Close your eyes and imagine this scenario: a classroom with white walls, a row of desks, and a teacher lecturing to the students. Imagine the student’s faces, bored, tired, and distant. This is too common in most classrooms, where education is supposed to enrich students. In particular, science classrooms that are lecture-based with hands-on activities. However, these activities are predictable and are just a set of instructions for the students to complete. Where is the curiosity? The scene of critical thinking and social context and application? The investigation has no predictable answer. Where is the student in charge of the activity and outcome? Where is the exemplary science teaching?
Leave the Lectures at Home
Now, I’m not saying that it’s the teacher’s fault for the lack of exemplary teaching. Perhaps they don’t know how to start shaking things up and introducing new activities. Perhaps they don’t have the time, between lesson planning and grading (plus having a social life outside of work). Or perhaps they just don’t know what exemplary teaching looks like, as they haven’t been taught or exposed to it. I know that all teachers can implement exemplary teaching in their classrooms.
What does Exemplary Teaching look like?
- Student-focused and centered
- Investigation and projects
- Students take control of their learning
- Engage in student’s passions
- Science isn’t a subject, it’s a pathway
- Teach the skills, not the content
- Students make and answer the questions
- Incorporate student interests as materials for class
Put the Cookbook Down
Being an exemplary teacher can be daunting. So, to ease yourself into it, start by implementing projects (1-2) that allow the student the flexibility of choosing their passions. Here are some ideas that I plan on using in my classroom and that others have used:
Labs
Labs are an excellent way to get students to work with science hands-on. However, make sure to use non-cookbook labs to maximize curiosity and fun. Giving students a set of instructions of what to do with an outcome that is predictable and won’t excite students. I’ve done a lab on isolating aspirin out of a pill and I never understood why I was using these materials or procedures. I was just following the directions and hoping for a decent result so my grade didn’t plummet. Instead, allow students to do labs that don’t have a set outcome. Here are some examples:
Brine Shrimp Lab
Brine shrimp are some tough cookies. They can survive many harsh environments but just how far are they able to go? Brine shrimp cysts are offspring that are protected until the conditions are fine for them to hatch. Have students in teams or individually (depending on the size of the class) and come up with an environment they can subject the cysts to. They can then create a hypothesis for whether or not they will survive. Then, throughout a week or two, have them create these environments and conditions and maintain them. Have students see if the cysts burst and the offspring can hatch and grow or if the cysts are destroyed by the conditions. There’s no designated answer and while there is prep work and costs to this lab, it’s an amazing way to have students engage in their imagination and be witnesses to the persistence of life.
Plant Game
In this lab, students use dice to determine the fate of a plant growing in a graduated cylinder. They recreate rainfall by adding water and taking water out. Students need to decide what to do with their resources and how to allocate to maximize the amount of flowers produced, which maximizes the offspring. This game introduces students to the “choices” that plants make to survive. And because it’s based on dice rolls, the outcomes are unpredictable and students need to use critical thinking. Think Dungeons and Dragons combined with a green thumb.
Butterfly Camouflage
This activity is super simple and gets the students creative. Have students take a cut out of a butterfly and pick a spot in the classroom to take it to. The students then need to color the butterfly to camouflage itself and prevent it from being eaten. Then, have another teacher or person come in and be the prey, looking for butterflies to eat. This allows students to think outside of the box and move around. You will be surprised at how detailed and creative the students will be. This activity is also a bit competitive and that will drive students. You can also take it one step further by having students have multiple butterflies in one area and create a micro-evolution simulation where over many generations, those butterflies that are more detailed and camouflaged survive and reproduce, making the characteristics stick and refine.
Contextualizing Science
Many students may not care about science or school. They are their people and have other passions. So, why not connect their passions to science? Having students realize how their world is dependent on science or what their future possibilities in science could be is extremely important. Here are some ideas:
The Science Behind
This is a project that students can complete about anything. Have students pick something they love to do. Playing video games, playing an instrument, painting, sports (playing and/or watching), the list is endless. Then have students describe the science behind that passion. What are the scientific reasons why it exists? What does someone have to do to create a video game? How do ingredients (water vs. oil) determine layering skincare and makeup products? Why are certain paint colors or mediums so expensive? Have students get creative with how they display their work. Instead of an essay, a presentation, or a video to show their work and findings. Have students spend time researching what they love and using science principles to enrich their learning and passions.
Speakers
Have professionals come in and give a presentation on their field of work to students. This is a great way for students to see and talk to someone who has made science their life. Have students create questions to ask. Have the speakers bring in props and other objects that students can interact with. This helps make science a career and not just a subject in school. Get creative with who you reach out to. A veterinarian, doctor, nurse, computer programmer, surgeon, etc. This also helps students think about their interests and careers.
A few more links to social media!
https://www.instagram.com/official_nsta/
Link to the official NSTA Instagram page
https://www.facebook.com/NSTA.FB
Link to the official NSTA Facebook page
Alexis Shull on LinkedIn
“An exemplary science teacher takes the standards and creates projects that challenge the students to investigate and find answers to questions”
I love your activities that you want to implement in your classroom. it really highlights the need for more engaging, student-centered approaches in science education. What inspired you to emphasize the importance of student-driven activities in science education, and how do you believe these approaches can reshape students’ perceptions of science as a subject? Can you share any personal experiences or observations that have influenced your perspective on exemplary teaching in this field?
I think having teachers who utilized inquiry-based learning and teachers who didn’t help me reflect on what works best with students. I also love doing hands-on experiments, it how I think and process information.
Hi Lexi, I really liked your blogpost. Your bullet points are concise and direct, and your videos are really great as well. I especially like the video about the inquiry-based school. The labs you describe are all really great, and I think they would be interesting for students of all ages. I also really like your section on contextualizing science and focusing on student interests. How would you as the teacher support your students in choosing which questions they want to investigate for the science behind project? And for having professionals come in to the classroom, which is a fantastic idea, how much of your class time over the schoolyear would you be willing to devote to having these speakers come in, and how will you choose which ones you invite to your class (since you inevitably can’t have them all)?
Hi! I would support my students by asking them about their top 3 hobbies/passions, and then I would ask them to write a question or two. I would tell them that it doesn’t have to be an overly complex question, lowering the stakes so they can feel more comfortable with inquiry. For speakers, I think right after an exam would be a great time for a speaker to come in. This gives students a break between units and helps them contextualize science in their lives. So, maybe 2-3 each semester, but definitely at least once a semester. At the beginning of the year, I would allow students a vote on a profession they want to hear from and then work with that list, while also working with my own. I understand that people are busy so I would try to have one scheduled before the start of school. I think everyone loves animals and pets so I would try to line up a veterinarian or a zoo keeper.