Making Progress in Primary Science

A Study Book for Teachers and Student Teachers

Dr Wynne Harlen, Wynne Harlen

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2003
• ISBN:
  9781134474424
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Pedagogía
• Subtopic: Educación general

This new and extensively revised edition of Progress in Primary Science is intended for all those involved in training teachers of primary school science, both preservice and on INSET courses. Its flexible modular structure enables course leaders to tailor their course to participants' needs. Each module can be studied individually or as part of an extended programme and contains notes for facilitators, photocopiable workshop materials, activities for practitioners and suggestions for further reading.

Throughout the book the focus is on the learning of science as an investigative process through which pupils develop an understanding of ideas. This is supported by modules on different aspects of teaching and learning in science, including:

• building on children's own ideas
• how to ask and answer questions
• managing practical work in the classroom
• science for very young children
• effective assessment, self-assessment and feedback
• cross-curricular links
• ICT and science
• science outside the classroom.

The companion study book currently available can be used by those participating on these courses. It follows the same modular structure and contains the same information as this book, and makes planning and delivering the course easier and less time consuming for the course leader.

Module 1 Learning science through enquiry

Starting from children’s ideas

MODULE GOALS

• To give participants direct experience of practical enquiry as a basis for reflection on what it involves.
• To provide a structure, or framework, for thinking about learning through enquiry and identifying the role of process skills in developing ideas.
• To recognise that children often have their own ideas about scientific phenomena prior to school science activities and the implications of this for teaching.
• To identify ways of accessing children’s ideas so that they can be taken into account in teaching.

MODULE OVERVIEW

This module is about the nature of scientific enquiry and how ideas about scientific phenomena can be developed or changed through the use of enquiry, or process, skills. First-hand experience of enquiry is important for participants so that they can reflect on the processes that they have carried out and realise what is involved for children. Thus, Activity 1 sets up a situation in which a question is posed, asks participants to make a prediction and to test it in practice. To help reflection on what is involved, a framework for thinking about enquiry is introduced and applied to participants’ own activity. The framework indicates the roles in the development of ideas of the enquiry skills of: raising questions, predicting, planning, gathering evidence by observing and measuring, interpreting evidence and drawing conclusions, and communicating and reflecting critically.

In Activity 2 participants apply this framework to one of two vignettes of children’s activities. In these the children’s own ideas that they bring to an activity clearly play an important part. In each case the teacher enables the children to test their own ideas first rather than just stating what is scientifically correct. This leads on to the consideration of the ideas that children often form from their own thinking about their experiences. Activity 3 gives some examples, all from research into children’s scientific ideas, for discussion. These examples show how ‘reasonable’, in terms of the children’s limited experience, the children’s own ideas often are. Participants have the opportunity to discuss the implications of this for helping children to develop more scientific ways of looking at their experiences. The importance of knowing these ideas means that teachers need to have ways of accessing them. Activity 4 gives participants the opportunity to share ideas and discuss the appropriateness of different approaches for various ages groups. We leave the next stage, of how to develop children’s ideas, for study in Module 2.

Timing

Total time: 2 hours 30 minutes

See Table

Materials required

For Activity 1

For each group of four:

• sources of green and red light (coloured bulbs or gelatines over torches);
• a ball (tennis ball size) on a stand;
• white screen, matt black screen, or matt black material that can be placed over the screen;
• a location where the ambient light can be minimised (curtains drawn or hung round a table with the equipment set up underneath);
• copies of Activity 1 for those who do not have the Study Book;
• an OHP of the enquiry framework (Figure 1.3).

Note: If there is only one set of equipment, groups can take turns to make the observations, but this limits their opportunities to ‘play’ with the equipment to test other predictions.

For Activity 2

• copies of Activity 2 and of the two vignettes for those who do not have the Study Book;
• copies of the blank enquiry framework for each pair of participants.

For Activities 3 and 4

• copies of the activities for those who do not have the Study Book.

INTRODUCTION

Points to make:

• This module is about the key features of learning through enquiry – the process skills and the way in which these are used in developing scientific ideas.
• We start with a practical enquiry in order to have a shared experience to talk about and to recognise what is involved in conducting an enquiry.
• Although we will be considering practical enquiry, not all enquiry is ‘hands-on’ so we will arrive at a meaning of enquiry that includes using evidence from secondary sources – books, CD-ROMs, the Internet, etc.

ACTIVITY 1

Arrange participants in groups of four. Keep the equipment out of the way so that the first part of the activity (a) is conducted by thought and discussion. Ask each group to write down their answers to (i), (ii) and (iii), but there is no need to collect them at this stage (12 minutes for all of this). Have the sets of equipment ready for part (b) and let the groups test their predictions in practice. They should then return to their tables to discuss what they found and whether this has changed their ideas about coloured light.

Feedback and discussion

There will generally be groups for whom the results were a surprise in some respects. There is often the expectation that the colour of the shadow of the lamp will be the same as the colour of the lamp, rather than the colour of the light from the other lamp.

Ask a group that found some difference between what they observed and what they predicted to report on what they predicted and their reasons. They probably now realise the limitations of their earlier ideas and understand why things were different in reality. If not, ask another group, who predicted correctly, to explain their reasoning. (This encourages participants to learn from each other, which is part of the message of this module.) The third part, about the black screen, is likely to have produced some mixed results unless the black surface was really matt. (Any shininess would have reflected some light.) By definition, a truly black surface does not reflect any light, but absorbs all colours. So whatever the colour of light, it will still look black.

It may be necessary to remind participants who are unsure of the science here that the colour of a surface is the colour of light that it reflects (into your eye so that you can see it). In white light (composed of all the colours of the spectrum) a surface that looks red is reflecting just the red light and absorbs all the other colours, because of the pigment in the surface. When red light falls on a white surface (which reflects all the colours), it looks red because it can only reflect the light that is falling on it. If both red and green light fall on a white surface, both are reflected and together they make yellow. (When mixing light, red, green and blue are the primary colours and all other colours can be made by mixing them.)

Once the participants are satisfied about the science, turn to thinking about the processes that they went through in the activity. Ask them to recall what they did, after being given a problem. List on a whiteboard or flip chart – prediction, planning investigation, etc. Then show the OHP of the enquiry framework, in Figure 1.1. Using the framework identify the activities undertaken by participants in Activity 1 in terms of it:

• In this case the question was raised for participants (What will the colours be?)
• They used their pre-existing ideas to understand what was going on (ideas about coloured lights recalled and linked to new situation).
• The predictions were based on their ideas about coloured light.
• The test of the predictions was then planned (although in this case there was little detailed planning to do, as the set-up was given).
• Then the evidence was gathered (they made the observations).
• The results were interpreted in terms of the predictions (whether the expected colours were seen) and this also tested the hypotheses on which the predictions were based.
• By discussion and reflection the initial ideas were either changed (if not upheld) or strengthened (if they were upheld).

Figure 1.1 Enquiry framework

For cross-reference with Study Book see Figure 1.6

The next activity involves further use of the framework, so there is no need for more discussion after this ‘modelling’ of its application.

ACTIVITY 2

For this activity ask participants to work in pairs teaching the same age group (5–7 or 8–11). One vignette, about Emma, is more suitable for teachers of younger children and the one about Gavin for teachers of older juniors. Ask participants to read both but fill in the framework for one only. Distribute the blank framework copies and set a time limit of 20 minutes for the activity.

Feedback and discussion

Ask one pair to report on Emma and others to query or add as required. Then do the same for Gavin. The main points are not so much in the exact match to the framework of what the children did, but rather in seeing the learning as a cycle of events in which the children’s ideas are tried out.

The important points to make during the discussion of the application of the framework are:

• There is a cycle of enquiry, which may be repeated in order to try different ideas (as in the case of Gavin, where the scientific idea of the moisture coming from the air had yet to be tested).
• The essential process/enquiry skills that are used in this enquiry are raising questions, predicting, planning, gathering evidence by observing and measuring, interpreting evidence and drawing conclusions and communicating and reflecting critically. While these can be expressed in different ways – and various terms are sometimes used – they describe the important steps in the enquiry process.
• The ways the skills are used determine the outcome of the enquiry, for example, if the predictions are not tested fairly, then it may be that ideas that should be changed are confirmed. Thus the development of ideas depends crucially on the use of enquiry skills in a scientific manner. (The developmental progression in enquiry skills is discussed in Module 7.)

The vignettes also draw attention to the role of the ideas that children bring to the activity. Their predictions are based on these ideas. Research into children’s ideas shows that they are firmly held. The implications of this will be taken up in discussion of the next activity.

First, however, bring together the points made about learning through enquiry by proposing as a definition:

Learning through enquiry means building understanding by testing one’s own and others’ ideas through gathering evidence from direct experience, from books and other resources including computer-based ones, from the teacher, and from other informed adults. As a result, the idea tested may be found not to fit the evidence, in which case an alternative one has to be tried, or the idea may be found to fit, in which case it is extended in its application and becomes a little ‘bigger’.

ACTIVITY 3

How important is it to take account of the pre-existing ideas that children bring to an activity (such as Emma’s idea that seeds have to be small and pale in colour, or Gavin’s assumption that metal can allow water to pass through it)? This activity looks at some examples of children’s ideas that have been revealed by research. These are not idiosyncratic and nontypical, but are quite widely held by children of these ages.

Ask participants to work in the same pairs as for Activity 2 in the first instance. Each pair should complete the task (15 minutes). Then ask pairs to form groups of four by joining up with a pair of teachers of a different age group. They should look at any differences that they find in their responses.

Feedback and discussion

Take responses from one group of four about their combined answers and any differences they found between teachers of different age groups. Ask others for any points to add or challenge.

The aim of this activity is recognition that the children’s ideas can seem reasonable in view of their limited experience and ways of thinking. For example:

• The everyday use of language can easily form misconceptions about the classification of living things – we generally refer to small garden plants as ‘plants’ but refer to trees and bushes by other names, although they are scientifically all plants.
• Children may well have seen rust seemingly emerging from the inside of metal, for example, when painted iron railings become rusted under the paint, which then flakes off to reveal the rust.
• The sensation of ‘seeing’ is of directing our eyes towards what is seen, so it may see...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• General notes for facilitators
• Module 1 Learning science through enquiry
• Module 2 The teacher’s role in promoting progress
• Module 3 Teachers’ questions and responses to children’s questions
• Module 4 Managing practical work in the classroom
• Module 5 Science in the early years
• Module 6 Meaning and purposes of assessment
• Module 7 Assessing enquiry skills
• Module 8 Assessing children’s conceptual understanding
• Module 9 Involving children in assessing their work
• Module 10 Providing effective feedback to children
• Module 11 Science and other subjects
• Module 12 Planning for continuity and progression in science activities
• Module 13 ICT and science (1)
• Module 14 ICT and science (2)
• Module 15 The role of external resources in helping children to learn science
• Module 16 Evaluating classroom practice and providing effective feedback to teachers