MODULE for

MC SCI 101
TEACHING SCIENCE IN THE ELEMENTARY GRADES
(BIOLOGY AND CHEMISTRY)

KRISTINE KAYE D. OCFEMIA

Community College of Manito
It-ba, Manito, Albay
Photo by Needpix.com

LESSON 4
Theories of Science:
Teaching Biology and
Chemistry
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 Science education is the teaching and learning of science to non-scientists, such as
school children, college students, or adults within the general public. The field of science
education includes work in science content, science process (the scientific method), some social
science, and some teaching pedagogy. The standards for science education provide
expectations for the development of understanding for students through the entire course of
their K-12 education and beyond. The traditional subjects included in the standards
are physical, life, earth, space, and human sciences.

In this module, we are going to learn about the history of Science Education (Where it
begins). We are also going to tackle the different Theories and Perspective in Science that is
related to Biology and Chemistry.

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to do the following:

 Identify the Theories of Science in relation to teaching Biology and Chemistry.
 Explain how Teaching of science Occurs.
 Enumerate the Theories and Perspectives in Science Education.
 Appreciate the importance of Theories of science in Teaching and Learning Process.
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 “A Great Teacher gives
their students Roots and
What is Theory? Wings”

In everyday use, the word "theory" often means an untested hunch, or a guess without
supporting evidence.

But for scientists, a theory has nearly the opposite meaning. A theory is a well-
substantiated explanation of an aspect of the natural world that can incorporate laws,
hypotheses and facts.

Educational theories are simultaneously positive and critical. They draw attention to
deficits which are to be made up or avoided in the future. This calls for a critical approach to
present and past education. The underlying objective is for the future to be better than the
past, and this would seem to be feasible if and inasmuch as education can be improved. 

Teaching of Science
Theories of Teaching Science:
a. Constructivism
b. Social Cognition
c. Learning Styles
d. Brain-based Learning Theory
e. Experiential Learning
f. Situated Learning
g. Reflective Learning
h. Discovery Learning
i. Cooperative Learning
Guiding Principle in Teaching Science:
a. Constructivist Principle
b. Discovery Principle
c. Brain-Based Principle
d. Collaborative Principle
e. Multiple Intelligence and Learning Styles

Background of Science Education

Where does it begin?

The first person credited with being employed as a science teacher in a British public
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school was William Sharp, who left the job at Rugby School in 1850 after establishing science to
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the curriculum. Sharp is said to have established a model for science to be taught throughout
the British public school system.
 The British Academy for the Advancement of Science (BAAS) published a report in
1867 calling for the teaching of "pure science" and training of the "scientific habit of mind."
The progressive education movement supported the ideology of mental training through the
sciences. BAAS emphasized separately pre-professional training in secondary science education.
In this way, future BAAS members could be prepared.
The initial development of science teaching was slowed by the lack of qualified teachers.
One key development was the founding of the first London School Board in 1870, which
discussed the school curriculum; another was the initiation of courses to supply the country
with trained science teachers. In both cases the influence of Thomas Henry Huxley. John
Tyndall was also influential in the teaching of physical science.
In the United States, science education was a scatter of subjects prior to its
standardization in the 1890s. The development of a science curriculum emerged gradually after
extended debate between two ideologies, citizen science and pre-professional training. As a
result of a conference of thirty leading secondary and college educators in Florida, the National
Education Association appointed a Committee of Ten in 1892, which had authority to organize
future meetings and appoint subject matter committees of the major subjects taught in
secondary schools. The committee was composed of ten educators and chaired by Charles Eliot
of Harvard University. The Committee of Ten appointed nine conferences
committees: Latin; Greek; English; Other Modern Languages; Mathematics; History; Civil
Government and Political Economy; physics, astronomy, and chemistry; natural history; and
geography. Each committee was composed of ten leading specialists from colleges, normal
schools, and secondary schools. Committee reports were submitted to the Committee of Ten,
which met for four days in New York City, to create a comprehensive report. In 1894, the NEA
published the results of work of these conference committees.
According to the Committee of Ten, the goal of high school was to prepare all students
to do well in life, contributing to their well-being and the good of society. Another goal was to
prepare some students to succeed in college.
This committee supported the citizen science approach focused on mental training and
withheld performance in science studies from consideration for college entrance. The BAAS
encouraged their longer standing model in the UK. The US adopted a curriculum was
characterized as follows:

 Elementary science should focus on simple natural phenomena (nature study) by means
of experiments carried out "in-the-field."
 Secondary science should focus on laboratory work and the committee's prepared lists
of specific experiments
 Teaching of facts and principles
 College preparation
The format of shared mental training and pre-professional training consistently dominated the
curriculum from its inception to now. However, the movement to incorporate
a humanistic approach, such as inclusion of the arts (S.T.E.A.M.), science, technology, society
and environment education is growing and being implemented more broadly in the late 20th
century.
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Theories and Perspective in Science

Active Learning: Learn by Doing

Active learning is a set of strategies that posits the responsibility for learning with the
student.  Discovery learning, problem-based learning, experiential learning, and inquiry-based
instruction are examples of active learning. Discussion, debate, student questioning, think-pair-
share, quick-writes, polling, role playing, cooperative learning, group projects, and student
presentations are a few of the many activities that are learner driven. It should be noted,
however, that even lecture can be an active learning event if students processes and filter
information as it is provided.  Cornell notes and diagramming are a couple of activities that can
make lectures active learning events.

Teaching to multiple learning modalities

We can learn through any of our five senses, but the three most valuable are vision,
hearing, and touch. Theorists and practitioners claim that learners have a preference for one
learning style over another.  Visual learners learn best by watching, while auditory learners
learn best by verbal instruction, and kinesthetic learners learn best by manipulation.  Because
of the demands of the profession, teachers often resort to the instructional style that requires
the least time and preparation, namely lecture and discussion.  Although these may be valuable
approaches to teaching and learning, they fail to take advantage of other learning modalities,
and disenfranchise students whose primary modality is visual or kinesthetic.  Throughout this
book we emphasize the use of all three modalities in teaching and learning.

Teaching to multiple intelligences

Intelligence is a property of the mind that includes many related abilities such as the
capacities to reason, plan, solve problems, comprehend language and ideas, learn new
concepts, and think abstractly. Historically, psychometricians have measured intelligence with a
single score (intelligence quotient, IQ) on a standardized test, finding that such scores are
predictive of later intellectual achievement.  Howard Gardner and others assert that there are
multiple intelligences, and that no single score can accurately reflect a person’s intelligence. 
More importantly, the theory of multiple intelligences implies that people learn better through
certain modalities than others, and that the science teacher should design curriculum to
address as many modalities as possible.  Gardner identifies seven intelligences, which are listed
below.  The numbers in parentheses indicate sections in this book that address each
intelligence.

 Logical /Mathematical Intelligence is used when thinking, computing, looking for patterns, and
classifying

 Linguistic/Language Intelligence is used when learning by listening, verbalizing, reading,

translating, and discussing .
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 Naturalist Intelligence is used to question, observe, investigate, and experiment.

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  Visual / Spatial Intelligence is used when learning with models, photographs, videos, diagrams,
maps and charts.
 Bodily kinesthetic intelligence is used to process knowledge through bodily sensations,
movements, physical activity (labs in companion volumes, Hands-on Chemistry and Hands-on
Physics), and manipulation.
 Interpersonal Intelligence is used when learning through cooperative learning experiences,
group games, group lab work, and dialog.
 Intrapersonal Intelligence is used when learning through self-dialog, studying and self-
assessment.
 Musical Intelligence is used when learning through rhythm, melody, and non-verbal sounds in
the environment.

Metacognition:

Teaching students to think about their thinking

John Flavel argues that learning is maximized when students learn to think about their thinking
and consciously employ strategies to maximize their reasoning and problem solving capabilities.
A metacognitive thinker knows when and how he learns best, and employs strategies to
overcome barriers to learning.  As students learn to regulate and monitor their thought
processes and understanding, they learn to adapt to new learning challenges. Expert problem
solvers first seek to develop an understanding of problems by thinking in terms of core
concepts and major principles. By contrast, novice problem solvers have not learned this
metacognitive strategy, and are more likely to approach problems simply by trying to find the
right formulas into which they can insert the right numbers. A major goal of education is to
prepare students to be flexible for new problems and settings. The ability to transfer concepts
from school to the work or home environment is a hallmark of a metacognitive thinker.

Developing higher order reasoning

Perhaps the most widely used classification of human thought is Bloom’s Taxonomy.
Benjamin Bloom and his team or researchers wrote extensively on the subject, particularly on
the six basic levels of cognitive outcomes they identified – knowledge, comprehension,
application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.  Bloom’s taxonomy is hierarchical, with
knowledge, comprehension and application as fundamental levels, and analysis, synthesis and
evaluation as advanced . When educators refer to “higher level reasoning,” they are generally
referring to analysis, synthesis and/or evaluation.  One of the major themes of this book is to
develop higher order thinking skills through the teaching of science.

Constructivism:

Helping students build their understanding of science

Constructivism is a major learning theory, and is particularly applicable to the teaching and
learning of science. Piaget suggested that through accommodation and assimilation, individuals
construct new knowledge from their experiences.  Constructivism views learning as a process in
which students actively construct or build new ideas and concepts based upon prior knowledge
and new information.   The constructivist teacher is a facilitator who encourages students to
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discover principles and construct knowledge within a given framework or structure. 

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Throughout this book we emphasize the importance of helping students connect with prior
knowledge and experiences as new information is presented, so they can dispense with their
misconceptions and build a correct understanding.  Seymour Papert, a student of Piaget,
asserted that learning occurs particularly well when people are engaged in constructing a
product.  Papert’s approach, known as constructionism, is facilitated by model building,
robotics, video editing, and similar construction projects. 

Pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) in science

An expert scientist is not necessarily an effective teacher.  An expert science teacher,

however, knows the difficulties students face and the misconceptions they develop, and knows
how to tap prior knowledge while presenting new ideas so students can build new, correct
understandings.  Schulman refers to such expertise as pedagogical content knowledge (PCK),
and says that excellent teachers have both expert content knowledge, and expert PCK.  In How
People Learn, Bransford, Brown and Cocking state: “Expert teachers have a firm understanding
of their respective disciplines, knowledge of the conceptual barriers that students face in
learning about the discipline, and knowledge of effective strategies for working with students.
Teachers' knowledge of their disciplines provides a cognitive roadmap to guide their
assignments to students, to gauge student progress, and to support the questions students
ask.”  Expert teachers are aware of common misconceptions and help students resolve them.
This book is dedicated to improving science teacher pedagogical content knowledge.

https://study.com/academy/answer/what-is-the-definition-of-teaching-profession.html

https://www.slideshare.net/jericlazo716/teaching-of-science-57974966

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_education

Bonwell, C. & Eison, J. (1991). Active Learning: Creating Excitement in the Classroom AEHE-ERIC
Higher Education Report No.1. Washington, D.C.: Jossey-Bass.

Bruner, J. S. (1961). The act of discovery. Harvard Educational Review 31(1): 21–32. 

Gardner, H. (1993). Frames of Mind: The theory of multiple intelligences. New York: Basic
Books.

Herr, N. and Cunningham, J. (1999). Hands-On Chemistry Activities with Real-Life Applications.
San Francisco: Jossey Bass (John Wiley).
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