Chapter 3: Contradictions and Confusions in Teacher Ed
August 27th, 2007Summary:
An accident happens at a busy intersection. Eyewitnesses are asked to report what they saw. Different accounts of the accident are collected, each focusing on a different detail. A mechanic notices the types of cars driven, a woman holding a baby tells of a child not seat-belted in, while another comments on the beautiful day and speaks of sun-glare. The authors of chapter three relate to the reader the importance of how the learner “constructs and represents their experiences, and how they come to assign meaning to those events.” (47) The authors continue to say that we as teachers need to provide meaningful, guided learning opportunities in which the student in some form reflects back to us the “big idea” or “essential understanding” that is the underlying point of the lesson. It is also our duty as teachers to anticipate social and cultural misconceptions of our students so that we can further foster their learning.
Conceptual Dilemma:
Colorful and exciting demonstrations are the fun of being a chemistry teacher, but as the reading challenges us to consider what kind of meaning are the students constructing from these demos? I can be assured that twenty-five sets of eyes will see the demo twenty-five different ways. I can also count on a few misconceptions of what is being displayed because “students continually construct meaning of classroom events based on their prior understanding and experiences.” (51)
As it stands many times I explain the materials involved in the demo, perform the demo and then ask what happened and why hoping for at least one answer that relates back to the main idea of the lesson. More often than not I end up the one explaining the finer points of the demo. In order to not repeat this mistake again this year I am going to try and have the students fill out a “demo log.” It will include a place for knowledge they currently possess on a topic, drawings and a detailed description of what they saw, and ideas how this demo might relate to what we are talking about. My goal is to have the students, both individually and amongst each other, to formulate their own ideas and thoughts about scientific content to demonstrations and practical situations. My goal is to “see science classroom phenomena from students’ perspectives in order to accommodate these perspectives in the instructional program.” (52)