What exactly is exemplary science teaching? What does the word “exemplary” even mean? Well, according to:
~Dictionary.com, the word exemplary means: worthy of imitation; commendable.
~Merriam-Webster.com, the work exemplary means: deserving imitation because of excellence.
What I’m trying to get at, is that everyone probably has a little bit of a different definition of what exemplary teaching really means.
So in this blog, I would like to explore different examples of exemplary science teaching and see if we can’t come up with a definition of our own!
It all comes down to classroom interactions with students. Are you going to ask your students to read hundreds of pages out of their textbook and give them an hour long lecture on it, or are you going to interact with them in numerous different ways to get them to learn the material?
Here is a Ted Talk that might change your perspective:
What are some ways to incorporate exemplary teaching into the classroom?
Here is an example of a ninth grade biology class:
What did this particular teacher do that kept all of her students involved?
- Kept the class engaged as a whole
- Kept the students active with body movements
- Had her students present the information themselves rather than lecture about it
- Physically showed students how long a worm is with a yard stick
- Asked lots of questions
- Used physical materials, like the clay, to keep the students involved
By using all of these tactics in just one lesson, it is more likely that the teacher will reach more of the students individual learning needs.
At this point, I see being an exemplary science teacher as keeping their students:
- Involved
- Present
- Actively engaged
One way to keep students involved, present, and actively engaged all at the same time is to conduct some type of lab that goes along with the current lesson.
Here are some prime examples of keeping students involved in a lab:
While watching this video, pay attention to the faces on every single one of the students. Now, consider what their faces would look like during a lecture. In which scenario would you guess that the students are more engaged in?
What are some good things to include in labs to keep students involved?
- Get students to work as a team
- The labs could have multiple steps so the students have to stay involved continuously
- Have them come up with alternative ways to conduct the lab when they are finished
- i.e. What could have been done differently to create a more effective lab? Would that change the outcome of the experiment?
These are all prime examples of exemplary teaching.
Keeping the students involved = Students retaining more information = Teachers doing their job
How are students supposed to listen to an hour long lecture? Can you sit still and pay attention for an hour at a time? No. The answer is no. #keeptheminvolved #EDT431 #scienceteaching
— Miss Welsh (@MissWelsh3) September 12, 2018
I really loved the TED talk of Tyler Dewitt and how he acknowledged that all of his students had read the material and could recite facts and definitions, but none of them really understood the main ideas and why it was important. He goes on to talk about the “seriousness” of science and I love the contrast between that and the first video of the biology class. You really highlighted the important details of how she teaches the students without just standing at the front of the room talking. I also really liked how you added the experiment video because having a lab component is often required in science classes so it provided some good ideas and good insight as to how students react when they’re able to see and do concepts talked about in lecture, in real life.
I agree! I think labs are a great component to add into lesson plans, as long as they are conducted in such a way that all of the students are hands on and are able to make connections back to their lecture. Labs allow students to get involved, work in a group environment, follow directions, make connections, and actually have to think about what they are doing in order for the lab to go well. I feel like often times students aren’t paying attention in lecture (even if they are taking notes), and conducting a lab almost forces them to pay attention to the material.
Hello Katie,
Great Post! I loved your videos! I really liked the TED talk one. TED talk is my favorite group of science videos. To answer your questions in this blog, I think that students would MUCH rather do activities and be engaged than read from a textbook and answer questions. Their faces light up when the teachers are in the room and the teachers do a great job at letting everyone participate. I did not see your lesson plans though. I think we actually have to come up with specific things to do in the classroom. I didn’t see them on your blog, but the videos were excellent. I want to do activities in the classroom that will allow students to all participate instead of just reading from a textbook. I made this mistake when teaching 7th grade religion. Now I know that whatever you do, be prepared with activities and ways for kids to get involved. Long story short, I learned a lesson the hard way that day, teaching 7th grade. Now I will do my best to have plenty of ways kids can get involved, whether they do experiments, demos, or give presentations. School should be allow students a way to get involved and the classrooms should be student-centered, meaning that the teacher is a guide, but the needs of the students come first and they guide what will be done for the day. Excellent post! I just have one question that has bothered me to a time. Do you think students should have the choice to work in groups or alone on certain assignments? What are your thoughts?
Delaina 🙂
Thank you for your input!
To answer your question, I think it depends on the situation. I think that in some cases it is important for the teacher to decide if students should work in groups (like if the lesson plan calls for a group activity in class). But I think that if it is an assignment that is going to take longer than a class period to do (as in, they need to work on it outside of class time) I think that the student should have the choice. It isn’t really fair for a student who works better alone to have to work in a group (and vice versa). A situation like that may actually have the potential to affect the student’s grade in a negative way.
The videos you included of classroom experiments and lesson are great examples of exemplary teaching. How could you not be engaged and curious while participating in these classrooms? Looking back, I don’t think that I ever had an exemplary science teacher in high school. My teachers had teacher-lead classrooms, not student-lead classroom; which you describe to be very crucial. Luckily, those experiences did not ruin my love for science. While they didn’t ruin it, they didn’t grow my love for science either. Is that enough? Is it enough to just not change my opinion of science? I don’t think so. I think a teacher should work to make a student’s love for a subject GROW. Would you agree? Is a change of heart in a subject the goal?
I do think that having a student-lead classroom is very crucial. I am so glad they didn’t ruin your love for science because sometimes that is not the case! I believe that some students’ passion/interest for a certain subject can lesson due to their experience in a classroom over the course of a year, which is not okay! I think that not growing a student’s love for science is not enough. If you are a science teacher, I believe that it is your job to at least make an effort to grow a student’s love for the subject that you love enough to teach and make a career out of. I 100% agree with you when you say a teacher to should work to make a students love for a subject grow, that’s part of the job!