Re: [Phys-l] Effective Teaching

["Julie Quah" <juliequah@gmail.com>]

my personal experiences on teaching kids by tapping into their prior
knowledge usually work out well. Prior knowledge acts as a lens
through which we view and absorb new knowledge. As new knowledge can
be overwhelming, students always find it less threatening to learn new
things in this manner, because such strategy is helpful for learners
to transit from the unfamiliar into something  brand new. I have some
worksheets on such learning strategy. Do contact me offlist if you are
interested.

On Feb 11, 2008 5:48 AM, Doug Vixie <dv_rt3mf@charter.net> wrote:
> On February 9, 2008, Ludwik Kowalski wrote:
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> The most important component of effective teaching is very difficult to implement. It has to do with building new knowledge on what is already known and understood. In a typical class each students has a different background; often dramatically different from is assumed. A teacher is expected to do "the best s/he can" under the imposed unfavorable conditions.
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> These are excellent points.  They were brought to my attention several years ago by a 9th grade physical science student.  The student was very ADD and very teenager (eager to experience life).  He was disruptive but not malicious nor belligerent.  He was not doing well in physical science.  Periodically he would refer to a previous middle-school science teacher and what a good teacher he was.  One day the student complained about his grades in my class and said he would do better if we did labs first.  He said his previous teacher usually did labs first followed by diagrams, vocabulary, problems, etc.  I typically did it the other way--diagrams, vocabulary, and so on first, then labs to support what the students had learned.  (That's how I was taught.)
>
> I began putting labs first.  We often start now with an inquiry lab.  In fact, in Physical Science I do very few, "cookbook labs."  For example, with density, I pose the question, "How is the mass of a rock related to its volume ('size')?"  Students collect data, record it in their journals, construct a graph, and the discussion takes off. This new knowledge is built on the knowledge of measurements and using scales and other equipment.  I haven't compared grades before and after this change but I'm sure they're improved.  There must be some research out there on that.  I think it is helping the students to learn more effectively, and I feel that this method has made class management a lot easier, perhaps by reducing the amount of structure imposed on the students.
>
> _______________________________________________
> Forum for Physics Educators
> Phys-l@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu
> https://carnot.physics.buffalo.edu/mailman/listinfo/phys-l