Communicating Ocean Communicating Ocean Sciences to Informal Sciences to Informal Audiences (COSIA)Audiences (COSIA)

Session 3Session 3Teaching Teaching & Learning& Learning

Quick writeQuick write

Before the reading what were your Before the reading what were your personal ideas about how people learn?personal ideas about how people learn?

What were your reactions to the different What were your reactions to the different theories of learning presented in the theories of learning presented in the reading? Please give one specific example reading? Please give one specific example from the reading.from the reading.

Think about your own Think about your own learning learning experiences…experiences… What are some teaching What are some teaching approaches or strategies approaches or strategies that you are familiar that you are familiar with?with?

In your own education, In your own education, what teaching approaches what teaching approaches do you remember responding do you remember responding best and worst to?best and worst to?

Ice cube station rotationsIce cube station rotations

4 stations4 stations Work in teamsWork in teams Follow the Follow the

instructionsinstructions Reflect on the Reflect on the

learning experiencelearning experience

Ice cube station comparisonsIce cube station comparisons

What was your What was your reaction to each reaction to each station? Strengths? station? Strengths? Weaknesses?Weaknesses?

What was your What was your favorite station? favorite station? Why?Why?

What are some What are some possible goals for possible goals for each of the different each of the different teaching approaches?teaching approaches?

Open-Ended ExplorationOpen-Ended Exploration

Introduce learners to a new subject area Generate questions Generate learner interest and foster positive

attitudes about science. Encourage learners to work together without direct

educator intervention Develop and identify concepts, processes and

skills, raise questions and problems. Provide a common base of experiences. Practice observation skills.

Structured ActivityStructured Activity

Introduce concepts, vocabulary, processes, skills, and investigation methods.

Guide learners toward specific discoveries.

Provide a common base of experiences. Provide successful activities with

predictable outcomes.

Problem-Solving Problem-Solving Challenge/ApplicationChallenge/Application

Model what scientists do. Provide a sense of accomplishment. Challenge learners’ conceptual

understanding and skills by applying them to new situations.

Develop deeper and broader understanding through real world applications.

Read and AnswerRead and Answer

Provide specific content information and vocabulary on a topic.

Extend the information from an activity into descriptions of related experiences that are impractical in a classroom setting.

Provide alternative explanations and make connections into other subject areas.

What about the sequence of What about the sequence of the stations?the stations?

Science ContentScience Content

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When faced with a new experience or When faced with a new experience or learning situation, how do people tend learning situation, how do people tend to approach and successfully to approach and successfully integrate it into useful knowledge?integrate it into useful knowledge?

How do people learn?How do people learn? Is there a specific sequence that Is there a specific sequence that

helps learning to occur?helps learning to occur?

The Learning CycleThe Learning Cycle

Invitation

Application

Exploration

Concept Invention

Reflection

The Learning CycleThe Learning Cycle

InvitationInvitation: Initiates the learning task. Should make connections between past and present learning experiences, generate anticipation of content to be explored, and begin to focus/organize learners’ thinking toward the learning outcomes of the upcoming activities.

Educator’s Goal: Create interest and generate curiosity. Raise questions and problems. Elicit responses that uncover learners’ current knowledge about the concept/topic.

The Learning CycleThe Learning Cycle

Invitation

Exploration

Exploration: Involves open-ended exploration of real phenomena, followed by discussion about learner discoveries, ideas, and questions that arise. Provides a common base of experiences for learners to develop current concepts, skills and processes.

Educator’s Goal: Encourage learners to work together without direct instruction from the educator. Observe and listen to learners as they interact. Ask probing questions to redirect learners’ investigations when necessary. Provide time for learners to puzzle through problems.

The Learning CycleThe Learning Cycle

Invitation

Exploration

Concept Invention

Concept Invention: After interest and attention is focused, concepts and/or methods to solve problems are introduced, which enable learners to construct new meanings. Learners may be encouraged to develop their own conceptual statements by reflecting on what they’ve learned through explorations

Educator’s Goal: Encourage learners to explain concepts and definitions in their own words. Ask for justification (evidence) and clarification from students. Provide formal definitions, explanations, and new vocabulary. Use learners’ previous experiences as the basis for explaining concepts.

The Learning CycleThe Learning Cycle

Invitation

Application

Exploration

Concept Invention

Application: Armed with new ideas, learners apply new knowledge and skills to solving a problem or meeting a challenge. They develop deeper and broader understanding of concepts, and further develop thinking skills.

Educator’s Goal: Provide opportunities for learners to use vocabulary, definitions, and explanations in a new context. Encourage learners to apply the concepts and skills in new situations or problems. Evaluate learner progress.

The Learning CycleThe Learning Cycle

Invitation

Application

Exploration

Concept Invention

Reflection

Reflection: Learners reflect on their learning and compare new ideas to alternative explanations. They make connections and construct new conceptual frameworks. They use meta-cognitive skills to analyze how they arrived at their current understanding.

Educator’s Goal: Encourage learners to confront their former ideas and evolve new ones, to solidify conceptual framework connections, and to help build meta-cognitive skills.

Connecting the structure of Connecting the structure of this session with the this session with the Learning Cycle modelLearning Cycle model

Invitation:

The initial questions posed at the beginning of this lesson.

Exploration:

The station activities and discussion. Concept Invention:

The introduction to the learning cycle model and content about currents.

Application:

The current and following activities. Further applications will occur in subsequent lessons in this course.

Using the Learning Cycle as a Using the Learning Cycle as a Flexible Flexible ToolTool

Successful lessons don’t Successful lessons don’t havehave to include to include every stage of the cycleevery stage of the cycle

May be cycles within cycles in 1 activityMay be cycles within cycles in 1 activity Sometimes learners will have explored Sometimes learners will have explored

amply before coming to the museum or amply before coming to the museum or to class and will be prepared to begin at to class and will be prepared to begin at the concept invention phasethe concept invention phase

Personalize the activity for the learnerPersonalize the activity for the learner

Drawbacks from Focusing on Drawbacks from Focusing on Only One Phase of the ModelOnly One Phase of the Model

Many educators focus on the area of the Many educators focus on the area of the learning cycle with which learning cycle with which theythey are most are most comfortablecomfortable

Focusing solely on one phase of the cycle Focusing solely on one phase of the cycle may mean neglecting or rushing other may mean neglecting or rushing other important phases of the cycleimportant phases of the cycle

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SandSand

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Some Engaging QuestionsSome Engaging Questions

How does a sandy How does a sandy beach become a beach become a rocky beach?rocky beach?

Can you tell if a Can you tell if a beach would be a beach would be a better surfing or better surfing or snorkeling beach just snorkeling beach just by looking at the size by looking at the size of the sand?of the sand?

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Some Concepts about Sand Some Concepts about Sand (Grades 2-3)(Grades 2-3)

Sand grains can be made of animals, Sand grains can be made of animals, plants, rocks, mineralsplants, rocks, minerals

Sand grains come in many different Sand grains come in many different shapes, sizes, colorsshapes, sizes, colors

Differences between sand grains can be Differences between sand grains can be clues about where they came from and clues about where they came from and how they got to the beachhow they got to the beach

The Learning Cycle as a The Learning Cycle as a Flexible ToolFlexible Tool

Invitation

Application

Exploration

Concept Invention

Reflection

Instead of a closed circle, it’s more fitting to see the learning cycle as an ongoing, ever-spiraling process that can move through a lesson, unit or course. Even as one question is investigated, many new questions arise.

What concept(s) are you What concept(s) are you interested in?interested in?

Choose your concept(s)Choose your concept(s) Pair up with your teaching partnerPair up with your teaching partner Develop one or two activities together that Develop one or two activities together that

you could teach in a classroom next week you could teach in a classroom next week using the Learning Cycleusing the Learning Cycle

HomeworkHomework

Read Sand ActivityRead Sand ActivityMap parts of the activity to the Map parts of the activity to the

stages of the Learning Cyclestages of the Learning CycleNote areas that you might Note areas that you might

change or improvechange or improve

How might your activity play How might your activity play out with real visitors?out with real visitors?

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How might you personalize How might you personalize your activity for a visitor?your activity for a visitor?

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