Instructional Strategies

Instructional Strategies

Instructional strategies or lesson methodologies for science instruction are similar to those used in many other subjects. However, as with other subjects, the strategies teachers use have been evolving over time as they better understand what approaches result in the greatest student engagement, understanding, and retention. Below I address several teaching strategies used in science classes, describing those that are more traditional first, and those that are newer and more innovative later. At the end of this paper, I describe an interview I had with one science teachers, and how her perspectives relate to the strategies described in this paper, and how her ideas have made me think differently and more deeply about strategies I might use in my classroom.

1. Lecture/Direct Instruction
Lecturing or direct instruction is a very typical method of teaching in many subjects. While many teachers are comfortable with it, it can have significant limitations and should not be used for long periods of class or as a teacher’s only approach to instruction.
Lecturing is a tool for sharing information with students, often when introducing new concepts. The teacher is usually at the front of the class, talking directly with students, and using the blackboard, overhead, or some other method to show all students some written communication of key words, problems, or diagrams.
Direct instruction is much like lecturing, but typically involves more “how to do it” instruction of process, or problem solving. In both cases, the approach is teacher directed and typically very controlled. Both could also include student input and discussion.
Audience:
Lecturing or direct instruction can be used for all ages and to instruct most subjects. However, caution should be used when lecturing to young students so that time spent talking at the children is short, and followed by other related activities that help to keep them engaged.
Pros:
Lecturing and direction instruction can be an efficient way of sharing information, or for teaching a method of solving problems for which there is only one right solution.
The teacher typically controls what is learned, and the sequence it is learned. The teacher also has a greater ability to monitor the students.
Cons:
For many students, especially when the teacher is not enthusiastic or inspired, lecturing will be boring and will not result in good retention.
Students often are not given an opportunity to struggle with the concepts or problems when the teacher is using these approaches, which will also limit retention. In order for students to reach high levels of understanding, lecturing or direct instruction should be used alongside other more interactive, hands on, and student directed teaching strategies.
2. Demonstration
A demonstration, unlike a lab or experiment, is completed by the teacher, to show a phenomenon, or a physical law. A science demonstration might involve the use of living specimens, models, objects, charts, and/or pieces of equipment. A demonstration may be followed by the students engaging in use of the same equipment, or completion of the same or similar activities such as in a scripted lab.

Audience:
A demonstration can be effective and appropriate for all ages. But typically it should not be lengthy as students are likely to not be engaged for a long period in this type of teacher-controlled activity. It is often a good approach to follow a demonstration with an opportunity for the students to engage directly with the same kinds of materials in a lab or experiment.

Pros:
A demonstration gives the teacher more control of how students observe a phenomenon, which can ensure that the expected results are observed, or can provide an opportunity for students to observe something that would not be safe for them to complete on their own.

Teacher demonstration can also provide a more efficient opportunity for students to observe scientific events, than to have each student or group of students complete the same set of activities.

It can also be an important first step in educating students about the proper and safe methods for using materials or equipment.

Cons:
Students may not be as engaged in learning watching the teacher, as they might be performing an experiment on their own.

Showing a demonstration to the whole class at one time can leave some students unable to see the details of the activity, or more able to engage in other activities while the teacher is focused on correctly completing the demonstration.

Unless the activity is well crafted by the teacher, the limited interactive nature of demonstrations can result in less retention for students.

3. Experiment/lab/investigation
An experiment or lab is an opportunity for students to have a hands-on experience learning about concepts by doing. Often the students are given or asked to use a testable question or hypothesis that they can explore with the materials and equipment provided. Students complete activities, gather data, and develop conclusions based on that data. The degree to which the students are directing the experiment will depend on the age of the students, and the teacher’s comfort level with allowing students more control.
Audience:
Depending on the safety of the materials involved, an experiment is most appropriate for older middle school, high school or older students. This is especially true when the students are expected to test a hypothesis and come up with conclusions. While they may not be true labs, hands on experiences are also very appropriate for younger science students.

Pros:
This approach provides students an opportunity to engage in the process of science (or closer to it) by experimenting to prove or disprove their theories.

Labs provide additional opportunities to engage with the concepts or knowledge students have recently learned through lecture, reading or other methods.

Cons:
Teacher’s must provide good instruction or have developed with students a strong understanding of a process by which to test ideas with the materials available.

Depending on the topic, labs may require particular materials or measuring devices to gather data that may not be readily available or reasonably priced.

Labs and experiments may present safety issues if chemicals, fire, projectiles, etc. are involved.

4. Field Trip
Taking students on a field trip outside the classroom provides students an opportunity to see or participate in something in the real world related to the topics being taught in class, often times with a hands on aspect. Some examples of field trips are:

1. taking students to a local stream to learn about water quality and how water insects and animals are an indicator of water quality and stream health. 2. taking students to a local nature reserve to explore and discuss the local geology and how that area was formed. 3. taking students to a nearby coal generation or wind power facility to learn about and consider how electricity is produced and the impacts of certain types of generation. 4. taking students to a food manufacturing plant can connect students with where their food comes from, but can also be an opportunity to tie in machinery to physics concepts, or the business as a whole to economic concepts.

Audience:
Field trips can be great experiences for all ages and subject areas. Certain locations may be more appropriate for different age groups.

Pros:
Field trips offer a way to show real world applications for science in an up close and personal way that is just not possible in the classroom.

Student engagement is often high on a field trip, which can help solidify new concepts for them and increase retention.

It is always good to get outside the classroom on occasion, and this aspect should be considered even if your “field trip” only takes you to the sports field behind the school.

Cons:
Fields trips have a cost associated with them, which may be prohibitive for some schools.

Parental permission is required and must be coordinated in advance, with follow up for some families so all students are able to attend. Also parent chaperones can also be helpful or necessary, and need to be arranged in advance.

Some teachers may believe they do not need to teach on a field trip. But, logistics, connections to concepts being taught in class, and facilitation of the lesson should be considered in detail ahead of time. Outside of the classroom, it is easier for students to stray physically and mentally, and the teacher must be capable to managing students in a different environment so that they maintain their focus on the important opportunities presented to them.

5. Video
A video is a prerecorded visual aid shown with a projection device. A video might be a movie, documentary, short clip, or something produced specifically as an educational aid. The goal in using a video should be to expose your students to something in the real world that helps to explain or provide and example of concepts you are covering in class, even if a video is used when you have a substitute with your class.

Audience:
Other than maybe a very short clip, I believe that videos should not be used until students are in middle school or older. It is my opinion that younger students are better served by activities that are more engaging, when we can use something real and concrete in or outside of our classrooms to support the students’ learning.

Pros:
A video can show real world applications or examples of science that would otherwise not be possible to bring into your classroom, or to visit on a field trip. For example, if you may want to show students more about the production of electricity using nuclear power. But clearly visiting a touring a nuclear plant would not be considered safe, so a video would be a good alternative. Or if you want to show your students more about intricate ecosystems in the Amazon basin, a video would be a more cost effective way to do that than paying for a field trip to Brazil.

A video can also be something to use when there is a substitute teacher, provided there are activities to engage the students and to help them process the information presented in the video. For example, pose a set of questions before the video that the students need to answer individually or in groups afterwards. Or have the sub facilitate some group processing afterwards using a discussion method already familiar to the students.

Cons:
Watching a video is a very passive activity so should be used rarely and in combination with other strategies in order for students to get the greatest benefit from watching.

Not all videos are the same, and teachers should be careful to choose those that are most likely to interest the students and to further the concepts being learned in class.

6. Inquiry
Inquiry is a system or technique for facilitating learning where students generate questions, form tentative answers, and then test their theories by gathering evidence that either supports or refutes the initial hypothesis. Questioning is at the heart of inquiry based learning, and emphasis is placed on the student’s process of thinking. The teacher is helping them learn to ask relevant questions and how to search for answers. Inquiry in science is a more unstructured approach to experimentation that traditional labs or experiments.

Audience:
Inquiry based learning can be appropriate for all ages and all subjects, though it is more likely to be used in upper level classrooms.

Pros:
In inquiry students are learning problem solving skills not just facts or information. This is a more relevant skill for our world today, where facts are easy to find, but critical thinking is more valuable.

Student learning is likely to be more lasting because students tend to be more engaged in this student driven process.

Cons:
Teachers may be uncomfortable facilitating learning with this method, since for many of them it is not the way they were taught nor the way they were taught to teach.

It may be frustrating for students who are not familiar with it because there is not as much instruction or direction from the teacher.

It is more time consuming than just telling students the information they need to know.

Inquiry may not result in students learning a prescribed set of knowledge or facts that some parents, teachers, or administrators feel is critical. Inquiry also may not result in students learning specific information or skills that will help them do well on standardized tests.

7. Modeling Instruction (Jackson, 2008)
Modeling instruction is a new approach to science instruction that is somewhat akin to the method of inquiry. However, there is a stronger focus on student development of models and theories based on observation and data gathering. Students actually construct and apply models of physical phenomena, and are essentially engaging in the activity of doing science as a scientist would.

Units are organized as modeling cycles, which have two main stages or phases called model development and model deployment. The model development phase generally starts with the teacher doing a demonstration followed by a robust class discussion where students develop a common understanding of what they have seen and pose a question to test. Then small groups work together to plan and execute experiments that they believe will answer or clarify their question. Finally in this stage, students present to the rest of the class by explaining their conclusions and describing their model for the phenomena including how well that model holds with their measured data.

The model deployment stage allows students to apply their model to other circumstances and in this process to refine and deepen their understanding. Students work on assigned problems and again present and defend their solutions. This stage also includes evaluations of student understanding through the use of quizzes, tests, etc.

Audience:
Given that this approach requires abstract thinking skills it would be most appropriate for high school students. However, with a focused facilitation by the teacher, this approach could also be successful for middle school students.

Pros:
Modeling instruction is thought to address some of the weaknesses of the more traditional lecture and demonstration approach that science teachers have used for many years. With this teaching method students cannot be passive learners. Increased student engagement will likely result in more student interest and greater learning.

This method develops students’ ability to observe and to make sense of what they see or experience as well as to articulate coherent opinions or hypotheses about why the phenomena occur as they observe them. Students show increased abilities to understand as well as argue with scientific claims, to evaluate evidence and to present and debate about scientific and technical questions.

Female students may be more interested in entering science and engineering if they have been taught using this more cooperative and supportive method of modeling instruction.

Cons:
Students whose prior science learning experiences have been more traditional may not feel comfortable coming up with and sharing their own ideas about why a particular phenomenon has occurred. In this case, more coaching by the teacher can help students take on more and more of the process themselves over time.

This approach also requires that the teacher is comfortable with letting the students have more control over their investigation. A teacher who wishes to use this approach, would be best prepared by taking a class or by observing teachers already trained and successful using this method.

This approach to science may also require reasonably good lab and measurement equipment in order to perform experiments and tests that will produce reasonably accurate data that show physical laws as they have been understood by other scientists.

Resources

Workshop: Inquiry-Based Learning, In Concept to Classroom. Retrieved May 5, 2013 from http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/inquiry/index_sub1.html.

What is Inquiry? In Instructional Strategies On-Line. Retrieved May 5, 2013 from http://olc.spsd.sk.ca/de/pd/instr/strats/inquiry/.

Jackson, J., Dukerich, L., & Hestenes, D. (2008, Spring) Modeling Instruction: An Effective
Model for Science Education. In Modeling Instruction in High School
Physics, Chemistry, Physical Science, and Biology. Retrieved May 4, 2013 from http://modeling.asu.edu/modeling/ModInstrArticle_NSELAspr08.pdf.