COSEE California Communicating Ocean Sciences Session 3: Comparing Teaching Approaches

COSEE California Session 3 objectives Explore the advantages and limitations of different teaching approaches Understand that everyone learns differently See the importance of incorporating and balancing a number of teaching approaches Learn about the “learning cycle” and how to use it in constructing a lesson Understand that effective teaching employs a sequence of different teaching approaches to achieve greater learning

COSEE California Discussion question In your own education, what teaching approaches do you remember responding best and worst to?

COSEE California Station debrief Reflect on your responses to each activity Strengths/weaknesses Favorite station(s), why? Goals related to different teaching approaches

COSEE California Goals of open-ended exploration Introduce students to a new subject area Generate questions Generate student interest and foster positive attitudes about science Encourage students to work together without direct teacher instruction Develop and identify concepts, processes and skills, raise questions and problems Provide a common base of experiences Practice observation skills

COSEE California Goals of structured activity Introduce concepts, vocabulary, processes, skills, and investigation methods Guide students toward specific discoveries Provide a common base of experiences Provide successful activities with predictable outcomes

COSEE California Goals of problem-solving challenge/application Model what scientists do Provide a sense of accomplishment Challenge students’ conceptual understanding and skills by applying them to new situations Develop deeper and broader understanding through real world applications

COSEE California Goals of read and answer Provide specific content information and vocabulary on a topic Extend the information from an activity into descriptions of related experiences that are impractical in a classroom setting Provide alternative explanations and make connections into other subject areas

COSEE California Sequence of stations How did you feel about the sequence in which you visited the stations?

COSEE California The Learning Cycle Invitation ApplicationExploration Concept Invention

COSEE California

The Learning Cycle Invitation: students are offered a question or a problem to solve, they may make an observation or watch a demonstration, can also be a hands-on experience which sets the stage for learning

COSEE California The Learning Cycle Exploration: Open-ended exploration of real phenomena, discussion about their discoveries, ideas, and questions that arise. Can be hands-on or more abstract.

COSEE California The Learning Cycle Concept Invention: With interest and attention focused, introduce concepts, or methods to solve problems and construct new meanings.

COSEE California The Learning Cycle Application: Armed with new ideas, students apply this knowledge and skills to solving a problem or meeting a challenge.

COSEE California The Learning Cycle Reflection: Students reflect on their learning and compare new ideas to alternative explanations. They make connections and construct new conceptual frameworks. They analyze how they arrived at their current understanding.

COSEE California The Learning Cycle and Session 3 Invitation: The initial questions posed at the beginning of the lesson Exploration: The station activities and discussion Concept Invention: The introduction to the learning cycle model Application: The current and following activities. Further applications will occur in subsequent lessons in this course.

COSEE California Putting the Learning Cycle to use in the classroom Can be a valuable tool for designing lessons Ineffectiveness of lessons is often due to teaching concepts and vocabulary before exploration is allowed No application opportunity can lead to low retention Can help guide on-the-spot decisions while teaching

COSEE California Using the Learning Cycle as a flexible tool Successful lessons don’t have to include every stage of the cycle May be cycles within cycles in one lesson Sometimes students will have explored amply before class and will be prepared to begin at the concept introduction phase

COSEE California Detrimental focus on only one phase of the cycle

COSEE California Model of a Learning Cycle-based Lesson Sand on Stage

COSEE California Model of a Learning Cycle-based Lesson What are the advantages of presenting the lesson in a Learning Cycle way?

COSEE California Model of a Learning Cycle-based Lesson  Science is often presented in a non-Learning Cycle-based way  The Learning Cycle should be viewed as a cycle--be flexible! “The outcome of any serious research can only be to make two questions grow where only one grew before.” --Thorstein Veblen Economist

COSEE California Homework