Chapter 4

Chapter 4 describes several research tested models for science instruction. Inquiry, 5-E, guided discovery, direct instruction, and textbook approach are the models of instruction discussed in this chapter. One thing I like about the inquiry model for instruction is how learners are engaged by scientific questions. The chapter says that students should be encouraged to generate their own questions based of their prior knowledge and real-world experiences. However, the book also states that some students may have difficulty formulating their own questions, in which case the teacher would have to formulate a question or problem for them. I think getting students to form their own questions and problems is a good skill for them to practice. Identifying problems and generating questions is a skill that must be all the time in the real world.

Another thing in this chapter I liked was how it explained how direct instruction might be used by the teacher in the explain step of the 5-E model. It is definitely important to make sure students understand what the teacher wants them to, and sometimes direct instruction is the best way to make sure students are getting what the teachers wants them to out of a lesson. I think that students with special needs would especially benefit from some direct instruction, if infused somehow into guided discovery or inquiry approaches. On the other hand, the textbook approach would probably not be something i would use with students that have special needs, because it requires highly proficient language arts skills that students may not have. From the book's description of each, I felt that guided discovery learning could be used along with some of the steps in the 5-E model, such as engage or explore.