IBSE Final

Chapter 1 The Teaching of Science: Contemporary Challenges

tHE tEACHING OF SCIENCE: 21 st-CENTURY PERSPECTIVES 13

Cognitive research findings indicate that learning is an active process occur-

ring within and influenced by the learner. Hence, learning outcomes are an inter-

active result of what information is encountered and how the student processes

that information based on perceived notions and existing personal knowledge.

The BSCS 5E Instructional Model is an application of this research to curriculum

materials and professional development experiences.

In How People Learn, the authors synthesized key ideas about learning based

on an exhaustive review of the related research and identified parallel impli-

cations for classroom instruction (Bransford, Brown, and Cocking 2000). It is

clear from both the analysis of curriculum and instruction in the Trends in Inter-

national Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) project (Schmidt et al. 1999,

2001) and the work of the American Association for the Advancement of Science

(2001) that these research-based ideas for instruction are neither commonly prac-

ticed in U.S. classrooms nor well supported in curriculum materials. Table 1.3

provides an overview of how the key findings are addressed in research-based

curriculum materials (Powell, Short, and Landes 2002).

Table 1.3 Key Findings About Learning and Teaching and a Curriculum Response Key Findings: Students Key Findings: Teachers Key Findings: Materials Come to class with preconceptions

Recognize preconceptions and adjust instruction

Include structured strategies to elicit and challenge student preconceptions Incorporate background for the teacher about common preconceptions Need to develop a deep factual understanding based in a conceptual framework

Understand content and conceptual framework Provide examples for content

Are organized around a conceptual framework Connect factual information to the framework Provide examples for key ideas Set goals and analyze progress toward them

Provide time for goal setting and analysis Teach metacognitive skills

Make learning goals explicit Integrate metacognitive skill development into content

the Instructional Model and Professional Development

In addition to the studies documenting student learning, other studies indi-

cate that the 5E Instructional Model is perceived as valuable for professional

development and for helping teachers reconsider how they teach. When

interviewed and surveyed, teachers indicated that use of the 5E Model as an

explicit instructional model has changed the way they think about student