Children are naturally curious about the world we live in and are eager to ask questions to develop their understanding. Children should be given the opportunity to explore and discover new ideas for themselves. (Beckley et al, 2009, p. 196) The National Curriculum states that science should be taught in a way that develops the skills, attitudes and ways of working that express their scientific values by be curious, using their imagination, raising questions, working collaborate and performing practical investigations. (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-curriculum accessed on 13.05.2014)
By children raising questions within science enables them to develop valuable problem solving skills. Teachers should aim to use children’s questions as often as possible, questioning as a process skill plays an important part of the scientific process. (Haigh, 2010, p. 76) When children are able to ask questions and investigate the answers, they feel in charge of their own learning and can feel extremely motivated towards learning. However, it is important not carry out investigations to reinforce existing knowledge as children will become disengaged if they already know the answers. Teachers are also able to assess their existing knowledge as well as their question raising ability. (Haigh, 2010, p. 86)
Not all questions will have a practical element to them, however the teacher does not need to do all the answering, group work and other members of the class may be able to answer the question. (Dunne, Peacock, 2012, p. 86) This will develop speaking and listening skills and will create discussions which enhances their critical thinking skills.
Children’s questions can be a positive starting point for helping teachers pla...
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...the questions in their lesson planning in order for children to explore any misconceptions they may have.(Haigh, 2011, p. 32) By allowing a child-led approach to scientific enquiry in a classroom requires flexibility in planning and performing practical investigations. It is important to differentiate within the classroom, children are able to scaffold other children’s learning, by using the KWHL grid will be able to scaffold children’s learning.
Teachers can often feel pressured by children asking questions as they feel that they are expected to know the answers, this can have an impact on allowing the children to begin science lessons with questions.(Ward et al, 2005, p. 46) Time is also a factor, teachers allocate a specific amount of time each week to fulfil the learning objective and feel that they do not have enough time for children to ask questions.
Giving this opportunity, I can say when it comes to being a scientist my small teacher focuses more on the bigger picture than the actual findings of assignments. For example, during the Owl Pellet observation he focused more on the overall owl pellet like how it looked, smelled, etc. but instead of wanting to analyze what was inside of it. Realizing how much his focus normally is on the bigger pictures shows how much teachers should stress how important other things such as predictions, hypothesis, etc. are when it comes to analyzing science experiments. Normally allowing students the opportunity to make predictions before experiments helps them to understand the objective of the assignment. According to “Teaching Science to Every Child”, we use what we know to anticipate what’s going to happen, and we find out whether our prediction is correct (Settlage, 2012). Stressing how important it is to make a prediction to my small teacher would better his focus on looking for particular things during the experiment because it would also help him focus on whether or not his prediction is correct or incorrect. Also during my observations at Killian, I can say my small teacher has trouble focusing during assignments, but with my help of explaining assignments and the
On the contrary, it was often as good as many adult scientists. However, children’s limited life experience meant that they had not assembled and processed enough information about the natural and social world to come to the same conclusions that adults do. But Piaget concludes that children should not be oppressed with more facts at an early age, he believed the opposite. That such oppression would condition children to expect the answers to come from outside themselves, robbing them of their creativity. He also believed that adults must use caution about correcting children’s “mistaken notions.” If done too harshly, or in a patronizing manner, such correcting shames them into intellectual passivity, causing them to abandon their innate urge to figure things out for themselves and to come up with new and creative
Aim of this study was to investigate children’s scientific view of the earth, aged between 5-6 years and 8-9 years, and different mode of questions, open and forced-choice questions, elicited different responses in terms of scientific or inconsistent/non-scientific concepts of the earth. One hundred and twenty-eight children were asked to draw picture of and answer questions about the earth. The finding indicated children, aged 5-6 years, made more inconsistent/non-scientific and fewer scientific responses, whereas children, aged 8-9 years, made more scientific responses and fewer inconsistent/non-scientific responses. However, different mode of questions did not elicited difference responses as children found the questions confusing.
When teachers are asking questions to children, one idea they should consider is the type of questions they are asking. The two types of questions are open or closed questions. The best type of questions to ask are the open-end questions. These type of questions allow for children to give their own interpretation. Closed questions result in yes or no answers. Another concept to keep in mind, is the idea of the child’s system of thinking. Young children are very egocentric, meaning they think for themselves and don’t think for others around them. They are going to understand concepts through ideas that are similar to them.
Allowing children time for controlled whole class discussion enables them to feel safe as it gives a stimulating open environment (De Boo 2004), helps them feel valued for their ideas when they share them (Wood 1998) also helping the teacher become respected by the children for allowing this (Alexander 2004; Pollard and Bourne 1994). Vygotsky (1986) argued that children perform at a more advanced level when working with their peers, in the plan there are multiple opportunities for children to work with other children to boost their self-confidence and develop their scientific thinking. Planning for class discussion helps teachers decide where to use it to benefit children the most (Devereux 2000; Harlen 1985). Cockburn and Handscomb (2011) agree that whole class discussion should take place at the beginning of a lesson using it to discuss what has previously been accomplished by the children and before any activities begin, but Edwards and Westgate (2005) argues that this would be irrelevant if children have no previous knowledge to discuss. In the plan whole class discussion in used at the beginning of weeks two, three and four to bring all of the children together (De Boo 2004; Harlen 1985) to discuss what they already have ideas about, also linking it to what they previously learnt in the last session (Mercer 2008). This is why in week one there isn’t a whole class discussion to start it is a whole class activity used (Turner, Keogh and Naylor 2011) to gain new interests from the children also inviting new ideas about circuits before any discussion linking to previous learning is
In this artifact, Inquiry-Based Learning this teaching method on student investigation and hand on learning. While using this method, the teacher serves as the facilitator who know, understands, and uses a wide array of developmentally appropriate approaches, instructional strategies, and tools to connect with children and families and positively influence each child’s development and learning. Instead of presenting the information with facts, or answering the question. She asks questions, pose problems, or scenario in which children think, explore, and investigate to come to an answer or solution. The teacher guides and support children always, but she doesn’t do the work for them. The purpose of this approach is to increase intellectual engagement
Gatto argues that the students are taught just to memorize facts and that curiosity is suppressed. In my experiences, however, high schools have changed to have students be intellectually curious. As mentioned earlier, my science classes did not give answers. We had to test and discover what the truth is behind theories. We were given basic guidelines to understand and know what concepts to look for, but that does not limit one’s curiosity. There are multiple ways to write up an experiment to test a hypothesis. We had to make our own procedures and use them to learn. I had many nights where I was questioning whether my procedure would suffice in understanding the concepts at hand. I always felt that I could discover more and truly understand concepts at the fundamental level. Working on these labs, I learned better and I questioned more. Learning about gravity makes me question the universe. Learning about energy makes me question efficiency and natural resources. These questions make me want to learn more. Opposed to Gatto’s argument, curiosity is in every student and it is being expressed in school. It is schools, like the one I attended, that make students question and discover before being
Jean Piaget (1896 – 1980), a Swiss psychologist, portrayed the child as a ‘lone scientist’, creating their own sense of the world. Their knowledge of relationships among ideas, objects and events is constructed by the active processes of internal assimilation, accommodation and equilibration. (Hughes, 2001). He also believed that we must understand the child’s understandings of the world, and this should guide the teaching practises and evaluation. The fundamental basis of learning was discovery. To understand is reconstruct by discovery, and such conditions must be compiled...
It is important for children to be able to develops the necessary skills to make sense of data, memorising information is no longer the most key skill for children to possess (Inquiry-based learning, n.d.). Inquiry-based learning is defined by Lutheran Education Queensland (n.d.) as seeking for truth, information or knowledge and understanding and is used in all aspects and stages of life. Inquiry based learning assists children with learning by developing critical and creative thinking skills. The twenty-first century requires “young people to be creative, innovative, enterprising and adaptable, with the motivation, confidence and skills to use critical and creative thinking purposefully” (ACARA, 2016b). According to Touhill (2012a) Inquiry-based learning is supported when educators are co-learners with children as they develop, supporting and extending on a child’s own attempts at understanding. This knowledge can be broadened by ensuring that children have the time, space and resources to become deeply involved in their investigations and there are opportunities for reflections during and after activities (Touhill, 2012a). Furthermore, it is imperative that the physical environment contains spaces as well as materials that encourage a child’s curiosity and investigation (Touhill, 2012a). By providing interesting and engaging materials educators are able to provide stimulus for children’s investigation and
...o listen carefully to ensure that kids are discussing scientific ideas, not socializing. The teacher's role is to ensure that students achieve their primary goal: meaningful understanding of scientific concepts. The practices described in this article help bring this about in several ways. When instruction centers on students and focuses on hands-on experience with scientific phenomena, science class becomes an exciting place. When instruction concentrates on the investigation of current problems and issues through scientific inquiry, science class becomes a relevant and meaningful place. When instruction emphasizes the development of communication skills, science class becomes an invaluable place for preparing children to tackle the challenges of adulthood. And the education community owes it to its students to assess their academic progress fairly and accurately.
They also need this relationship to be able to plan their lesson effectively. For children, understanding the nature and process of science is dependent upon their developmental level and the experiences teachers provide for them. Children can begin to understand what science is, who does science, and how scientists work through classroom activities, stories about scientists, and class discussions. Teachers should provide children with many opportunities to make observations with all their senses, to look for patterns in what they observe, and to share with others what they did and what they learnt from their
5. How did your lesson plan and instruction change over time to consider your student’s language and home culture? How have you ensured that you have made science learning accessible and relevant to
I want to teach students more than just the material; I want students to be able to apply skills learned in the classroom, to the real world. An important factor in teaching is to teach life skills as well as giving students the tools to survive in the real world. Teachers are like role models; at least we should look at ourselves in that way. Our job is to aid our students in becoming functional individuals in society and our experiences can be used as a guide. Taking an active part in my students learning is essential to me. Posing questions encourages students to think. This gives the students an opportunity to analyze, discuss, synthesize and apply the material in real life.
In Science, teachers serve as the facilitator of learning, guiding them through the inquiry process. Teachers must ask open-ended questions, allow time for the students to answer, avoid telling students what to do, avoid discouraging students’ ideas or behaviors, encourage to find solutions on their own, encourage collaboration, maintain high standards and order, develop inquiry-based assessments to monitor students’ progress, and know that inquiry may be challenging for some students so be prepared to provide more guidance. There are three types of Science inquiry: structured, guided, and open. Structured is the most teacher-centered form of inquiry. This type of inquiry is mainly seen in laboratory exercises where the teacher needs to provide structure, however the students are the ones who conduct the experiment and find conclusions. Guided inquiry is where the students are given tools to develop a process and find the results. As an example, the teacher would instruct the students to build a rocket, but not tell them how to design it. This leaves creativity and uniqueness for the students to be able to apply their knowledge and skills. Open inquiry is when students determine the problem, i...
... Using hands on activities and not using straight lecture help children learn better. Inquiry gives them experiences that can help them retain the knowledge that their teacher is trying to give them.