Effective Science Teaching Methods and Objectives
Objectives in the Teaching of Science
Selecting certain content, programming different activities, selecting different programs, and preparing materials and resources are all decisions that must be made regarding what and how to teach.
Models in Science Teaching
- Transmission and reception
- Discovery
- Constructivist (aims to improve learning from experimental sciences)
Methods in the Teaching of Natural Sciences
- Experimental method
- Historical rediscovery method
- Problem method
- Heuristic (or search) method
- Investigation or discovery method
- Interpretation method
- Project method
- Reference or recognition method
Method
A method is a systematic and orderly proceeding. It is a set of procedures and resources employed in a discipline.
Methods to Teach an Idea
- Induction (inductive method): Moves from particular facts and specific problems to generalization.
- Deduction (deductive method): Starts from general principles to derive new ideas.
The application of each method will be decided after considering the following factors in the classroom:
- Nature and quantity/quality of knowledge one wants to teach
- Age and intellectual development of students
- Level of knowledge they hold
- Objectives to be achieved
In elementary grades: Inductive method (to arrive at generalizations through experimentation and observation).
At appropriate levels of intellectual maturity: Deductive method.
Scientific Method
A more systematic process of science is proposed, where the teacher has structured the scientist’s conclusion for airing in the teaching-learning process to their students.
Historical Method
Also called the rediscovery method, it presents the facts of the past as something that students will rediscover. It is not applicable throughout an entire program. It is advisable to develop themes of scientific developments. It is applied based on currently known facts and is shifted backward or forward in time.
Heuristic Method
Students must make discoveries. One does not discover anything new, but rather the relationships that exist between scientific facts from experiments and research that the teacher proposes. It is important to achieve discovery learning. Due to the scientific and educational preparation required of the teacher, it does not apply to large programs because students must build knowledge step-by-step to establish relationships that allow them to invent and build.
Method of Discovery
This method uses basic research techniques related to heuristic search methods. It starts with the motivation of teachers and subsequent student collaboration to reach the concepts you want to teach.
Problem Method
Knowledge is acquired through situations presented in the form of problems or questions for students. It consists of posing problems to students through suggestive questions of a convergent or divergent nature. Working individually or in groups, students must solve or respond by investigating and discovering the causes that obey the phenomena or facts studied. The teacher has to assume the role of a guide and not a solver of the problem.
Project Method
This is a task of learning and research in which groups of students embark, or different students work individually. Individual or group work can be on the same project or separate projects. Do not order more than one project per group. Allow sufficient time for exposure, criticism, and reviews of projects.
What Kind of Projects Can Be Proposed?
- Library research work aimed at studying a topic in-depth in a scientific monograph
- Experimental work involving the application of the scientific method
- Work on instrumental techniques of field studies
Interpretation Method
This method involves using the information contained in books.
When Is the Interpretation Method Advisable?
It is advisable to develop skills that do not allow the use of experimental methods or direct observation. The teacher has to provide the student with material that allows them to index and sort information on numerous textbooks and develop the proposed topic.
Reference Method
This method can be used as a teaching method or as an evaluation method. It is completed with incomplete sentences or drawings with references. It applies previously acquired knowledge. The information is obtained as a result of a class developed or a search conducted beforehand in relevant texts.