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.