comprehensive support for contemporary developments in science education

WorkshopBangkok

13th – 15th March 2013

Introductions• Introduce yourselves to your group

– Your name– Where you work– What you do– Why you are attending the workshop– What you want to achieve from the workshop

• List the things you want to achieve on a sheet of flip chart paper

• One member of each group introduce the participants in the group

What are the contemporary developments in Science Education?

• Context-based teaching and learning• Inquiry-based teaching and learning• Student-centred teaching and learning• Constructivism • Scientific enquiry• Nature of science• Development of personal capabilities and key skills• Development of critical and creative thinking• ICT• The teaching of science through the

medium of English

What are the challenges?• As an individual brainstorm a list of the challenges

teachers have in implementing these developments (5 minutes)– barriers– problems– needs– issues

• Share your list with your group• Compile a group list (10 minutes)

ObjectivesAt the end of the workshop, participants will be able to• Adopt context-based approaches• Implement the 5E learning cycle• Use inquiry-based approaches to develop critical and

creative thinking• Integrate and support scientific enquiry• Take away comprehensive resources that put all the

philosophies effectively into practice• Contribute to discussions about how the model could be

adapted to meet the needs of science education in Myanmar and Cambodia

Programme13th March 2013• Introduction to Inspiring Science philosophies and

comprehensive support for teachers and educators• Context-based student-centred teaching and learning• 5E learning cycle and inquiry-based learning 14th March 2013 • Integrating scientific enquiry • Facilitating and supporting the

development of students’ scientific enquiry capability 

• 15th March 2013• Integrating all the philosophies into a learning experience

and programme• How was Inspiring Science introduced, developed, and

implemented in Thailand• How could the Inspiring Science model be adapted and

developed to meet needs and support science education developments in Myanmar and Cambodia

• Next steps

Key components

Curriculum Development

CapacityBuilding

Sustainable support for science teaching

and learning

Inspiring Science Aims• Develop a core group of science

teachers, educators and Science Institute staff as expert curriculum developers  

• Develop inspiring, high quality teaching resources and a website in Thai and English to support the teaching and learning of the Science curriculum at M1-3 level

• Disseminate and embed the teaching resources across the country through professional development

• Develop the scientific capability, team working, problem solving, communication, leadership, ICT and thinking skills of students across the country – the workforce of the future.

Supporting science education developments

• Context-based teaching and learning• Inquiry-based teaching and learning• Student-centred teaching and learning• 5E learning cycle • Scientific enquiry• Nature of science• Development of key skills• Development of critical and creative

thinking• ICT• The teaching of science through the

medium of English

Website and resources modelled on science upd8

Website 51,000 science teachers registered Upd8 Wikid largest selling KS3 course Contemporary science activities PowerPoint and teacher’s notes Key characteristics and approach

Capacity Building• Develop a core group of 40 master science teachers and Science Institute staff as

expert curriculum developers able to develop context-based curriculum materials that adopt the following principles: – ‘backwards design’– context-based relevant themes– inquiry-based active teaching and

learning– scientific enquiry– performance-based authentic assessment– Key skills/personal capabilities– critical and creative thinking– constructivism through a ‘5E’ Learning

cycle• 3 Writing workshops per year• Step by step approach• Over the three years develop as sustainable group

The teaching resourceshigh quality teaching resources to support the teaching and learning of the M1-3 Science curriculum, including • teacher PowerPoints to lead the students through the context-based

learning episodes that adopt the ‘5E’ learning cycle• integrated video clips• student support sheets• detailed teachers guides that support the teachers through the ‘5E’

learning cycle and have– reference to video clips to use in the classroom– reference to websites– preparation guidance

• scientific enquiries• authentic assessment guidance and

summative assessment

Unit• Covers a distinct part of the curriculum• 4 context-based learning episodes (one of which is a scientific

enquiry)• The resources include

– Teacher PowerPoints– Video clips– Unit and EpisodeTeacher’s

Guides– Student Support Sheets

• Student homework activity• End of unit quiz• CPD video

Website• Home page• Teacher and

student areas• Strand• Unit• Episode• Gallery• Forum

Dissemination training• Supported by high quality training materials with CPD video clips• Train the trainers workshops for 2 teachers/supervisors from 225

education areas– Introduction to the pedagogical models– Introduction to the teaching resources and the website– Training in coaching and mentoring strategies, reflective partners and

action research communities– Roles and responsibilities

• Workshops run by trainers for teachers from at least 10 schools in their education areas

• Through Teachers TV• Through the resources and the website

Support for implementation and embedding

• Supervisors/trainers will mentor and support through– Email and telephone every month– One visit per semester– One cluster meeting per semester– Responding to questions on the website– Posting education area reports and school

reports on website• In-school support to include

– Action plan and preparation in teams– Reflective Partners– One coaching/mentoring session per

month– Action Research Communities– Report to supervisor monthly

Evaluation• Baseline research• Writing workshops• Trialling of resources• Train the trainers and Dissemination training• Implementation and embedding• All will influence the continued development of the project

Set in context • use appropriate real-life contexts• introduce science concepts in ways

relevant to students• allow conceptual interconnections to

be formed• context integral part of the learning

experience, rather than used only for illustrative purposes or for sparking interest

In-Context • Concepts embedded in the context

to make them more meaningful and ensure the construction of more coherent mental maps

• relevant, authentic contexts stimulate dialogue, develop and use the language of science and foster curiosity and inquiry

Further learning• the context as well as the relevant science concepts

need to be carefully selected and (as with all effective teaching practice) appropriate attention accorded to the intended learning outcomes and assessment tasks

• specific science concepts and/or skills are still needed in order for students to adequately explore selected contexts

• the scientific knowledge may also need to be re-worked and re-organised and it is this process that potentially makes the learning more meaningful

Why use active teaching and learning?

• Students are central to the learning experience• Develop greater conceptual understanding• Full range of learning styles stimulated• Develop personal capabilities and key skills• Increased motivation and engagement• Accelerated learning

Characteristics of active teaching and learning

• group work• an accent on cooperation• resource-based learning• students taking responsibility for learning• the teacher as a guide or facilitator• student ownership of ideas and work• process skills being valued• self-discipline• students seen as a source of knowledge and ideas• students involved in organising learning• students actively involved in learning• wide range of learning styles employed

Wide range of Active Teaching and Learning Approaches

• Active reading• Active writing• Group discussion• Simulation• Models• Investigation• Experiment• ICT

ExemplarThai SodaEpisode 1: Market survey

ReflectionDiscuss the following questions• What was the context?• What role did the students have in the context?• Was the context real and relevant?• How was the science integrated into context?• What active teaching and learning approaches were

applied?• What knowledge, understanding and skills did the

students develop?• How could you use it in your own teaching programmes?• How may you adapt it?Prepare to feedback

Inquiry-based teaching and learning• students develop understanding through using mental

and physical skills to gather evidence about the natural and made world

• Inquiry is a multifaceted activity that involves – making observations– posing questions– examining books and other sources of information to see what is

already known– planning investigations– reviewing what is already known in light of experimental

evidence– using tools to gather, analyze, and interpret data– proposing answers, explanations, predictions– communicating the results

• Inquiry requires – identification of assumptions– use of critical and logical thinking,– consideration of alternative explanations

Inquiry embedded in 5E • Guided inquiry

embedded within a serial constructivist model, the 5E learning cycle

• Engage• Explore• Explain• Elaborate• Evaluate

The E learning cycle in action• Watch the video clip of the teacher using the E learning

cycle in the Classroom• Discuss the following questions

• How does the teacher 'engage' the students?• How does the teacher 'elicit' the ideas of the students?• How do the students 'explore' lung function?• How does the teacher help the students to 'explain' the

outcomes of their exploration?• How does the teacher 'elaborate' and 'extend' the students'

ideas?• How does the teacher 'evaluate' the students' learning?

Engage• introduces the context• sets the scene for the learning episode• gives the learning relevance• develops curiosity in the ‘Big idea’• elicit students' pre ideas• helps find out what the students already know and any

misconceptions• tells you where you need to start in building their

understanding

Explore• probably most important ‘E’ • students build conceptual understanding based on first-hand experience• starting to answer the essential question, for example

• gaining a feel for a new concept• devising experiments to investigate a mysterious phenomena• discovering a pattern• devising ways to solve a problem

• not saying students have to discover everything themselves. They can be• guided• given important information and techniques to facilitate learning

• most importantly they have significant ownership• they should be able to build from their existing

ideas

Explain• this stage involves teacher input, once students have

constructed as much understanding of a concept as they can, it‘ involves formalisation of• Terminology• Definitions• Models• Analogies

• the teacher should involve students in devising explanations and further construction of ideas through reflection on what they discovered in the ‘Explore’ stage through carefully constructed questions

• if necessary, you can keep adding new ideas by looping through these stages: Explore → Explain → Explore → Explain.

Elaborate• deepens and extends conceptual understanding through

practice in applying it• students are given problems so they can grasp the Big

Idea in practice• this makes it easier to recognise how to apply the Big

Idea 

Evaluate• assessment• should be done at the end of every ‘E’ to check students’

development of understanding - ie formative assessment• when done at the end of the unit its purpose is usually

summative - to measure students performance

ExemplarsCell ExpoEpisode 1: Cell modelsEpisode 2: Cell posters

Reflection• Discuss the following questions in your group• How did the learning episode

– engage the students– elicit their ideas– develop their ideas and understanding– apply their understanding– evaluate their learning?

• What knowledge, understanding and skills would the students develop

• How could you use it in your teaching programmes?• How may you adapt it?

Prepare to feedback

ExemplarChiang Mai RallyEpisode 3: Velocity

Reflection• What inquiry-based approaches were used?• What inquiry processes were the students involved in?• What understanding did the students develop?• What explanations and ideas did they develop or apply?• How could you use it in your own teaching programmes?• How would you adapt it?

Prepare to feedback

Scientific Enquiry Process• Questioning• Identifying variables• Identify the independent variable• Hypothesising• Planning• Carrying out• Measuring• Recording data• Analysing and Interpreting evidence• Making inferences• Evaluating evidence• Communicating

Supported Scientific Enquiry • One whole scientific

enquiry per unit• Enabling questions• Scaffolds• Planning sheets• Varied starting points• Additional advice in

Teachers Guides

Tips for success• develop the process skills and then implement them in a

scientific enquiry• use more ‘closed’ investigations to start with by providing the

answers to many of the enabling questions to start with, and progressively make the investigation more and more open

• initially concentrate on the idea of a ‘Fair Test’, i.e., you change one thing (independent variable), keep everything else the same (control variables) and measure something (dependent variable)

• encourage students to develop a scientific attitude, i.e., they measurably change the independent variable and measurably control the control variables

• encourage planning for accuracy and reliability

ExemplarCell ExpoEpisode 4: Osmosis Enquiry

Chiang Mai RallyEpisode 2: Speed

Developing key skills • Team work• Problem Solving• Leadership• Communication• Critical and creative

thinking• ICT

Preparing to use a Unit• Select a unit on the website• Read the summary of the unit and then the summary of

each of the episodes• Download and print the Unit Guide, Teachers Guide,

PowerPoint, Student Sheets, and video clips for Episode 1• Watch the CPD video clip of the teacher using the episode

in the classroom• Read the introduction to the Teachers Guide• Read the curriculum guidance

• Go through the guidance for each ‘E’ stage of the episode, referring to and reading each PowerPoint slide as instructed, watching each video clip when instructed and use each Student Support Sheet when instructed

• Carry out the activities as and when instructed• Think about any additional questions you may want to

ask students – where and when• Think about any additional support or help you may need

to give students• Think about how you will manage the time• Think about whether you will use

homework time for certain tasks, in addition to the ‘Homework Activity’

Integrating all the philosophies: Thai Soda Episode 2

In your group go through the ‘Preparing to use a unit’ process for Thai Soda Episode 2 and then discuss the following questions:• What is the context for the episode?• What happens at each stage in the 5E learning cycle?• What active teaching and learning approaches are used?• What inquiry-based approaches are used?• How would it support the development of scientific enquiry

capability?• What personal skills and capabilities would be developed?• How does it develop critical and creative thinking?• How does it introduce the nature of science?• What ICT skills are applied?• How could it support the teaching of science

through the medium of English?

Inspiring Science: the Thailand Experience

How could Inspiring Science be adapted to support developments in Myanmar and Cambodia?

In your group discuss the following questions• What do you think about the Inspiring Science model and teaching

resources presented on the workshop?• What are the current and future needs in your countries?• What current and future needs could the Inspiring Science model

support?• What other needs could it be further developed to address?• How would it need to be adapted and developed?• What phases of education should it focus on?• How could it be initiated, developed and implemented? • Who should be the partners involved?• What roles would they play?• How would it be delivered?• What should be the next steps?

Contact details:

Mark WindaleThe Centre for Science EducationSheffield Hallam UniversityCity CampusOwen Building Floor 9Howard StreetSheffieldS1 1WB. UKTel: +44 114 225 4870Mobile: +44 7771 906 395Email: m.windale@shu.ac.uk