Assignment 2b: CPP 1 Portfolio Reflections

1. The art of teaching science, the science of teaching art

Science is a discipline based upon inquiry, curiosity, rigour, creativity and exploration, underlain by an inherent focus on safety. My science classroom, therefore, centres on mutual respect between students and teachers, safety during all experimental and non-experimental work, a continual process of conscious and unconscious learning and a withstanding sense of enjoyment. These aspects of schooling are not dissimilar from that observed in other disciplines, as most teachers strive to create a fun and educational environment; albeit, the focus on safety is different from that relevant to other key learning areas (KLAs), as the use of chemicals, fire, glassware, scalpels, pathogens etc. necessitates a different approach to supervision, responsibility, trust and awareness in the classroom.

This indicates that a high level of cross-over exists between planning strategies used in different KLAs, as teachers across disciplines aim to establish similar learning environments, but that the application of these strategies varies. A focus on hands-on applications of concepts being investigated is implemented universally, but is of particular significance in the context of a science classroom. Learning-by-doing is often considered to be the most engaging and informative method for scientific learning, as it is an ideal way for students to investigate, prove, disprove, observe, understand and/or create a concept experimentally after learning about the theory underlying it. This highlights the ‘real-ness’ of their studies, and assists in uncovering the connectivity between their life and their schooling. This sought after ‘relevance-factor’ is applicable to all KLAs, but, once again, the reality of this varies between them.

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2. Bloom’s Chemical Taxonomy

I have observed the effectiveness of the learning-by-doing strategy in classes that I have taught, using experimentation to strengthen, clarify, alter and/or confirm students’ understanding of the theory being studied. Year 11 Chemistry were investigating the theory of the adhesion, cohesion, viscosity and surface tension of water, and undertook experiments which allowed them to directly observe these phenomena in their practical lessons. It was evident that they had a much greater conceptual understanding of these principles after they had undertaken this experimentation, as compared to their initial understanding of these effects and their implications. Predictions can be proven or contradicted, hypotheses confirmed or rebutted: direct observation allows the science student to reconcile their theoretical enquiries with their practical investigations, and relate this to the world at large. Remembering that the textbook describes a solution of hydrochloric acid as acidic and actually observing evidence of this acidity involves two separate levels of learning, and therefore necessitates different learning activities to be achieved. Bloom’s Taxonomy would classify these as Remembering and Understanding, respectively, and it is evident that the Year 11 Chemistry class are currently grappling with these states of cognition. These processes are laying down the foundations required to progress to the level of Application and beyond, at which stage students will be able to draw connections between their theoretical and practical knowledge. Their deductive reasoning will come to the fore as they learn to recognise patterns, formulate predictions, devise methods to confirm or refute these, infer trends, and evaluate the success and relevance of their results.

By contrast, the Year 12 Chemistry class has advanced to the stages of Synthesis and Evaluation, and are able to work independently in both practical and theoretical undertakings. As their prior knowledge forms the basis of their enquiries they are able to readily interpret, extrapolate and infer information, doing so almost unconsciously and with little guidance from their teacher. This ability has been fostered and developed over their 13 years of schooling, with cross-disciplinary learning culminating in this autonomous learner. In their short 18-month college career these skills have been honed and refined for application in the laboratory, and as such they are trusted to act appropriately and efficiently with minimal active supervision. In my opinion this is indicative of very effective teaching, as the classroom operates on the self-driven actions of the students, with the teacher playing the role of mediator and guide. This student-driven learning also works to empower them, as they take responsibility for their own behaviour and their learning journey.

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3. Contingency, thy name be planning

Planning strategies must take into account the inconvenient reality that in some instances, no matter how hard one tries, a class will complete none of the work assigned for the lesson. Even the best laid plans can prove to be unsuccessful when implemented, and maximising learning in such situations can be very difficult. Perseverance, flexibility and responsiveness will be the saviour in such situations, and it is essential to devise contingency plans and activities suitable for many different types of learners and environments, which can be used as a ‘last resort’ strategy when all else fails.

I have been caught unprepared in the classroom on a number of occasions. A crystallisation experiment took longer than was anticipated to complete, and I had no contingency activity to undertake whilst the students waited during this period. One-third of the lesson was spent doing effectively nothing, and thus I felt as though I had failed to capitalise on the minimal class time that I have to spend with them. Some productive discussions ensued, albeit, if I had been better prepared I would have organised an interim activity to further enhance the learning taking place.

I have also found myself floundering in my own ignorance, after starting to doubt the accuracy of my own knowledge. I genuinely forgot the types of bonding exhibited by specific molecules whilst I was trying to explain it to my students. I was able to salvage this mini-catastrophe by setting a homework question of discovering the bonding shown by the (obviously!) covalently-bonded molecule of silicon dioxide (sand). This was a very interesting experience, as I had not only forgotten something that I fundamentally know and understand, but I had done so in the midst of explaining the reasoning behind it to a group of people! I believe I was able to effectively preserve my credibility without providing fallacious information to my students – and my mentor teacher informed me that he did not realise that I had forgotten what it was that I was explaining.

Assignment 2b: CPP 2 Portfolio Reflections

1. Immobile environments, dynamic learning

The environment of a classroom impacts upon the approach to both teaching and learning that occurs within it – ultimately dictating the nature of the relationship between teachers, students and subject matter. The environment itself is determined by the interaction of the physical space that it occupies with the dynamic created by its inhabitants, and as such varies greatly between KLAs and even between individual classes within one discipline.

In the majority of Canberra high schools a science classroom is a laboratory. Immobile experiment benches line the outskirts of the room and a demonstration bench sits at the head of it, thereby minimising the area available for other objects, and severely limiting the capacity to vary desk, chair and student arrangements within the space. Smaller table groupings, discussion-centred arrangements, horseshoe patterns: different desk arrangements engender different classroom environments and therefore different teaching and learning experiences; albeit, they also necessitate space to accommodate them. The physical environment of the science classroom is thus limited to one or very few possibilities, and the teacher must vary alternative aspects of their teaching to create different learning environments. The teaching style, learning activities, use of positive and negative reinforcement, degree of scaffolding, source of information, learning objectives, methodologies employed and underlying motivations of the teaching will impact upon the classroom environment, and the manner in which students interact with it. These variables can be factored into lesson planning to analyse their effect on the environment and thereby the appropriate balance to strike between them.

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 2. Discipline-specific or specifically disciplined?

In my KLA workshops my mentor teacher discussed the different learning styles recognised in education and asked us to consider how the differences would affect our approach to lesson planning. He highlighted that as teachers we must adapt our approach to teaching to cater for as many learning styles as possible, but that we are also responsible for preparing our students for the ‘real world’ and as such must aim to alter their ability to learn effectively from different methods of engagement.

I have discovered that in college-level science classes there is an expectation that the environment will be teacher-centred, with the use of textbooks and worksheets forming the basis of the activities undertaken. This form of teaching limits the types of learning that can occur in the classroom, and necessarily prevents other strategies from being trialled or implemented. For the sake of maintaining consistency and familiarity for the students I have been following this established routine in my classes, essentially emulating my mentor teacher’s method: introducing a new topic, working through an example of its application, setting textbook questions, working through some of the answers, clarifying points of confusion and setting the more difficult question for homework. This may be an effective means of imparting the required knowledge to my students, but is it the most effective method of doing so? I am not entirely comfortable relying on this approach as my only method of teaching, and I am keen to experiment with alternatives; albeit, while I am still finding my feet in the profession I would like to spend more time considering which approaches would be worth attempting.  

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3. A video is worth a thousand words

There is a distinct difference between the use of technology in a classroom and effective ICT integration in lessons. The latter not only involves understanding the applications and uses of the technology itself, but also of the learning outcomes associated with its use – consideration must be given to what distinct and identifiable benefit is afforded by incorporating a video into a lesson, or using a powerpoint presentation, or establishing a class webpage, or developing a blogging assignment, or utilising the services of the school’s connected learning community (CLC). Uploading notes to the class CLC page is a great method for students to review the work already covered in class and to catch up on anything that they missed, albeit, this does not provide any extension or enrichment – it does not add anything to the class. To use this ICT effectively, additional resources such as related information, topical stories, random facts, extension material, videos, diagrams, pictures, cartoons etc. should be included, not only to enrich the students’ learning but also to cater to the many different learning styles.

I attempted to integrate internet usage into a double-lesson of Year 12 Genetics, in a research and presentation activity. The underlying outcomes of this lesson included practice in researching, understanding and summarising information, experience in presenting to a group and working within the timeframe constraints. The predominating issue with this activity was the blasé way in which it was approached by the students, with limited motivation to complete the work to a high standard, and a diminished sense of urgency for its completion on time. My mentor teacher conceded that the class is difficult to motivate and that my attempt yielded results similar to those that she regularly receives, albeit, I feel that I should have done more to enthuse them. The activity itself incorporated many withstanding skills that are invaluable to all areas of study, and thus I believe it contained effective ICT integration, but the students’ response evidently necessitated an additional motivating factor.

My use of YouTube videos in Chemistry classes has been met with approval from both my mentor teacher and from the students. Time-lapse videos are a fantastic method of showing processes that are otherwise unobservable in the classroom, and provide a much needed break in the midst of a theory lesson. However, my mentor teacher has highlighted the fact that while showing a video of an experiment is very beneficial, not allowing the students to then attempt the experiment depicted works to counter it; although seeing may engender believing, learning-by-doing often surpasses the efficacy of learning-by-seeing. The use of ICT in the classroom does not automatically increase levels of learning and thus adequate planning regarding its implementation is imperative.