Learning for Use

• Using additional literature from the field of science education, what are several conceptual challenges students might have today with understanding Earth Science that LfU might support?

Nussbaum and Novak’s  (1976) research discovered the following misconceptions about earth’s shape and gravity among elementary school students:

• while they can state that the earth is round, their understanding of round revealed that round could mean that the earth is a “‘circular island that people can sail around,’ or that the ball-shaped earth is a ‘planet in the sky, where astronauts go'” (Nussbaum & Novak, 1976, cited in Sneider & Ohadi, 1998, p. 266).
  

  Note. Retrieved from “Is the earth flat or round? primary school children’s understandings of the planet earth: The case of turkish children” by S. Ozsoy, 2012, International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 4(2), 407-415.

• Even among those students who understood round as their teachers intended, they did not understand the concept of gravity and explained that people did not fall from the southern end of the earth because people only lived on the “top” or the “flat part in the middle” of the earth (Nussbaum & Novak, 1976, cited in Sneider & Ohadi, 1998, p. 266).

• Note. Retrieved from “Is the earth flat or round? primary school children’s understandings of the planet earth: The case of turkish children” by S. Ozsoy, 2012, International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 4(2), 407-415.

Vosniadou and Brewer (1987) state these misconceptions occur due to traditional teaching methods often result in “weak” rather than the necessary “radical” restructuring of concepts (cited in Sneider & Ohadi, 1998, p. 267). LfU’s emphasis on “deep and robust” understanding (Edelson, 2001, p. 356) of science concepts would be beneficial to clearing these misconceptions.

Giving children goals, and presenting information gaps, such as: Why don’t penguins living in the South Pole fall off the earth? could be used to motivate children and challenge their current understanding of the earth’s shape and gravity. The multi-step processes and activities that the principles of LfU demand makes sure that learning does not end with students simply stating that the “earth is round.”

• Imagine how LfU principles might be applied to a topic you teach. Now switch out the My World technology. What other domain-specific (and non-domain specific) software might help you achieve these principles while teaching this topic?

A unit I will have to teach next school year is on sound. The key learning objectives the unit will cover are:

• to be able to explain how sounds are made by vibrations;
• to be able to explain the journey of these vibrations to the ear and then the brain;
• to know the relationship between objects like musical instruments and their pitch;
• to be able to explain the volume of sound in relation to vibration;
• to be able to conduct scientific investigations into sound using relevant variables

Principle 1: Modifying existing knowledge structures

Students’ basic knowledge of sound is that it is sensed with the ears. Subconsciously most of them probably know that sound can be felt, this simulation can be used to build upon their understanding of sound as part of the sense of hearing to expand to sense of touch as well.

Domain-specific software: https://www.labxchange.org/library/items/lb:LabXchange:4f11b1e3:lx_simulation:1

Principle 2: Knowledge building consists of conscious and subconscious goals

Now that students are conscious of sound’s sensory effect on touch, they can challenge themselves to explore other ways sound affects the other senses.

Domain-specific software: https://www.labxchange.org/library/items/lb:LabXchange:a90c14c8:lx_simulation:1

Principle 3: Learning should be built in a situation conducive to future knowledge construction and use

Observations from real life can be brought into the classroom and further examined with the use of simulations.

Domain-specific video: https://www.labxchange.org/library/pathway/lx-pathway:b1ab2716-6a2f-49a9-94e5-430f860cc75a/items/lx-pb:b1ab2716-6a2f-49

Domain-specific software: https://www.labxchange.org/library/pathway/lx-pathway:b1ab2716-6a2f-49a9-94e5-430f860cc75a/items/lx-pb:b1ab2716-6a2f-49a9-94e5-430f860cc75a:lx_simulation:d5dc9783

Principle 4: Knowledge needs to be formed so that it can be used before being applied.

Reflecting and sharing are ways for students to make their learning visual. Padlet and wakelet are platforms students can share and curate their learning through written text, images, links to videos and articles to create a community of learning where students move from passively inputting knowledge to actively taking part in constructing knowledge.

Non-domain specific software: Padlet and Wakelet

Food for Thought, the entry written in the Preformatted text is a copy of the discussion post. After this, you can find the references.

• In what ways would you teach an LfU-based activity to explore a concept in math or science? Draw on LfU and My World scholarship to support your pedagogical directions. Given its social and cognitive affordances, extend the discussion by describing how the activity and roles of the teacher and students are aligned with LfU principles.

Learning for Use (LfU) model was created by Edelson to bridge the gap created by traditional science teaching practices based on knowledge acquisition and the demand placed on students in an inquiry-based learning model where knowledge is used to support inquiry skills (Edelson, 2001). Edelson (2001) found that traditional science classes promoted memorization and recitation, but a much deeper and firmer understanding of science concepts is necessary for students to engage in scientific inquiry. Edelson (2001) based the LfU on four principles:

1. Learning consists of building and modifying existing knowledge structures. 

2. Building knowledge is goal-oriented, instead of learning because it is necessary to complete the unit. 

3. The situation that learning construction happens determines whether learners can index and refer to their learning in the future.

4. Knowledge needs to be formed so that it can be used before being applied.

While I have not written about it, during these last few weeks on WISE, SKY and now LfU, I have been considering how to apply these to mathematics. Their use of interactive simulations and problems seems so much more engaging than worksheets! One reason I am hesitant to make changes to my math lessons is the lack of time. Every week ten of my Grade 3 class' lessons are with specialist teachers. I think I need to consider lessons from a cross-curricular angle to not only better accommodate the time constrictions, but to better fulfill Edelson's (2001) LfU principles, especially principle number 3.

I think I could combine the measurement unit on money with the science unit on food and nutrition where the exit point is a food stall run by individual or pairs of students. The starting learning objectives for the money unit are to use bases of 10 and 100, but Chinese money isn't that helpful there (the hundredths place is not always filled) and many children are used to seeing adults use their phones to make purchases, so introducing British pounds and pence will happen in these circumstances. To create goals for students, I think I could have students compare different currencies. Although most of my students are of Chinese heritage, they all have foreign passports, so the possibility of travelling overseas is there. They could make a Venn diagram comparing the different notes and coins to motivate themselves to learn and use the British currency system. The other learning objectives for the unit are to add/subtract, give change and solve problems using four operations. The exit point could be used to motivate students to achieve these learning objectives and the profits from the food stalls can be donated to a charity of the student's choice, to give the students a goal and reason for the learning to happen. They could create a currency/token system for the food stall event. The exit point also "creates demand for knowledge to successfully achieve his or her goals within [this] context" (Edelson, 2001, p. 375).

Reading Edelson's (2001) article, I realize that I often use technology to gather information, but I rarely use it to show information. Technology can be integrated by using excel to help students keep track of their sales and money earned. This could be a good opportunity to reinforce checking their calculations, something some of my students neglect in their rush to finish first. A graphing tool can be used so students can compare their profits.

To build knowledge in a situation that can help students easily reference this knowledge in the future, websites like TopMarks have money games using notes and coins to help students familiarize themselves with British currency and practice using money in shop-like simulations. The fourth principle is a bit harder for me to visualize. I think using whole-part-part models and number lines could help students visualize their learning so they can apply it in real-world situations. Using fake money and simulation games can also help make this learning useable.

The actual running of the food stalls can happen in two parts, the first part can be a soft opening, allowing students to have "direct" experience using money in a real-world context and a chance to receive "direct or indirect communication" (Edelson, 2001, p. 360) when they interact with customers. Having a soft opening will also give students time to refine their learning. I think the soft opening could create curiosity by "surprising" (Edelson, 2001, p. 376) with the knowledge gaps they have. I imagine there will be students who find calculating change easy because they have a strong understanding of place value as well as strong mental math skills, but they may only be familiar with calculating change through subtraction, but cashiers are often taught to count up when giving change, this might not make sense to students in explanation; however, it can make more sense when students have a chance to apply it in a busy situation. They can try out different methods to solve problems as they occur during the soft opening and after the soft opening they can use the knowledge they acquired to reflect on the experience and make changes to make the actual event smoother. The reflection portion of the refine stage gives students a chance to solidify their connections between knowledge and experience.

References