[Physltest] [Phys-L] Re: "Effective" teaching methods

[Joseph Bellina <jbellina@SAINTMARYS.EDU>]

I have to disagree with so of this.  I think the biggest problem for
elementary teachers is that don't know what science is, so they cannot
enter into the process.  They are mentally locked up by their mental
model of science.
Let me distinguish three kinds of science.  Private science is what we
do when we go to learn something.  It is guided inquiry because we have
the guidance of work by our colleagues and mentors...we certainly don't
do it in isolation.  Then there is public science, that's what we
publish...its streamlined and puts our best foot forward, honestly one
hopes.  But it bares little relation to how we learned something, and
focusses more on what we learned.  That way we corner speakers in the
hall or over a beer to find out what really happened when they did the
work.  Finally there is school science.  The traditional form is a dry
deductive summary of public science.  No one ever learned that way but
we expect our young students to.  Our older students, like grad students
we mentor and guide, but the younger ones we tell.  Since the learning
process is different that what is done in the text, you can see what can
happen.  A small number of students get it and the rest get out.
In the reformed curriculum the guided process by which we learn is
mimiced in the classroom with the teacher guiding by asking good leading
questions rather than telling.  It is up close and personal.

cheers,

joe


On Wed, 17 Nov
2004, Frohne, Vickie wrote:

> Whenever I teach elementary education majors, I make a point of having them do activities and use materials of the sort that they will use in their classrooms as teachers. It is true that many elementary education majors, and indeed many elementary education *teachers* are far below the level of scientific and mathematical understanding that they are required (by virtue of state and national standards) to teach. It is impractical to think that the physics community will be able to "cure" this situation by teaching one-semester courses for pre-teachers, or working with in-service teachers for a couple of weeks every summer in small groups. While these efforts are useful, we just can't put enough usable information in the hands of enough people that way. Teachers need *daily* support with their "content." This is why having a good curriculum with excellent ancillary teacher resources is essential.
>
> Vickie Frohne
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Forum for Physics Educators [mailto:PHYS-L@list1.ucc.nau.edu]On
> Behalf Of Rick Tarara
> Sent: Wednesday, November 17, 2004 12:55 PM
> To: PHYS-L@LISTS.NAU.EDU
> Subject: Re: "Effective" teaching methods
>
>
> John,
>
> Have you taught elementary-ed majors recently?  Joe can better comment, but
> this is a strange _group_.  You will get a few highly dedicated students who
> can be some of the best you see.  However, you see more at the other end.
> Scarily, many are math-phobic!  [I suggest that even at the elementary level
> we need to split the curriculum into language arts and math/science with two
> different teachers.]
>
> The point here is that a good many of these elementary-ed students/teachers
> ARE NOT very far from their students in terms of science understanding.
> This then does suggest that what works on them may indeed work well for
> their students as well!  ;-)
>
> Hope I haven't offended any El-Ed types that might be on the list--of course
> you were the dedicated, best in class types (obviously so if you are reading
> this list).  ;-)
>
> Rick
>
> *********************************************************
> Richard W. Tarara

Joseph J. Bellina, Jr.               574-284-4662
Professor of Physics
Saint Mary's College
Notre Dame, IN 46556
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