When Ed Hunter’s students take their seats in his science classes at Gainesville High School this year, they’re going to find he’s doing things a little differently thanks to some lessons he learned over the summer.
Hunter was one of more than thirty teachers from throughout Alachua County who recently spent a couple of days in an intensive science instruction workshop. The goal of the workshop, led by Dr. Larry Chew, an engineering professor from the University of Central Florida, was to help the teachers develop more effective methods for teaching science.
One of the key messages of the workshop was that when it comes to teaching science, less is often more. Dr. Chew led the group through a number of different learning activities requiring varying degrees of teacher direction and student involvement. In the process, the teachers-turned-students realized that they were more engaged when they directed their own learning rather than simply following instructions.
“Everyone agreed that the activities that required them to figure things out and to do things on their own were much more effective,” said Zoellen Warren, the district’s science coordinator. “They learned more.”
The workshop did include some examples of effective hands-on activities. For example, the teachers experienced first-hand how a small plastic photo film canister, some water and an Alka Seltzer tablet could help their students learn about the concept of pressure. But the point was that students should be the ones to decide how to carry out such an activity and what it means. It’s a lesson the teachers took to heart.
“I’m definitely going to increase the amount of inquiry techniques that I’m using so the kids become better at figuring out solutions on their own as opposed to me telling them what the answer is,” said Hunter.
“It’s less teaching and more inquiry-based activities,” said Tim Hinchman, who teaches science at Mebane Middle School. “The kids are actually deciding what the learning procedures are, then you come together afterward to figure out what they’ve learned.”
The workshop was one of a number of professional development opportunities that local teachers took advantage of over the summer. Why spend some of their vacation in the classroom?
“That’s easy,” said Hinchman. “I need to learn. I think to be a better teacher you have to be a learner.”