• one competency in the first cycle ( 5 to 7 years old) • three competencies in the other cycles (students aged from 8 to 17 years old)

Competencies

Concepts, techniques and procedures

•Elementary: belong to the teachers•Highschool: ministerial

We use a collection of 20 subject matters that address the four compulsory concepts in the Quebec Education Program: •The Living World•The Material World•The Earth and Space•The Technological World

The six principals of the Inquiry Approach

Principal 1Students observe a common object or phenomenon and do experiments on or about it.

Principal 2During their investigations, students reason and debate, share and discuss their ideas and their results to build their knowledge because a purely manual activity does not suffice.

Adaptation of La map

Principal 3The activities that the teacher presents to the students respect the Progression of Learning as well as the Quebec Education Program and leave many opportunities for the students to demonstrate their autonomy.

Principal 4Approximately two hours per week are devoted to one specific theme and this for a period of a few weeks. A continuum of activities and pedagogical methods is ensured throughout the learning.

Principal 5Each student writes and keeps an experiment log book, written in their words with their own drawings.

Principal 6The main objective is a progressive appropriation of scientific concepts and techniques as well as written and oral consolidation.

General Procedure

Introduction of the questionnaire

This questionnaire is a preamble to the learning situation. The purpose is to: •Introduce the topic and motivate students;•Identify the students’ prior knowledge of the topic.

Each Learning Situation is organized in much the same way

1. Class group work (plenary)

Recall and discuss the common thread of the study subject, the responses already given, and any remaining questions and finally expose the challenge of the day.

2. Team work 

Students seek and find possible solutions to the proposed challenge. They discuss their ideas and try to agree on a common understanding to share with the class.  

The teacher ensures that the tasks are shared fairly and may decide or assign the defined roles within the teams.  

During the experiment, the teacher observes the students, facilitates their exchanges and helps further their work in progress through questions that confront their ideas and their concepts.  

While the teams are working, the teacher keeps track of observations made, other traces and how the students work to be used during the plenary.

Co-operation

3. Collective summary (plenary) 

Discussions, both in small groups or as a class are crucial in each session. 

Discussions allow students to reflect on what they already know (their prior knowledge), to become aware of their hypotheses, assumptions and prejudices, to learn from their peers and to develop and improve their communication skills. As animator of the plenary, the teacher’s role is to guide students as they clarify their ideas, organize their thoughts and compare different solutions, analyse and interpret the results. 

Thus, tentative conclusions will be made so that students gradually appropriate the scientific concepts and techniques as well as the specific language and vocabulary used in science and technology (disciplinary competencies).

4. Homework Offered on a regular basis, homework is meant to:

• ensure continuity with classroom work (research, reinvestment…);

• promote school-family ties; the universal aspect of the proposed topics often raises interest among parents, an interest that brings an added incentive to students in their school work.

Role of the teacher

 It is not necessary to be a scientific expert to lead these sessions; to develop this approach simply means: working directly with students with scientific equipment;allowing fumbles and/or mistakes to be made by both the students and the teacher and then showing how they can be beneficial;accepting not knowing everything and accustoming the students to search for the missing information from others or from books and then resuming the investigation;

asking questions and be willing to consider all of the answers;

questioning one’s own ideas ,thoughts and predictions, if necessary.

While circulating among the teams: encourage exploration and participation of all team members;provide support to teams to conduct their own experiments and resist the temptation to solve problems for them; help students focus their reasoning by asking open questions that provide direction and challenge;remind students to leave traces of their work;encourage students to use their prior knowledge (or prior experiences) and apply them to the new situations that are proposed;participate in the discussions as a team member.

 A few suggestions to lead stimulating discussions: make the discussion an exchange of ideas and impressions;

accept each students’ input as valid and important;

help students clarify their ideas; an incomplete or odd remark/statement may be the core of a unique, important idea;

ask open questions that ensure their understanding and that allow them to make connections throughout the learning process;help students understand that you are not the only person that asks questions and that their questions are also an important part of the discussion and the learning process.

[…] The goal of science education should no longer be to simply transmit science, but to introduce the young into a science culture appropriate for them. What generally takes priority in schools, in grades 3 and 4 more specifically, is encouraging a child to be open to knowledge and to be curious about what is unfamiliar or unclear. “Doing science” should lead to developing attitudes of curiosity, critical thinking, creativity….

What basic skills in science in elementary school? André Giordan, Cahiers pédagogiques no. 479, February 2010.

Then, through science, the objective should focus on the steps of thinking, the thought process. On the one hand knowledge “passes” through accessing and sorting information and through knowledge and mobilization on the other. In this respect, the individual must also master the experimental procedures in their multiple dimensions: observation, investigation, measure, estimation, experimentation,…(see Fig.1)

What basic skills in science in elementary school? André Giordan, Cahiers pédagogiques no. 479, February 2010.

Fig 1. The different dimensions of the experimental approach

The systematic approach is another compulsory passage of elementary or even nursery school (see Box 1). It is the same for pragmatics, which is commonly forgotten. The idea is no longer to simply learn to solve problems, but first to know how to clarify situations in order to expose the problem. It’s about realizing that there is not always one solution to a problem, there may be several or none at all; that in any event, they depend on the context.

The challenge of evaluation is not in measuring acquired knowledge, the quality of the technique used, the use of an appropriate procedure or in the results obtained by the students.

The greatest challenge is to help students to identify the most effective strategies they or their peers are using throughout the course of the project.

But how can we realistically help students to identify their strengths and to recognize their peers’ strengths and effective strategies?

1. By having clear expectations and ensuring students know what they are.

2. By using the silent walk (or the museum tour)

video

3. By making posters

It brings discoveries and effective strategies to mind; thus becoming the collective memory of the group.

4. By having students present their work or productions (oral presentation, posters, power points…)

5. By having self evaluation and peer evaluation:

6. By frequently discussing self evaluation (Target and strategies)

•Group discussion •Team work•Presentation of results and procedure to the group•Questionnaire •Personal experimental booklet

Evaluation paths:

Everyone can reach the target, as long as it can be seen and as it doesn’t move.

• Give clear expectations that are known to everyone

• Provide access to other students’ strategies, procedures and learning processes

• Reflect on strengths, challenges and on identifying concrete ways to improve

Conclusion

A challenge: Teachers’ training

The main obstacle to the development of students’ competencies is the teacher’s lack of scientific knowledge*.

Although it is known and acknowledged by teachers, it is rarely seen as a priority. A training session in science would allow teachers to be more effective in guiding their students when developing competencies in science. *Research Action with Dr. Annie Savard from McGill University.

• Design and adaptation of new lesson plans (6 to 8 hours);

• Adding new subjects integrating technology;

• Professional development:didactic (concepts, processes and reasoning); pedagogical (classroom management, guiding and assessment).

Stéphan BaillargeonCanada (Québec)stephan.baillargeon@csbe.qc.caSkype: stephan.baillargeon