Current Trends in Teaching Science

Current Trends in Teaching Science

Author: 

B.N. Roopa

Assistant Mistress

GUEHS, Goripalya, Bangalore South - 2.

Nature is the master.  It is the hidden treasure of many teaching or learning strategies. If you nurture your curiosity you will find ample examples for this.  Modern man, well equipped with various tools of science and technology, has been evolving many innovative strategies to nurture young minds. In the current scenario, I am trying to throw some light on the current trends in teaching science.

1. Audio Literacy: In present day scenario of classroom situation, we can play the sayings and quotes of great scientists and researchers, through which we can motivate our students  to achieve great things in their lives. Even teachers can interact through the audio media. Correct pronunciation of words can be learnt through this medium.

2. Visual Literacy: This has crept into our education system and has gained lot of impetus over years. Conceptualization of difficult concepts become easier. While teaching life sciences, students get the real picture of how cell division occurs, the changes happening in genetic material and so on, while teaching physical sciences, about working of a motor and its parts etc. Through creative visualization students can understand in a better manner, leading to long term memory.

  

3. Fun with Experiments: We cannot think teaching science without experiments. This involves cause and effect. When students are allowed to perform certain simple experiments at elementary level record the results and arrive to an inference, they attain more clarity, They engage, involve, collaborate, co-ordinate and have fun while experimenting . For example, checking acidity and basicity of given solutions using pH papers, they appreciate it and develop interest in the chapter. They appreciate the hardship experienced by scientists of yesteryears, while conducting experiments in a non-conducive environment.

4. S T E M : Our present education system is revolving around STEM education. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

This has become a reality in elementary level by setting up of ATAL TINKERING LABS. This lab caters to foster the creative thinking of learner and offers tinkering space to a student. This provides  hands on experience where they create the Robot, develop a software, can do 3D printing and do mechanical works.

Recently, this concept has changed from STEM TO STEAM where “A” stands for creative arts of learning science. One example is, organizing a science exhibition at school level to bring out Creative Thinking of the students.

  

5. Personalized Learning: This concept has revolutionized the education system. Recently, the Global Teacher Prize for 2020 was awarded to our own INDIAN Teacher Shri Ranjitsinh Disale for promoting girl education and also personalized learning.

We have heterogeneous groups of students with different levels of imbibing the concepts, understanding, and execution. If we format Easy, Average, and Difficult level of questions  through digital media students, it helps easy and learning in a better and competitive  environment, with a higher level of confidence. This is indeed a boon to all educators in general and science teachers in particular.

  

6. Building up of Teams: Team building is very important in teaching and learning science. Conducting QUIZ is one of the tool, through which we can build confidence  in the team, Putting effort as one in a group, confiding in each other and creating winning spree in the entire team is the need of the day.

 

Now an addition to this is creating GOOGLE FORMS quiz and sending it to the students has become a trend, especially in situations like the one created by Covid Pandemic in the year 2020.

7. Project-based Learning: Project in science gears up creative, innovative, integrated approach towards the subject. Projects provide a vision to the subject in depth. AS a part of assignments, we can give model making, write ups and  resource creation.  Since our students are far better digital literates,  they use different apps and tools to provide a better PowerPoint presentation of their projects.

 

8. Creative Space: In a classroom situation we can have a creative space for our students to showcase their talents. They can present their collage, write ups about  questions, draw  diagrams etc., We can create a visual treat in the classroom by showcasing the chart sand models prepared by them, plants grown in and around the class room,. These help in Inculcating the habit of methods of conserving resources like water, electricity in classroom situations.

 

9.Field Visits: This has been a traditional method, but highly effective. Practices like visiting milk dairy, science museums, labs, waste segregation plants, colleting different types of leaves and flowers, shells, stones, collecting water samples from different places and analyzing, etc., provide a real life experience.

10. Facilitating Learning by Doing:  As per a saying If we don’t skill INDIA we are going to kill INDIA . it is important to develop  different sets of skills is very important like making them do Origami, Kirigami models of different animals, ball, rockets etc., solve puzzles, solving jigsaw puzzles, rearranging jumbled words to make them into correct definitions, statements, laws, theories, making different models with bio-degradable stuff, making a prototype. They can put forth their creative ideas to solve the problem and achieve the solutions in their own methods.

 

Such practices inculcate critical thinking amongst the pupils.

Last but not least WE TEACHERS are FACILITATORS who can awaken a sense of learning skills, creativity, integrity, team work, critical thinking, collaboration, co-ordination amongst our students.