LETTER TO A FRIEND IN INDIA

Hi Shephali

I wanted to elaborate on what I published on November 12th about Project-based science in both India and in the USA.    For years I have advocated and created curriculum initiatives in science education that move progressive education reform in a direction that will benefit students well into the future years of their lives.

Like you, I have wrestled with this issue of adapting the realities of life that challenge our students and society and the delivery of learning experiences in the classroom that positively impact our students.

In the twilight of my career as an educator, I find that opportunities for our students to engage in more profound learning experiences, that dwell upon project-based models of learning, are not in general increasing.  In America with the implementation of Next Generation Science Standards, it seems to me it would be logical that this transition would favor new educational innovations that motivate and inspire learning.  But this reality has been elusive.

Today, in our schools, being a Teacher facilitator, not the sage on the stage, requires a change in the mindset of the educator.  It means that a teacher must stop rote dispensation of information during a school day and move toward the creation of learning opportunities stressing knowledge and understanding.  It can be an exhausting venture requiring intense focus upon the timely and urgent implementation of curriculum initiatives, while at the same time coordinating lab experiences that lead to students developing real-world solutions to problems we face in the world.

The Zero Waste Zone Project at K.v.bhandup school in Mumbai India (https://www.facebook.com/KVBHANDUP/), that you have developed over the past few years, is an excellent example of the type of science project  that can help  stimulate students’ intrinsic motivation to learn.  It is a project that provides a wealth of opportunities for student to pursue and learn concepts in science.  Students come to realize their true potential as they apply knowledge and understanding to help improve society!

You need to be both fearless and driven as an educator to bring forth the best learning experience for our times.  I experience a sense of urgency to design curriculums that meets the educational needs of students. Years of experience is a great asset because you can envision the reality that your want to create in the classroom. Educational reform has positive inferences because it is tied to making thinking better.  As a master teacher I am sure you deal with the challenge of thinking out of the box and being unconventional.  Conventional wisdom in educations stresses control over learning, but if you really believe in the kids and you worry about their future, then you will give them the needed autonomy in your classroom, so they can to excel to their fullest potential.

Engineering challenges is one of the many means that I employ in class to get to the essence of learning by having students apply what they have learned to solve problems.  Challenge is expressed through redesign and improvement of prototype models.  This process inspires a focused effort by students increasing their intrinsic motivation to produce and to perform.  The world we live in is fraught with problems and crisis that will need creative and critical thought to bring forth solutions.  In our schools, students can develop these skills and abilities becoming problem solvers and ready to adapt to a changing world with its new reality.

What projects have you most recently developed to get students motivated to learn?  Masters teachers take advantage of time frames, within the curriculum, where students can apply what they have learned and produce real-world results.  For our students this is a very satisfying experience adding to their self-efficacy and becoming productive members of our society.  It is all good!

 That is why teaching has never been a job to me it is a vocation because I believe it strives beyond the sheer process that we go through in school.  It is really about the creation of a modern society.  To use a baseball metaphor, I am a teacher in the batter’s box and I must hit the fast ball to move the game along.  I am not looking to take a walk, I am swinging for the fences! I am going to do whatever it takes to move my students along in life.

Students complete the construction of a 9 feet tall hot air balloon that will utilize the force of buoyancy to accelerate up into the atmosphere with increasing velocity.

Teams of students collaborate utilizing individual skills and abilities to produce a final product.
The final product will be tested to determine its performance during flight.

Design and testing of a Pitsco catapult leads to greater understanding and interest in the physics of motion.

Students analysis the growth rate of basil plants planted in different mediums of soil.

Students work in teams to share their knowledge, understanding and experiences to solve problems in engineering.

Students engaged in experimental research developing skills, abilities and understanding to solve problems, be creative and become innovative thinkers.

   

Squeals and Yelps in the Science Classroom

Project-based science conducted in the physics classroom presents a measure of reform in education that is clearly recognizable from the view of the teacher.  The learning outcomes become evident as the motivation, commitment and general enthusiasm of students rise.  It is an experience that needs to be replicated in high schools across our country.

The Buck Institute for Education (BIE) presents the following description of project-based science, “Project Based Learning is a teaching method in which students gain knowledge and skills by working for an extended period of time to investigate and respond to an authentic, engaging and complex question, problem, or challenge.”  They go on to say about achievement of students in science, “The experience of thousands of teachers across all grade levels and subject areas, backed by research, confirms that PBL is an effective and enjoyable way to learn - and develop deeper learning competencies required for success in college, career, and civic life.

The Pitsco Catapult Kit provides students with the resources to construct, test, analyze and redesign prototype models to improve performance.  It is an exciting way for students, studying physics, to apply concepts of two-dimensional motion with constant acceleration to the real-world performance of a catapult.

Students engaged in this investigative process are given autonomy, during the project, to explore outcomes and imagine how current constraints associated with the prototype model could be altered to render improved performance of the catapult-launched projectile. It is a time for students to take steps toward real implementation of concepts learned in physics and apply them directly to the mechanical operation of a catapult to prove a hypothesis and to accumulated evidence for conclusions.

Squeals and yelps in the classroom and hallway from students conducting their experiments is a good measure of student engagement and enthusiasm for the outcomes of their efforts.  Finally, students are able to express themselves as true investigators in an effort to produce outcomes that they have predicted would occur based upon the physics that they have learned, understand and believe. 

Student express some apprehension and concern over this application of mathematical models to experimental outcomes.  At times it seems like students are taking baby steps as they come to realize that mathematical models can help them predict outcomes and leads them toward a better process developing excellent performance-based models.  Using what has been learned in physics, to produce real-world outcomes, is one way that builds confidence and academic understanding within every student. 

Students utilize resources from the Pitsco catapult Kits to construct working catapult

Students engaged and enthused about the construction of the prototype catapult model.

Construction requires a focused effort to produce a model that can be tested to determine performance outcomes.

Launching projectiles from the original prototype model and comparing results obtained from tests conducted by the redesigned model,  help to solidify students' understanding of both the physics and engineering of the catapult and objects in motion.

Autonomy in the Science Classroom

By Greg Reiva

In the book titled Thank you for Being Late, by Thomas L. Friedman he writes, “ So at a minimum, our educational systems must be retooled to maximize these needed skills and attribute: strong fundamentals in writing, reading, coding, and math; creativity, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration; grit, self-motivation, and lifelong learning habits; and entrepreneurship and improvisation -at every level”.

Looking down the barrel of a changing world, economically, socially and politically I reflect upon my own viability as an educator and what it is that I need to commit to and do in the classroom.  My students deserve and require, an education is that is directed toward reaching for these skills and attributes in our 21^st century world.

Autonomy in the classroom is students’ perception that they can determine their own goals, intentions, and actions regarding learning.  It is an empowering situation where students take responsibility for their own learning and take this experience to the highest level and to its deepest understanding.

Designing a curriculum experience for students to choose their own direction and to pursue their own interests helps create a learning experience that leads to development of the critical skills and attributes mentioned by Thomas Friedman.  This innovative curriculum initiative is called the Climate Change Project and it is tied to current scientific research called DRAWDOWN (http://www.drawdown.org/).

Aligning student research and scientific investigation, in the classroom, to a global effort to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and carbon sequestration, is a fundamental aspect to bring more autonomy to students in the classroom.  Students choose to research any one of over 80 possible solutions presented in DRAWWDOWN, which have direct impact over the next 30 years in preserving the ability of our planet and to sustain life as we know it.

Working in teams, cooperating, collaborating, experimenting and presenting conclusions are components of this powerful learning experience leading to the development of real-world solutions.  Students gain tremendously from this opportunity by utilizing their knowledge and understanding of science, while developing 21^st century skills and abilities to succeed in a demanding and changing world.

The template employed during this project is a model for conducting student research through implementation of the 5E method for scientific inquiry.  The book called, STEM Student Research Handbook by Darci J. Harland provides an excellent guide for educators to follow in developing their own process of autonomous learning in the classroom. The decision-making process, employed by students, includes greater responsibility to reach for goals and to cope with a multitude of avenues to solve problems.

Students are responsible to prove the validity of a solution to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and to sequester carbon dioxide gas in the atmosphere.  Students design their own experiments to test their chosen solution.  The experimental outcomes provide evidence necessary to prove that the solution is vindicated.

I have created these learning opportunities, in my physics classes, for the past 3 years. Along the way, I have taken advantage of many opportunities to make changes and implement new ideas to modify this science curriculum.  These new curriculum ideas have led to the creation a more fluid transition from a traditional classroom curriculum into a progressive 21^st century learning experience.  Students develop inner intrinsic motivational resources in their thinking process, and they develop abilities that will ultimately lead to greater learning and success.

Being a more autonomy-supportive teacher embraces the belief that students’ interests and efforts toward solving problems will thrive in a learning environment where students believe it as important to their lives.  Students involved in the Climate Change Project can self-regulate and investigate in a manner that lends well to their own skills and abilities. Students can now express themselves as individuals and flourish in an expression their uniqueness.