Making science lessons lively has always been a major challenge for teachers, all the more because there is no such ‘science’ for the teaching of science. Much depends on the teacher’s creativity and ideas to make the subject both intelligible and interesting to the learners.
It is of course true that with the introduction of digital learning in most schools, science classes have become more interesting compared to those in the days of talk and chalk. It facilitates modern ways of making science more engaging. However, the challenge still remains to make the learners understand science in the context of real life and not just as mere topics for passing examinations. Behavioral aspect of learning is still better when the educator becomes hands on in teaching science both as a subject and as a discipline.
In an article published by the Times of India City, contributed by the Science Department of Holy Child High School in Guwahati, the Five E’s of making science more interesting was identified:
Engage:This implies the necessity of getting the learners excited about and interested in the lesson and learning that will follow. This generally begins with a demonstration, a quick activity, or maybe even a discussion centered on what the students already know about the topic. The idea is to arouse the student’s curiosity in the topic. The engagement activity can also help the teacher learn what the students already know about a topic and even reveal some misconceptions. Care is taken not to isolate the topic from real life use or importance.
Explore: Once students are seriously engaged in the topic, there follows an “explore” activity. This is intended to allow the students to experience some of the concepts involved in the lesson. Students are encouraged to work together to investigate and question the concepts. In certain cases, field trips may also be arranged for real-life assessment of the topic.
Explain:At this stage, the teacher provides more information for the students so that they can begin to explain the concepts in more depth and in their own words. Cognitive skills of the students is a primary concern in this strategy.
Elaborate: In the ‘elaborate’ stage, students apply their knowledge to new situations. Students might undertake further lab investigations or solve similar related problems. During this stage, students are refining and deepening their understanding of the concepts by seeing new applications and perhaps even exceptions.
Evaluate: In the “evaluate” stage, the teacher assesses the learning that has occurred. Although teachers tend to think of traditional tests, evaluation may involve lab reports, presentations, or discussions where the teacher is looking for the students’ ability to apply new concepts and skills. It is valuable to have students evaluate their own knowledge by assessing how well they can apply their learning to related situations.
No matter what strategy educators may apply or use in the course of finding what really interests the student in studying science and technology depends on the passion that the educators put into whenever they teach or even plan for the topics to be discussed and presented. The challenge remains to continuously identify strategies and techniques to engage the students more and eventually bringing out the fullest potentials in them.
By: MELVA D. BORJA | TEACHER II| | LIMAY NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL | LIMAY, BATAAN
