Role Play

Role play is a product of ‘play’, ‘games’ and ‘simulation’. In science education role-play may be seen as an interaction between these three components – either in combination or by themselves – and the child who ‘performs’ the activity, resulting in learning outcomes.

It is suggested in this model that there is progressively increasing intellectual rigour involved as you move from play to games to simulations. Again, in this model, all aspects of role-play are derived from ‘play’. Since the initiation and design of role play is driven by the teacher, play takes on an educational function. Some types of role play use techniques derived from drama, which may be adapted for use in teaching science. Role play in science, therefore, is a product of the use of drama, games and simulations.

Why use role-play in science?

The theory behind the use of role play in science teaching and learning – as with ‘active’, ‘experiential’ or ‘child-centred’ learning – is that children are encouraged to be physically and intellectually involved in their lessons to allow them to both express themselves in a scientific context and develop an understanding of difficult concepts (Taylor, 1987). The key to role play, and the reason why role-play can help to make science relevant to many children, is that it is based upon ‘play’. By the time that children begin to be educated in science, they are already very experienced at play, having had their whole lifetime to practise. This play activity is naturally used by children to develop their knowledge and intelligence (Piaget, 1951). The desire to play, and therefore to learn, is a fundamental part of human psychology and is a potentially powerful resource residing in the children themselves.

Field Work

Science teachers should incorporate field work into their curricula because it offers authentic learning experiences for students, giving them greater understanding of the natural and technological world in which they live.

The value of fieldwork in schools

Fieldwork allows students to connect abstract scientific ideas with ‘hands on’ experiences by allowing students to observe animals and plants in their natural habitat. It also promotes a deeper understanding of the investigatory approaches that underpin the whole of science.

Biological fieldwork is important for the future of academic disciplines like ecology, for the science skills base and for the public understanding of science and environmental change.

The cost of not support fieldwork in schools is significant. The ability to address important environmental issues, such as the impact of climate change, will be undermined in the future if there is not a strong skills base in certain areas such as ecology and taxonomy. This will in turn have a significant impact on our ability to understand and manage changes to natural resources in the future.

Barriers to fieldwork in schools

Transport and subsistence costs are a major disincentive within primary and secondary schools. Fieldwork in schools is often subsidised by wealthier parents or by the Local Education Authorities for schools deemed to be in special need. There are significant proportions of students that fall between the two ends of the spectrum.

Difficulties in trying to position fieldwork within an already packed curriculum result in the running of such courses within vacation periods. This has implications for staff time and student motivation. It also means that the fieldwork is not as integrated into the curriculum as it should be.

Risk assessments, and the fear of prosecution should those assessments be found to be inadequate, are major hurdles for teachers. The time scales required for submission of such assessments and the extra burden that the preparation of these place on staff do not encourage teachers to use the outdoor environment as a different medium in which to present the curriculum.

There is a critical shortage of biology teachers with the academic and professional skills to support planning and organising fieldwork in both schools and universities. There are no clear recommendations for outdoor teaching experience of biology fieldwork within the national curriculum for teacher training in science.

 

The Demonstration

An effective demonstration can focus students’ attention, motivate and interest them in a lesson or unit, illustrate key concept and principles, and initiate inquiry and problem solving.

Demonstration involves "showing what or showing how".

Demonstration is relatively uncomplicated process in that it does not require extensive verbal elaboration.

Requirements of good Demonstration:

The success of any demonstration following points should be kept in mind.

1.       It should be planned and rehearsed by the teacher before hand.

2.      The apparatus used for demonstration should be big enough to be seen by the whole class. If the class may be disciplined she may allow them to sit on the benches to enable them a better view.

3.      Adequate lighting arrangements be made on demonstration table and a proper background table need to be provided.

4.      All the pieces of apparatus be placed in order before starting the demonstration. The apparatus likely to be used should be placed in the left hand side of the table and it should be arranged in the same order in which it is likely to be used

5.      Before actually starting the demonstration a clear statement about the purpose of demonstration be made to the students.

6.      The teacher makes sure that the demonstration lecture method leads to active participation of the students in the process of teaching.

7.      The demonstration should be quick and slick and should not appear to linger on unnecessarily.

8.      The demonstration should be interesting so that it captures the attention of the students.

9.      It would be better if the teacher demonstrates with materials or things the children handles in everyday life.

10.   For active participation of students the teacher may call individual student in turn to help him in demonstration.

11.    The teacher should write the summary of the principles arrived at because of demonstration on the blackboard. The black board can be also used for drawing the necessary diagrams.

The Discussion Method

The classroom discussion is one of the most powerful strategies that a teacher can use to facilitate cognitive and affective gains in students.

Jigsaw Strategy

The Jigsaw Strategy is an efficient way to learn the course material in a cooperative learning style. The jigsaw process encourages listening, engagement, and empathy by giving each member of the group an essential part to play in the academic activity. Group members must work together as a team to accomplish a common goal; each person depends on all the others. No student can succeed completely unless everyone works well together as a team. This "cooperation by design" facilitates interaction among all students in the class, leading them to value each other as contributors to their common task.

The Lecture Method

The Lecture method

The lecture method has certain strengths that make it useful for science instruction.

·         A large amount of material can be covered in short period of time

·         An effective means for introducing a unit, clarifying understandings, and defining science term

·         An efficient way to convey information to students who have difficulty reading textbooks and do not read assigned text materials.

·         An inexpensive method of instruction

To ensure a successful lecture, the teacher should use various techniques to make certain that there is a continuous interaction between the teacher and the student audience. The following nine suggestions adapted from Clarke (1987) should be helpful in maintaining student attention.

1.  Emphasize important ideas by changing the rate, volume, and pitch of your voice.

2.  Emphasize important statements by using pauses that allow time for the audience to respond to questions.

3.  Enunciate words clearly.

4.  Avoid repetition of words.

5.  Avoid using such words or phrase as um, er, like well, ah, you know. Uh-huh, and okay.

6.  Maintain eye contact with the audience.

7.  Scan the audience to observe reactions.

8.  Interject humor and signs of curiosity and interest and other indications of your personality.

9.  Keep the flow of visual aids smooth and free from distraction.

Laboratory Work

What is laboratory work?

This type of work permits students to plan and to participate in investigation or to take part in activities that will help them improve their technical laboratory work.

In general, laboratory work can be used to promote the following learning outcomes:

·         Attitudes toward science

·         Scientific attitudes

·         Scientific inquiry

·         Conceptual development

·         Technical skills

Disadvantages of Laboratory Work

Laboratory work is not a panacea for improving science education. Although most science educators promote lab work, this strategy does not necessary produce all of the outcomes believed by many educators (Blosser, 1981; Hegarty-Hazel, 1990) for a number of reasons. Laboratory work that is counter to what students expect does not necessarily produce new conceptions. Laboratory periods are often too short, and students do not complete their lab work (Gardner & Gauld, 1990). Of course materials and equipment are always a problem in some schools where limited resources are available for this type of instruction.

Approach to Laboratory Work

1.     Scientific process skill

A major purpose for including laboratory work is to develop in students a sense for the nature of science. This aim requires that students use inquiry skills to engage in investigation.

2.    Deductive or verification

The purpose for this type of laboratory work is to confirm concepts, principles, and laws that have been addressed during classroom discussion and reading, as well as for students to gain firsthand experiences with them.

3.    Inductive

The inductive laboratory is the opposite of the deductive laboratory. The inductive laboratory provides students with the opportunity to develop concepts, principles, and laws through firsthand experience before these ideas are discussed in the classroom.

4.    Technical skill

Good laboratory techniques are essential for conducting successful laboratory activities and gathering accurate data. Good laboratory work also includes experimental technique and orderliness.

5.    Problem solving

In problem solving laboratory work, students are given opportunities to identify a problem, design procedures, collect information, organize data, and report the findings.