Promising practices in Science Education Moyo, P. V. [PhD] Academic Consultant Riverton Academy

The structure of the presentation The four crises in Science Education in Zimbabwe The four possible causes of the crises Promising practices in Science Education The potential and challenges of these promising practices

The crises in Science Education in Zimbabwe Students’ poor performance in Science examinations. (Supporting statistics). Shortage of properly trained, qualified and experienced Science teacher (Supporting statistics). A decline in the number of students taking up Science subjects at higher levels (Evidence?) A decline in the number of people taking up careers in Science Why are these crises worrying/worrisome? (Two reasons).

Possible causes of the crises Poor, unexciting, non-motivating, dull and unproductive teaching and learning practices** Poor teaching and learning environments at school (Such as?) Financially and educationally challenged families (non supportive home environments) De-motivated teachers

Promising practices in Science Education Good teaching in general** Active learning experiences** Cooperative/collaborative learning Variety in the learning experiences Using instructional objectives as learning objectives** Setting high standards for students Immediate and positive feedback Engaging students in authentic activities** Using ICT in teaching and learning** Borrowing a leaf from the Japanese lesson study**

Good teaching in general Good teaching – instruction that leads to effective learning Effective learning – thorough and lasting acquisition of knowledge, skills and values (Felder & Brent, 1999) Good teaching and effective teaching Anchored in pedagogies of engagement and girded by tenets of constructivism. (meaning of each of these?) Facilitating content (Knowledge, skills and values) acquisition and learning how to learn

Active learning strategies Learning by doing, constructing knowledge – the learner as a knowledge producer and not just a knowledge consumer (e.g. deriving formula instead of just using the rote learned formulae to make calculations) Teacher – facilitator of learning and not a source of information Importance of active learning Students cannot remain focussed for long The Chinese saying; inert knowledge A sense of ownership of the learnt material and taking responsibilities for the learning process.

Active learning strategies Some examples of such strategies Revision of previous lesson Experimental work; hands on, minds on Making models to illustrate scientific processes Explaining concepts in jargon free terms (examples?) Finding the logical flaw in an argument (Example?) Choosing from alternative answers and justifying the choice made (example?)

Using instructional objectives as learning objectives Meaning, source and importance of instructional objectives and how to state them Learners must take the responsibility to achieve stated objectives The more explicit the objectives, the better Using the stated objectives learners must Evaluate their learning progress and problems Seek assistance where it is required. Revise for their tests and examinations

Using authentic tasks Authentic task is an instructional activity Related to real world experiences and applications; connecting classroom learning to the personal lives of the students Has value and meaning beyond the classroom Requires students to apply a broad range of knowledge and skills Requires students to integrate different subject areas of the curriculum

Authentic tasks Some examples in science Using learners’ prior, community, indigenous knowledge Using a context such as a school garden to teach science concepts and concepts in other subject areas

The Japanese lesson study The Japanese lesson study is a professional development process that Japanese teachers engage in to systematically examine their practices with the goal of becoming more effective. This strategy has been borrowed from the Japanese by many nations because of its success in two major areas.

The Japanese lesson study Small groups of teachers work collaboratively. They jointly draw up a lesson plan which one of the teachers uses to teach in the presence of the other teachers. After the lesson, the group comes together to discuss their observations during the lesson.

The Japanese lesson study Often the group revises the lesson plan in light of their observations. Another teacher implements the new lesson plan to a comparable group of pupils again in the presence of the other teachers. Further discussions take place after the second lesson presentation. The major useful ideas learnt from this exercise are noted for future implementation.

Using ICT Computer aided instruction makes concepts that are far removed from the experiences of the students or that are difficult or inaccessible to the students accessible to them. Packaged and tailor made computer software can be used.

Using ICT Software exist that allow students to interact with learning materials. The computer allows formulae, tables of numbers and graphs to be linked readily and the effects of changing variables on other variables can easily be demonstrated.

Using ICT The Cambridge International Examinations Board has come up with software they call the gcsepod which they claim is “like carrying a huge pile of textbooks and revision guides around with you”.

Conclusion The promising practices that were discussed in this paper anchor on the active involvement of students in a variety of learning activities. This is thought to be exciting and productive, resulting in concept development and understanding and in academic achievement. The benefits of using these strategies outweigh the challenges that are often associated with student active learning.

THANK YOU TATENDA SIYABONGA For listening to me and for being such a good audience