My teaching Philiosophy - a work in progress
You can teach a student a lesson for a day; but if you can teach him to learn by creating curiosity, he will continue the learning process as long as he lives. ~Clay P. Bedford
……direct their curiosity…..
To quote Arnstine (1967), “the arousal of curiosity can lead to learning…for learning to occur, curiosity must be guided”.
In essence I believe that people are innately curious and that exploiting this curiosity is the key to involving pupils in their own learning. From the moment they learn to talk, children constantly ask questions about everything, from “where eyebrows come from?” to “what do worms eat”? Asking questions is the way they find things out and this really is just one small step away from learning.
As a science teacher I have always felt that every class should start with a question (or a series of them), which prepares the pupils mentally and focuses them on the topic about to be introduced. The questions should be related to the everyday experiences of the pupil. In studying the reaction of solids to heat, I might ask why a jam jars are easier to open when hot water is run over the lid? Sometimes even the simplest questions can be use to rouse curiosity in a topic.
The next step then is to guide the investigation by providing a way to test the ideas proposed by the pupils. The enquiry worksheet that has been introduced to me in my subject methodologies has provided me with the means to structure and lead the pupils thought processes in the desired way. In providing a means to explore and investigate problems, I feel that I am empowering pupils while at the same time modelling the scientific method. As per the constructivist theory of learning I favour active learning approaches that encourage pupils to build on previous knowledge, in particular that of Jerome Bruner.
Briefly, Bruner says
• Contextualise material, present it in a relevant interesting way, invite the student to demonstrate prior knowledge
• Start with material that can be understood and build to the complex, allow the student to explore concepts etc
• Allow students discuss and reflect on their findings, and compare their ideas to other students and experts
In designing worksheets along these ideals I also make use of Bruner’s enactive, iconic, symbolic mantra. In giving the pupils a physical experiment/ investigation I am providing the enactive, where they can manipulate materials directly. By observing results the students progress into the iconic, where they now have the mental pictures that enable them to process information concerning the materials they have just worked with And finally, in the discussion and the write ups of their results the students are now entering into the symbolic phase where they can discuss the implications of what they have experienced in an abstract way.
……direct their curiosity…..
To quote Arnstine (1967), “the arousal of curiosity can lead to learning…for learning to occur, curiosity must be guided”.
In essence I believe that people are innately curious and that exploiting this curiosity is the key to involving pupils in their own learning. From the moment they learn to talk, children constantly ask questions about everything, from “where eyebrows come from?” to “what do worms eat”? Asking questions is the way they find things out and this really is just one small step away from learning.
As a science teacher I have always felt that every class should start with a question (or a series of them), which prepares the pupils mentally and focuses them on the topic about to be introduced. The questions should be related to the everyday experiences of the pupil. In studying the reaction of solids to heat, I might ask why a jam jars are easier to open when hot water is run over the lid? Sometimes even the simplest questions can be use to rouse curiosity in a topic.
The next step then is to guide the investigation by providing a way to test the ideas proposed by the pupils. The enquiry worksheet that has been introduced to me in my subject methodologies has provided me with the means to structure and lead the pupils thought processes in the desired way. In providing a means to explore and investigate problems, I feel that I am empowering pupils while at the same time modelling the scientific method. As per the constructivist theory of learning I favour active learning approaches that encourage pupils to build on previous knowledge, in particular that of Jerome Bruner.
Briefly, Bruner says
• Contextualise material, present it in a relevant interesting way, invite the student to demonstrate prior knowledge
• Start with material that can be understood and build to the complex, allow the student to explore concepts etc
• Allow students discuss and reflect on their findings, and compare their ideas to other students and experts
In designing worksheets along these ideals I also make use of Bruner’s enactive, iconic, symbolic mantra. In giving the pupils a physical experiment/ investigation I am providing the enactive, where they can manipulate materials directly. By observing results the students progress into the iconic, where they now have the mental pictures that enable them to process information concerning the materials they have just worked with And finally, in the discussion and the write ups of their results the students are now entering into the symbolic phase where they can discuss the implications of what they have experienced in an abstract way.