REACTION IN TEDx VIDEO
I like the way how his speech boiled down to and targeted the root cause of ineffective science teaching which are outdated types of assessment such as standardized tests which mainly are tests for knowledge. Unfortunately, the goal for most students in learning science is to pass these kinds of tests which gears them away from the main goal which is to become scientifically literate. No matter how a teacher exerts effort in making more active, hands-on and meaningful lessons, in the end students would think they didn’t get enough education to prepare them for standardized tests they have to take, and most often than not, teachers would not promote a more progressive science lesson and would resort to long lectures because of these tests.
“Any change in science teaching needs to start with a change in science assessment,” is a brave and powerful recommendation that is what principle # 1 is all about: creating a purposeful means to an important end which is learning. And how can you assess this learning with validity if the tool is not appropriate? Once this root problem is solved, teachers will be inspired, if not forced to preparing a more effective science lesson that promotes critical and scientific thinking which is what scientific understanding is all about. I agree with what he says that as science teachers, we need to correct the two mistakes which actually violate the principles that we’ve learned in resource 1. One is that we focus on the wrong thing instead of exercising critical thinking. Principle # 2 states that we need to concentrate on core scientific ideas that have the greatest importance which the speaker emphasized by saying that understanding scientific ideas and practices takes time, effort and careful instruction. How are we going to provide time and effort if our curriculum is congested? Here, principle # 2 is very applicable. The second mistake is assuming that science is some sort of collection of knowledge which again contradicts another principle (#3) that teaching science should mirror the nature and characteristic of the subject. Needless to say, if teachers are bearing these mistakes then science education would have no importance. As responsible science teachers, we should emulate the speaker’s methods and techniques in teaching which follows principle # 4, designing lessons which are challenging yet not overwhelming where he starts with an experiment to introduce the concept before going to more difficult tasks; principle # 5, helping learners become active thinkers, allowing students to create models which they test and apply in real world tasks (principle # 6); together with principle # 7, setting high expectations for learning where students are given ownership of their own learning.
After watching the video and writing my reaction made me realize that these principles are not so hard to remember and, thus, apply. If you are rooted on the right goal which is producing scientifically literate learners, then applying these principles only become the practical thing to do.
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