Monday, October 5, 2009
Chapter 4 Reflection
As we have learned how students learn, it would be just as important to see exactly HOW it is that we teach them the things they are supposed to learn and how it that they learn. This idea of inquiry instruction is ultimately what I have come to believe science is. The five features that describe what the learners do is the very thing that brings inquiry to notion and notion to knowledge. One hand, however, washes the other and without the most effective methods, the learner would not be doing much learning. If they do, its banked in their short term memory. Enter phases of the 5-E Model. The model is made up of engaging, exploring, explaining, elaborating, and evaluating. If the teacher goes through these steps (step-by-step), not only will the lesson be more effective, but half the work of trying to figure out HOW to teach has been taken care of. Each step should be treated as its own step to ensure that its effectiveness is rich. What I enjoyed reading about the most was guided discovery. I like the fact that the students get to make their own discoveries and the teacher can engage in conversation with them to hear their ideas. I believe that a combined model using both guided discovery and 5-E's would be the most effective science lesson for students. It almost shocks me that there are science teachers that don't even do one of the two, let alone the two combined!
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Aspects of other approaches can be incorporated into the 5-E model, as you suggest. During the "explain" phase, for example, more traditional methods can be used. During the "explore phase," it could be time for "guided discovery."
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting chapter. The authors, clearly, do not rule out the use of other, more traditional, teaching methods. However, the authors are just as insistent about their preferred approach to teaching science. When it comes to teaching scientific THINKING, inquiry methods rise to the level of best practice. For many in the profession, the 5-E model is, arguably, the best articulated approach to teaching scientific inquiry.