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Communicating Ocean Sciences

Session 3: Comparing Teaching Approaches

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Session 3 objectives Explore the advantages and limitations of

different teaching approaches Understand that everyone learns differently See the importance of incorporating and

balancing a number of teaching approaches Learn about the “learning cycle” and how to

use it in constructing a lesson Understand that effective teaching employs a

sequence of different teaching approaches to achieve greater learning

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Discussion question

In your own education, what teaching approaches do you remember responding best and worst to?

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Station debrief

Reflect on your responses to each activity

Strengths/weaknesses

Favorite station(s), why?

Goals related to different teaching approaches

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Goals of open-ended exploration• Introduce students to a new subject area• Generate questions• Generate student interest and foster positive

attitudes about science• Encourage students to work together without

direct teacher instruction• Develop and identify concepts, processes

and skills, raise questions and problems• Provide a common base of experiences• Practice observation skills

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Goals of structured activity

• Introduce concepts, vocabulary, processes, skills, and investigation methods

• Guide students toward specific discoveries

• Provide a common base of experiences• Provide successful activities with

predictable outcomes

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Goals of problem-solving challenge/application• Model what scientists do• Provide a sense of accomplishment• Challenge students’ conceptual

understanding and skills by applying them to new situations

• Develop deeper and broader understanding through real world applications

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Goals of read and answer

• Provide specific content information and vocabulary on a topic

• Extend the information from an activity into descriptions of related experiences that are impractical in a classroom setting

• Provide alternative explanations and make connections into other subject areas

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Sequence of stations

How did you feel about the sequence in which you visited the stations?

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The Learning Cycle

Invitation

Application Exploration

Concept Invention

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The Learning Cycle

Invitation

ExplorationReflection

ConceptApplication Invention

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The Learning Cycle

Invitation: students are offered a question or a problem to solve, they may make an observation or watch a demonstration, can also be a hands-on experience which sets the stage for learning

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The Learning Cycle

Exploration: Open-ended exploration of real phenomena, discussion about their discoveries, ideas, and questions that arise. Can be hands-on or more abstract.

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The Learning Cycle

Concept Invention: With interest and attention focused, introduce concepts, or methods to solve problems and construct new meanings.

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The Learning Cycle

Application: Armed with new ideas, students apply this knowledge and skills to solving a problem or meeting a challenge.

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The Learning Cycle

Reflection: Students reflect on their learning and compare new ideas to alternative explanations. They make connections and construct new conceptual frameworks. They analyze how they arrived at their current understanding.

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The Learning Cycle and Session 3Invitation: The initial questions posed at the beginning of the lessonExploration: The station activities and discussionConcept Invention: The introduction to the learning cycle modelApplication: The current and following activities. Further applications will occur in subsequent lessons in this course.

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Putting the Learning Cycle to use in the classroom• Can be a valuable tool for designing

lessons• Ineffectiveness of lessons is often due

to teaching concepts and vocabulary before exploration is allowed

• No application opportunity can lead to low retention

• Can help guide on-the-spot decisions while teaching

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Using the Learning Cycle as a flexible tool• Successful lessons don’t have to

include every stage of the cycle• May be cycles within cycles in one

lesson• Sometimes students will have

explored amply before class and will be prepared to begin at the concept introduction phase

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Detrimental focus on only one phase of the cycle

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Model of a Learning Cycle-based Lesson

Sand on Stage

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Model of a Learning Cycle-based Lesson

What are the advantages of presenting the lesson in a Learning Cycle way?

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Model of a Learning Cycle-based Lesson

Science is often presented in a non-Learning Cycle-based way

The Learning Cycle should be viewed as a cycle--be flexible!

“The outcome of any serious research can only be to make two questions grow where only one grew before.”

--Thorstein Veblen Economist

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Homework