Implementing a Context-Based Environmental Science Unit in the Middle Years: Teaching and Learning at the Creek

Autor/inn/en	King, Donna; Ginns, Ian
Titel	Implementing a Context-Based Environmental Science Unit in the Middle Years: Teaching and Learning at the Creek
Quelle	In: Teaching Science, 61 (2015) 3, S.26-36 (11 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1449-6313
Schlagwörter	Middle School Students; Learner Engagement; Ethnography; Grade 9; Science Instruction; Natural Resources; Secondary School Science; Environmental Education; Interviews; Student Journals; Documentation; Teaching Methods; Questioning Techniques; Photography; Foreign Countries; Outdoor Education; Scientific Concepts; Australia + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Middle school; Middle schools; Student; Students; Mittelschule; Mittelstufenschule; Schüler; Schülerin; Ethnografie; School year 09; 9. Schuljahr; Schuljahr 09; Teaching of science; Science education; Natural sciences Lessons; Naturwissenschaftlicher Unterricht; Natural Ressource; Natürliche Ressource; Umweltbildung; Umwelterziehung; Umweltpädagogik; Interviewing; Interviewtechnik; Studentenzeitung; Dokumentation; Teaching method; Lehrmethode; Unterrichtsmethode; Befragungstechnik; Fragetechnik; Fotografie; Ausland; Freiluftunterricht; Australien
Abstract	Engaging middle school students in science continues to be a challenge in Australian schools. One initiative that has been tried in the senior years but is a more recent development in the middle years is the context-based approach. In this ethnographic study, we researched the teaching and learning transactions that occurred in one ninth grade science class studying a context-based environmental science unit over 11 weeks that included visits to the local creek. Data were derived from field notes, audio and video recorded conversations, interviews, student journals and classroom documents with a particular focus on two selected groups of students. This paper presents two assertions that highlight pedagogical approaches that contributed to learning. Firstly, spontaneous teaching episodes created opportunities for in-the-moment questioning by the teacher that led to students' awareness of environmental issues and the scientific method; secondly, group work using Flip cameras afforded opportunities for students to connect the science concepts with the context. Furthermore, students reported positively about the unit and expressed their appreciation for the opportunity to visit the creek frequently. The findings from this study should encourage teachers to take students into the field for valuable teaching and learning experiences that are not available in the formal classroom. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Australian Science Teachers Association. P.O. Box 334, Deakin West, ACT 2600, Australia. Tel: +61-02-6282-9377; Fax: +61-02-6282-9477; e-mail: publications@asta.edu.au; Web site: http://www.asta.edu.au/resources/teachingscience
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01