

UNIT III: INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES FOR SCIENCE

•

Inquiry learning cannot be gauged by the clock. In the real world, when people think or create, it is not usually done in fifty-minute increments.

•

The learners are responsible for planning, conducting, and evaluating their own effort. It is essential that the teacher plays only a supportive role, not an active one (that is, the teacher should not do the work for the students).

•

The students have to be taught the processes associated with inquiry learning in a systematic manner. Every time a "teachable moment" arrives, the teacher should capitalize on it to further the building of inquiry processes.

•

Inquiry learning complicates and expands the teacher's work, owing to the many interactions that may emanate from inquiry teaching and learning.

Basic Inquiry Processes Listed below are the basic inquiry processes in order of complexity (Orlich et al., 2007). 1.

Observing

Classifying

Inferring

Using numbers

Measuring

Using space-time relationships

Communicating

Predicting

Making operational definitions

10.

Formulating hypotheses

11.

Interpreting data

12.

Controlling variables

13.

Experimenting

Each inquiry process requires progressive intellectual development, and that as this development takes place for one process, it spurs development on other processes. Development of observing, classifying, and measuring skills, for example, speeds development of inferring skills. These processes are found in every learning episode that involves inquiry. Inquiry is not simply asking questions; it is a process for conducting a thorough investigation, and as such, it applies to all domains of knowledge. Each inquiry process must be carefully developed and systematically practiced. So you must decide how much of each lesson will be devoted to building cognitive skills and how much to mastering processes. 52

Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

Lesson 9: Strategy 1 - The Power of Observation

What is Observation? "People's minds are changed through observation and not through argument." -W ill Rogers "Reason, Observation, and Experience; the Holy Trinity of Science." -Robert Green Ingersoll Of all the inquiry processes, observation may be the most important to scientists and other experts. Without observation, very few questions would be asked. Observation is the core, foundation, principle, and rationale for the existence of science. Moreover, it is driven by curiosity and the need to find patterns and answers to questions. Inquiry depends upon observations to provide data for processes such as predicting, hypothesizing, and inferring. Unexplained events and occurrences are constructed through inquiry processes. The unexplained becomes reality by creating conclusions, theories, principles, and laws. Without special attention to observations, there would be little advancement in science.

UNIT III: INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES FOR SCIENCE

Definition of O b s e rv a tio n For some people, observing could be described using the song"ForYour Eyes Only." But observation is much more than the use of eyes to see. It involves the use of all senses: seeing, tasting, hearing, touching, and smelling. The sense of sight is often predominant so that we become aware of the natural world, but a better understanding of ourselves and our surroundings is possible as a result of the interaction of our different senses. Technically, observation is defined as an act of recognizing and noting a fact or occurrence often involving measurement with instruments (Merriam-Webster). It involves not only one skill but actually two or more skills. Basic science concepts such as classification, ordering, and seriation are learned through sight and touch but-in some cases can be learned with the use of other senses as well. Science ideas such as energy, black holes, and ecology are based more on mental abstraction than observable data. These ideas are made concrete through symbols, models, diagrams, and formulas. Basic knowledge is learned through sense observations. Observing is not unique to scientists; every human being uses observations, consciously or unconsciously, on a daily basis to make decisions. Bronowski (1981) says: Science is not only rational; it is also empirical. Science is experiment, that is orderly and reasoned activity. It does not watch the world, it tackles it. (p.104) People other than scientists are less likely to understand the significance of observations for decision-making. Scientists are actively and consciously engaged in using observations through formal methodology.

B. Teaching and Learning Through Observation Consciously using observation is just as important to teachers as it is to scientists and other profes sionals. Observing helps construct reality and make sense of the classroom environment. Watching chil dren and listening to them while they are engaged in science activities provide a wealth of data about what they are learning. Instructional strategies, curriculum content, and assessment techniques can be revised or deleted according to the set of facts collected during observations of children (Foster, 1999). Gathering data from actual teaching experiences is much more effective than exclusively trusting curric ulum guides to inform the teachers about the best practices. Curriculum guides typically express general viewpoints of teaching, which may have little relevance to individual classroom situations. Learning to observe is a significant inquiry process for children to consciously use while they are engaged in science activities. Children of all ages are continuously collecting data about the world around them, but they may not be consciously aware of their actions. By using their senses, children consciously learn to construct reality by exploring objects in the real world around them, which also includes interactions with peers and adults. Teachers can help children learn to trust their own observations, which will provide them with experiences in becoming good problem solvers and independentthinkers. 54

Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

11.

What is the Importance of Observation?

A. Th e Development of Facts From Observations Why are observations important to scientists? Usually they attempt to find answers to questions by looking for patterns in nature, numbers, or controlled experiments.These patterns. are detected in data collected through the use of senses, which we will call sense data (Foster, 1999). Patterns are interpretations made by the observer of the collected data.

B. Th e Development of Concepts From Observational Facts A new view of education is taking shape that reflects science as the understanding relationships between systems and their parts. The emphasis is on process rather than products, and through processes, relationships among facts (products) become apparent and meaningful. The contemporary view of science is based on understanding patterns and relationships among organized ideas, which are called concepts.

C. Indirect Observations Most of the time, we collect data through direct observations. In other science disciplines including biology, chemistry and physics, there are instances wherein we rely on indirect observation. Scientists cannot directly observe the intricate processes within the human body, the motion and structure of molecules or galaxies, or the other layers of the earth. Microscopes, telescopes, computers, radar, and sonar are examples of technologies that help increase the ability to observe.The knowledge created through indirect observation is referred to as inferences (Foster, 1999). In other words, conclusions are deduced from indirect data. Knowledge bases in biology, chemistry, and physics began with direct observation, but the desire to know more has taken the knowledge to levels that must rely on technology for collecting data.

III.

Sample Lesson Plan

Topic: Force and Motion Grade Level: Grade 3 Learning Competencies: The learners should be able to: 1.

describe the position of a person or an object in relation to a reference point such as chair, door, another person;

identify things that can make objects move such as people, water, wind, magnets; and

describe the movements of objects such as fast/slow, forward/backward, stretching/ compressing. UNIT III: INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES FOR SCIENCE

ENGAGE Let the students observe two objects, one that is moving while the other is stationary. (Use materials available from the laboratory room.) Share their observations in class. EXPLORE Show the students videos on force and motion (example: moving car, machines). Ask them to describe the movement of the objects whether slow/fast, forward/backward, stretching/compressing. EXPLAIN Force is anything that has the potential to change the state of rest or motion of an object. Forces change the speed or direction of the motion of an object. The greater the force applied on an object, the greater the change that will be observed in motion. If an object is more massive, a given force will have lesser effect upon the motion of the object. ELABORATE Materials for each group: a ping pong ball, a golf ball, a piece of cm/in ruler, spherical objects of varying weights (such as tennis ball or basketball) 1.

Provide each group a ping pong ball, ruler, and a golf ball.

Ask the students to predict and observe what happens when force is applied to an object, and compare the relative effects of a force of the same strength on objects of different weight by snapping the ping pong ball gently with a finger and measure the distance the ball covered with a ruler. Record the distance in centimeters on the force chart (see chart below).

Let the students move the ping pong ball as hard as possible with one finger. With a ruler, measure and record the distance the ball covered on the force chart.

Repeat the second and third steps using a golf ball. Use a different type of ball if golf ball is not available.

Have the students compare data with other groups and draw conclusions about force applied to objects and its effect on the direction of the object.

Give the students enough time to explore the effect of force applied to spherical objects of varying weights.

Convene the students and let them share in class what they have discovered. Guide questions for the discussion. a.

What did you discover about the ping pong ball as a force in motion?

What did you discover about the golf ball as a force in motion?

56 Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

Which ball produced the greater direction/distance and why?

Did the balls move farther when a greater or lesser force was applied to the balls?

How would the speed of the object and distance change if force had increased or decreased in strength?

What does weight have to do with force?

Guide the students in making a list of forces they see every day (examples: kicking a ball, shooting an arrow, strong winds blowing, flowing water).

Help the students come up with the conclusion that the greater the force applied to an object, the greater the change in speed or direction it will produce on the object.

FORCES CHART II I1

■: -

Ball

1 I Ping Pong Ball

•

Soft Movement (Measured in cm)

Hard Movement (Measured in cm)

Greatest Distance

Golf Ball EVALUATE Instruct the students to write a paragraph considering this case: What would happen if a golf team decided to practice with a golf club and a ping bong ball instead of a golf club and a golf ball? 2.

Let the students to discuss the relationship between force applied to an object and the speed or direction of the object.

Ither Direct Observation Activities (adapted from Foster, 1999). •

Observe an ice cube as it melts.

•

Identify your own apple when it is placed in a bowlof other apples.Other fruit such

aslemons, limes,

and oranges can be used instead of apples. •

Give everyone a green leaf from the same kind of tree. Identify your leaf after it hasbeen placed in a pile with everyone else's leaves. Although primary children may focus on a few attributes, older children can work with a variety of attributes. For example, primary children may focus only on the shape of the leaf while uppergrade children can focus on its shape, edges, and veins. Measurements that are either nonstandard or standard can be used to make precise observations.

UNIT III: INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES FOR SCIENCE

Direct Moon Phase Observations and Study Knowledge about phases of the moon is usually presented through pictures, diagrams, and illustrations. Sometimes, activities usually consist of observing phases by shining light on a threedimensional model. Other moon phase activities may use objects such as a basketball to represent the earth, a baseball to represent the moon, and a.light source for the sun. Understanding moon phases requires collecting data through limited use of the senses and creating models.

Learning Competencies The learners should be able to: •

experience collecting data over a long period of time (1-4 weeks);

•

create an explanation for moon phases based on data from direct observations rather than textbooks or other sources;

•

identify and answer questions that arise from studying moon phases; and

•

understand angles and sky directions.

Grade Level: •

Primary through upper grades (noticing differences in phases may be sufficientfor primary grades)

Materials: •

Charts, index cards, or pocket calendars for recording changes in moon phases, angle, time, and sky directions

Instructions: 1.

Before beginning your observations, write on a sheet of paper an explanation for moon phase creation. Hand this to your teacher. It will be given back to you to compare what you learned at the end of the moon phase observation experience.

Form groups of 4-5 members. Choose different days and times for collecting data. You will share the data together.

Devise a way to record your data. For example, on an index card, outline the horizon and indicate the direction you are looking. Draw the moon's shape and its angle in the sky. Place several observations on one card and use a different card for each observation. Remember to record dates and times.

Record the following during your moon phase study: date, time of day, moon phase, angle of moon at the time of observation, and direction in the sky. You may be recording data as long as two months to ensure enough data are collected to see patterns in the moon phases.

58 Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

Try to observe the moon at the same spot at the same time. You may find you have to change location or time during this long period of observation.

Record questions that come to your mind. You will be given opportunities in class to discuss your findings and your questions. Distinguish between those questions that can be answered through direct observations and those that cannot.

Classroom Moon Phase Simulation After the students have collected data for 1-4 weeks, this classroom activity can be given to them that illustrates moon phase changes.

Learning Competencies The learners should be able to: •

understand moon phase using the earth as a point of reference;

•

observe the positions of the earth, moon, and sun during each phase;

•

compare learning moon phases by direct observations and by using a model.

and

Grade Level: •

Upper grades

Materials: •

Meter stick or yardstick

•

Styrofoam ball (25-30 cm/10-12 inches in circumference)

•

Popsicle stick

•

Masking tape

•

Light bulb (150-250 watts) and bulb socket without a shade

Instructions: 1.

Push one end of the Popsicle stick into the Styrofoam ball. The Styrofoamball represents the moon.

Tape the other end of the Popsicle stick to one end of the meter stickso that the Popsicle stick is perpendicular to the meter stick.

After turning off the overhead lights and making the room as dark as possible, the instructor will turn on the light bulb and hold it above his or her head. The light bulb represents the sun.

UNIT III: INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES FOR SCIENCE

Stand up and hold the end of the meter stick with the Styrofoam ball up in the air with the other end poised on the tip of your nose. The angle of the meter stick should be about 45°. You represent the earth.The 45° angle simulate a person's line of sight when looking at the moon.

Make sure you can turn around without bumping into someone else's meter stick. Keep your eyes focused on the Styrofoam ball. Slowly rotate and watch what happens.

Notice where the sun is in relation to your position and in relation to the moon for each phase of the moon.

Think about the data you collected from your actual observations of the moon and your questions.

Write down an explanation of moon phases using knowledge gained from direct observations and this activity.

Compare the explanations you wrote with the explanations you previously submitted to your teacher before the activity.

Discussion Questions •

What did you learn from the actual moon phase observation?

•

What did the simulation activity confirm about your actual moon phase observations?

•

Why is it difficult to understand moon phase changes from pictures or illustrations?

•

What point of view do pictures present? What is your point of view during the simulation activity?

•

What specific concepts should the learners understand before they can understand changes in moon phases?

•

In general, at what age should the learners learn about moon phase formation?

•

Should the learners be given opportunities to learn about moon phases at different grade levels? Explain.

•

What does this say about revisiting the same concepts at different grade levels?

•

If a learner says they already studied this in an earlier grade, how would you respond?

•

What are the implications of learning about moon phases formation from pictures, diagrams, and illustrations? The following are examples of other long-term observation activities that can be done at various grade

levels.

Plant seeds and keep track of the growth of plants.

Observe changes in butterfly chrysalises from caterpillars to adult butterflies.

Raise mealworms to watch the changes in beetles' life cycle.

Observe changes in terraria and aquaria with different ecosystems.

Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

Observe changes in weather conditions.

Observe changes in the color of leaves in the autumn. Start a mold culture and observe changes over a given length of time.

Application

Jksaef the following guide questions.

r-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- \ '

What are the benefits of using observation as a strategy in class?

How does it help the students develop facts, concepts, and scientific knowledge?

Given the learning competencies below, develop a sample lesson plan.

Topic: The Surroundings Grade Level: Grade 3 Learning Competencies 1.

Describe the things found in the surroundings

Relate the importance of surroundings to people and other living things

ENGAGE

EXPLORE

UNIT III: INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES FOR SCIENCE

/ ------------------EXPLAIN

ELABORATE

EVALUATE

Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

_esson 10: Strategy 2 - Experimentation

What is Experimentation? Experiments are the teachers' another way of introducing a new idea to the students to stimulate :neir engagement in class. The use of experiments allows the teachers to transform the class into an active learning environment that fosters involvement of the students and stimulates their mental, affective, and physical activities. The traditional way of using chalk and board can be improved by facilitating experiments in class so they can better understand and appreciate the principles involved in various scientific processes. The teachers can use experiment instead of, or in addition to more, traditional approaches for the following reasons(SERC, 2019): •

Experiments can be used to introduce new ideas or to clarify puzzling aspects of topics with which the students typically struggle.

•

If the result of an experiment is surprising yet convincing, the students are in position to build ownership of the new idea and use it to scaffold learning.

•

In addition to checking that the conceptual focus of the experiment hasbeen understood correctly, post-experiment assignments can push the students to describe a follow-up experiment or to extend the concept to another application.

Classroom experiments keep the learners active in a number of ways depending on the nature of the particular experiment. During experiments: •

The students are active in generating data or behavioral observations.

•

The students analyze data, examples, or models.

•

The students answer leading questions posed by the instructor and compare their answers with those of other students. UNIT III: INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES FOR SCIENCE

II.

•

The students work together in groups to solve problems, devise strategies, or understand class concepts.

•

The students predict how changing the experiment will change the outcomes.

•

The students compare experimental results to classroom theories and use them to confirm or critique the theories.

How to Use Experimentation as a Teaching Strategy? The experimental approach requires the teacher to explain the following steps and guide the students during the entire experiment. The goal is for the students to be able to understand the steps and develop their own experiment. The following steps are adapted from SERC (2019): a.

Identify/select a problem To be worthy of investigation, the problem must be a problem for the students as well. It is a product of their observation from the classroom, the environment, their homes, or the community.

Formulate a hypothesis Hypothesis is an educated guess; a supposition or proposed explanation made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point forfurther investigation. *

Test the hypothesis

Control variables

Make operational definitions

f. Perform the experiment g. Record and interpret data h.

Draw a conclusion

Conducting a classroom experiment entails several significant steps. Among these is the preparation of the teacher and the students before the experiment, the roles of both parties during the experiment, and the post-experiment tasks (SERC, 2019). 1) BEFORETHE EXPERIMENT a.

Teacher's preparation The teacher should be mindful of the following before conducting the experiment in class: •

Decide how tobest incorporateexperiments into class content

• Designate an appropriate amount of time for the experiment. Some experiments may require more than one meeting while others take only a few minutes

64 Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

•

Match the experiment to the class level, course atmosphere, and the personalities and learning styles of the students

•

Use appropriate strategy when dealing with the classroom environment: room layout, number of students, groupings, etc.

Students' preparation It's a great help for the students if they will initially prepare for and get acquainted with the flow of the experiment so they will have a successful learning experience. Let the students do the following before starting the experiment:

•

Carefully read and study instructions that explain the experiment and the role of the students

•

Prepare all the materials, apparatus, glass wares, chemicals, and equipment needed for the experiment

•

Think of the possible outcomes of the experiment

DURINGTHE EXPERIMENT While doing the experiment, take note of the following: a.

Teacher's role •

Monitor the whole class. Check if all the students are participating or doing their assigned tasks.

•

Assess the students' performance. Correct those who may not be doing the instructions properly and recognize those who are following instructions strictly.

•

Check the time or duration of the experiment. Sometimes, the students are too busy that they aren't mindful of the time left for them to finish the experiment.

•

Observe if the materials and equipment used are still properly working or are properly used by the students

Students' role •

Make sure the students follow the instructions properly. Ask them to approach the teacher if there are concerns/questions.

•

Ask the students to be a keen observer and take note of all observations and results of the experiment. Document the experiment by taking pictures of the results and of the students while performing the procedures.

AFTERTHE EXPERIMENT The experience during the actual experiment isn't just about that moment in class. It can be used as a shared experience that emphasizes material that is covered later in the course. Moreover, it can help the students to start thinking beyond the course material. UNIT III: INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES FOR SCIENCE

Teacher's role •

Guide the students in analyzing the data collected data

•

Assess the students' achievement in learning goals by using standard tests, quizzes about the experiment itself and open-ended questions that allow the students to reflect on what they did and did not get from the experiment. This is useful for clarifying facts and concepts that the students might not have understood before and during the experiment.

Students' role •

Analyze and interpret the data collected

•

Identify scientific principles that can be learned from the experiment

•

Think of ways on how to apply the learned scientific principles practically in life

STRATEGIES FOR UNEXPECTED OUTCOMES Teachers often have fears of conducting experiments especially if things go wrong, the materials are not available, the machine isn't functioning well, the students aren't following instructions, the class may be canceled due to weather conditions, etc. It is always necessary to have a backup plan so that the class can proceed with the experiment. Here are some suggestions: •

Improvize if you can. Discuss the outcome if the expected materials are used as well as the alternative materials.

•

Bring yourset of lecture notes with you in class. You can always conduct a normal class if there is no remedy for the unavailability of materials or some other uncontrollable circumstances.

•

Bring results from a related or similar experiment from a published research experiment or data from a previously conducted classroom experiment with you to class. You can have a discussion about what the students expect to happen from the experiment.

III.

Sample Lesson Plan

Topic: Gravitation and Frictional Forces Learning Competency The learners should be able to infer how friction and gravity affect movements of different objects.

Grade Level: Grade 6

66 Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

ENGAGE Let the students imagine that they are inside a dark, cold room in a winter night. Ask them, ‘ What ■as the best way to keep the hands warm?" EXPLORE ^c e d u re : Predict what will happen when you rub hands together vigorously. I

Rub your hands together. Do your hands feel warmer?

Rub your hands together again faster and longer. Put your hands on your face.How do your hands feel? Run water on your hands and see if it rubs the same. Now add lotion to dry hands and rub them again. Do you feel a difference in the amount of heat? t

EXPLAIN

Classroom Discussion about Gravity and Friction Gravity •

Gravity is a force that always attracts or pulls objects toward each other without direct contact or impact.

•

Gravitational attraction depends on the mass of the two objects and the distance they are apart.

•

Objects on Earth are pulled toward the center of Earth.

Friction •

It is a force that occurs when one object rubs against another object. Two factors that determine the amount of friction:

•

The kind of surfaces

The force pressing the surfaces together

Friction is the force that acts to resist sliding of two surfaces that are touching. It can slow down or stop the motion of an object.

•

The smoother the two surfaces are, the less friction there is between them; therefore, the moving object will not slow down as quickly.

•

The greater the force pushing the two surfaces together, the stronger friction prevents the surfaces from moving.

UNIT III: INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES FOR SCIENCE

ELABORATE Facilitate the experiment below.

Objectives: As the learners perform the experiment, they are expected to: •

state that the size of the surface does not affect the amount of friction and the force that presses the surfaces together does not affect the amount of friction;

•

hypothesize concerning variables that affect friction;

•

control variables as they experiment;

•

communicate by writing a laboratory report; and

•

interpret the data gained from their experiments.

Grade Level: •

Intermediate grades

Materials: •

Six boards 2" x 4" x 12"

•

Six eye screws or hooks

•

String

•

Six spring balances

Instructions: Divide the class into groups. Give each group a foot-long 2" x 4" board with a hook in the end, a string, and a spring balance. Provide each group with the following set of questions and directions: 1.

Do you think it will require more force to pull the board along at a uniform velocity if it is lying on a four-inch surface or on a two-inch surface? Write a hypothesis that best expresses your best prediction.

How can you test your hypothesis? How many trials should you make? (Pull the board along in each position. At least three trials for each position.) Write a description of your experiment. Include your hypothesis, procedure, results, and conclusions.

3. 4.

What do you conclude about your hypothesis? (The force is independent of the surface area.) What effect do you think adding weight to the wood block will have upon the force of friction? Write a hypothesis that expresses your best prediction.

68 Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

How can you test your prediction? How many trials should you make? (Lay some object such as book on the wood block in each position and pull the block along. At least three trials for each position.) Write a description of your experiment. Include your hypothesis, procedure, results and conclusions.

What do you conclude about your hypothesis? (The weight of an object affects the amount of friction it exerts as it slides over a surface.)

EVALUATE Th 5 can be done in class or at home if there's no time left in class. Create a Venn diagram to show the relationship between gravity and friction. I

List down materials/objects that prevent friction and explain their specific use (e.g., lubricant in cars).

Application

" Answer the guide questions below.

When should the teacher use experimentation as a strategy to deliver a certain topic in class?

What are the limitations of experimentation as a teaching strategy?

Given the learning competencies below, develop a sample lesson plan.

Topic: Energy Learning Competencies 1.

Demonstrate how sound, heat, light, and electricity can be transformed

Manipulate simple machines to describe their characteristics and uses

ENGAGE

___________________ ________________________________ y UNIT III: INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES FOR SCIENCE

f -------------EXPLORE

EXPLAIN

ELABORATE

EVALUATE

Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

n 11: Strategy 3 - Inductive Guided Inquiry

What is Inductive Guided Inquiry? Induction is a thought process wherein the individual observes selected events, processes, or objects and then constructs a particular pattern of concepts or relationships based on these limited experiences. Inductive inquiry is a teaching method in which the teachers ask the students to infer a conclusion, generalization, or pattern of relationships from a set of data or facts. There are two approaches of inductive inquiry: guided and unguided. If you provide the specifics-that is, the data or facts-but want the students to make generalizations, then you are conducting a guided inductive inquiry (Tamir, 1995). On the other hand, if you allow the students to discover the specifics themselves before they make generalizations, the process is an unguided inductive inquiry. In this particular lesson, we will focus on inductive guided inquiry. Inductive inquiry is actually applicable for all levels of instruction (from grade school to university graduate schools). At any level, the processes of observing, making inferences, classifying, formulating hypotheses, and predicting are all sharpened (or reinforced) by the students' experiences.

II.

How to Use Guided Inductive Inquiry as a Teaching Strategy? In guided inductive inquiry, the use of pictures is usually the easiest way to introduce this concept. For young children, show different pictures of the same scene to the class. Ask the children to tell what they see in the pictures and to describe patterns they observe. Have them state these patterns as generalizations. Ask questions that require the students to do some generalizing themselves, such as "What could cause this type of track in the snow?" or "Where have we seen these before?" (Orlich et al., 2007).

UNIT III: INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES FOR SCIENCE

You need to distinguish clearly between statements based on observations and those based on inferences. Begin the lesson by explaining and demonstrating the difference between observations and inferences. The process of inductive reasoning is developed gradually. As the lesson progresses, prepare a simple chart or list on the blackboard of the students' observations and inferences. The students' understanding of each process will gradually develop from studying these examples.

Time Requirements When you plan to use any type of inquiry activity in class, spend at least twice as much class time on each lesson as you normally would. This time is spent on in-depth analyses of the content by the students. Inquiry methods demand greater interaction between the learner and the learning materials, as well as greater interaction between the teacher and the students (Orlich et al., 2007). In the same way, be prepared to reduce the amount of content you will cover because you will use more time developing process skills. You cannot maximize thinking skills and simultaneously maximize content coverage.

Characteristics of Guided Inductive Inquiry Model (Orlich et at., 2007) 1.

The learners progress from specific observations to inferences or generalizations.

The objective is to learn (or reinforce) the process of examining events or objects and then arriving at an appropriate generalization from the observations.

The teacher controls the specifics of the lesson (the events, data, materials, or objects) and thus acts as the class leader.

Each student acts to the specifics and attempts to structure a meaningful pattern based on his or her observations and those of others in the class.

The classroom is to be considered a learning laboratory.

Usually, a fixed number of generalizations will be elicited from the learners.

The teacher encourages each student to communicate his or her generalizations to the classso that others may benefit from them.

Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

i General Model of Inquiry (Orlich et al.f 2007)

identifying a problem

- >

■B ein g aw are of so m e th in g

Preparing a statem ent of « P ro p o sin g testab le h ypotheses research objectives

• G a th e rin g evide nce » C o n d u c tin g an e x p e rim e n t • S urveyin g a sam ple

M ak e m eaningful statem ents s u p p o rte d b y data Te stin g h ypotheses

Establishing relationships o r patterns Spe cifyin g generalizations

• O b ta in in g n e w data • Revising original conclusions

This model can be adapted to other inquiry models, such as problem-solving. These steps form the : -sis of what we know as the scientific method. The students can surely develop the different process skills as •'ey utilize this model effectively.

The Role of Questioning Within Guided Inductive Inquiry It has been observed that the teacher's questioning plays an important role in inquiry methods because n e purpose of inquiry is to pursue an investigation. The teacher thus becomes a question asker, not the one who is answering the question/s. Teachers who are masters of guided induction inquiry state that they spend —eir time interacting with the students but provide very few answers (Phillips & German, 2002). What kinds of questions should a teacher ask? The following list show some questions that the teacher can pose in the class to have a more inquiry-oriented classroom environment(based on Orlich & Migaki, 1981). Again, note that these prompting questions help the students to examine all kinds of interrelationships-one of the desired goals of inquiry teaching and constructivism. Question Stems: Dynamic Subjects •

What is happening?

•

What has happened?

UNIT III: INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES FOR SCIENCE

•

What do you think will happen now?

•

How did this happen?

•

What caused this to happen?

•

What took place before this happened?

•

Where have you seen something like this happen?

•

When have you seen something like this happen?

•

How can you make this happen?

•

How does this compare with what you saw or did?

•

How can

you do this more easily?

•

How can

you do this more quickly?

Question Stems: Static Subjects •

What kind of object is it?

•

What is it called?

•

Where is it found?

•

What does it look like?

•

Have you ever seen anything like it? Where? When?

•

How is it

•

How can you recognize or identify it?

•

How did it get its name?

•

What can you do with it?

•

What is it made of?

•

How was it made?

•

What is its purpose?

•

How does it work or operate?

•

What other names does it have?

•

How is it different from other things?

like other things?

74 Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

III.

Sample Lesson Plan

Topic: Soil and Its Types Grade Level: Grade 4 Learning Competency The learners should be able to compare and contrast the characteristics of different types of soil. ENGAGE Show pictures of different types of soil, or if actual samples are available, bring them and show the class. EXPLORE Ask the students: 1.

What are the components of soil?

What are the different types of soil?

In what ways are they similar or different?

Which type of soil absorbs and keeps water?

EXPLAIN Discuss the components of soil, different types of soil and their distinguishing characteristics. ELABORATE Let the students ponder on the following questions. Give them time to share their ideas in class. 1.

What is the significance of each type of soil? Give their specific use.

If you are going to plant seeds, what type of soil will you use and why?

What is soil pollution? What are the factors that contribute to soil pollution?

EVALUATE Ask the students to conduct a library research on areas where soil or land has been polluted/mined and list down the implications of such event. They can present the output in a creative manner (poster, video presentation, etc.) to be submitted and shown in class the following meeting.

UNIT III: INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES FOR SCIENCE

IV.

Application Answer the following questions.

What are the general considerations when using guided inquiry as a strategy in class?

The heart of guided inquiry is questioning. Characterize effective questioning.

Choose a certain topic and develop a sample lesson plan following the 5E model:

Topic: Learning Competencies 1.

2. ENGAGE

EXPLORE

EXPLAIN

76 Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

ELABORATE

EVALUATE

UNIT III: INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES FOR SCIENCE

Lesson 12: Strategy 4 - Cooperative Learning

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What is Cooperative Learning? Cooperative learning is one of the most sought and studied teaching strategies nowadays because of its versatility and effectiveness. There are various types of this strategy, depending on the learning outcomes and the types of learners. Cooperation is an act of working together to fulfill shared goals. Therefore, cooperative learning is an instructional strategy in which the learners work together in small groups to help one another achieve a common learning goal. It is founded on the principle that the learners can achieve more by working collaboratively than by working alone or by passively receiving information from a teacher. It believes that the learner's age and ability do not really hinder the success of this approach (Killen, 2009). Some teachers claim that they are employing cooperative learning when they have learners working in groups. On the other hand, Johnson etal. (1993) believed that most group works are not cooperative learning. Slavin (1983,1990,1995) and Johnson and Johnson (1989,1994) set the foundation of coop erative learning. They proposed that there are two important components of all cooperative learning methods: a cooperative task (which is a feature of most group work) and a cooperative incentive struc ture (which is unique to cooperative learning). The study of Johnson and Johnson (1994) presented the five basic elements of small group work to be considered as cooperative one (cited in Killen, 2009). 1)

There must be positive interdependence. The learners must work as a coordinated group to achieve specific learning goals.To do so, each student must be confident that he or she is responsible for the learning success of other members of the group. Cooperative relationship becomes important because each member believes that they cannot be successful unless other members are also successful in achieving the group goals.

78 Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

There must be an ongoing, direct interaction in which the students help one a ' i r e - :: lea~ They must discuss the task, decide how to approach it, exchange ideas and e =; 5 ' *: each member how the group can achieve the learning outcomes. It is not enough t r ai tasts are delegated. Each member should know how the group is going.

There must be individual accountability. All the members are accountable for each other's success or failure. They should all work hard to ensure that each member of the group performs the assigned task/s and achieves the learning outcomes of the given activity.

The learners must use appropriate interpersonal skills. Each member should be able to develop the following skills: attentive listening questioning to clarify ideas, negotiating, and constructively resolving differences. With all these skills, interactions will become meaningful and productive.

The participants become reflective learners as they analyze the outcomes they achieve and how well the group functions.

Why Does It Work? Cooperative learning is being used worldwide for three primary reasons: it is clearly based on theory, : nas been proven by various research works, and it has been operationalized into clear procedures that e-iucators can use. The students are encouraged to work collaboratively in order for them to be more successful academically than when they are working alone (Stahl, 1997). A good number of researchers also believe that :■is is possible (Hattie, 2009). On the contrary, according to Abrami and Chambers (1996:71) no matter what teaching strategy is -sed, "student learning" is not possible if the students lack interest or if they do not have a reason for learning, "here are actually three possible motives for student engagement and learning as educators use cooperative learning: outcome motives, means motives, and interpersonal motives (Killen, 2009). Outcome motives encourage group learning through rewards, recognition, and goal achievement. Means motives encourage group learning through intrinsic interest in the task, task novelty, and task structure. Lastly, interpersonal motives encourage group learning through peer support, a desire to help others, and the need to belong to a group. Another important thing to consider in using cooperative learning as a strategy is a good atmosphere within each of the group. The members should be comfortable working with one an other for them to be motivated to make the individual effort that is necessary for group success (Michaelson Jones & Watson, 1993). The members are not just performers but supporters of their groupmates.They exert extra effort whenever they feel valued.

UNIT III: INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES FOR SCIENCE

Most proponents of cooperative learning emphasize that this approach is effective in promoting academic learning and positive peer interactions and relationships. It is the teacher's task to create a learning environment that will make all these expectations become real.

Some Advantages of Cooperative Learning Cooperative learning is very versatile, and it can be used in all subject areas at all levels of education. It is not required that the teacher will always employ it in dass.The teacher needs to identify the best opportunity to apply it. This strategy is effective in helping the students achieve a wide range of academic and social outcomes, including enhanced achievement, improved self-esteem, positive interpersonal relationships with other students, improved time management skills, and positive attitudes toward school. Many of these outcomes can be achieved concurrently, rather than being developed in isolation. It is particularly useful for the following reasons: •

Having the students work together results in more learning than when the students work alone, competitively, or individually (Johnson & Johnson, 1986). The students will also like school better, will like one another better, and will learn more effective social skills when cooperative learning is used.

•

It teaches the students to be less reliant on the teacher and more reliant on their own ability to think, to seek information from other sources, and to learn from other students.They become empowered to take greater responsibility for their own learning and for the learning of others (Drake & Mucci, 1993).

•

Cooperative learning helps the students learn to respect one another's strengths and limitations and to accept these differences. This is very important in culturally diverse classrooms and in classrooms that include students with disabilities.

•

It helps the students understand that different points of view need not be divisive but they can be a positive aspect of developing an understanding of a subject.

•

It can boost the students' confidence and self-esteem because it allows all the students (not just the high achievers) to experience learning success.

•

It can change the students' views about learning. It helps them to move from seeing learning as individual memorization of facts to seeing it as a collective construction of understanding.

•

It emphasizes democratic thought and practice as a desirable way for people to interact (whatever the focus of their interaction).

•

It is appropriate to use when the students are engaged to large problem-solving tasks and research projects in which the task is heavy for one person and time is limited or where more than one person is needed to manipulate equipment, perform the experiment, collect, and analyze data.

•

It ensures that all the students are socially integrated into networks of positive peer relationships. This help the students to become skilled in constructive conflict resolution, and this can reduce antisocial behavior like bullying (Johnson et al. 2008).

Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

These benefits do not occur rapidly. The students can develop all these pos: . e

c _:es if they

-ave been engaged successfully in cooperative learning for four or more weeks. Most studies looked at the advantages to the students; few research identified its te - e * ts :: the teachers. The study of Garvie (1994) showed that teachers who employed cooperative e a -

: re

~iore enthusiastic than those who do not use it. Also, Shachar and Shmuelevitz (1997:65) fourc r a t teachers who used cooperative learning in their classrooms expressed a significantly greater degree of efficacy in promoting the learning of slow students compared with teachers who did not employ cooperative learning in their classrooms at all. Consequently, Killen (2009) suggested these considerations when using cooperative learning:

Do not use cooperative learning if:

Use cooperative learning if: •

You want to encourage the learners to develop their social skills while learning academic content.

•

The students do not have the basic skills required for collaboration and teamwork.

•

You want the students to use their prior knowledge as a foundation for examining

•

The students lack the prior knowledge to guide their collaborative learning.

•

There is insufficient time for the students to collaboratively investigate,

issues in depth. •

You want the students to explore issues from multiple perspectives.

discuss, and think aboutthe things you want them to learn.

ft •

You want the students to develop their ability to learn collaboratively.

•

The learning task is too big for individual students to undertake.

How to Use Cooperative Learning as a Strategy in Class? Teacher's Preparation The teacher's task is to get the students to work as a team, exchange ideas, think critically and analytically, and help one another to learn. It is vital that the teacher can create a learning environment that promotes purposeful interaction, positive interdependence, individual accountability, and appropriate use of interpersonal skills (Topping, 2006). The teacher should also not forget the two major considerations: student motivation and the learning process the students will utilize. The students can work well if they are properly motivated and they have a clear process to follow.

UNIT III: INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES FOR SCIENCE

Generally, the teacher needs to prepare the following (Killen, 2009): •

Give the students guidance and practice in helping one another to learn.

•

Specify clearly what outcomes you want the learners to achieve.

•

Decide what content (issues, problems, theories) the students will focus on as they try toachieve the outcomes.

•

Select what you think will be the most appropriate form of cooperative learning to use.

•

Prepare the materials.

•

Decide how to form the groups.

•

Explain to the students in detail how the cooperative learning sessions will operate, what you expect from them, how you will assist them, and how they will be assessed.

•

Develop a system of recognizing and rewarding the learning of individual students as well as the achievement of the groups.

•

Prepare appropriate assessment instruments so that the students will be able to demonstrate their mastery and retention of academic content and skills after the cooperative groups have completed their work.

•

Develop a system for keeping records of the group and individual achievements of the students and for publicly acknowledging the achievements of the group.

•

Plan a period of reflection so that after the groups have completed their tasks and received their feedback, the students can analyze their achievements and their group process.

Implementing Cooperative Learning The teacher is expected to plan, manage, and monitor the learning environment so that the students can maximize learning together as a team. After doing the suggested steps for preparation, the teacher can proceed with the following (Killen, 2009): •

Assign the students in groups. It makes the students more alert to the instructions to be given to them.

•

Explain clearly the outcomes that the students are to achieve and provide clear directions about the academic tasks that each group will undertake.

•

Explain how the learning of individual students will be assessed.

•

Remind the students of your expectations from them (particularly in relation to helping one another learn) and of the cooperative goal structure (the rewards for learning).

•

Provide the students with resources if necessary.

•

Remind the students how long they have for the cooperative learning andget them started.

Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

II.

•

Move around, visit each group to provide assistance, and monitor the activities and learning of the students to make notes of matters that will need to be dealt with once the group activities have finished.

•

Bring the lesson to a logical conclusion.

•

Evaluate the student achievement and help them assess how well they collaborated with one another.

Sample Lesson Plan

Topic: Weather Patterns in the Philippines Grade Level: Grade 6 Learning Competencies The learners should be able to: 1.

describe the different seasons in the Philippines and

discuss appropriate activities for specific seasons of the Philippines.

i ENGAGE Ask the students about their prior knowledge/experience of different seasons in the Philippines. EXPLORE Show a video clip or a news coverage about a recent typhoon. Instruct the students to list down their observations. EXPLAIN Discuss the different seasons in the Philippines and appropriate activities for the seasons. Show video clips. ELABORATE Divide the class in groups of 5-6 members. Ask them to collaboratively develop a proposal on mitigating damages brought about by typhoons across different areas of the country as if they are policymakers, lawmakers, administrators, or leaders. They should be able to consider different aspects such as safety, livelihood, and health of the citizens. EVALUATE Give each group at least 5 minutes to share their proposal in class. Use a rubric to assess the students. Give your comments and suggestions regarding their output.

UNIT III: INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES FOR SCIENCE

IV.

Application .

Answer the following questions completely. 1.

What are the advantages of using collaborative learning as a strategy in class?

What are the limitations of collaborative learning as a strategy in class?

Given the learning competencies below, develop a sample lesson plan incorporating cooperative learning.

Topic: Other Members of the Solar System: Comets, Meteors, Asteroids Grade Level: Grade 7 Learning Competencies The learners should be able to: 1.

compare and contrast comets, meteors, and asteroids;

predict the appearance of comets based on recorded data of previous appearances; and

explain the regular occurrence of meteor showers.

ENGAGE

EXPLORE

84 Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

'-------------------EXPLAIN

ELABORATE

EVALUATE

UNIT III: INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES FOR SCIENCE

Lesson 13: Strategy 5 - Using Research as a Teaching Strategy

What is Research? The word research has its roots in the old French word "recherche", meaning to investigate thoroughly. Books on educational research often go a little further and define research as, "Seeking through methodical processes to add to one's own body of knowledge and, hopefully, to that of others, by the discovery of non-trivial facts and insights" (Howard & Sharp, 1983). This definition conveys the idea that research has two important components (Killen, 2009): 1.

inquiry that is carried out systematically and purposefully

inquiry that focuses on revealing some new knowledge.

We can note, then, that there are several very important steps in any research. First, there must be a clear purpose-we must formulate a question that we will answer. Second, there must be a detailed plan for trying to answer that question so that the research will be systematic. Third, data must be gathered and analyzed in an attempt to answer the question so that new knowledge can be revealed. Finally, some conclusions must be reached-either to answer the original question or to explain why we could not find an answer.To use student research as a teaching strategy, you have to help the students understand and work through each of these stages so that they learn how to investigate, experiment, relate information, and draw logical conclusions. There are different approaches to research, and these are used relatively to the field of specialization of the teacher. In general, there are three approaches to research that are useful for the teachers and the students (Killen, 2009).

Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

Research based on finding, interpreting, and using information that has been produced by someone else. For example, a research that located historical accounts of the Boer War (e.g., some written by Boers, some by English soldiers, and some by Australian soldiers) and compared them would be a research that used existing information even though that information might be re-interpreted to provide a new perspective.

Research based on gathering, interpreting, and using information that did not exist before the research was conducted. This could be exemplified by a research that involved interviewing Australians who had served in the Gulf War and drawing conclusions about the impact of the war on their lives would be generating new data.

Research based on some form of experimentation. For instance, a research that investigated the effects of applying different amounts and types of fertilizer to roses to see how it influenced their blooms.

All research should set out to answer one or more research questions. It is the systematic attempt to irswer a research question that changes an "activity" or "project" into research. When student research is .sed as a teaching strategy, the research questions should focus on important issues to which the students t-n relate, but which the students do not fully understand (otherwise there is no point of doing research). 5: retim es a useful way to get the students to focus on an important issue is to have them develop their own research questions. Furthermore, teaching the students on how to do research is necessary, but not sufficient, in helping tnem learn about the subject through research. Whenever you use this strategy, you must emphasize to the students that the purpose of the research is for them to gain some specific knowledge. Often, you will not ■ant to tell them exactly what the knowledge is, because discovering it will be the focus of their research. - : .vever, they need to understand that they are not just doing an exercise; they are engaged in a search to reepen their understanding.

When and Why Should Research Be Used as a Teaching Strategy? A prerequisite for using this strategy is that your learners must be capable of working effectively in ;-oups or individually. If they can work in groups, you can use this strategy in conjunction with group work, tDoperative learning, or problem-solving. The following are the advantages of using student research as a teaching strategy according to Killen (2009). •

Research encourages the learners to ask questions, to investigate, to discover, and to create answers for themselves, rather than waiting for someone else to provide the answers for them -it helps them to be more independent learners who believe they are capable of understanding complex issues and of discovering important new knowledge themselves.

UNIT III: INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES FOR SCIENCE

•

Research can enable the learners to develop a deeper level of understanding of the subject in comparison with using teaching strategies such as direct instruction or discussion-it encourages them to strive for more than superficial learning.

•

Research helps the learners to progress from what they already understand to what they need to understand-deliberately building on their existing knowledge. It encourages them to be metacognitive.

•

Research can challenge, engage, and extend all the learners, not just the more capable learners.

•

Research encourages the learners to be skeptical about ideas that others present as facts. It encourages the learners to view knowledge as problematic, to appreciate that knowledge in the area they are studying is limited, and to recognize that there are still unresolved problems and unanswered questions.

•

Research encourages critical thinking and reflection, both of which are extremely important in the context of the increasingly extensive amounts of information that are available (especially from the Internet) without having passed through any appraisal, censorship, or review process.

•

Research can provide a meaningful context for the learners to use and develop their communication skills. It can help the learners develop their reading skills, note-taking skills, writing skills, and oral communication skills, particularly if they are required to discuss their work, present their findings, and propose courses of action based on their research.

•

Research can help the learners develop their organizational and time management skills.

•

Research can be a fun and motivating way to learn, particularly for the gifted learners.

•

Research can give the learners experience working in the way professionals work. For example, it can help children to become young scientists (Heckman et al., 1994).

•

Research can help the learners understand the essential nature of a field of study. For example, it can help them understand that science is "a process of creating laws, models, and theories that enable one to predict, explain, and control the behavior of the world" (White & Frederiksen, 2000) or that mathematics is more about the study of patterns and relationships than it is about numbers and calculations.

•

Research that requires the students to think in different and deeper ways can help them understand and remember important ideas because the information they are grappling with is embedded in a meaningful context.

•

Research can teach the learners on how to make use of the sources of information that are available in their local community.

•

Research can be an effective way of getting the parents involved in their child's education. This can start with simple things such as having the students interview their parents on a designated topic and then sharing the data so that the class can analyze the pooled data to answer a research question.

•

Research provides the teachers with an opportunity to stand back and observe the learners, to

Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

analyze the ways in which they interact with one another, and to reflect on their learning styles. With this new knowledge, the teachers' primary role should be to help the students learn how to think, rather than teaching them how to remember. •

Research projects provide an ideal opportunity for you to help the learners develop their computing skills and their familiarity with modern technologies such as the Internet. In turn, these technologies provide very useful tools to assist the learners with their research.

Student research is not always appropriate in all occasions. There are some limitations to this strategy. The a : e oelow shows the advantages and limitations of student research as a teaching strategy.

Use student research if: •

•

Do not use student research if:

The outcomes you want the students to achieve are readily related to issues beyond the classroom.

•

The learners have sufficiently high prior

•

The students have very poor literacy skills.

•

The students do not have access to the equipment or information they need

independently or in small groups.

knowledge to guide their own learning. •

The students are self-motivated and can learn with minimal assistance.

The students lack the basic skills to work

to produce worthwhile data from their research. •

You want to encourage the students to take a deep approach to learning.

•

You want the students to learn how to enjoy learning.

•

You want to encourage the students to be independent learners.

•

You want learning to be driven by the students' curiosity.

•

You cannot allow the students sufficient time to complete the research task.

How to Use Research as a Teaching Strategy? Research is very much a student-centered approach to learning, but it is not something that you should expect your students to do totally independently. It will not be sufficient to simply give the students a research question and leave them to their own devices to find the answers. Instead, you will have to plan each phase of the research carefully and prepare your students by making sure that they have all the prerequisite skills or that the research project is structured in such a way that the students will develop these skills as they work through the research. You have to plan carefully for each of these things. You might proceed as follows: •

Decide exactly what you want the students to learn. You should have clear learning outcomes.

UNIT III: INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES FOR SCIENCE

•

Develop suitable research question (or a set of questions) that will be the focus of the students' research activities and that will help them achieve the desired learning outcomes.

•

Identify what prior knowledge and skillsthe students will need in orderto conducttheir research. If necessary, teach that prior knowledge.This may involve teaching for research (developing the students' understanding of the subject) and teaching about research (developing the students' understanding of how to do research).

•

Identify a number of strategies that the students m ight use if they are to be successful in their research and be prepared to recognize and encourage the students who use these approaches.

•

Plan the lesson in which you will introduce the students to the research exercise. Decide how you will explain what you want the students to learn and what you expect from them during their research.

•

Plan how you will monitor the students' progress. This should involve at least being able to identify the parts of the research exercise that are likely to cause the most difficulties for the students, decide what these difficulties m ight be, and develop some strategies for minimizing these difficulties.

•

Make sure that you have arranged for the students to get appropriate access to equipment, documents, or people so that they can gather the data necessary for their research.

•

Plan how you will assess what the students learn from the research.

•

Plan how you will evaluate the research activity.

It isalso importantthatyou prepare the students fortheir research. You can considerthese guidelines: •

Explain carefully to the students why you are using this teaching strategy and what/how you expect they will learn from it.

•

Spell out your expectations, and check that the students understand such things as when they will be doing the research, how much time it will take, what sort of things they will bedoing, what type of product you expect them to produce, how you will assess their learning, whether you expect them to work in teams or individually, and what you will be doing while they are engaged in their research.

•

Ensure that the students have the necessary communication and social skills to work effectively together.

Get the students enthusiastic about the prospect of doing something worthwhile. As much as possible, involve the students in the planning process so that they feel that they are doing something they want to do and that they consider meaningful. If possible, motivate the by showing them research that has been done by your previous students or students from other batches in the campus.

90 Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

The students will need to work through eight distinct phases in their research activity. They will have to: 1.

clarify the purpose of the research so that they understand exactly why they are doing the research and what outcomes they are supposed to achieve.

2. develop their research questions. 3.

develop a research strategy.

filter, organize, analyze, and evaluate the information or data.

5. locate information or gather data that will be used to answer the research questions. 6.

develop an answer to the research question.

report the results of their research in an appropriate way.

evaluate the effectiveness of their research strategies, including the way their results were presented, so that they are better prepared for their next research project.

To help the students do these things, you will have to provide a carefully structured learning environment, : eticularly if your students have not had much experience with this learning strategy. The minimum guidance : u will need to give the students if you want them to learn through research is: •

A well-defined and realistic issue or problem to be investigated.

•

Assistance with developing and/or refining their research questions.

•

Suggestions about how they might get started. Teach them how to delegate tasks for each member of the group.

•

Assistance with developing a research plan.

•

A clear timeframe for the research. Set deadlines by which key parts of the research must be completed.

•

Some self-checking guidelines so that they can monitor their progress.

•

Guidance on data gathering and data analysis.

•

Suggestions about the presentation of the research findings. Insist that the students develop their research report as they gather information and interpret it, rather than leaving it all until the research is complete.

•

Guidelines about participation and collaboration so that they can effectively exchange information through reading, writing, speaking, and/or listening.

•

Details like a rubric to show the students how their learning will be assessed.

Structuring the Learning Experience for Students When using student research as a teaching strategy, you will need to give your students clear information about what they are required to do and what your expectations are. If the students are working in groups, you could give them a handout similar to the following: UNIT III: INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES FOR SCIENCE

Guidelines for Student Research Learning outcomes: After completing this research project, each member of your team should be able to

The research question that you will be trying to answer is:

You will be working in groups o f _______________ for the n e x t________________ periods/days/ weeks. Use the following guidelines to help you work through your research project. 1.

Discuss the research question and make sure that everyone in your group understands what the research question means.

Make a list of the things that you think you will need to find out or do in order to answer the research question. Try to express these ideas as questions.

Arrange the list in order from the first thing you will do to the last thing you will do. Make a brief note about how, where, and when you will do each of the things on your list. Don't forget that different members of your group can be working on different parts of the problem at the same time.

Decide which members of the group will be responsible for each item on your list.

Decide how you will help each member of your team learn about the issues that other team members are investigating. And how you will help each team member achieve the learning outcomes.

Decide how you will present the results of your research.

Start gathering the information you need to answer the question.

Share the information that you gather with other members of your group so that everyone is satisfied that the information you have gathered is what the group needs.

Keep a simple record to show the progress your group has made.

10.

Organize and/or analyze the information you gather so thatyou can answerthe research question.

11.

Prepare a report of the results of your research.

12.

Evaluate the research efforts of your group by considering how well you were able to answer the research question and how well the group worked as a team. Make a list of the things that you would do differently next time you are working on a research project.

Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

Sample Lesson Plan Topic: Forces That Affect Changes on the Earth's Surface a.

Earthquakes

Volcanic Eruption

Grade Level: Grade 6 Learning Competencies I "ne learners should be able to: I 1 1

describe the changes on the Earth's surface as a result of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions and enumerate what to do before, during, and after earthquake and volcanic eruptions.

ENGAGE Give trivia (e.g., the Big One), research updates, or news about recent earthquake or volcanic I eruption in the country. EXPLORE Discuss the entire chosen research article about an earthquake or volcanic eruption. Explain the | :arts of the research and their contents. Ask for the students' views and comments. EXPLAIN Provide more examples and explanations of interesting and significant research articles especially I in physics. Motivate and encourage them that they can also do research and they can contribute to the | scientific community. Remind them that their age level is not a hindrance for research, but they can also I crepare simple researches that can be significant and used as future reference of other researchers. ELABORATE Divide the class in groups of three or four. Using the guidelines presented previously, let each ; group develop a simple research related to their previous lessons in physics or any topic of their interest. 1 Remind them that their research questions should be original and relevant to the society. I _EVALUATE ,,

Devote one ortwo meetings for the presentation of research output. Invite panel members to help I .ou judge their research. Use a rubric to evaluate their presentation skills.

UNIT III: INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES FOR SCIENCE

IV.

Application Answer the following guide questions.

What are the advantages of using student research as a strategy in class?

What are the limitations of student research as a strategy in class?

Develop a sample lesson plan incorporating student research.

Topic: Grade level: Learning Competencies The learners should be able to

2. ENGAGE

EXPLORE

Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

EXPLAIN

ELABORATE

EVALUATE

UNIT III: INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES FOR SCIENCE

Lesson 14: Strategy 6 - Using Case Study as a Teaching Strategy

What is a Case Study? The use of case study is also called as the case method of teaching or case-based pedagogy (Killen, 2009), and it has three major components: the case itself, the students'preparation forengaging with and discussing the case, and the classroom discussion. This process of case study requires that the students be given access to the case in advance so that they can (individually or in groups) prepare for a detailed whole-class discussion. A case is a story with a (hidden) message-a narrative that describes an actual, or realistic, situation in which an individual or a group has to make a decision or solve a problem. Most often, the stories are set in the past and focus on real people or real events, but they may be set in the present and they can describe fictitious things. It can be useful to categorize cases in terms of their completeness and openness and in terms of the action required from the students.

Complete *

It is a case that describes fully the situation and its real-life conclusion.

Incomplete It refers to a case that explains real events up to a point but does not include the real outcome of these events.

Open It is a case that may have many possible solutions or actions that could be recommended.

Closed A case that has a single best response or solution.

96 Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

If you want to test the students' understanding of well-defined facts and principles, you can probably ■jse a closed case study. If you want the students to explore many possibilities and debate their merits, «;ou will structure the case study as an open-ended one. When we consider what you might expect the students to do with case study materials (the action required), there are two basic possibilities. The first is to require the students to analyze the case, describe aspects of it, and possibly debate the merits of the action taken by the people in the case. This descriptive/analytic approach is probably best used with complete case studies. An alternative is to require the students to go beyond analysis and suggest solutions or courses of action. For this, you need a case study that presents some type of dilemma (so it will be incomplete) for which there is no single correct answer. Thinking about case studies in these different ways will help you select or develop case studies that best match the outcomes you want the students to achieve. Whichever approach you take, the case study will engage the students in a collective analysis of a slice of reality with a common purpose of gaining a deeper understanding of the issues involved. Because the case is describing a real or realistic situation, it will not have all the relevant information set out in clear, logical steps. Nor will it necessarily contain all the information that the students need to formulate their arguments. Rather, it will reflect the complexities, ambiguities, and uncertainties of real situations. The case will not provide an analysis of the situation it describes-this analysis is left to the students. The case study will provide both intellectual and emotional exercise for the students, forcing them to engage with complex problems and make critical decisions-thus preparing them for the realities they will face after their formal education. Because case studies require the learners to seek feasible ways of resolving contextualized realistic issues, they do not involve the mechanical application of theory designed to produce a sterile textbook answer to a contrived and simplified problem. Rather, they take advantage of the idea that real-life significant problems have no correct answer, just ranges of possible answers.They also help the students to see that they can simultaneously develop their understanding of theory and their problem-solving skills while struggling with realistic problems (Carlson, 1999).

When and Why Should Case Study be Used as a Teaching Strategy? The case method of teaching can provide a very "natural" way of helping the students to learn by ‘exploiting the basic human capacity to learn from stories" (Hagel & Zulian, 1996). Cases offer the students :::o rtu n itie s to grapple with issues, problems, dilemmas, and puzzles in ways that are engaging, challenging, r : productive in a reasonably safe but not entirely risk-free environment (Boehrer, 1994). Cases encourage the students to reach a deeper, understanding of the concepts and issues than they • : jld from just reading or listening to a lecture (Volpe, 2002). They help the students to appreciate the : - ted extent to which their current theoretical understandings enable them to resolve ill-defined problems i 'd provide credible explanations of real situations. Case studies encourage the learners to take responsibility for their own learning and to seethe benefits lin k in g about theoretical issues before they are discussed in class. UNIT III: INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES FOR SCIENCE

Case narratives can portray situations and dilemmas as they evolve over time, thus allowing the students to appreciate the importance of time as a contextual factor in real problem-solving (Koballa & Tippins, 2000). Case studies transform the student's role from "a passive recipient of information to an intellectual detective" (Fratantuono, 1994). This helps the students to develop their metacognitive skills (awareness and control of their thinking and learning process).The case method also provides at least two opportunities for the teacher to deepen their understanding: it often results in the teacher encountering fresh perspectives on old problems because the students suggest things the teacher had not thought of, and it can give the teacher a chance to test classic solutions on new problems (Bruner, 2001). Deeper understanding is also likely to be a product of the teacher deliberately trying to develop fresh ways of covering well-trodden ground. On the other hand, using case study may not be suitable for all situations. It also has some limitations. The table below presents a summary of both the advantages and limitations of using case study as a strategy in class (Killen, 2009).

Do not use case study if:

Use case study if: •

The outcomes you want the students

•

The students lack the basic skills to work independently or in small groups.

•

The students have very poor literacy skills.

•

You cannot allow the students sufficient

to achieve are readily related to issues beyond the classroom. •

The learners have sufficient prior knowledge to guide their analysis of complex materials.

•

The students are self-motivated and can

time to analyze the case materials.

learn with minimal assistance. •

You want to build the students' confidence by showing the value of their

•

individual solutions to problems.

II.

•

You want to encourage the students to be independent learners.

•

You want to foster critical thinking.

The students lack background knowledge necessary for interpreting and resolving the case.

How to Use Case Study as a Teaching Strategy? One of the first decisions you have to make is whether you will use a case study to support what the students are learning in other ways (such as through direct instruction) or whether it will be the prime vehicle for learning. In the first instance, you will use the case to illustrate typical issues or dilemmas ir the same way that you might use less detailed examples to illustrate application of theory.The cases yot use will need to be relatively short and straightforward. Volpe (2002) described the use of newspape*

98 Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

articles in this way as a structured introduction to using more complex case studies. If you want the case study to be the main vehicle for the students' learning, then you will have to involve them in the analysis of more substantial case studies. Most approaches to the case method of teaching are based on class discussions. However, it is possible to replace the discussion with other forms of interaction, such as debates, mock trials, and research teams (Herreid, 1994). There are four main steps in preparing to use a case study: Deciding why and when to use a case study; *

Developing or selecting the case;

Deciding to use a case study As with all other teaching strategies, the effective use of case studies requires you to have a particular zurpose in mind when you select this strategy-your choice of strategy should not be made before you are sDsolutely clear about what you want the students to learn and why you want them to learn it. Your purpose —ight be to expose the students to complex real-world situations, to develop their ability to work in teams * hen solving problems, or to help them make connections between separate disciplines. Whatever it is, your : jrpose must be clear to both you and the students. Hence, the development or selection of cases, and the ^plication of the strategy, must be outcomes-driven.This also means that the case study must be considered carefully so that the learners will see how it is helping them develop their knowledge, understanding, and skills (Killen, 2009). There are two main reasons for using case studies: to motivate the students to learn theory and to ustrate the application of theory. If you are using a case to motivate the students to learn a theory, the basic steps are:

UNIT III: INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES FOR SCIENCE

f Present the case to students before they have received instruction on the relevant theory.

Provide guidelines to help the students prepare for the class discussion by exploring the case (that is, help the students to identify what is that they need to learn).

Give the students time to study the case and prepare for the class discussion.

G u id e the class discussion so that students generate a list of questions that need to be answered before the problem in the case study can be resolved.

Conclude the discussion with an overview o f how these questions will be answered in subsequent lessons.

If you are using a case study to illustrate the application of theory in real-world contexts, the basic steps are: Present the case to students after they have received instruction on the relevant theory.

Provide guidelines to help the students nts analyze the case, probe the underlying issues, select the relevant theories to apply and suggest ways in which the issues could be resolved.

Give the students time to study the case and prepare for the class discussion.

G uide the class discussion so that students generate several possible alternative solutions, consider their relative merits and reach some level of consensus. Id .

cTO.SfUWA»V «“ bo - %

7 3/

Conclude the discussion with an overview o f the broader issues raised by the case.

Developing or Selecting the Case In some field of study, there are large numbers of formal case studies available off the shelf. Other major sources of materials that can be used for cases are journals, newspapers, magazines, novels, and D V li In some instances, it is best to write your own case from scratch. This may be a time-consuming exercise, b .' it allows you to incorporate some of your own experiences into the case study. IOO Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

Whether you use cases developed by someone else or develop your own, you have to ensure that the use meets your needs better than an alternative teaching strategy-otherwise, it will be a poor use of time, /c o rd in g to Killen (2009), whether you are selecting or developing a case, it is important to consider the following criteria:

Outcomes focus The case must make a positive contribution to the students' achievement of the course outcomes. It must lead them into the required depth of analysis and into the types of thinking that are reflected in the outcomes. The case must be an integral part of the course, not just an interesting discussion.

Interest The case must be seen as relevant and interesting by the learners. This usually means that the case tells a story that the readers can relate to their own experiences or to situations that they believe they might face. It also helps if the case contains some controversy or conflict-an issue that the students might reasonably be expected to disagree. Interest is also influenced by the style in which the case is written (Herreid, 2002).

Recency Current problems will probably be more engaging for the students than historical cases will. Herreid (1997) suggests that the best cases address issues that are not more than five years old.

Rigor The case must lead the students to a detailed situational analysis and a deep understanding of the context of the case, to an appreciation of the open-endedness of the case issues and to their interrelatedness, and to an examination of the issues from multiple perspectives. The case should address issues that require collaborative discussions.

Decision focus The case should lead the students (first individually and then as a group) to make decisions about some important issue.

Generality Each case will be unique, but each case should lead the students to some conclusions that are generalizable to other broader contexts.

Realism Real problems rarely come clearly defined and neatly packaged like typical textbook exercises; they are more likely to be complex and ill-defined. Cases need to reflect this. The case should make it possible for the students to be drawn into the drama of difficult real-world situations and decisions and for the teacher to be able to pose questions that will maximize the students' understanding of these issues.

UNIT III: INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES FOR SCIENCE

IOI

Length The case should be long enough to raise important issues, supply essential information, and engage the learners. Cases that are too long or that contain too much fine detail may distract the students from the key issues.

Readability The information in the case must be accessible to the learners. It should be written in appropriate language and style.

The Teacher's Preparation for the Classroom Discussion According to Volpe (2002), "In general, the more you do, the more the students will do. By showing your commitment to the students, by being well prepared and by showing concern for the students, you will be able to extract a similar level of commitment from the students... Students will generally prepare up to, but not beyond, the standards of preparation of the instructor." The first step in your preparation must be to review the outcomes you want the learners to achieve. The next step in your preparation should be a detailed analysis of the case. You must thoroughly understand all the issues and the web of relationships between them. You must take the time to clarify your understanding of the theoretical basis for all possible interpretations of these issues and be able to justify the conclusions you would reach. Although you will not want to impose your point of view on the students, you must be prepared to share your view with them. An important part of your preparation will be the development of a set of questions to focus the class discussion. If the case contains substantial issues and a degree of controversy or dilemma, you will probably need only four or five key questions. These questions should help the students define important aspects of the problem, generate alternatives, reach a considered position, and reflect on the broader issues raised by the case. Try to anticipate how the students might react to the case and to the questions that you will use to guide the discussion.

Guiding the Classroom Discussion The general principles for effective case discussions are the same as those for any other whole-class discussion: you have to initiate the discussion, keep the students focused on the main issues, challenge the students to think deeply, help the students resolve differences, remind the students of the outcomes they are trying to achieve, and bring the discussion to a logical conclusion. There are several particular points to note when the discussion is based on a case study: Introduction The students will have prepared for the discussion by reading the case materials and trying to answer the focus questions, so you do not have to spend a large amount of time setting the scene for the discussion.

10 2

Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

■ s "'portant to remind the students briefly of how the case links to the main issues they are studying and m re i t is leading them. §ECussion This is not just sharing of ideas nor it is a process of the students presenting ideas for your approval. Tre students must be deliberately involved in a joint effort to gain a deeper understanding of the issues oabedded in the case. You m ight need to remind the students of this point as they try to resolve the conflict r 'each a decision. You need to emphasize that the analysis of the case is a group task, and all the students should feel free to raise questions or express doubts. You should listen carefully to all contributions and encourage the students to elaborate and to justify : darify their contributions when necessary. You may want to summarize the contributions by building up a - ~d map or flowchart on the board but do not use the board to just passively record unrelated points. In some cases, it will be appropriate to augment the class discussion with short role-plays that enable students to engage more directly with the issues in the case. l.estioning It is a very important skill of the teacher during discussion. You should ask open-ended questions a make the discussion more interactive and interesting. Your questions should encourage the students to :: -sider all the important issues in the case, but they should not give the students the impression that you sre trying to guide the discussion to your predetermined conclusion. Your questions might serve any of the following purposes: •

Clarification - Can you explain what you mean by that?

•

Elaboration - Can you expand on that idea?

•

Generalization - In what other situations m ight that principle apply?

•

Structuring - What facts need to be considered before we focus on the emotional issues?

•

Comparison - How is that different from ...?

•

Substantiation - How can we justify the assumption?

•

Linking - How do these two ideas relate to one another?

•

Engagement - What would you do in that situation?

•

Integration - What general principles might help us understand this situation?

•

Consensus - Why might some people agree with that idea?

•

Focus - How does that take us closer to a solution?

Use your questions sparingly so that your interventions are subtle and the discussion does not become a question and answer session. Your questions should keep the discussion going, not dominate it. UNIT III: INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES FOR SCIENCE

10 3

Summarizing and Closure Well-prepared cases will be so realistic that they cannot be resolved completely in a single class discussion. However, you still need to bring the discussion to a satisfying conclusion. You might provide the summary, or you might ask the students to do it-either way, the summary should address both the issues in the case study and the process that were used to analyze it. Make your comments as specific as possible so that the students will think about what worked and did not work in their attempts to analyze the case. Your concluding comments should help the students to see that "the most important aspect of the whole exercise is their ability to provide a structured approach to the problem" (Volpe, 2002). A good conclusion will typically highlight points of agreement and unresolved issues, emphasize the need to interpret similar cases from a sound theoretical perspectives, and help the students to see that many real-world outcomes are determined by circumstance as much as by logic. Ideally, your closure should end the discussion but not end the students' thinking about the issues.

III.

Sample Lesson Plan

Topic: Weather Disturbances 1.

Types of weather disturbances

Effects of weather disturbances on living things and the environment

Grade Level: Grade 5 Learning Competencies The learners should be able to: 1.

observe the changes in the weather before, during, and after a typhoon;

describe the effects of a typhoon on the community; and

describe the effects of the winds, given a certain storm warning signal.

ENGAGE Ask two to three students to share in class about their recent experience regarding typhoons. Preferably choose the students who had serious experience. EXPLORE Ask other students about the precautions and safety measures before, during, and after typhoon.

10 4

Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

j EXPLAIN Discuss changes that are observed before, during, and after typhoon by showing pictures or videos. I Provide an interactive discussion of the impacts of typhoon in the community as well as the effect of wind I given the storm signals. I

•;

■.-•••

•'

. ‘

■ ELABORATE Have the students gather news articles about recent typhoons. Have them examine the impact of | :iese typhoons to individuals, households, and communities. EVALUATE Let the students answer guide questions about the above mentioned cases of damages brought by I the typhoons. Grade the students according to the accuracy and completeness of their ideas. Sample Guide Questions: 1.

What is the name of the typhoon? What is its signal?

Were there damages brought by it? Discuss briefly.

Check on updates from weather bureaus and institutions. Were people informed of these typhoons?

IV.

Application Answer the guide questions completely.

1. What are the advantages of using case study as a strategy in class?

What are the limitations of case study as a strategy in class?

UNIT III: INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES FOR SCIENCE

10 5

—

Develop a sample lesson plan incorporating student research.

Topic: Grade level: Learning Competencies The learners should be able to:

2. ENGAGE

EXPLORE

EXPLAIN

ELABORATE

EVALUATE

10 6

Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

—

-N

Lesson 15: Strategy 7 - Using Role-play as a Teaching Strategy

What is Role-playing? Role-playing is an unrehearsed dramatization in which individuals improvise behaviors that illustrate acts expected from people involved in defined situations. "In role-playing activities, you present to your students a realistic or hypothetical situation and a cast of characters. The students then improvise dialogue and actions to fit their views of the situation and the character they are playing" (Davis, 1993). In successful role-playing, the learners assimilate information that is provided about their role and then act out the assigned role in accordance with their interpretation of how their character would behave in the fictional situation. This type of role-play can easily be designed to help the students understand the feelings and perspectives of others by acting out situations in which there is a conflict or dilemma. They provide an opportunity for them to become deeply involved in thinking about how they would react in real-world situations. Frequently, this type of role-playing directly involves just a few students (the actors) and the majority of the class observes and analyzes the interactions between the players. You can directly involve more students by using role-play as a group activity (with several groups role-playing at the same time). This has the clear advantage of giving more students a chance to demonstrate how they would perform in a role, but it can lim it your chances of having all members of the class focus on specific issues that arise from the role-play. A second form of role-play can be used to help the students develop specific skills, such as how to present themselves effectively at an interview, how to introduce themselves to a stranger, etc. With this approach, you might have several students (or all students) take turns at playing the role so that they can all practice their skills and receive feedback. Another form of role-playing requires the students to take on specific roles over a longer period of time, frequently in order to experience what it m ight be like to work in a particular occupation. UNIT III: INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES FOR SCIENCE

10 7

Palmer (1998) describes a fourth form of role-play in which the students pretend to be "anything... either living or non-living." Whichever form of role-play is used, the teacher is responsible for planning, organizing, facilitating and monitoring the role-playing, and for guiding the follow-up discussions. In short, the teacher has to ensure that the role-play is a learning experience, not simply an activity.

Why and When Might Role-Play Be Used as a Teaching Strategy? Killen (2009) explained the advantages of role-play. In general, role-play can: •

Help create a learning environment in which the students are highly motivated and involved because of the realism and relevance of the learning activities. This encourages them to look at the material they are learning in a new light.

•

Provide a clear focus for learning by emphasizing the application of knowledge in real situations rather than just the accumulation of knowledge for assessment purposes. This helps the students to consolidate their learning.

•

Provide the students with opportunities to develop a range of communication and social interaction skills. It can also give them opportunities to express feelings and points of view that they might be unwilling to express in real situations.

•

Give the students opportunities to deal with complex social, emotional, ethical, and moral issues in concrete ways in a safe environment (Hughes, 1992; Eddings, 1992). The students can experiment and take risks in their interactions with others, which encourages them to think critically and creatively. Through these experiences, they gain a better understanding of their own values and attitudes (Saltz, 1994) and come to appreciate the consequences of their valuesbased actions (Downing, 1994).

•

Engage the students actively in learning, so that they appreciate the value of participation, rather than just hoping to learn by absorption.

•

Help the students understand the feelings and attitudes of others by experiencing situations, rather than just hearing or reading about them. This helps them understand that there are causal relationships between people's behavior and the outcomes of events (Drake & Corbin, 1993).

•

Give the students practice in generalizing from a particular situation and appreciating that their biases and preconceptions will influence their generalizations.

•

Develop the students' self-confidence, self-esteem, and self-image.

•

Encourage the students to take a deep approach to learning (Cope & Horan, 1996) and start to understand that complex problems rarely have simple solutions.

•

10 8

Enable the students to explore historical or contemporary situations in which there are con flicting emotions, different points of view, biases, problems caused by differences in race, age,

Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

gender, religion, nationality, or ethnic background, and so on.The students become more aware of differences in points of view and their consequences and more sensitive to the feelings of others. •

Develop the students' citizenship skills by showing the successful and unsuccessful methods that people use to solve intergroup and interpersonal problems.

•

Give the students practice at taking action on their own behalf and on behalf of others in realworld situations (Haberman, 1991).

•

Provide the students with valuable opportunities to use their experiences and imagination to "explore values and issues that are highly relevant to their own needs and culture, in their own language, and with stimulation and instant feedback from their peers" (Dracup, 2008).

Moreover, because this kind of learning experience involves the whole person-intellect, feeling, and bodily senses-it tends to be experienced more deeply and remembered longer (Brookfield, 1990). Role-play that involves the students pretending to be inanimate objects is a particular useful strategy when the students are struggling to understand concepts that cannot be easily demonstrated in a real situation-for example, the movement of nutrients in the body. Despite the many advantages of using role-play as a teaching strategy in class, it also has some limitations. The table that follows shows a summary of the advantages and limitations of role-play.

Use role-play if: •

Do not use role-play if:

The outcomes you want the students to

•

achieve are best demonstrated through some type of performance. •

•

The students lack the confidence and basic skills to take on roles.

The students have the confidence to perform in front of their peers.

•

You want to encourage the students to

•

Direct instruction will be more effective and less timeconsuming. The students who are observing

explore a range of ways of dealing with

lack the skills to analyze and

realistic situations.

learn from the activities they are watching.

•

You want the students to learn how to enjoy learning.

•

You want to demonstrate the critical role of human decisions in real situations.

UNIT III: INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES FOR SCIENCE

10 9

II.

How to Use Role-Play as a Teaching Strategy? When planning to use role-play, your preparation will need to include the following (Killen, 2009):

Decide what learning outcomes are to be achieved by those students participating directly in the activity (the role-players)

Decide what learning outcomes are to be achieved by those students who are involved directly (observing, judging, note-taking, etc.).

Prepare the resource materials for the direct participants and the other students.

Select the students who will be directly involved and brief them on their roles.

Explain to the other students what you expect them to do during the performance.

Check that the desired learning outcomes were achieved.

IIO Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

To use role-play effectively, you will need to go through at least the following steps: Select or d e v e lo p the role-play scenario.

Have the role-play scenario review ed

III. Sample Lesson Plan Topic: Motion Grade Level: Grade 5 Learning Competencies The learners should be able to: 1.

describe the motion of an object by tracing and measuring its change in position (distance travelled) over a period of time and

use appropriate measuring tools and correct standard units.

ENGAGE The teacher shares in class her experience of riding on a train. She observed that as the train approaches, the velocity decreases, and when it leaves the station, its velocity increases. She wondered what caused the change in velocity of the train.

UNIT III: INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES FOR SCIENCE

III

EXPLORE Divide the class into groups and let them perform this experiment on force, motion, and acceleration.This simple activity aims to determine the relationship between force applied to an object, to observe the motion produced by the force, to discover how mass affects the force required to move an object, and to detect how an increase in force affects the acceleration of an object. After performing the experiment, they will explain their results and compare them with other groups. The students will be using the following: 3 textbooks, looped string, hooked weights or weights plus S-hooks, triple-beam balance, and a stop watch. First, find the mass of each textbook, then the students place the looped string inside the front cover of one book and place the book 25 cm from the end of the table (book spine faces the edge of the table) with the loop string hanging over the table. The students begin hanging weights from the end of string until the book begins to move and reaches the end of the table, (need to be ready to stop the book before it falls off the table). The students then add up the weights hanging on the string and multiply by 0.0098 N/g to calculate the force acting on the book. Leaving the weights on the string, place the book back at its starting point on the table. This time when the students let go of the book, they are to time how long it takes the book to reach the edge of the table. NOTE: The students may have to give the book(s) a tap to get them moving, depending on the books and surface used. To calculate acceleration, use the following formula: a = 2d/t2 The students will repeat the procedure done with one book for two and three books. EXPLAIN •

The topic will be further explained through a role-play. Choose six students to act during the play. Assign another student to manage the class while the role-play is going on. The teacher will divide the class into groups and give them the following activity sheet. They need to watch and listen attentively during the role-play so they can answer the questions in the activity sheet. ACTIVITY SHEET 1.

Rate of change of velocity is_______ T______________

The unit of acceleration is __________________ ______

Negative acceleration is __________________________

As the train approaches the station, its velocity decreases/increases. The six students will have the following roles. Student 1 - Distance Student 3 -Time Student 5 - Velocity

112

Student 2 -Displacement Student 4 -Speed Student 6 - Acceleration

Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

PLAY Distance and Displacement are actually related; they are brothers. They have a common friend named Time. Distance and Time have a friend whom they call Speed. In another group, Velocity is the friend of Displacement and Time. The five met in a party. While they are enjoying the party, Acceleration arrived. SCRIPT Acceleration: Hey, happy to see you all here. Distance: Hey, how are you? Acceleration: I'm fine. Hey, look! You and Displacement are looking almost the same. Are you related with each other? Distance: Yes, he is my brother. Actually, he is the measure of the change of position of an object in a particular direction. Acceleration: Oho... that is you both have same unit, which is meter. Displacement: Yes, actually we look almost the same, but we are different incalculation.However, in situation we both have the same reading. Can you guess it?

one

Acceleration: If an object travels from one place to another in a straight line, then Distance and Displacement will be the same. Is that right? Distance: Yes, you are right. Meet our common friend, Time. Acceleration: I know him. I am also his friend. Displacement: Meet Velocity, a friend of mine, and Time. Velocity: Hey, Acceleration. Acceleration: Oho... So you are Displacement in unit time. Velocity: Yes, and my unit is m/sec. Distance: Also, I and Time have a friend named Speed. Meet him. Speed: Nice to meet you, Acceleration. Acceleration: Oho... So you are distance in unit time. Speed: Yes, and my unit is m/sec. Acceleration: So I think when Distance and Displacement look the same, Speed and Velocity will also look the same. (Speed and Velocity smiles at each other.) Speed: You get it. Actually, we are related to each other so we are close friends. Acceleration: Oho... But the truth is that I am also related with you, isn't it true, Velocity?

UNIT III: INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES FOR SCIENCE

113

Velocity: Yes, you are the rate of change of Velocity. Acceleration: Hehehe... And my unit is m/sec2. Speed: What is this change of Velocity? I don't understand. Velocity: That is Final Velocity - Initial Velocity (Final Velocity minus or less Initial Velocity) Distance: So there is a possibility that change of Velocity becomes negative? Acceleration: Yes, as the Final Velocity is less than Initial Velocity, then I become "Negative Acceleration." Displacement: What is Negative Acceleration? Acceleration: That time I was known as Retardation. Speed: Is there any chance to see you both? Acceleration: It's difficult, but there is one situation where you can see me and retardation simultaneously. Displacement: In which situation? Acceleration: When a train approaches the station, Velocity decreases, and at that time I become Retardation. When the train departs from the station, Velocity increases and I become Acceleration. Speed: So your look changes according to the change that occurs in Velocity? Acceleration: Yes. Distance and Displacement: So, we are all related to each other in one way or another. We form a family, don't we? Acceleration: Yes, so our family is "MOTION." All of them: Hey... We are all part of one family, that is "MOTION FAMILY." -ROLE-PLAY ENDS ELABORATE The teacher will ask the rest of the students of their understanding of the six terms based on the character played by their classmates. The students will give other instances/scenarios where motion is observed and measured. They will relate the experiment to everyday, real-life experiences. EVALUATE The teacher can assess the learning of the students by giving some problems to be solved by the students.

114 Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

IV.

Application

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Answer the following guide questions. 1.

What are the advantages of using role-play as a strategy in class?

What are the limitations of role-play as a strategy in class?

Develop a sample lesson plan incorporating role-play.

Topic: Grade Level: Learning Competencies The learners should be able to: 1. 2.

ENGAGE

EXPLORE

UNIT III: INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES FOR SCIENCE

115

f -----------EXPLAIN

ELABORATE

EVALUATE

Il 6 Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

Lesson 16: Strategy 8 - Gamification

What is Gamification? Gamification is described as the process of applying game-related principles-particularly those relating to user experience and engagement-to nongame contexts such as education (David, 2016). It has five basic elements: points, badges, legderboards, rules, and levels. A gamified classroom uses any or all of these five elements.

Gamification in Education Gamification in education, or gamification in learning, operates underthe assumption thatthe kind of engagement that gamers experience with games can be translated to an educational context toward the goals of facilitating learning and influencing the student behavior. Since gamers voluntarily spend countless hours playing games and problem-solving, researchers and educators have been exploring ways to harness video games' power for motivation and apply it to the classroom (David, 2016).

Elements of a Game The goal of gamification is to motivate the learners by incorporating several game elements in designing instruction: •

Narrative

•

Immediate feedback

•

Fun

•

"Scaffolded learning" with challenges that increase

•

Mastery (for example, in the form of leveling

•

Progress indicators (for example, through points/badges/leaderboards, also called PBLs)

•

Social connection

•

Player control

•

Rules and levels

up)

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A classroom that contains some or all of these elements can be considered a "gamified" classroom. Some educators use the five basic elements, namely points, badges, leaderboards, rules, and levels (Tolentino & Roleda, 2016). The best combinations, the ones that create sustained engagement, consider the unique needs of the learners and do more than just use points and levels to motivate players. The most effective gamification systems make use of other elements such as narrative and connection with fellow players/learners to really capture the learner's interest (David, 2016).

Benefits of Gamification in Education Gamification in education offers many possible benefits, including the following (David, 2016):

II.

•

The students feel ownership over their learning

•

More fun in the classroom

•

Learning becomes visible through progress indicators

•

The students can explore different identities through different avatars/characters

•

The students often are more comfortable in gaming environments

How to Use Gamification as a Teaching Strategy? Before applying gamification in class, there are three important areas that we need to look at.These areas are influenced greatly with the use of games or game-based activities (Lee & Hammer, 2011).

Cognitive Games provide complex systems of rules for the players to explore through active experimentation and discovery. More broadly stated, games guide the players through the mastery process and keep them engaged with potentially difficult tasks (Koster, 2004). One critical game design technique is to deliver concrete challenges that are perfectly tailored to the player's skill level, increasing the difficulty as the player's skill expands. Specific, moderately *

difficult, immediate goals are motivating for the learners (Locke, 1991; Bandura, 1986), and these are precisely the sort that the games provide (Gee, 2008).

Emotional Games invoke a range of powerful emotions, from curiosity to frustration to joy (Lazarro, 2004). Gamification offers a way for the students to reframe failure. It gives them opportunity to try until they learn to understand and master the lesson and the process. It actually creates an environment in which effort, not mastery, is rewarded.The students, in turn, can learn to see failure as an opportunity to grow and become better, instead of becoming helpless, fearful, and anxious. The students learn to look at failure as an important component of learning.

Social Games allow players to try on new identities and roles, asking them to make in-game decisions from their new vantage points (Squire, 2006; Gee, 2008). A well-designed gamification system can help players take on meaningful roles that are fruitful for learning.

Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

By making the development of a new identity playful, and by rewarding it appropriately, we can help the students think differently about their potential in school and what school m ight mean for them. Meanwhile, there are three main ways that gamification can be applied to a learning environment.These include adapting grades, changing the classroom language, and modifying the structure of the class. The teacher may need to modify the classroom setup and the grading system whenever games are utilized in the class. According to Loayza (2019), there are 10 Best Educational Apps that use gamification for adults in 2019. 1.

TEDEd - gamified educational app to create actionable video lessons

Khan Academy - gamified educational app to learn anything for free forever

Coursera - an online learning platform that provides universal access to the world's best education from top universities

Udemy - gamified educational app for user-generated learning

Tinycards - gamified educational app for learning with flashcards

Blinkist - gamified educational app for reading nonfiction books in just 15 minutes

Memrise - gamified educational app to learn a language through locals

SoloLearn - gamified educational app to learn how to code

Yousician - gamified educational app for learning an instrument

10.

Duolingo - gamified educational app for learning a new language

On the other hand, it is not good enough to gamify school because it is the next fad or because we believe the students are motivated by points. We must know what problems we are trying to fix, design systems that fix those specific problems, develop ways of evaluating whether those fixes work, and sustain those fixes over time.

III.

Sample Lesson Plan

Topic: The Solar System Grade Level: Grade 6 Learning Competencies 1.

Compare the planets of the solar system

Construct a model of the solar system showing the relative sizes of the planets and their relative distances from the Sun UNIT III: INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES FOR SCIENCE

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ENGAGE Devise a quiz show like "Wheel of Fortune" using the term "Planets in the Solar System" as the mystery phrase. Print one letter each on cardstock and arrange the cards face down in sequence on a wall or board in the classroom. Divide the class into two teams and have the students turn over cards as they guess a correct letter. EXPLORE Show a clip(s) from a movie, such as "Star Wars," "Armageddon," "Apollo 13", etc. Select a scene that shows space travel or objects in space. Depending on the movie, invite the students to speculate if the scene is possible. Discuss the following: Could there be life on other planets or moons in our solar system? EXPLAIN Have an interactive discussion on the major components of the solar system, including the planets, asteroids, and comets. Show images such as NASA solar system lithographs, "Mapping the Solar System" poster, video, transparencies, or books. •

Differentiate terrestrial from gas giant planets

•

Give the characteristics of terrestrial and gas giant planets

•

Give the relative temperature of the planets

•

Give the relative sizes of the planets compared to Earth

.•

Identify the composition of the planets whether gas or solid or others

•

Describe the gravitational condition of each planet compared to Earth

•

Discuss some distinguishing physical features of planets, comets, meteors, and asteroids

ELABORATE Divide the class into groups. Assign each group an object, such as a planet, the moon, comets, asteroids, etc., in the solar system. Let the groups make models or displays of the object assigned to them. The tasks should be possible to complete with your particular set of research materials. EVALUATE 1.

The students write a persuasive essay about whether they think there is life in the solar system or any place besides Earth.

12 0

The students compile questions for a spacecraft to investigate as it visits a planet(s).The quality of the questions will reflecthe understanding about the solar system

Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

IV.

Application

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Answer the following guide questions completely. 1.

How effective gamification is in motivating students in class?

What are the limitations of this strategy?

Given the learning competencies below, develop a sample lesson plan incorporating gamification.

Topic: Water in the environment Grade Level: Grade 4 Learning Competencies The learners should be able to: a.

explain the use of water from different sources in the context of daily activities;

b. infer the importance of water in daily activities; and c.

describe the importance of the water cycle.

ENGAGE

EXPLORE

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f -----------EXPLAIN

ELABORATE

EVALUATE

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Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

Lesson 17: Strategy 9 - Design Thinking

What is Design Thinking? Design thinking is a mind-set and an approach to learning, collaboration, and problem-solving. It is a structured framework for identifying challenges, gathering information, generating potential solutions, refining ideas, and testing solutions. Design thinking allows us to believe in ourselves that we can make a difference and, brings out our creative and innovative potentials that transform difficult challenges into opportunities for design. This approach has four characteristics:

Human-centered It starts from having a deep compassion and understanding of people's needs.

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Collaborative Solving problems is a lot easier and faster with several wise minds. It benefits from various perspectives and insights.

Optimistic It is an approach that believes in our potential to create a positive change in our lives no matter what problems or difficulties could be hindering the task. It holds on to the primary idea that design thinking is a worthy and enjoyable venture.

Experimental It is an activity that gives room for mistakes and failure because from them, individuals learn and become better. It is actually about learning by doing. Consequently, it is an approach that looks into new, better, and creative way of improving our way of life and finding solutions to the many problems of the society and people.

The Design Process It is a structured approach for developing and applying ideas. It has five phases that help people identify problems and develop creative and appropriate solutions to such problems. The five phases include:

II.

Discovery

Interpretation

Ideation

Experimentation

Evolution

How to Use Design Thinking as a Teaching Strategy? Before starting the design process, one should have a specific and intentional problem to address that will be called a design challenge. The challenge should be understandable and manageable, one that is not too big or too small, not too vague or too simple. Some considerations when identifying design challenge are:

12 4

•

List possible topics

•

Frame the problem

•

Keep it simple

•

Sketch out end goals

•

Define measures of success

Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

•

Establish constraints

•

Write a brief

A design challenge is fundamental to every design process because it will drive the whole process from the start until its completion. Creating the "how m ight we" question to address is very essential-. The question should be broad to accommodate unexpected possibilities yet narrow to let the team focus. Here are some examples of challenge that might inspire you and the team: •

How might we engage the students more deeply in reading?

•

How might we create a curriculum that teaches the students about the brain and about who they are as learners?

•

How might we design our classroom space to be student-centered?

•

How might we create a space for teacher collaboration?

•

How might we build school-family partnerships?

•

How might we adapt the school schedule to the learning rhythms of ourstudents?

•

How might we support a more well-rested campus?

•

How might we design our campus to serve our students and the community?

After identifying a design challenge, start to plan your design project. Devote time for the project. Decide how much time you are going to use for the entire design process. Moreover, prepare these three important components and aspects of the process:

Team Design process is a collaborative effort. Select those people whom you trust and can help you fulfill the goals of the project. Start small but invite variety. Choose people who have different insights and perspectives. Delegate specific roles to them. Give room for both collaborative work and individual work. Sometimes team members prefer to work alone so they can deliver the best result.

Spaces Choose a specific area where the team can meet regularly and work together.

Materials Prepare all the necessary materials and accessories for the project. Some of the common supplies include Post-it notes, large Post-it pads, flipchart, markers, adhesives, blank and colored papers, scissors, and digital and/or video cameras.

Now let's expound on the five phases of design process. We can easily perform each phase if we know what they are for.

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A. Discovery During this initial stage, the individual or the team is open for new ideas and opportunities. It has three substages.

1. Understand the challenge i)

Review the challenge (a) Collect thoughts (b) Review constraints (c) Reframe challenge (d) Create a visible reminder

ii)

Share what you know (a) Define what you don't know (b) Build on your knowledge and fill in the gaps

iii) Build yourteam (a) Share who you are (b) Define your individual and team goals (c) Agree on roles (d) Give feedback iv) Define your audience (a) List immediate contacts (b) Think more broadly i

Refine your plan (a) Sketch a calendar (b) Form agreements (c) Create a visual reminder

12 b Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

2. Prepare research i)

Identify sources of inspiration (a) Imagine interesting people to meet (b) Think of extremes (c) Make a list of activities you want to do

ii)

Select research participants (a) Describe the people you want to meet (b) Plan the interaction and logistics (c) Invite participants (d) Track your recruiting progress Build a question guide (a) Identify topics (b) Develop questions (c) Organize your questions (d) Create a question guide that is very readable (e) Build tangible conversation starters (f)

Confirm your plans

(g) Assign roles

(h) Prepare your equipment iv) Prepare for fieldwork (a) Establish trust with participants (b) Get the most out of your interactions (c) Know what to look for (d) Capture what you see

3. Gather inspiration i)

Immerse yourself in context (a) Plan your observations (b) Explore and take notes (c) Capture what you have seen

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ii)

Seek inspiration in analogous settings (a) Think of analogies that connect with your challenge (b) Make arrangements for your activities (c) Absorb the experience

iii) Learn from experts (a) Choose the participants (b) Set up for a productive conversation iv) Learn from users (a) Learn from individuals (b) Learn from people's self-documentation (c) Learn from groups (d) Learn from peers observing peers

B. Interpretation During this stage, ideas are transformed into meaningful insights. The team finds meaning into every idea and make them actionable. It involves filtering and sorting of ideas until a clear direction for the design is envisioned.

1. Tell stories i)

Capture your learnings

ii)

Share inspiring stories

2. Search for meaning i)

Find themes

ii)

Make sense of findings

iii) Define insights

3. Frame opportunities i) ii)

128

Create a visual reminder Make insights actionable

Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

Ideation It means the process of generating ideas. More ideas are formed as the team brainstorms. Good preparation with a clear set of rules encourages successful brainstorming.

1. Generate ideas i)

Prepare for brainstorming

ii) Facilitate brainstorming iii) Select promising ideas iv) Sketch to think

2. Refine ideas i) Do a reality check ii) Describe your idea

Experimentation It's the stage of making ideas come to life by creating prototypes. The ideas become tangible; they are shared with other people. Suggestions from others are encouraged to improve and refine the prototype.

1. Make prototypes Choose the form that best represents your idea. It could be a storyboard, diagram, story, advertisement, mock-up, model, role-play, etc. You may not be able to get it right at first, but the best prototype is actually the one that gets better over time.

2. Get feedback i) Identify sources of feedback ii) Select feedback participants iii) Build a question guide iv) Facilitate feedback conversations v) Capture feedback learnings vi) Integrate feedback vji) Identify what's needed

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Evolution ideas evolve and improve over time. This stage allows envisioning the future and planning for the next steps and communicating with people who can help in the fulfillm ent of the project.

1. Track learnings i)

Define success (a) Consider the people involved and trace indicators of success

ii)

Document progress (a) Identify the signs of change, share stories, discuss effects, and celebrate achievements

2. Move forward i) Plan next steps ii) Engage others iii) Build a community

III. Sample Lesson Plan Topic: Energy Transformation in Simple Machines Grade Level: Grade 6 Learning Competencies The learners should be able to: 1.

manipulate simple machines to describe their characteristics and uses

demonstrate the practical and safe uses of simple machines.

and

ENGAGE Introduce the simple challenge to your students. Challenge: "How can I separate this piece of paper into two pieces with straight edges?" *KWL chart - complete K and W EXPLORE Use available materials from the laboratory room or bring samples of simple machines so that the students can explore levers, gears, pulley systems, and inclined planes.

130 Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

EXPLAIN Discuss what is actually happening in the simple machines the students used during the

Explore part. Encourage the students to think about where force is being applied, where the load is, the motion that results from the force, and how the machine has modified the force, that is, the mechanical advantage. The students can then use arrows to represent the direction and size of the force applied and the direction and speed of the resultant motion. ELABORATE Part 1: The teacher can show the class Honda Accord commercial (see https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=uyN9yOBEMqc) where simple machines are used. Part 2: Design challenge-Designing a cart The students can design carts for a particular purpose, such as for moving quickly down a slope or travelling as far as possible in a straight line across the floor. This can be an individual or group activity, depending on the class composition and their needs. Other students can be asked to make a drawing of their design first. The task can be focused on how well the vehicle rolls down a ramp or along the ground. EVALUATE Give each of the student or group time to present their output in the class. Use a rubric to assess their output.

IV.

Application Answer the guide questions completely.

How effective is design thinking in bringing out the creativity and innovative skills of the students in the class?

What are the limitations of this strategy?

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r --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3. Think of a particular topic with the appropriate learning competencies and develop a sample lesson plan incorporating design thinking.

Topic: Grade Level: Learning Competencies The learners should be able to:

1. 2. ENGAGE

EXPLORE

EXPLAIN

ELABORATE

EVALUATE

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Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

Lesson 18: Suggested Activities that Explore Earth Science

Description With regard to teaching the Earth concept, educators have the illusion that providing some proof of the spherical shape of Earth will convince the pupils about Earth's shape and, as a by-product, will change their understanding of the "nature" of cosmic space. Such proofs, when given without considering the pupils' preconceptions and without confronting them explicitly, often do not serve this purpose.They do not have the intended effect of causing the pupils to modify their belief about Earth's shape, and needless to say, they do not influence the pupils' notions of cosmic space. The notion of cosmic space requires direct and explicit didactic treatment. (Nussbaum 1989:190) Earth science involves the study of Earth's composition, its layers, and the activity within the layers, oceans, and weather systems. The study of astronomy is often included. Much of what is known about the earth and the rest of the universe is based on inferences. Thus, as Nussbaum (1989) points out, much of earth science has to be taught through didactic methods. It is difficult to collect data through observations because change occurs on a grand scale and over very long periods of time. The formations of most earth science concepts were developed by using sophisticated technology.Theories of plate tectonics, for example, were developed in part by collecting samples from hundreds of feet below the earth and the ocean in different parts of the world. Seismographic data collected over many years were also used to develop an explanation for the movement of earth plates. The same is true for astronomy. Thus, making papier-mache planets does not lead to understanding anything about them. This is merely an art exercise. Usually, the planets are not made to scale, and their surfaces are not reproduced accurately either. These science concepts have been incorporated into curriculums with little consideration as to whetherthe children are developmentally ready to understand them.The plate tectonics theory was first introduced into the science curriculum at the high school level.The students collected actual data about earthquakes and volcanic activity.They studied maps of the continents and read about the composition UNIT III: INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES FOR SCIENCE

133

of land masses to understand how they have may fit together at one time. However, now the study of plate tectonics can be found in the early grades. The children cut out continent shapes and glue them together or make them out of clay and push them over each other to simulate what happens when continents collide. Thus, a theory developed through a complex process of collecting data and drawing inferences has been reduced to a demonstration of showing objects moving over each other. This representation has no meaning to primary children, since the concepts are so far removed from their own experiences and they are not developmental^ capable of understanding them. Remember, plate tectonics is a theory that is not based on direct observations. It is an explanation that most scientists accept based on the data they have. The following activities are basically simulations with observable data.

II. SAMPLE LESSON PLAN Lesson 1: Scale Models of Planets Goals •

To simulate the distances and diameters of the planets of the solar system

•

To create scale models based on a ratio of the actual distances and diameters of the planets to one another

Grade Levels •

Upper grades

Materials •

String

•

Construction paper

•

Popsicle sticks (

Instructions Representing the distances and sizes of planets mathematically can be very helpful for the students in understanding the tremendous differences in measurements in outer space. 1.

Have the students find out the actual distances, in kilometers, between the Sun and the planets of the solar system. Create ratios of kilometers to meters.

Cut lengths of string, in meters, that represent the distances between the planets and the sun.

Find out the actual diameters or circumferences of the planets. Use the metric scale to make circular cutouts of each planet, represented in centimeters.

134 Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

Write the names of the planets on the circular cutouts. Glue them to popsicle sticks. Attach one end of the string to the planet cutout.

Take the children outside to a large area. One student represents the Sun and holds the unattached end of all the strings.

Other students hold the planet cutouts and walk away from the sun until the string lengths are fully extended. The planet holders slowly walk in a circle around

The students whose planets are closer to the Sun will complete the circle before the student holding the earth. The students with planets that are at a greater distance from the Sun will take longer to complete their orbits. The students can count the number of Earth circles for each planet to know the number of years it takes for other planets to complete their orbits around the Sun.

Lesson 2: Plaster of Paris Volcanoes Goal •

To create a model of lava flow

Grade Levels •

Upper grades

Materials •

Plaster of Paris (Alternatives include chalk and water, lime and water, soy powder and water, acrylic undercoat from the hardware store, matte medium or gelatin).

•

Crayons

•

String

•

Hot Plate

•

Paper cups

•

Metal containerfor boiling water

•

Safety goggles

Background Information To stimulate volcanic activity, crayons submerged in plaster of Paris are placed in boiling water. As the water boils, the heat penetrates the mold and melts the crayon. As the pressure builds, it forces the melted crayon to travel up the string to the outside. The water has to boil long enough for the crayon to melt inside the plaster of Paris. This stimulates underground volcanic action as well as the movement of molten rock. Before doing this activity, the students can read about the various types of volcanoes and identify the types that are shown in the simulation.

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Safety Precautions The students must wear safety goggles as they make observations around the boiling water. Make sure the boiling water is not too close to the edge of a table and that no one trips over an electrical cord. The students can make observations in small groups.

instructions 1.

Take a piece of string, approximately 6 centimeters long, and rub it with apiece of wax tocoat it. Tie a piece of crayon to one end of the string.

Prepare a mixture of plaster of Paris or its alternative. Cover thebottom ofa paper cupwith

the

mixture. 3.

Place the crayon in this mixture and add more plaster of Paris until the cup is between one-half to two-thirds full. The end of the string should protrude from the plaster.

Let the cup set overnight so that the plaster of Paris dries. On the following day, strip away the paper cup.

Place the plaster of Paris mold in water in a metal pan. The pan should be deep enough so that the water covers about two-thirds of the mold.

Place the pan on a hot plate and bring the water to a boil.

Suggestions •

Note where the molten crayon emerges from the plaster of Paris.

•

Explain why it comes out from several different places.

•

Compare what the books say about volcanic activity with what happens in this simulation.

III. Application c

Answer the guide questions. 1.

Cite some challenges that the teachers usually encounter in using simulations and models in class.

What other tools can the teachers use in order to make the class discussion on earth science topics more engaging for the students?

136 Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

UNIT

IV: ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES FOR SCIENCE

lesson 19: Assessing Learning in Science Learning Objectives At the end of this lesson, you should be able to: •

characterize effective assessment;

•

discuss principles of assessing learning in science;

•

explain the emphasis or focus of modern assessments in science;

•

examine assessment strategies in terms of their advantages and implementation guide lines; and

•

II.

explain ways on how to make assessment engaging and effective.

Learning Activities Assessment is the ongoing process of gathering, analyzing, and interpreting evidence of student learning. Teachers reflect on findings in order to make informed and consistent judgments to improve student learning. Three types of assessment may be utilized by the teachers inside the classroom. •

Assessment for learning: a form of formative assessment that occurs when assessments are integrated with instruction and help the teachers monitor the students' progress, identify their learning needs, and adjust their instruction accordingly. The teachers provide immediate feedback so that the students become self-directed, metacognitive, and successful.

•

Assessment as learning: a form of formative assessment occurs when the students reflect on and monitor their progress to inform their future learning goals.

•

Assessment of learning: a form of summative assessment that occurs when the teachers use evidence of student learning to make judgments on the students' achievement against goals and standards.

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Assessment can be formative or summative. Formative assessment aims to improve instruction and learning by providing the students and the teachers with information about the students' progress in accomplishing learning outcomes. Summative assessment, on the other hand, aims to evaluate student learning at the end of an instructional unit or program by comparing it against some standard or bench mark. They are often high stakes, which means that they have a high numeric value. How can assessments be made more effective and engaging? The National Science Education Standards of United States characterize effective assessment as: •

congruent with instruction

•

based on authentic tasks and meaningful science-learning processes and contexts

•

multi-dimensional and uses a wide range of tools andmethods

•

a collaborative process involving the students

•

ongoing and continuous

A. A C TIV A TE Activity A. 1. What are the top three types of assessment your science teachers utilized in the classroom? Circle all those that apply. 1.

Observation

Interview

Group/Peer assessment

End of unit paper-and-pen tests

End of quarter paper-and-pen test

Quiz bee

Self-assessment

Performance task/Student demonstration

Science journal entries

10.

Rubrics/Checklists

11.

Visual displays

12.

Laboratory report

13.

Research report

14.

Pencil-and-paper tests/drills

138 Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

15.

Oral recitation

16.

Computer-assisted games or instruction

Pair up and discuss your answers to the questions below: •

Why did your teachers use those assessment forms?

•

Which of these assessment strategies did you find effective? Explain your answer.

•

Which are traditional forms of assessment?

•

Which are authentic forms of assessment?

A N ALYZE Activity B.1. Read carefully the statements below on preparing different assessment strategies in science. Assessment Type: Objective test questions •

There should only be one best answer

•

Avoid double negatives, idiomatic language, and absolutes such as "never" or "always"

•

Test only a single idea in each item

•

Make sure wrong answers (distractors) are plausible

•

Incorporate common student errors as distractors

Assessment Type: Using concept maps •

Create a focus question or prompt that specifies the issue or topic

•

Tell the students to begin by generating a list of relevant concepts

•

Encourage the students to create maps that employ a hierarchical structure that distinguishes general to specific concepts

•

Draw multiple connections or cross-links

•

Include specific examples of events and objects

Assessment Type: Using group works •

Assess both process and product

•

Ask the students to gauge their own contribution to the team

•

Ask the students to assess their group dynamics and the contribution of their team

•

Highlight the development of positive values and attitudes

•

Hold the students accountable

members

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Choose three other assessment strategies. Examine their advantages. Determine implementations guidelines like the ones above.

Assessment Strategies

Advantages

Implementation Guidelines

•

C. A B S TR A C T Activity C.1. In small groups of 3-4 members, choose three strategies below to examine in terms of advantages and implementation guidelines.

Assessment Strategies

Advantages

Observation Interview Group/Peer assessment End of unit paper-and-pen test End of quarter paper-and-pen test Quiz bee Self-assessment Performance task/Student demonstration Science journal entries Rubrics/Checklists Visual displays Laboratory report Research report Pencil-and-paper tests/drills Oral recitation Computer-assisted games or instruction L40

Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

Guidelines for Implementation

APPLY Activity D.1. Identify effective and engaging assessment forms for the following target competencies in eartn science and physics.

Assessment Strategies

Competencies Identify things that can make objects move such as people, water, wind, and magnets.(S3FE-lllc-d-2) Describe the changes in the weather over a period of time. (S3ES-IVe-f-3) Communicate how the natural objects in the sky affect daily activities. (S3ES-IVg-h-7) Explain the effects of force applied to an object. (S4FE- llla-1) Investigate properties and characteristics of light and sound. (S4FE-lllh-5) Describe ways to protect oneself from exposure to excessive light, heat, and sound. (S4FE- llli-j-6)

III.

Lesson Synthesis

How can assessments be made more effective and engaging?

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Lesson 20: Traditional Assessment in Science I.

Learning Objectives At the end of this lesson, you should be able to: •

characterize traditional assessment strategies in science;

•

examine advantages and disadvantages of traditional forms of assessmentin science; and

•

provide alternative forms of assessment for given competencies and traditional assessment

forms. V__________________________________________________________________________________________

II.

Learning Activities Traditional assessment is the classic way of testing and evaluating the students' learning with the use of standardized pen and paper. It makes use of multiple-choice, true or false, or matching type test items. Assessment is often separate from the instruction, and the curriculum drives the traditional assessment (Abdao, 2015). The main purpose of traditional assessment is to evaluate if the students have truly learned the content or to determine if the students are successful in acquiring the necessary knowledge from the class lecture/discussions or activities. The students are ranked or given grade according to standards or other learners. This form of assessment gives the teacher a snapshot of the students' knowledge of the content as the students demonstrate what they know through paper-and-pen tests. The students often display lower level of thinking skills because they are asked to recall and comprehend body of knowledge that has been taught to them. It is easy to prepare, administer, and score. It is practical, product-oriented, reliable, valid and summative (Abdao, 2015). The students are evaluated easily and quickly. Other examples of this method of assessment are standardized tests, aptitude tests, intelligence tests, and achievement tests. With this method of assessment, the students are not evaluated as to what they can do with the knowledge that they have acquired. It is rigid and fixed because it provides limited ways of assessing the students' knowledge and comprehension. The students are asked to memorize and recall information. They do not necessarily practice their higher-order thinking skills. It may also stimulate feelings of anxiety that are not helpful for the students. Most of the time, the students work alone during activities, thereby promoting competitiveness.They are pressured to finish the exam/test in a fixed time.

142 Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

A. ACTIVATE Activity A. 1. Traditional forms of assessment in science include multiple choice, matching, gap-filling, and truefalse tests. Discuss with a partner the advantages and disadvantages of each type of test. Complete the table below with your answers.

Type of Assessment

Advantages

Disadvantages

Multiple Choice Gap filling True-False Matching

B. AN ALYZE Activity B. 1. Below are alternative forms of assessment that you can use in the classroom. You just need to make sure it is aligned with the target competencies, developmental^ appropriate, and feasible. •

Game playing - Games are challenging and more engaging than formal tests. Skills and knowledge are concretely revealed when the students engage in meaningful games. Online platforms and applications can be used in designing games.

•

Story writing - Reading or writing stories is an engaging way to present information and to assess the students' knowledge.

•

Letter writing - This provides opportunity for the students to demonstrate their ability to communicate science ideas and advance their advocacies. Persuasive writing is central to the relationship between science, mathematics, and science and technology.'

•

Advertisements - Statistics and experiment results are used in advertisements and campaigns. Since the students are immersed nowadays in the digital world, they will find this activity interesting and relevant as they can practice their computer and data literacies.

•

Reflections - When the students reflect in an open-ended way about what they know, their perspective is broadened. Written reflections can be recorded as journal entries and persuasive writing and may be published in school publication.

•

Model making - Models are simplified representations of the world that enable the students to imagine about it in new ways, make predictions, and test ideas.

•

Experiments - Conducting experiments allow the students to demonstrate their understanding of concepts and their ability performing science process skills, values, and attitudes. UNIT IV: ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES FOR SCIENCE

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•

Investigations - Scientific investigations provide the students the opportunity to pose and answer questions and utilize a variety of tools and strategies to come to the best possible answer. These pieces of output encompass the entire scientific method.

•

Conventions, Conferences, and Debates - At scientific conventions, the students share ideas and research outputs with the larger community. They learn about each other's work, evaluate, and debate.

C. A B S TR A C T AND APPLY Activity C. 1. The alternative assessment forms indicated above are indeed engaging when implemented properly. Look up online and print sources about these strategies. Write on the table below the useful guidelines for the teachers to consider when utilizing alternative forms of assessment.

Assessment Forms

Guidelines

III.

♦

Lesson Synthesis How can teachers strike a balance in the use of traditional and alternative forms of assessment?

14 4

Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

Lesson 21: Using Performance Task I.

Learning Objectives At the end of the lesson, you are expected to:

II.

•

characterize effective use of performance tasks in classroom instruction;

•

discuss guidelines in designing and implementing performance tasks;

•

distinguish among the types of performance task;

•

examine samples of performance tasks; and

•

design performance task for earth science and physics.

Learning Activities

A. A C TIV A TE Activity A. 1. Recall a performance task you demonstrated when you were still in high school or in one of your subjects in your undergraduate studies. What kind of task was assigned to you or your group? How did you complete the task?

B. A N ALYZE Now, you may already have an idea what a performance task is. Let us dig deeper into the idea of using performance-based assessment. When can we actually use it and effectively implement in class?

What is Performance-based Assessment? A performance-based assessment is the assessment of a student's ability to apply knowledge, skills, and understanding, usually in authentic, real-life settings that are similar to those encountered in the world outside the classroom (Murchan & Shiel, 2017). Typically, the students are required to create a product or demonstrate a process. Performance-based assessment can be used to measure a broad range of learning outcomes, including more complex outcomes that cannot be assessed using indirect

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measures, such as multiple-choice tests and written examinations. Some examples of performancebased assessments include: •

representing a character from a drama or play;

•

keeping a portfolio of artwork;

•

demonstrating a routine, movement, or dance;

•

making a video to dramatize a historical theme;

•

editing a story, term paper, or essay;

•

conducting a science experiment;

•

working with a group of students to design a student attitude survey;

•

using equipment/machine to complete a task;

•

preparing a meal/baking pastries or cakes in a culinary subject; and

•

reporting on a project by delivering a multimedia

presentation.

Typically, assessing performance involves evaluating student learning. The evaluation (making judgm ent about the quality of a performance) can be conducted by a teacher, an external marker, or the students themselves. Klenowski and Wyatt-Smith (2014) addressed student self-assessment, whereby the students evaluate their own learning, and, most importantly, internalize assessment standards or criteria, as a major benefit of performance-based assessment. In conducting an assessment, the rater may use a scoring tool such as a checklist, a rating scale, ora scoring rubric. The use of an appropriate scoring tool is essential to ensure that relevant aspects of the performance are assessed (validity) and that the assessment is marked in a consistent manner (reliability). Evaluation can occur during (e.g., delivery of oral presentation) or afterthe performance (e.g., completion of an essay, portfolio, or project). Performance assessments can vary in length, from activities that take just a few minutes to complete to tasks that take several weeks and require the students to present their findings to an audience inside and outside the school. Various authors have identified aspects of knowledge and dispositions that can best assessed using performance-based assessments, and some of these frameworks overlap: •

Habits of mind - According to Costa and Kallick (2008), these are problem-solving, liferelated skills that are needed to operate effectively in society and include persisting, thinking flexibly, managing impulsivity, thinking about one's thinking or metacognition, applying past knowledge to new situations, taking responsible risks, thinking independently, and remaining open to continuous learning.

•

Collaborative problem-solving -The students are assessed as they work together to complete a project or another performance task (e.g., Von Davier & Halpin, 2013). In judging the outcomes of cooperative learning, there may be learning outcomes relating to the overall success of the project as well as outcomes specifying the expected contributions of the individuals.

146 Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

•

Twenty-first century skills - These are skills that are deemed important for the world of work in the 21st century. Griffin and Care (2015) describe these as: ways of thinking (creativity and innovation, critical problem-solving, metacognition); ways of working (commun;cation, collaboration/teamwork); tools for working (information literacy, IQ literacy); and living in the world (citizenship, life and career, personal and social responsibility).

•

Higher-order thinking skills - These comprise the more advanced skills on Bloom's revised taxonomy (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001) and include applying (using information in new situations), analyzing (drawing connections among ideas), evaluating (justifying a stand or decision), and creating (producing new or original work).

A key rationale in using performance-based assessment is that it is possible to establish strong links between curriculum (expressed as goals or objectives), learning (expressed as performance standards or learning outcomes), and assessment. Specifically, aspects of the curriculum that cannot otherwise be assessed, like collaborative problem-solving, are emphasized, and the students can demonstrate their strength in these areas. The outcomes of assessment can then feed into further teaching and learning activities, and gaps in student performance can be addressed. Klenowski and Wyatt-Smith (2014) proposed that performance-based assessment, when used effectively, has considerable potential as an instrument of educational reform and as a disincentive to teaching of the test (that is, preparing to sit examinations that are often predictable in format and content). In addition, they suggest that it is consistent with social constructivist learning theories.

Curriculum, including problem solving, collaboration, critical thinking

Teaching, learning, and assessment cycle. UNIT IV: ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES FOR SCIENCE

I 47

Implementing a Performance-based Assessment A performance-based assessment task can be developed and scored by an individual teacher, a subject department, an external assessor, or an examining board. A performance task seeks to assess learning targets or objectives that are specified in curriculum documents (Murchan & Shiel, 2017). Such tasks may be carried out by individuals or groups. They can be scored as the students work on the task and/or after it has been completed. Often, curriculum objectives are expressed as standards or learning outcomes, and these become the focus of a rating scale or a rubric. A moderation process may be put in place, where a check on the quality of the grades assigned by the teacher is undertaken (Murchan & Shiel, 2017). This could involve a different rater taking a random sample of completed tasks and scoring them independently. Discrepancies between two or more raters can then be addressed in a marking or moderation conference. Sometimes, when moderation unearths a discrepancy, the assessor may need to review the standards (learning outcomes) to achieve a better understanding of them. The final stage in assessing performance on a task is to assign a grade or mark.This may take the form of a numerical score, a descriptor, or a grade. More extensive feedback may be provided to the student who completed the task, such as comments, an indication of areas in need of further improvement, or targets that the student should strive to reach in the future.

Developing Observable Performance Criteria The value and richness of performance assessments depend heavily on identifying criteria that can be observed and judged. It is important that the criteria be clear in the teacher's mind and that the students be taught the criteria. Russell and Airasian (2012) proposed the following guidelines that are useful for the said purpose: 1)

Select the performance or product to be assessed and either perform it yourself or imagine yourself performing it.

List the important aspects of the performance or product.

Try to lim it the number of performance criteria, so they all can be observed during a student's performance.

If possible, have groups of teachers think through the important criteria included in a task.

Express the performance criteria in terms of observable student behaviors or product characteristics.

Do not use ambiguous words that cloud the meaning of the performance criteria. Avoid adverbs such as those ending in -ly, remarks such as good or appropriate, etc.

Arrange the performance criteria in the order in which they are likely to be observed.

Check for existing performance criteria before defining your own.

148 Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

Tools in Assessing Performance-based Assessment There are four tools that can be used to assess how well the students do on a performance-based task: anecdotal records, observational checklists, rating scales, and scoring rubrics.

1. Anecdotal records These are notes based on the teachers' observations about the students as they perform an assessment task. They allow the teachers to document the students' strengths and weaknesses as they edit a text, solve a problem, or search for information. Data gleaned from anecdotal notes can be reviewed with other information (such as a finished product) to arrive at an overall judgm ent of a student's performance (Murchan & Shiel, 2017). Of ail the tools use in assessing the student's performance, the anecdotal record is the most detailed yet the most time consuming. It is not meant to be a free-flowing report or a description of a student's performance. Rather, it should provide a purposeful, detailed description of the strengths and weaknesses of a student's performance based on prespecified performance criteria intended to be used as a guide forthe observer's decision.Thus, judgm ent and recommendations are absent from the record and are made when the record is reviewed at a later time.

2. Observational checklist A checklist consists of a list of behaviors, characteristics, or activities and a place for marking whether each is present or absent. It can focus on a procedure, a behavior, ora product (Murchan & Shiel, 2017). Checklists are diagnostic, reusable, and capable of charting the student progress. They provide a detailed record of the students' performances, one that can and should be shown to the students to help them see where improvement is needed (Russell & Airasian, 2012). The students may use a self-evaluation checklist to review their own work. This may enable them to internalize the criteria for performing well on a task, and they can also build metacognitive knowledge as their understanding of their own learning processes increases. On the other hand, a potential disadvantage of a checklist is that it does not show degrees of qualityonly whether a criterion has been met or not. There are, however, disadvantages associated with checklists. One important disadvantage is that checklists give the teacher only two choices for each criterion: performed or not performed. A checklist provides no middle ground for scoring (Russell & Airasian, 2012). Another drawback is the difficulty of summarizing a student's performance into a single score. In order to solve these concerns, summarizing performances from a checklist can be done by setting up rating standards or by calculating the percentage of criteria accomplished (Russell & Airasian, 2012).

3. Rating scales These are often used for aspects of a complex performance that do not lend themselves to a yes-no or present-absent judgment. A rating scale assesses the degree to which a student has attained the learning outcomes linked to a performance task. It can be used as a teaching tool UNIT IV: ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES FOR SCIENCE

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(to familiarize the students with what is required to achieve a standard) as well as an assessment tool. The end points of a rating scale are usually anchored ("always," "never"), with intermediate points defining levels of performance ("seldom," "occasionally," "frequently"). In general, more points on the rating scale indicate more reliable scores. Three of the most common types of rating scales are the numerical, graphic, and descriptive scales (Russell & Airasian, 2012). In numerical scales, a number stands for a point on the rating scale. For example, you can use "1" that corresponds to a student "always" performing the behavior, "2" for a student "usually" performing the behavior, and so on. Graphical scales require the rater to mark a position on a line divided into sections based on the scale. The rater marks an "X" at that point on the line that best describes the student's performance. Descriptive rating scales are also known as scoring rubrics, where the rater is required to use the different descriptions of the actual performance. Regardless of the type of rating scale the teacher will use, two general rules will improve their accuracy.The first rule is to lim it the number of rating categories.There is a tendency to think that the greaterthe number of rating categories to choose from, the betterthe rating scale is. Only few observers can make reliable distinctions of a performance when the rating scale has more than five categories. Adding a larger number of categories on a rating scale is likely to make the ratings less, not more, reliable. Stick to three to five well-defined and distinct rating scale points (Russell & Airasian, 2012). The second rule is to use the same rating scale for each performance criterion. This is not usually possible in descriptive rating scales where the descriptions vary with each performance criterion. For numerical and graphic scales, however, it is best to select a single rating scale and use it for all performance criteria. Using many different rating categories requires the observer to change focus frequently and will decrease rating accuracy by distracting the rater's attention from the performance. Numerical summarization is the most straightforward and commonly used approach to summarize performance on rating scales. It assigns a point value to each category in the scale and sums the points across the performance criteria.

4. Scoring rubrics According to Murchan and Shiel (2017), these are the types of rating scale on which each level has a complete description of performance and quality. A rubric also lays out the criteria for different levels of performance, which are usually descriptive rather than numerical (Russell & Airasian, 2012). They may be analytic, where each of several dimensions is assessed, or holistic, where either a judgm ent about overall quality or an overall judgm ent on performance is made. Rubrics may also be general (e.g., the same rubric can be applied to different tasks) or task-specific (where the rubric describes quality with respect to a particular task). An analytic rubric has the potential to generate specific feedback on strengths and weaknesses on each dimension of a task (Murchan & Shiel, 2017).

I 5 O Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

Russell and Airasian (2012) explained how rubrics help the teachers and the students in various ways. It helps teachers by: •

specifying criteria to focus instruction on what is important;

•

specifying criteria to focus student assessments;

•

increasing the consistency of assessments;

•

limiting arguments over grading because clear criteria and scoring levels reduce subjectivity; and

•

providing descriptions of student performance that are informative to both the parents and the students.

Furthermore, rubrics help the students by: •

clarifying the teacher's expectations about performance;

•

pointing out what is important in a process or product;

•

helping them monitor and critique their own work; and

•

providing clearer performance information than traditional letter grades provide.

General Steps in Preparing and Using Rubrics A rubric includes both the aspects or characteristics of a performance that will be assessed and a description of the criteria that is used to assess each aspect. The following steps are simplified (Russell & Airasian, 2012) in order to help the teachers find ease in preparing rubrics. 1) 2)

Select a process or product to be taught. f State performance criteria for the process or product.

Decide on the number of scoring levels for the rubric, usually three to five.

State the description of performance criteria at the highest level of student performance.

State the descriptions of performance criteria at the remaining scoring levels (e.g., the "good" and "poor" levels of the book report rubric).

Compare each student's performance with each scoring level.

Select the scoring level closest to a student's actual performance or

Grade the student.

product.

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C. A BST RA C T Activity C. 1. Answer the following guide questions. 1.

What are the possibilities and applications when using the performance assessment with very young children and primary school students?

To what extent can young students engage with the self-assessment aspects of the performance assessment?

D. APPLY Activity D. 1. Answer the exercises below. 1.

Two challenges in implementing performance assessments are time constraints and workload management for the teachers and the students. Think of a subject in which you can introduce a performance assessment such as a portfolio or project. What steps can you take to make it more manageable?

Think of a certain performance task that can help the students utilize their knowledge and skills in physics and earth science. You can also include other disciplines where the students are most exposed to. Provide a rubric for assessing their performance.

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Lesson Synthesis How can performance tasks be more effective and manageable for both the teacher and the students?

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Lesson 22: Designing Learning Portfolios

Learning Objectives At the end of the lesson, you are expected to: •

explain the purposes for using portfolio;

•

distinguish among the types of portfolios;

•

discuss the elements of a portfolio;

•

explain the advantages in using portfolio;

•

discuss guidelines when using portfolio assessment; and

•

design a portfolio assessment for elementary science.

V _____________________________________________ ___________________________________________

II.

Learning Activities

A. A C TIV A TE Activity A.1. What can you remember whenever you hear the word portfolio? Have you experienced preparing a portfolio before? If so, what were the items you included in your portfolio? Why did you include such items?

B. AN ALYZE Let's study more about portfolios. Let's find out about what to include in a portfolio and how to assess our students' portfolios. A portfolio is a collection of material designed to showcase a student's best work or to show the student's growth and development overtime (for example, over a term or a year). Entries to the portfolio may be linked to learning targets and may include self-reflections on the student's own work (Murchan & Shiel, 2017). The term portfolio derives from the collections that photographers, models, and artists assemble to demonstrate their work. In the classroom, portfolios have the same basic purpose: to collect the students' output to show their work and accomplishments over time. Portfolios do not contain

154 Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

haphazard, unrelated collections of a student's work. They contain purposefully selected examples of work. Depending on the purpose of the portfolio, these examples of work may demonstrate the achievement of important learning goals or they may document growth over time. The contents of a portfolio should be closely related to the teacher's learning objectives and should provide information that help the teacher form decisions about student learning. Portfolio entries may be annotated by the student, allowing the teacher to track student thinking and explanations as well as progress over time. Portfolios may also be used as a basis for diagnosing a student's learning difficulties in a subject area. A portfolio can be made up of many different student performances or of a single performance. For example, a multi-focused writing portfolio might contain writing samples, lists of books read, journal entries about books read, and descriptions of favorite poems. Conversely, a single-focus portfolio might contain multiple pieces of the same process or product, such as a portfolio containing only book reports, only written poems, or only physics lab reports. In general, portfolios contribute to instruction and learning in many ways. These are discussed by Russell and Airasian (2012) in their book "Classroom Assessment Concepts and Applications": •

Showing the students'typical work

•

Monitoring the students' progress and improvement over time

•

Helping the students self-evaluate their work

•

Helping the teachers judge the appropriateness of the curriculum

•

Grading the students

•

Reinforcing the importance of processes and products in learning

•

Showing the students the connections among their processes and products

•

Focusing on both the process and final product of learning A portfolio is not a repository into which all of the work produced by a student is stored. Instead,

a portfolio has a defined, specific purpose that reflects the learning objectives. This clearly defined purpose focuses the samples of work that are collected in the portfolio. Too often, the teachers defer the question of the portfolio's purpose until after the students have collected large amounts of their work in their portfolios. At that time the teacher is likely to be confronted with the question of what to do with a vast, undifferentiated collection of student information. An electronic portfolio or e-portfolio is a collection of the student's work, usually saved on the Web. Evidence of learning may include texts, electronicfiles, images, and multimedia. Such a portfolio allows the students to share their work with the teachers, the parents, the administrators, and other students. Perhaps the most important contribution that portfolios provide for learning is that they give the students and their parents or guardians a chance to revisit and reflect on the products and processes a student has produced. Collecting pieces of the students' work in a portfolio retains them for subsequent

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student review, reflection, demonstration, and grading. With subsequent guidance, the students can be encouraged to think about and compare their work over time. For instance, the students can be asked to reflect on these questions: •

Which of these portfolio items shows the most improvement andwhy?

•

Which did you enjoy most and why?

•

From which did you learn the most and why?

•

In what areas have you made the most progress over the year, and what was the nature of that progress? Consequently, portfolios allow the students to see their progress and judge their work from the

perspectives of time and personal development. A portfolio assessment is a type of performance assessment and thus depends on the same four elements that all types of performance assessment require: (1) a clear purpose, (2) appropriate performance criteria, (3) a suitable setting, and (4) scoring performance. A number of questions must be answered in developing and assessing portfolios. Portfolios can be assessed using checklists, rating scales, or scoring rubrics. They also allow for selfassessment, as the students review their own work and comment on it, drawing on a rubric developed by the teacher. Where possible, a rubric can be co-developed by the teacher and the students.

Purpose of Portfolios The items that go into a portfolio, the criteria used to judge the items, and the frequency with which items are added or deleted from the portfolio all depend on the portfolio's purpose. If a portfolio is intended to show a student's best work in a subject area, the contents of the portfolio would change as more samples of the student's performance became available and as less good ones were removed. If the purpose is to show improvement over time, earlier performances would have to be retained and new pieces would have to be added. Given the many and varied uses of portfolios, the purpose is a crucial issue to consider and define in carrying out a portfolio assessment. It is important to determine the purpose and general guidelines for the pieces that will go into the portfolio before starting the portfolio assessment. It is also critical that all pieces going into a portfolio be dated, especially in portfolios that aim to assess the students growth or development. Without recorded dates for each portfolio entry, it may be impossible to assess growth and improvement. To improve the students' ownership of their portfolios, it is useful to allow the students to choose a: least some of the pieces that will go into their portfolios. Some teachers develop portfolios that contain two types of pieces: those required by the teacher and those selected by the student. It is also important that all student portfolio selections be accompanied by a brief written explanation of why the student feels that a particular piece belongs in his or her portfolio. This will encourage the student to reflect on the characteristics of the piece and why it belongs in the portfolio. 156 Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

Performance Criteria Performance criteria are needed to assess the individual pieces that make up a portfolio. Without such criteria, assessment cannot be consistent within and across portfolios.The nature and process of identifying performance criteria for portfolios are the same as that for checklists, rating scales, and rubrics. If the students' portfolios are required for all teachers in a grade or if portfolios are to be passed on to the student's next teacher, it is advisable for all teachers who will use information provided by the portfolio to cooperate in formulating performance criteria. It can also be valuable to allow the students to help identify performance criteria used in assessing the contents of a portfolio because this can give the students a sense of ownership over their performance and help them think through the nature of the portfolio pieces they will produce. Beginning a lesson with a discussion of what makes a good book report, oral reading, science lab, or sonnet is a useful way to get the students think about the characteristics of the process or product they will have to develop.

Setting In addition to a clear purpose and well-developed performance criteria, portfolio assessments must take into account the setting in which the students' performance will be gathered. While many portfolio pieces can be gathered by the teacher in the classroom, other pieces cannot. When portfolios include oral speaking, science experiments, artistic productions, and psychomotor activities, special equipment or arrangements may be needed to properly collect the desired student performance. Many teachers underestimate the time it takes to collect the processes and products that make up portfolios and the management and record keeping needed to maintain them. An important dimension of using portfolios is the logistics of collecting and maintaining the students' portfolios. Portfolios require space. They have to be stored in a safe but accessible place. A system has to be established for the students to add or subtract pieces of their portfolios. Maintaining portfolios requires time and organization. Materials such as envelopes, crates, tape recorders, and the like will be needed for assembling and storing the students' portfolios.

Scoring Scoring portfolios can be a time-consuming task. Not only does each individual portfolio piece have to be assessed, but the summarized pieces must also be assessed to provide an overall portfolio performance. Consider the difference in managing and scoring portfolios that contain varied processes or products compared with portfolios that contain examples of a single process or product. The m ulti focused portfolio provides a wide range of student performance, but at a substantial logistical and scoring cost to the teacher. The single-focus portfolio does not provide the breadth of varied student performances of the multi-focused portfolio but can be managed and scored considerably more quickly.

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When the purpose of a portfolio is to provide descriptive information about student performance (e.g., to pass information on to the next school year's teacher), no scoring or summarization is needed. The contents themselves provide the desired information. However, when the purpose of a portfolio is to diagnose, track improvement, assess the success of instruction, encourage the students to reflect on their work, or grade the students, some form of summarization or scoring of the portfolio pieces is required. The purpose of assessing an entire portfolio, as opposed to the individual pieces, is usually summative-to assign a grade. Such holistic portfolio assessment requires the development of a set of summarizing criteria. Individual portfolio pieces are typically scored using checklists, rating scales, and rubrics. It is not always the teacher who assesses the pieces. It is desirable and instructive to allow the students to selfassess some of their portfolio pieces in order to give them practice in critiquing their own work with respect to the performance criteria. This approach encourages student reflection and learning. Below is an example of performance criteria in assessing individual portfolio using checklist, rating scale, and rubric. Assessing performance, product, and portfolio has both advantages and disadvantages. The teacher needs to think of the best opportunities when to do such activities in class. The list below presents the advantages and disadvantages of assessing performance, product, and portfolio according to Russell and Airasian (2012).

Advantages •

Conduct student self-assessment of products and performances.

•

Conduct peer review of products and performances.

•

Integrate assessment and instruction.

•

Give the students ownership over their learning and productions.

•

Report performance to the parents in clear, descriptive

•

Provide concrete examples for parent conferences.

terms.

Disadvantages Most disadvantages associated with performance, product, and especially portfolio assessments involve the time they require: •

to prepare materials, performance criteria, and scoring formats;

•

To manage, organize, and keep records;

•

for teachers and the students to become comfortable with the use of performance assessments and the change in teaching and learning roles they involve; and

•

to score and provide feedback to the students.

158 Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

Lastly, in order to improve validity and reliability of performance assessments, here are some guidelines suggested by Russell and Airasian (2012). •

Know the purpose of the assessment from the beginning.

•

Teach and give the students practice in the performance criteria.

•

State the performance criteria in terms of observable behaviors and avoid using adverbs such as appropriately, correctly, or well because their interpretation may shift from student to student. Use overt, well-described behaviors that can be seen by an observer and, therefore, are less subject to interpretation. Inform the students of these criteria and focus instruction on them.

•

Select performance criteria that are at an appropriate level of difficulty for the students. For example, the criteria used to judge the oral speaking performance of third-year debate students should be more detailed than those used to judge first-year debate students.

•

Limit performance criteria to a manageable number. A large number of criteria makes observation difficult and causes errors that reduce the validity of the assessment information.

•

Maintain a written record of the students' performance. Checklists,rating scales, and rubrics are the easiest methods for recording the students' performance on important criteria, although more descriptive narratives are often desirable and informative. Voice or video recorders may be used to provide a record of performance, so long as their use does not upset or distract the students. If a formal instrument cannot be used to record judgments of the students' performance, then informal notes of strong and weak points should be taken.

•

Be sure the performance assessment is fair to all the students.

A B S TR A C T Activity C.1. Answer the following guide questions. 1.

What are the advantages of allowing the students to assess their own portfolio?

Can the students go to their portfolio at any time or will the teacher set aside a special time when all the students can modify their portfolios?

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If the portfolio is intended to show growth, how will the order of the entries be kept in sequence?

How does a student's portfolio help the parents in guiding the student?

D. APPLY Activity D. 1 1.

Design a portfolio you want your students to prepare in one of your classes. Give the purpose, contents, guidelines for preparation, and criteria or rubric for assessing the students' portfolio.

Ask the students to prepare an e-portfolio where they can apply their knowledge and skills from different subjects (e.g., physics, mathematics, history, information technology, communication). Make a rubric that will help you score their portfolio.

III.

Lesson Synthesis What is the most important consideration when designing a portfolio assessment?

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Teaching Strategies for Elementary Science Physics, Earth, and Space Science

{R eferen ce* Abdao, D. 2015. Principles and Methods of Assessment: bridging teaching and learning. Retrieved from https://abdao.wordpress.com/2015/07/18/traditional-vs-authentic-assessment/. Abrami, P.C. and Chambers, B. 1996. Research on co-operative learning and achievement: Comments on Slavin. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 21,70-79. Anderson, L.W., and Krathwohl, D.R. (eds). 2001. A taxonomy for learning, teaching and assessing: A revision o f Bloom's taxonomy o f educational objectives. New York: Longman. Aswathy P, 2019. Innovative Lesson Plan: Role-play. Retrieved from https://www.slideshare.net/ apaswathy088/lesson-plan-39294129. Bandura, A. 1986. Social foundations of thought and action: Asocial-cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Boehrer, J. 1994. On teaching a case. International Studies Notes, 19 (2), 13-19. Boehrer, 2002. Teaching International affairs with case studies. Retrieved from http://data.georgetown.edu/ sfs/ecase/resources/boehrer.cfm. Brady, L. 2003. Teacher voices: The school experience. Frenchs Forest: Pearson Education Australia. Bronowski, J. 1981. The common sense of science. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Brookfield, S. 1990. The skillful teacher: On technique, trust and responsiveness in the classroom. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Bruner, F. 2001. How and why to begin teaching with cases. Retrieved from http://ssrn.com/ abstract= 148009. Carlson, W. 1999. A case method for teaching statistics. Journal o f Economic Education,30 (1), 52-58. Cope, C. and Horan, P. 1996.The role played case: An experiential approach to teaching introductory information systems development.Journal o f IS Education, 8(2), 33-39. Costa, A.L., and Kallick, B. 2008. Learning and leading with habits of m ind: 16 characteristics for success. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD). Davis, B.G. 1993. Tools for teaching. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

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Articles inside

R eferences

Lesson 22: Designing Learning P ortfolios

Lesson 21: Using Performance T a s k

Lesson 13: Strategy 5 - Using Research as a Teaching Strategy

Lesson 14: Strategy 6 - Using Case Study as a Teaching Stra te g y

Lesson 10: Strategy 2 - Experimentation

Lesson 7: Five E Model in Planning Science Lessons

Lesson 9: Strategy 1 - The Power o f Observation

Lesson 11: Strategy 3 - Inductive Guided Inquiry

Lesson 2: Science E d u c a tio n

Lesson 19: Assessing Learning in Scien ce