Top Strategies for Effective Science Instruction

Tip #1
Make it RELEVANT
Provide opportunities in lessons to relate Science concepts and learning to your students’ previous experiences. By engaging students’ interest and utilizing real-world events, you can create a more effective, student-centered classroom that supports the learning environment.
•   Use project-based learning
•   Pre-assess students’ misconceptions and prior knowledge (for example, use K-W-L charts)
•   Integrate current events in Science, Technology and Society
•   Use real-world data as a context for problem solving (My NASA Data is a great place to get data sets)
•   Take field trips and virtual field trips
•   Provide analogies and models to help students learn more about abstract concepts
•   Provide literacy connections
•   Utilize video clips to create a context for students on unfamiliar topics (NASA Brain Bites and NASA eClips are great)

Tip #2
Try Collaborative Groups
Students working in groups experience a variety of learning styles and get the opportunity to improve their communication and social skills. Group work can also promote problem-solving and critical thinking, since learning becomes the responsibility of the students. Try some of these strategies for collaborative groups:
•   Pre-arrange the groups and use Science-focused team names (for example, Galileo, Einstein, Currie and Newton)
•   Limit groups to 3-4 students (smaller groups are more effective in positively influencing student learning)
•   Give everyone in the group a specific job:
o   PI (Principal Investigator) – Keeps everyone on task and is the only person in the group who can
ask the teacher a question
o   ME (Materials Engineer) – Gets the materials for the group and also is responsible for putting
them back and cleaning up the area
o   CapCOM (Capsule Communicator) – Is the spokesperson and will report any findings, questions,
etc.
o   MS (Mission Specialist) – Records data and is responsible for conducting the actual experiment
(or whatever other task you want a student to do)

Tip #3
Encourage Questioning
Questioning strategies help facilitate those higher order thinking skills that all teachers want their students to achieve. This is an interactive process that engages students, allows for on-going assessment for understanding, and can reveal misconceptions of concepts. Teachers should create and maintain a safe environment where the students’ thoughts are valued, but students can still feel comfortable debating and challenging other students’ ideas. Here are some strong examples:
•   Vary the types of questions you ask (remember Bloom’s Taxonomy and try these strategies)
•   Randomize the students you call on by using playing cards, popsicle sticks, etc.
•   Ask, “Why do you think that?”
•   You don’t have to be the expert. It’s okay to say, “I don’t know. How do you think we might find out?”
•   Ask open-ended questions that can have several possible answers (for example, “How could we find the length of the room? What units could we use?”)
•   Remember wait-time. Some students need a little more time to process information or reflect on the question (you can try counting to 5, 7, or 10 before calling on a student or asking another related question)
•   When showing videos, stop at key points and pose critical thinking questions

Tip #4
Remember: Inquiring Minds Want to Know
There are many interpretations of inquiry, however, the National Science Education Standards state that “Scientific inquiry refers to the diverse ways in which scientists study the natural world and propose explanations based on the evidence derived from their work. Inquiry also refers to the activities in which [students] develop knowledge and understanding of scientific ideas, as well as an understanding of how scientists study the natural world” (pg. 23).

Inquiry provides students opportunities to experience the nature of Science by emulating the practices of Science. In other words, it gets students thinking like scientists. Inquiry strategies should not be confused with manipulation (hands-on) strategies. Through inquiry, students learn and practice obtaining and interpreting data as well as how to generate their own knowledge and understandings of causation. Here are some excellent examples:
•   Descriptive Research Design – Uses descriptive research statistics (for example, “What kinds of birds are in the school yard?”)
•   Comparative Research Design – Compares using a variable (for example, “Does bird population in the school yard increase in the spring time?”)
•   Experimental Research Design – Determines causation (for example, “How does the length of sunlight affect the bird population?”)

Lisa Brown, Ed.D.
A+ Certified Presenter

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