Understanding Teacher’s Principle-based Practice in Sustaining Knowledge Building Practice in a Science Classroom
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This document outlines a teacher's experience implementing a Knowledge Building approach in a science classroom with academically low-achieving students. The teacher adopted several strategies including classroom discussions, lab experiments, Knowledge Forum journaling, customized scaffolds, challenging current understanding, and embedded assessments. These strategies helped engage students in developing their own ideas and questions. The teacher was surprised by the students' critical and global thinking. Developing lessons focused on students' ideas and providing opportunities for collaboration were keys to cultivating a dynamic learning environment centered around knowledge advancement.
Understanding Teacher’s Principle-based Practice in Sustaining Knowledge Building Practice in a Science Classroom
- 1. Understanding Teacher’s Principle-based Practice in Sustaining Knowledge Building Practice in a Science Classroom A teacher’s KB Journey Graphic Source: http://www.Kbsingapore.org
- 2. Culture of Learning Designers Student’s Thinking, their ideas & questions Centred on (not teacher’s judgment) Interpretation of KB Principles Translated to Daily Practice
- 3. Aim To achieve practical value to sound theories via principle based approach Target Academically low achievers (Normal Technical Stream) in Science classroom
- 4. Role of the Teacher Support Creative work Continual improvement of ideas • Kinds of interactions • Rationalise teaching in relation to principles • Adapt strategies accordingly • Provide sufficient guidance • Give opportunities to students to attempt problems they are interested in to explore & Work through problems to derive good explanations
- 5. With respect to Science Common perception! • Low ability students cannot navigate such an environment due to little cognitive foundation • May be due to teacher’s belief, practices and competencies Aim to challenge this idea and find a way to engage!
- 6. Strategies Adopted to Designing Knowledge Building Environment Priority is to develop Thinking about Science 1. Classroom Discussions 2. Lab Experiments 3. Knowledge Forum and Journaling 4. Customized Scaffolds 5. Challenge Current Understanding 6. Embedded Assessment 7. Rising Above
- 7. 1: Classroom discussions • Basic knowledge on the topic of “Food” • Capture responses on the whiteboard • Brainstorming sessions, raising questions: How is food important? How food is made?
- 8. 1: Classroom discussions Real ideas and authentic problems • Do not dictate content • Allow student ideas to take precedence R: Pleasantly surprised that students can recall facts from textbook or previous knowledge
- 9. 2: Lab Experiment • More info needed to shape and develop ideas • Series of experiments on food testing Students connected starch to previous discussion of “Plants are largest producers” • Interested in growing plants as source of food
- 10. 2: Lab Experiment • Students verbalised their ideas and teacher captured on whiteboard Students discussed environment when acidity of soil was introduced by member • Teacher actively model note-taking and active listening via journals R: N(T) students ask questions even Express students do not. Major turning point to continue designing lessons the KB way.
- 11. 3: Knowledge Forum and Journaling • Pose questions online instead of just voicing out • Transition is seamless as students are eager to extend discussions. Ideas quickly come forth R: KB teaching is not one- size-fits-all. Different teachers with different styles, different classes with different challenges/needs
- 12. 3: Knowledge Forum and Journaling • Decide to move away from textbooks and focus on expressing understanding through journals and customised notes. • Complement ideas in KF To motivate using journals, notes are eventually not given so that students can focus on discussions. Textbook sufficient for whose who need background reading.
- 13. 4: Customized scaffolds To sustain idea improvement • Qns posed not good enough as students didn’t understand scaffolds • Unpack original KB scaffolds into active phrases • S.W.A.G is more accessible R: Seems to work at first, but found questions were too similar, lack diversity of ideas Graphic Source: @GAngelsschool
- 14. 4: Customized scaffolds More time to shape ideas • Jot down ideas in journals • Read notes on KF • Post different or improved Focus now is writing meaningful titles for notes; ie to think about the ideas before posting
- 15. 5: Challenge Current Understanding Engaging student notes for discussion • Posts and build-ons isolated to bring up multiple ideas Eg: “Mass food production” and “How cities are made” • Students also brought in relevant info on agriculture learned from watching National Geographic
- 16. Seizing the opportunity to start new discussions Eg: Posts titled “How do plants grow faster” and “How to improve food production” Discuss “Fertilizers” • Different perspectives shared (eg on health) • Show videos as resources to read and deepen understanding Use apps Pocket/ Verso to store 5: Challenge Current Understanding
- 17. R: Feels a deeper understanding is needed. Relate interest in “slash and burn” method to current haze situation in Indonesia - Singapore • Students research online on “Fertilizer and Slash/Burn” and “Improving food production” Post in new KF view “Soil Fertility” 5: Challenge Current Understanding
- 18. 6: Embedded Assessment Scenario based questions (groupwork)
- 20. 6: Embedded Assessment Accurately use key terms, pull out info and connect ideas based on KF and classroom discussions R: Students display critical and global thinking. Rare, considering past performances May be naïve, but surprised at reasoning not seen before.
- 21. 7: Rise Above Collective whole-class learning • Print out all student notes and cut out slips • Each student reviews one/two notes • Overarching theme (“Yield”) in the middle on wall • Go up and paste notes in the correct branches Teacher can lead discussion, to connect & synthesise ideas
- 22. Conclusion When designing KB lessons: 1: Principled way of designing trigger activities (relevant experiments and journals) 2: Opportunities for contributions (views and scaffold) 3: Space for collaboration (classroom discussions)
- 23. Conclusion Dynamics learning environment, highly dependant on student – teacher interactions Provide time and space to inquire and explore ideas on KF + advancing their knowledge Critical task: Develop lessons focusing on students’ ideas and questions as ways to encourage inquiry and collaborations
- 24. How do I develop myself as a KB teacher? • Be open to surprises, and be on your toes. • Allow students to go beyond the scope of syllabus (within reason). Best if the points brought up relate to topics learnt beforehand or in the future. • Learn from them and don’t be shy not to know (despite their expectations of you!) • EMBRACE any KB moments you encounter!
- 25. Thanks for listening! Search and use the hashtag #kbSG or #kbNLC on Twitter Hisham Haslir @shamsensei