Effective teaching means guiding students toward discovery
Print Edition
The idea of teachers as the holders of knowledge and students as the sponges that absorb it is an antiquated philosophy. The current shift in teacher-student roles reflects the understanding that children are natural explorers and should be encouraged to interact with the world around them. Students construct their knowledge through engagement, while teachers act as facilitators and refiners of the knowledge being built. A hands-on, student-centered approach is one of the principle tenets of the STEM philosophy — students explore, observe and create while teachers question, clarify and guide towards deeper levels of understanding.
In order for teachers to be effective in their approach to STEM, there must be enough time for students to engage in concepts and activities. Interactive activities require time to set up, time to explore, time to make mistakes and try again, and time for students to reach their “ah-ha” moments. Allowing appropriate time for these procedures demonstrates our priorities to students, teachers and parents. STEM needs time.
STEM also needs an adequate learning space, one that allows for students to get a little messy in their discovery. The image of a teacher standing in front of students seated in neat and tidy rows should not be what comes to mind when thinking of the STEM classroom. The STEM classroom is alive; it’s abuzz with activity and discussion.
Any STEM teacher will tell you that time and facility needs differ from experiment to experiment, design to design and trial to trial.
Recently, our third grade students at Concordia completed a unit on forces and interaction, where they explored Newton’s Laws of Motion in conjunction with magnets to learn about forces in the world around them. Students were given time to experiment with their magnets, learning how they react to create balanced and unbalanced forces. Desks were pushed to the sides to create room for experimenting. The teacher roamed from group to group asking questions about project design, results and what students were learning from their experiments. If a student expressed misconceptions, the teacher redirected them by posing questions that guided students to a correct understanding.
The culminating activity for this unit was for groups of students to use basic materials to design and construct operational Maglev models in one of the school’s new Maker Spaces. This allowed for more room to work, access to different supplies, and opportunities to collaborate in new ways. Students designed, tested, modified and tested again while under the guidance of teachers. Teachers recalled previous activities that taught concepts needed to complete the task. In the end, groups successfully constructed working Maglevs — each design original and reflective of the group’s understanding of forces and magnets. Student reflections revealed a deeper understanding of concepts than they could have learned from a textbook.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
