A 21st
Century Spring is here!
Spring is here and the end is near! Yes that is how I feel
when it comes to school and getting to the finish line and wrapping this school
year up. With 70 to 80 percent of the
curriculum having now been employed in the classroom, I can take a long
retrospective view of what has been achieved this year and begin to rationalize
the legitimacy of implementing a models-based approach to learning.
For decades, as an educator, my thinking has evolved with
respect to “best practice” and the means to produce the most effective learning
environment for my students. Since my inaugural day, as a certified high school
teacher, I have researched and implemented progressive curricular reforms
addressing the urgency to meet diverse educational needs of students.
Since the mid 1990’s, I have developed a legacy of educational
initiatives reflecting advocated reform measures in science education. Each passing decade has brought more strident
approaches to learning based upon experiences that students bring with them into
the classroom and acknowledging new learning models developed from
research-based educational psychology.
As a new science teacher, back in the 1990’s, my focus was upon getting the tools of
learning (labs, scientific probes and conceptually-based models) into the hands
of students in the science classroom. Hands-on
experiences for students was the battle cry for teachers on the frontlines
of science education. Long hours were
put in to the development and orchestration of science labs helping to make
concepts more concrete for students. Less textbook memorization, less lecture
presentations, and more hands-on experiences for students in science was the progressive
way to teach science.
At the end of the 20th century and into the
beginning of the 21st century inquiry-based
models for learning science was ushered into the science curriculum. This new emphasis in science education
stressed a pedagogy of getting students more intrinsically involved with the
process of doing science, asking questions and exploring outcomes in greater
depth. Inquiry-based learning defined
the progressive educational initiatives put forth by science teachers across
America. National Science Foundation’s development
of new standards for learning science was held up as a guidepost helping
teachers bring forth learning models requiring deeper thinking and increased motivation
to understand science as a process and not as merely memorized facts. Students realized that science is both a
dynamic process and an evidence-based endeavor.
Project Based Models of
Learning (PBL) began
to surface, with vigor, as the first decade of the new century unfolded. Citing
the development and establishment of Next Generation Science Standards along
with the need to educate students to be critical thinkers and problem-solvers;
the focus has turned to increasing students’ ability to learn, gather and
analyze information, work cooperatively and present rational evidence-based arguments
regarding findings. This is an education
model that is not only cross-disciplinary, but requires the utilization of
multiple talents, abilities and skills.
It is a holistic approach to achieving learning outcomes that help
learners adapt and be successful when dealing with changing conditions that bring
forth new challenges to deal with in their lives.
Science educators are a pragmatic lot. We recognize the education needs of our
students yet we are diligent in the development of “best practices” which are
research-based and that lend well to the diversity of learning we find embedded
in our classrooms. Upon reflection,
after 7 months of working to increase learning in the science classroom, I am more
convinced than ever of the need to transform how students learn into problem
solving ventures.
I find that when doing projects such as optimizing engineering
designs or projects related to the improving the quality of soil mediums, or
projects related to understanding carbon dioxide’s contribution to the warming
of the atmosphere, students show greater motivation for learning and exhibit a
deeper understanding of concepts in science.
PBL models for science
education is the progressive venue that science teachers can utilize to develop
effective and meaningful learning opportunities for their students, while
addressing multiple challenges we now face in the classroom. This new model for science education gives teachers a great opportunity, as professionals, to remain viable as facilitators and providers of projects for teams of students to succeed within our schools in the 21st century.
