The outcomes of our current method of teaching science.

Uppon reading ‘Encouraging Creativity with Scientific Inquiry’ by Lloyd H. Barrow(2010) I could not help but notice a number of similarities between the outcomes of how science is taught in the USA and how science is taught in the UK.

  According to Barrow (2010) science should include critical thinking and inspire children’s creativity, however it is currently lacking these elements as experiments are short and only verify what has already been studied: these experiments use a ‘cook book’ approach. That is pupils simply follow instructions without any real understanding. This can be said of the UK’s education system as many students on this course found that they could not remember why their scientific inquiry took place, or what it showed: they simply remembered the procedure and the outcome.

    Barrow also mentions science O levels which are the American equivalent of a GCSE as consisting of the teacher guiding the pupil through the practical exam towards the expected outcome. This is the same in GCSE science practical exams; despite them being exams the teacher guides the pupils to the desired outcome.

   Pupils then, leave school with out a true understanding of the hows and why's of science, and perhaps disinterested with the subject.

  In order to encourage critical thinking  and  strengthen creativity pupils must be asked thought provoking questions and be given the opportunity to take risks in the class room with the assistance of the teacher to ensure their safety. This can be said to be further evidence that a new approach to teaching science must be found.

References

Barrow, L. H. (2010) Encouraging Creativity with Scientific Inquiry [online] available from  http://www.scirp.org/journal/ce/ [accessed on 28/2/14]

The scientific method: does it work?

This week’s lecture we looked at the scientific method.This is a process of scientific inquiry which involves eight steps:

1) Identifying a problem

2) Asking a question.

3) Making a hypothesis.

4) Designing and conducting an experiment that tests the hypothesis.

5) Data collection.

6) Analysing the results.

7) Drawing a conclusion

8) Devising solutions.

The scientific method moulds teachers and pupils perception of scientific enquiry(Braaten et al,2008) and often leads to scientific enquiry taking place within the class room without pupils having an understanding of the reasoning behind the scientific enquiry taking place (Braaten et al,2008). According to Braaten et al (2008) there are four reasons why the scientific method often fails in class rooms.

  The first cause for its failure is that questions are provided by the teachers as opposed to the pupils using their imagination to create their own questions: this can lead to content less science lessons without scientific knowledge or reasoning, unsuccessfully reflecting scientific ideas.

     Secondly is the use of controlled experiments which do not reflect the experiments which undergo in the professional world of science. Also the suggestion that a single set of experiments is an ample amount to base a conclusive finding on is unrealistic.

The third factor which has led to the occasionally ineffective use of the scientific method within class rooms is that the pupils lack a platform of knowledge on the given phenomenon on which to base their questions and hypothesis on.

   

    The final fourth element of the scientific method is that the pedagogy itself as it doesn’t promote a mind-set which questions and enquires but rather produces a linear combination of steps which are easy for a teacher to follow.

    

     Braaten et al (2008) however suggest a different method of teaching science referred to as model based inquiry which actively involves the pupils in the process of scientific enquiry and encourages them to practice creativity through questioning phenomenon for themselves(Braaten,2008). It is a four step process which involves building a platform of knowledge on a phenomenon, finding the relationships between phenomenon, deciding the best way to gather results and questioning results through having discussions with the pupils and considering their views.

   I feel the model based inquiry approach may be more effective within the class room as children learn best from being actively involved (Dewey,1910). This approach offers pupils the opportunity to explore why certain phenomenon happens as opposed to just how and thus provides them with a deeper understanding as well as developing a way of thinking with in pupils which is always questioning and exploring.

References:

Braaten,M. Thompson,J. and Windschitl,M.(2008) Beyond the scientific method: Model-Based Inquiry as a new paradigm of preference for school science investigations. [online] available from http://web.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=83bcefcd-9814-47e7-96d8-a5176f964789%40sessionmgr110&vid=1&hid=127&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=ehh&AN=34095321 [accessed on 28/2/2014]

Dewey, J. (1910) How We Think [online] available from https://archive.org/details/howwethink000838mbp [accessed on 28/2/2014]

Art and science: opposites or intertwined?

“The difference between science and the arts is not that they are different sides of the same coin even, or even different parts of the same continuum, but rather, they are manifestations of the same thing. The arts and sciences are avatars of human creativity"

- Mae Jemison

In today's lecture we considered the reasons why art and science are considered to be extremely different from one an other. The general consensus was that science is based on facts where as art is subjective and can take many different forms. I personally feel the arts and science are intertwined. In order to become a good artist an understanding of elements,light and primary colours are required,and in order to be a successful scientist an element of creativity and abstract thinking must take place. Thus they are often closely linked.

One strong example of science and the arts being used simultaneously can be seen in Leonardo di vinci who used his artistic skills to sketch what he found as he explored the depth of autonomy(O'Hanlon,2013). The most famous sketch being Vitruvian man (1490) as can be seen below:

Many of the sketches by Da Vinci are truly inspiring and illustrate the wonderment that creativity and science can result in.

Below is a Ted video. In this video Mae Jemison - the first African American woman to go in to space - discusses the importance of the sciences and the arts being used together.Science is not simply about being logical and the arts is not only about being creative.

References:
O'Hanlon,L (2013) Science and The Arts, Intertwined throughout History [online] available from http://www.howtolearn.com/2013/09/science-and-the-arts-intertwined-throughout-history/ [accessed on 22/2/14]

Do schools kill creativity?

Today we discussed main stream education and the national curriculum is effect on creativity. Ken Robinson: who is well known for his ted talk ‘do schools kill creativity?’(2006) was mentioned as Robinson argues that school’s devalue creativity: This is not an uncommon opinion.

Lucas(2001) argues that most schools have fundamentally uncreative pedagogies and that all schools must create an environment in which creativity can thrive. Main stream education limits pupils creativity through a series of pedagogical practices (Craft,2005): such as strategies which place pupils in the role of receiving knowledge and following instructions as opposed to having control over their own learning (Craft,2005). This having been said Craft (2005) also argues that strategies which involve the pupil learning through self-lead discovery with no guidance can also prohibit a pupils creativity as well as strategies which assume the pupil will understand concepts in the same way as the teacher(Craft,2005). Lucas (2001) argues that the lack of creative pedagogies in education is a result of examinations and league tables as well as teaching methods: this is not dissimilar to Robinson’s argument. According to Murphy et al.(2004) the lack of creativity in schools risks creating individuals with shallow understanding of subject matter and the inability to transfer knowledge to new situations

  However Craft (2005) states that the use of creativity within education has risen in popularity in the past 20 years as it has been acknowledged that creativity is essential in identifying and solving problems and finding opportunities in places where they may not have been found (Craft,2005). The ability to be creative is alive in everybody and can certainly flourish then if given the opportunity(Craft,2005). Despite Craft (2005) claiming creativity has grown in popularity I feel the education system is still restricting and narrow minded in the way of creativity and knowledge. There is little opportunity for finding talents or individual strengths,instead the focus is on becoming a contributing member of society and meeting the needs of said society. There are clearly benefits from creative learning such as problem solving skills as mentioned above.

References:

Craft, A. (2005) Creativity in schools: tensions and dilemmas,London : Routledge 2005

Cropley, A. (2001)Creativity in education and learning: a guide for teachers and educators, Routledge Falmer:Oxon

 Murphy,P.,McCormick,B., Lunn,S., Davidson,M. and Jones,J.(2004) Electronics in schools, Final Evaluation Report, Executive Summary. London:the department of trade and industry/the open university

First Lecture of a new module: exciting!

  The first lecture of the module ‘The Enquiring mind: creative approaches’ was focused on the definition of creativity and what it is to be creative. The general consensus was that creativity is linked with the arts and that it involved imagination. The lecture theatre also agreed that creativity was important for the economy, evolution, confidence, individuality and growth.
   We were encouraged to express our opinions on what it is to be creative by writing it down on a piece of paper and sharing it with one an other by throwing the paper around the theatre. Below is a photo of the piece of paper I picked up: