As Arnold Arons and others have found, lecturing to passive students is not
sufficient for them to learn science. Teachers can help students overcome
their misconceptions, help them build valid conceptual models and help them
learn to solve scientific and technological problems. Employing instructional
strategies outlined here may take more time than lecture alone does, which
means that it is not always possible to finish the textbook in a year.
Teachers need to select resources that align with science content standards
and employ a variety of instructional strategies to meet learning goals.
Arons suggests that we think of this not as a “watering down” of the
traditional science courses, but as a “raising up” of the important content
that we really want to spend time teaching students. The teacher’s role can no
longer be one of lecturer and test administrator, but must be one of guide for
learners as they embark on a quest for knowledge that will serve them as they
move into adulthood. The authors cited here offer the following suggestions:
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Begin instruction with knowledge of students’ current understandings and
inaccurate ideas. Address misconceptions and use care not to create
misconceptions through instruction. (Meltzer and Manivannan; Kalkanis,
Hadzidaki & Stavrou; Coll and Treagust; Wandersee, Mintzes & Novak)
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Avoid using technical terminology before teaching about concepts as this
frequently leads to misconceptions. (Gabel and Bunce; Barker)
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Use concept maps to allow students to organize thoughts and to make
connections between ideas. Have students summarize their work in writing.
(Savinainen and Scott; Taber)
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Present concepts through discussion and follow with more discussion to clarify
ideas over time. Only after students indicate a clear understanding should
mathematics be introduced. (Savinainen and Scott)
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Provide questions for discussion that link science concepts with observable
events that occur in students’ lives. (Basili and Sanford)
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Use a conceptual change model to help students correct their misconceptions.
(Laburu and Niaz; Kalkanis, Hadzidaki & Stavrou).
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Use peer instruction, cooperative learning groups and guided inquiry to help
bring out and confront misconceptions. Let students work in groups as they
learn to solve problems. (Arion, Crosby & Murphy; Basili and Sanford; Bowen
and Phelps; Meltzer and Espinoza; Heller and Heller; Maloney)
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Use analogies and metaphors to connect new information to students’ existing
knowledge. (Taber)
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Help students make the connections between large-scale model and microscopic
properties. Communicate that models are a visual representation, not a
real-world occurrence. (Kalkanis, Hadzidaki & Stavrou; Coll and Treagust)
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Offer direction or assistance by moving around the laboratory during science
investigation, asking leading questions without providing answers, to keep
students focused. (Meltzer and Espinoza)
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Facilitate class discussions about predictions and conclusions relating to
various phenomena. (Meltzer and Espinoza; Meltzer and Manivannan)
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Conduct demonstrations as an interactive experience; question students during
demonstrations and ask them to record observations. (Bowen and Phelps)
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Instruct students in problem-solving skills and in strategies to approach a
problem, as well as in the concepts to develop their knowledge base. (Maloney)
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Assist students in breaking down complicated problems into smaller ones that
can be solved in sequence. (Gabel and Bunce; Heller and Heller)
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Assist students in expressing physical quantities as symbolic equations when
problem-solving. (Cohen et al.)
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Use real world problems with divergent solutions, as these are representative
of actual scientific investigations. (Maloney)
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Encourage students to work in cooperative groups as they learn to solve
problems. (Cohen et al.; Heller and Heller; Maloney)
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“Raise up” the material that is most important and give time to it, rather
than rushing through a whole textbook. (Arons)
