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Finding the best method for science instruction

Michael D. Van Kerkhove

Bowling Green State University

Author Note

Michael D. Van Kerkhove is a Masters student in the Classroom Technology program at Bowling Green

State University. He is completing this paper as part of his Masters-Level Research course.

Correspondence concerning this proposal should be addressed to Michael D. Van Kerkhove, Classroom

Technology, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH 43430. Contact: mdvanke@bgsu.edu
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Introduction to the problem

Rationale

In 2012, a shocking 69 percent of American high-school graduates failed to meet college-readiness

benchmarks in science. And in a paper about math and science achievement, the U.S. ranked last out of the

eight countries studied (including England, South Korea, and Hungary) (Snook). Something needs to change in

the way we teach science in the United States. In education there are many different methods to teach students

such as: Lecture, discussion, demonstration, use of multimedia, and cooperative learning. Some teachers and

professors that teach future teachres stress different methods more than others. This is causing a wide variety of

approaches and a lack of consistency expecially when it come to the teaching of science. Science is a topic that

has many concepts and sometimes is more difficult than other subjects to comprehend. In science another

famous method to teach is the 5E teaching method. The 5 E's is an instructional model based on the

constructivist approach to learning, which says that learners build or construct new ideas on top of their old

ideas The 5 E's. (Obrian, T. 2013). (.Engage, Explore, Explain, Expand, Evaluate are the Es that many science

teachers use when teaching units. This is also an area to explore because teachers still use many methods to

achieve the 5Es in their lesson plans. Technology is also an important piece that allows science students to do

virtual labs with things they couldnt before like manipulate atoms when they are exploring the charges of

particles, or can be used to enhance lessons to make students engaged with a smart board or sensor probes that

can help show relationships with science concepts. To help with this problem, this research is comparing

multiple teaching strategies to see which one is most effective in teaching science. This will allow teachers at

all levels to become aware of what method they should be using in their class room to teach science.
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Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study is to find the best instructional method teachers can use for students to

learn science. Students learn differnet subjects in different ways. The science classroom makes studnets learn

concepts that sometimes could be considered difficult because science is a subject that makes the students think

in a dfifferent way and makes students apply knowledge to other concepts. Science instruction also is a subject

that needs great instruction for the students to understand and comprehend the concepts. The purpose of this

study is to practice 3 methods of science teaching to 3 classes with generally the same mix of students. This

study will look at direct instruction withnotes and work sheets with a more teacher based approach, inquiry labs

where students do more labs than anything, and a class that does direct instruction, inquiry based labs, and

incorperates technology into the lessons. Research will be done to see which of these teaching strategies is the

best by comparing pre test to post test results in a unit of biology.

Research Question and Alternative Hypothesis

The research question this research will address is: What instructional strategy (Inquiry based, videos,

direct) best facilitates positive impact on student learning of biology concepts in Mr. Vs biology class at Elyria

High School? The independent variables are the instructional method used. This is a categorical variable. The

dependent variable is the assessment at the end of the unit which would be a continuous variable. My

hypothesis is A mix of all 3 major instructional strategies will help students in Mr. Vs biology class, at Elyria

High School, facilitates the most positive impact on students learning biology concepts.

The definition of inquiry based is seeking knowledge, information, or truth through questioning

Retrieved from http://www.teach-nology.com/currenttrends/inquiry/. The definition of videos is a movie,

television show, event, etc., that has been recorded onto a videocassette, DVD, etc., so that it can be watched on

a television or computer screen retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/video. The

definition of direct instruction is the use of straightforward, explicit teaching techniques, usually to teach a
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specific skill. Retrieved from http://study.com/academy/lesson/direct-instruction-teaching-method-definition-

examples-strategies.html. The definition of biology concepts is in an experiment, you identify biological

concepts by relating the results, background information, what's happening during the experiment itself etc. to

the concepts you have learned in biology retrieved from http://community.boredofstudies.org/158/search-better-

health/226060/what-definition-biological-concept.html.

Literature Review

Introduction

Science instruction is very important to our students and the teachers need to be using the best

method to help our students think critically and learn these concepts that can be difficult sometimes. There are

many science instructional concepts. The old ways of teching science like looking up words in a glossary just

do not work any more. Some teachers are now using techniques such as peer learning, role-playing, and

incorporating current events in science lesson plans. These techniques help engage students and help them

understand the importance of science. They also make it fun to teach scientific concepts and help students

understand common topics in the scientific world. (Stanford, G. (n.d.)

Today there is a huge job market growing in the STEM fields yet not many students take advantage of

STEM classes in schools. We also know that only 16 percent of American high school seniors are proficient in

math and interested in a STEM career. (U.S. Department of Education) This needs to be emphasized and

students need to be engaged and taught well so more students will want to go into this field.

The use of big data, instruction through mobile devices, online learning (including MOOCs), and virtual and

remote laboratories that emulate real ones are the technologies that will have the greatest impact on "STEM+" education

over the next year. (Schaffhauser, D. 2013) Using technology in science as well can help students grasp

concepts easier but also help keep students engaged and wanting to explore in the sciences.
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Science Instruction strategies

There are many strategies to teach science. The two main strategies to teach science are inquiry based

learning as well as using the 5 E learning model. Inquiry may be referred to as a technique that encourages

students to discover or construct information by themselves instead of having teachers directly reveal the

information (Uno, 1999). Most science teachers in the past have though of memorization and direct

instruction to teach science concepts and move on. This is not the case. Students need to engage and explore

and ask questions and not just be given the answers right away all the time. To make a lesson that follows the

5E allows the students to engage and explore first so when the concepts are finally explained there is

experiences to build from. Bybee (1997) wrote, Using this approach, students redefine, reorganize, elaborate,

and change their initial concepts through self-reflection and interaction with their peers and their environment.

Learners interpret objects and phenomena, and internalize those interpretations in terms of their current

conceptual understanding" (p. 176).

Current STEM Outcomes for US students

In the 21st century, scientific and technological innovations have become increasingly

important as we face the benefits and challenges of both globalization and a knowledge-based economy. To

succeed in this new information-based and highly technological society, students need to develop their

capabilities in STEM to levels much beyond what was considered acceptable in the past. (National Science

Foundation) Other countries are putting effort and real emphases on STEM in schools and acknowledge the

importance not just for our students but also for the future. Many jobs in the future will be dealing with some

sort of STEM field and will create many jobs for Americans.
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Using Technology in STEM Instruction

Using technology helps students learn concepts and can benefit students in learning difficult

material. Simple technology such as videos can be a great tool to help teach science. A research study

by Rockman et al. (1996) for example found that students that watched Bill Nye were able to recall and

understand science concepts better that the studnets that did not and just had instruction in class. Videos

could be used to help with many concepts and to review concepts in a different way than the teacher is

to help give multiple angles to the material.

Summary

National Research Council (2000) published a classroom in which students use scientific

inquiry to learn is one that resembles those that research has found as being the most effective for

learning for understanding (p. 124). Science needs to be engaging where students can explore,

questions can be explained, students can expand their knowledge and as a class they can evaluate their

understanding of science and the teacher can determine where they can move onto next. Science

teaching reform is upon us and it is up to the next generation of science teachers to make sure the best

methods of teaching science are moved to help with the future generations.

Methodology

Design

The design for this study is a practical action research because the researcher wants to examine if

students learn science concepts better with inquiry based labs, movies, direct instruction, or a mix to help

improve the teaching methods of science teachers. . I used a Weak Experimental Pre-Post Design to collect data

during the teaching of a lesson where 3 classes each received a different type of instruction to see which class

did the best on the post compared to the pretest.

Participants
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The participants are sophomores at Elyria High school who are in Mr. Vs Biology class. This urban

district has 71% of its students in poverty. It is a diverse group with 54% Caucasian, 21% African American,

15% multiracial, 10% Hispanic.

The sample is a Non-random purposive sample with the sample being the students that are in Mr. Vs

biology. There are 106 students at the age of 15-16 years old. 41 are girls 65 are boys. 36% are African

American, 1% Hispanic, 63% Caucasian.

Instrumentation

To measure the independent variable the lesson plan will be reviewed by a co-teacher to identify which

method of teaching is being used. To measure the dependant variable a pretest and post test will be given to the

students before and after the lesson to assess the amount learned during the unit which will let us get a better

clue which method of instruction is the best for the teaching of science. The pretest and post test will be the

same assesment which will have 20 multiple choice questions and 5 fill in the blank questions that all pertain to

the unit that is given at the time of the research.

Procedures

The Participants are 10th graders in Mr. Vs biology class. Students will not know other classes are

being taught differently and there will be no danger to the students that the students need to know about the

research. The instructor will look at the difference of a pre and post test results from a unit comparing 3 classes.

Date collection will take place in Mr. Vs biology room 230 at Elyria High School. The data will be collected

During the unit and an observer will sit in and take notes to make sure all classes received the same instruction.

One class will learn from watching videos and labs, one from direct instruction, and one from a mix of labs,

direct instruction, and videos. At the end of the lesson the students will be assesed and the reults will be

compared to the pre test to see which class understood the biology concepts the best.

Results
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The graph below shows the results of the 3 classes pre test and post test scores of the cells unit. Class 1

received only direct instruction with notes and practice worksheets. Class 2 Only watched videos about cells

and completing hands on labs. Class 3 hada mix of direct instruction, labs, and videos. I found that the class

that received multiple types of instruction through the unit scored the best from the pre to the post test.

Class pre test and post test averages

100

80

60 Pre assesment 1
post assesment
Class score 40

20

0
1 2 3

Class averages

Limitations

In this research there are implementation threats, and testing. Students previous knowledge might

hinder the finding of the research. The instructor might teach or guide students to what is on the posttest during

instruction which would hinder the results of the videos. Not enough samples might be an issue and this

research might need to be repeated with other teachers participating.

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References

Bybee, R. (1997). Achieving scientific literacy: From purposes to practices. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann

Publications.

National Research Council. (2000). Inquiry and the national science education standards: A guide for teaching

and learning. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

National Science Foundation. (1998). Science and you: Working together. New York, NY: Penguin Books.

Rockman et al. (1996). Evaluation of Bill Nye the Science Guy television series and

outreach: Executive summary. San Francisco, CA: Author.

Science, Technology, Engineering and Math: Education for Global Leadership. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.ed.gov/stem

Schaffhauser, D. (2013, October 21). 12 Technologies To Dominate STEM Education. Retrieved from

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2013/10/21/12-technologies-to-dominate-stem-education.aspx

Snook, R. (2015, September 5). The way the U.S. teaches science doesnt work.

Stanford, G. (n.d.). Teaching techniques for science teachers. Retrieved from http://www.edu-

nova.com/teaching-techniques-for-science-teachers.htm

The 5 E's. (n.d.). Retrieved October 12, 2016, from http://enhancinged.wgbh.org/research/eeeee.html

Uno, G. (1999). Handbook on teaching undergraduate science courses: A survival training manual.

Independence, KY: Thomson Custom Publishing.

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