The Effective Teaching of Biology

Chris R. Brown

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2014
• ISBN:
  9781317895213
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

The Effective Teaching of Biology aims to identify the special dimensions of the subject, how it contributes to the curriculum as a whole and why the teaching of biology differs from the teaching of other subjects. Current legal and safety requirements are provided together with practical teaching ideas and sources of information. The book also covers contemporary issues which are the subject of extensive debate, such as the changing patterns of assessment of pupils, the use of living organisms in school and the nature of learning difficulties which pupils experience.

Chapter 1

Introduction

What is effective teaching?

In a book with the title that this one bears, it is logical to start by defining what effective teaching is so that advice about how to achieve it can follow. However an unequivocal answer cannot be given to this question without taking some detours in order to raise other questions on the way. For example is ‘effective’ the same as ‘competent’? Is it possible to distinguish different degrees of competence or effectiveness? And since there are obviously large numbers of different facets attached to the processes of teaching and learning (planning, organizing, managing, controlling, assessing etc.) is an effective teacher equally effective at each facet? And on all occasions? Clearly we might also debate whether your aim in entering teaching is to become effective or do you want to become outstanding, perhaps an exemplary teacher?

My use of the word ‘competent’ in the previous passage was in order to be able to remind you, that in England and Wales, the Government requires that:

All newly qualified teachers entering maintained schools should have achieved the knowledge and standards of professional competence necessary to maintain and improve standards in schools.¹

The expectation that seems to be implied in this Department for Education (DfE) statement is that new entrants to the profession will already have attained standards to match or even better those shown in the schools to which they gain first appointment! Obviously this will not be so; effectiveness builds up with experience. The rate at which this happens differs from person to person. It is determined by many different things including the demands of the context, the extent of the support made available at crucial periods and so on. It may well take several years to become effective, indeed professional development occurs throughout one’s professional life.

In the DfE’s Circular No 9/92 on Initial Teacher Training (Secondary Phase), the competences required to be shown by newly qualified teachers are listed under five headings: Subject Knowledge, Subject Application, Class Management, Assessment and Recording of Pupils’ Progress and Further Professional Development. The list is too long to quote in full, it comprises twenty-seven statements or groups of statements. The statements relating to two of these categories are shown as examples.

1.	Subject application. Newly qualified teachers should be able to:
(a)	produce coherent lesson plans that take account of NCATs and of the school’s curriculum policies;
(b)	ensure continuity and progression within and between classes and in subjects;
(c)	set appropriately demanding expectations for pupils;
(d)	employ a range of teaching strategies appropriate to the age, ability and attainment level of pupils;
(e)	present subject content in clear language and in a stimulating manner;
(f)	contribute to the development of pupils’ language and communication skills;
(g)	demonstrate ability to select and use appropriate resources, including information technology (IT).
2.	Class management. Newly qualified teachers should be able to:
(a)	decide when teaching the whole class, groups, pairs, or individuals is appropriate for particular learning purposes;
(b)	create and maintain a purposeful and orderly environment for the pupils;
(c)	devise and use appropriate rewards and sanctions to maintain an effective learning environment;
(d)	maintain pupils’ interest and motivation.

Evaluation of students’ mastery of these competences is required in each course of Initial Teacher Training (ITT) by school mentors and Higher Education Institution (HEI) tutors. Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) is awarded to students who show the ‘ability to teach effectively and to secure effective learning’, and ‘the ability to manage pupil behaviour’ (Circular 9/92, para. 3.4.1). ITT provision in England and Wales is monitored by the Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED), which also undertakes inspection of schools. Exactly the same aspects of teaching competence form the basis for inspection of experienced teachers’ classroom work as those on which analysis of trainees is based. Hence a ‘satisfactory’ level of competence is described in words which are identical to those in Circular 9/92. However, OFSTED also describe a level of competence which, going beyond ‘satisfactory’, constitutes ‘very good’. For example, students who are very good in subject application are expected to show additional qualities such as:

imagination and skills in meeting the needs of pupils of different ability levels within the same teaching group; an ability to generate a sense of excitement and enquiry within the subject.²

One approach then to defining effective teaching is to focus on the skills or competences that seem to be necessary to do the job. Another possible approach is to turn the issue on its head by identifying what it is that teachers who are widely regarded as being effective actually do in their classrooms. David Treagust, an Australian science educator, made an in-depth study³ of the teaching of two biology teachers over a period of many weeks. The teachers concerned had been identified as ‘outstanding’ by their colleagues, Ministry of Education officials and tertiary institution staff. Some selected quotations from his findings are as follows:

One facet common to both teachers was their ability to be always thoroughly prepared and organised … students were always aware of exactly what was required of them during each lesson … Good management and organisation with an easy flow between segments of the lessons were key features … In both teachers’ classes, students were all actively engaged in activities for the whole lesson. Students who completed a task in advance of the rest of the class were given extension work. In essence biology classes were busy occasions for students and teachers alike with little opportunity to engage in off-task behaviour … all students were encouraged to become involved in class discussion. Motivation took the form of manipulating questioning and the social environment to encourage students to participate successfully, giving effective praise to the class or individuals and assisting students to use time effectively. Interaction was frequent with a strong emphasis being placed on comprehension of concepts. During laboratory activities students were given a considerable degree of independence and they worked at their own pace, usually in pairs. Both … had a thorough and comprehensive knowledge of the content they were to teach and had a range of teaching strategies that could be used without a good deal of thought. Their expectations for student performance were high, consistent and firm. Both teachers provided regular feedback to students on their progress and understanding of subject matter.

Clearly there is a high degree of consensus between the competences of the DfE listed earlier and the qualities demonstrated in their classrooms by these two outstanding biology teachers. Is this consensus shared by pupils? In another study⁴ questionnaires were given to two classes of each of seven biology trainees who were nearing the end of their teaching practice. Pupils were asked to say how well they thought their teachers carried out different aspects of teaching including: communication skills, classroom management, handling laboratory activities and reinforcing their learning. Not only did pupils have views on these different dimensions of effectiveness which they were quite happy to articulate through the questionnaire, but these views coincided very closely with those of the teacher mentors and university tutor who were supervising the student teachers. The pupils were quite able to discriminate between most and least effective teachers. I will return to this point later in considering how such information could be used.

Becoming effective: the start

If you are training to become a teacher in England and Wales you will be aware that your PGCE ‘year’ is largely spent in school. While you are doing this, clearly not all of the time will be spent in the science laboratory. There are many other things that you will experience and many people with whom you will talk, besides your new science colleagues, in order to begin to appreciate the whole sweep of the dimensions of the teacher’s role. Nevertheless, your main reason for being there is to learn how to teach. There is a sense in which no one can teach you how to teach, you have to learn it for yourself. An analogy is that learning to teach is a little like learning to ride a bicycle. You do it by attempting it. Of course it is very useful (even vital) to have someone to keep you upright and to prevent you from falling off. And the initial attempt at riding must be a very short one! Your first attempt at teaching does not happen the first time that you visit a school. You will find that your school-based programme is carefully structured so that you make that first attempt when you, and everyone else concerned, are confident that you are prepared for it. The structure of your programme may well look something like this:

Weeks 1 and 2:	Some structured observation of one or two classes, accompanied by opportunities and experiences to allow you to find out about routines and procedures in the science department.
Weeks 3–6:	Working within classrooms, helping with group activities, talking to pupils during practical work etc. Undertaking responsibility for planning and giving part of a lesson e.g. the introduction or the conclusion.
Weeks 6–8:	Extending responsibilities by some team-teaching.
Week?	Being responsible for planning and teaching a whole lesson.

Our students at Hull undertake a series of activities by which they familiarize themselves with the school and the science department in the early stages of their placement. They: read and discuss departmental schemes of work; examine resources such as textbooks, video, reprographic and IT facilities; work alongside a laboratory technician for a day; find out about the roles of colleagues with specific responsibilities such as KS3 coordination, assessment, IT, special educational needs; shadow a pupil for a day, shadow a member of the science department, including a support teacher, etc. They also sp...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Editor’s Preface
• Series List
• Author’s acknowledgements
• Publisher’s acknowledgements
• List of abbreviations
• 1. Introduction
• 2. Biology in the science curriculum
• 3. Teaching with a practical emphasis
• 4. A variety of teaching approaches
• 5. Use of living organisms in biology teaching
• 6. Teaching about the structure of living organisms
• 7. Some ideas in biology are more difficult to teach than are others
• 8. Assessment in biology
• 9. Biology across the curriculum
• Index