APPROACHES TO TEACHING

SCIENCE A. CONTRUCTIVIST LEARNING

B. MULTI/INTERDISCIPLINARY
C. SCIENCE-TECHNOLOGY
D. CONTEXTUAL LEARNING
a. EXPOSITORY APPROACHES OR TRANSMISSION
APPROACHES
b. DISCOVERY APPROACHES
c. INQUIRY APPROACHES OR PROCESS SKILLS

REFLECTIVE TEACHING
INTEGRATIVE TEACHING
COOPERATIVE LEARNING
SHIELA MAE TALIRONGAN
BALIOS BEED2 Gen-Ed
 WHAT IS IT?

• ONE OF THE BURNING ISSUES IN THE FIELD OF EDUCATION TODAY IS AN

EFFECTIVE PEDAGOGIC PRACTICE ENHANCE LEARNING. SEMINARS AND
WORKSHOPS HAVE BEEN CONDUCTED BY EDUCATIONAL SCHOLARS AT THE
LOCAL AND NATIONAL LEVELS TO FIND APPROPRIATE APPROACHES OF
DELIVERING CONTENT TO STUDENTS IN ORDER TO BRING ABOUT THE DESIRED
CHANGES. ALSO, EDUCATORS ALL OVER THE WORLD CONTINUOUSLY SEARCH
FOR QUALITY METHODS AND APPROACHES TO TEACHING.
 What will you learn? What you already know?

 What are the different

 describe the different approaches in teaching
approaches of teaching science. Science?

 differentiate between all the  Why considering what

approaches of teaching. approach to be used in
teaching is an important step
 develop lesson plans and use a in lesson planning?
particular method/approach in
teaching Science.
 LET’S GET IT
STARTED!!!!!

CONSTRUCTIVIST LEARNING: A CLOSER

LOOK

CONTEMPORARY SCIENCE INSTRUCTION HAS BECOME HIGHLY

CONSTRUCTIVE IN NATURE. IT HAS SHIFTED FROM AN EMPHASIS ON
ACQUIRING CONTENT KNOWLEDGE TO THE PROCESS OF CONSTRUCTING
SCIENTIFIC UNDERSTANDING. AS PREVIOUSLY DISCUSSED, THE MAJOR
THEORETICAL POINT OF THIS LEARNING THEORY IS THAT LEARNERS
GENERATE THEIR OWN 93 UNDERSTANDING. LEARNERS COME TO SCHOOL
NOT AS A BLANK SLATE BUT AS BEINGS WITH PRECONCEPTIONS OR
PRIOR KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE NATURAL WORLD.
 EXAMPLES
PRINCIPLES
a. A newly opened
 PRINCIPLE # 1: cold bottle of soft
drink is more pleasant
 LEARNING IS A SEARCH FOR tasting than one that
MEANING WHICH STARTS WITH has been opened
ISSUES AROUND WHICH before storage in the
STUDENTS ACTIVELY TRY TO refrigerator.
CONSTRUCT MEANING.

 PRINCIPLE # 2:

 MEANING REQUIRES
UNDERSTANDING WHOLES AS
WELL AS PARTS.
Principle # 3: The prior mental model of the students regarding the pleasant taste of
a newly opened bottle of cold soft drink is that it has ‘spirit’. From
 In order to teach effectively, their knowledge about gases and soft drinks, the students would learn
teachers must understand that
the mental models used by
1. soft drinks are carbonated beverages;
students to perceive the
world and the assumptions
2. carbon dioxide is added to the mixture at high pressure;
they make to support those 3. some gases are polar while others are non-polar;
models. 4. polar gases dissolve easily in water;
5. some non-polar gases with low molecular mass such as carbon
dioxide dissolve and react with water;
6. the product of this reaction is acid. This is the acid that makes soft
drink pleasant in taste; and
7. pressure and temperature affect solubility of these gases in water
Principle # 4:
Which of the containers filled with water has
 The purpose of learning is more oxygen? Explain your answer a. Bottle of
for an individual to construct water at 15° C b. Bottle of water at 20° C c.
his/her own meaning. Thus,
learning must be measured.
Bottle of water at 45° C
GROWING NUMBERS OF STUDIES SHOW THAT “MOST STUDENTS' INTEREST AND ACHIEVEMENT IN MATH,
SCIENCE, AND LANGUAGE IMPROVE DRAMATICALLY WHEN THEY ARE HELPED TO MAKE CONNECTIONS
BETWEEN NEW KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCES THEY HAVE HAD, OR WITH OTHER KNOWLEDGE THEY
HAVE ALREADY MASTERED (SHEA & MORGAN, 1979) P.221.” STUDENTS' COMMITMENT IN THEIR
SCHOOLWORK “INCREASES SIGNIFICANTLY WHEN THEY ARE TAUGHT WHY THEY ARE LEARNING THE
CONCEPTS AND HOW THOSE CONCEPTS CAN BE USED IN REAL-WORLD CONTEXTS (BERNS & ERICKSON,
2001) P.112.”
CONTEXTUALIZED LEARNING IS A PROVEN CONCEPT THAT “INCORPORATES THE MOST RECENT RESEARCH
IN COGNITIVE SCIENCE (THOMAS, 2000) P.213.” IT IS ALSO A RESPONSE TO THE “BEHAVIORIST THEORIES”
THAT HAVE CONTROLLED AMERICAN EDUCATION FOR LONG TIME. THE CONTEXTUAL APPROACH
DISTINGUISHES THAT “LEARNING IS A COMPLEX AND MULTIFACETED PROCESS THAT GOES FAR BEYOND
DRILLORIENTED, STIMULUS-AND-RESPONSE METHODOLOGIES (BYARSWINSTON & FOUAD, 2008) P.28.”
 CONTEXTUAL LEARNING

CONTEXTUAL LEARNING (CL) IS A LEARNING SYSTEM THAT TIES BRAIN

ACTIONS TO CRATING PATTERS THAT HAVE MEANING. CL DOES IT BY
CONNECTING ACADEMIC CONTENT TO THE CONTEXT OF REAL LIFE. THIS
IS VERY IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT HELPS TO STORE NOT ONLY SHORT-
TERM MEMORY, WHICH STUDENTS USUALLY EASILY FORGET, BUT IT
ALSO HELP TO STORE LONG TERM MEMORY WHICH WILL HELP THEM TO
APPLY THESE MEMORIES TO THEIR JOB OBLIGATIONS LATER IN THEIR
LIFE.
• ACCORDING TO HULL “CONTEXTUAL LEARNING THEORY SAYS THAT LEARNING
OCCURS ONLY WHEN STUDENTS PROCESS NEW INFORMATION OR KNOWLEDGE IN
SUCH A WAY THAT IT MAKES SENSE IN THEIR FRAME OF REFERENCE (HULL, 1995) P.23.”
HE ALSO SAYS THAT THIS APPROACH TO “LEARNING AND TEACHING ASSUMES THAT
THE MIND NATURALLY SEEKS MEANING IN CONTEXT AND DOES SO BY SEARCHING
FOR RELATIONSHIPS THAT MAKE SENSE AND APPEAR USEFUL (HULL, 1995) P.24.”
• THIS APPROACH ACCEPTS THAT THE BRAIN SEARCHES FOR THE MEANING OF SPECIFIC
RELATIONSHIPS WITH OUR SURROUNDINGS (JOHNSON, 2002; POWERS & GUAN, 2000).
BASED ON THIS CL ACTIVITIES NOT ONLY CAN BE DONE IN THE CLASSROOM, BUT ALSO
IN LABORATORIES, AND IN THE FUTURE IN THE WORKPLACE. EDUCATORS HAVE TO BE
SMART TO DESIGN LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS THAT CAN BE EASILY RELATED TO REAL
LIFE. IN THIS TYPE OF ENVIRONMENT STUDENTS CAN FIND CONNECTION BETWEEN
NOT REALISTIC IDEAS AND EVERYDAY SUBMISSIONS IN REALWORLD CONTEXT.
 CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION BASED ON CONTEXTUAL
LEARNING STRATEGIES SHOULD BE STRUCTURED TO ENCOURAGE
FIVE ESSENTIAL FORMS OF LEARNING: RELATING, EXPERIENCING,
APPLYING, COOPERATION, AND TRANSFER (REACT).
 A. RELATING
• RELATING IS “LEARNING IN THE CONTEXT OF LIFE EXPERIENCE, OR ASSOCIATE
(JOHNSON, 2002) P.46.” TEACHERS USING THIS STRATEGY MUST CONNECT NEW
PERCEPTIONS WITH SOMETHING FAMILIAR FOR STUDENTS. “THIS HELPS
STUDENTS TO LINK THEIR KNOWLEDGE WITH NEW INFORMATION (POWERS &
GUAN, 2000) P.25.” IN THIS STAGE CURRICULUM MUST TRY TO HELP LEARNING
IN THE SETTING OF LIFE EXPERIENCE. IT WILL ENCOURAGE STUDENTS TO
RELATE DAILY EVENTS THAT THEY SEE WITH THE LESSONS THAT THEY LEARN.
THIS WILL MAKE POSSIBLE FOR STUDENTS TO FIND A SOLUTION TO OF THE
PROBLEM (EGE, COPPOLA, & LAWTON, 1997).
FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN TEACHER WANTS TO GIVE A DEFINITION
OF A SLOPE OF A LINE, INSTEAD OF SAYING THAT A SLOPE IS
THE CHANGE IN Y FOR A UNIT CHANGE IN X ALONG THE LINE IS
BETTER TO SHOW A ROAD SIGN OF A STEEP HILL (PICTURE 1)
AND EXPLAIN THAT A SLOPE IS A STEEPNESS.

Picture 1( steep hill)

 B. EXPERIENCING
• EXPERIENCING IS A LEARNING IN THE CONTEXT OF EXPLORATION, EXPERIENCE.
LEARNING “HAPPENS” FASTER WHEN STUDENTS CAN USE EQUIPMENT AND
MATERIALS AND DO ACTIVE RESEARCH BY THEMSELVES (BJORNAVOLD, 2000) P.
(FALK & DIERKING, 2000)231. THIS STEP IS NOT DESIGN TO EDUCATE STUDENTS
FOR EXACT JOBS, BUT IT HELPS THEM TO PRACTICE ACTIONS THAT ARE
STRAIGHT CONNECTED TO REAL-LIFE WORK. THESE ACTIVITIES AND SKILLS
CAN BE USED IN LABS AND CAN BE USED IN MANY PROFESSIONS (FALK &
DIERKING, 2000; WOOD DAUDELIN, 1997).
FOR EXAMPLE
IN A LETTER TO EUROPEAN UROLOGY, DR. MARIA CERRUTO INDICATED
THAT WOMEN WHO WORE HIGH HEEL SHOES WITH A 15º SLOPE TO THE
GROUND DEVELOPED STRONGER PELVIC MUSCLES. STUDENTS CAN
WORK WITH THEIR PARTNERS TO MEASURE THE LENGTH OF THEIR FEET
AND CALCULATE A PERFECT HILL FOR THEMSELVES OR FOR THEIR
PARTNERS. THIS ACTIVITY WILL HELP THEM TO LEARN THE CONCEPT BY
EXPERIENCING: USING WHAT THEY LEARNED ABOUT SLOPE TO
DETERMINE THE HEIGHT OF A15º SLOPED HIGH HEEL SHOE.
 C. APPLYING
• APPLYING IS LEARNING CONCEPTS AND INFORMATION IN A USEFUL
SITUATION. STUDENTS APPLY A CONCEPT WHEN THEY CAN APPLY THEIR
REAL WORLD EXPERIENCED TO THEIR PROBLEM-SOLVING ACTIVITIES.
TEACHERS CAN MOTIVATE STUDENTS BY MAKING PROBLEMS
REALISTIC AND RELEVANT TO STUDENTS’ LIFE (GERLAI, 1998).
 FOR EXAMPLE,
• INSTEAD OF GIVING A BORING PROBLEM
WITH LETTERS AND NUMBERS, TEACHERS
CAN CHECK STUDENTS UNDERSTANDING OF
A SLOPE OF A LINE WITH THE FOLLOWING
PROBLEM: IF 5 STUDENTS FALL ASLEEP
DURING CLASS AFTER 10 MINUTES, AND 15
ARE ASLEEP AFTER 20 MINUTES, HOW LONG
WILL IT BE UNTIL THE WHOLE CLASS OF 25
STUDENTS ARE ASLEEP? ALL STUDENTS ARE
FAMILIAR WITH THIS SITUATION, SO ALL OF
THEM CAN APPLY THIS EXPERIENCE TO
THEIR NEW KNOWLEDGE
 D. COOPERATING
• COOPERATING IS LEARNING IN THE CONTEXT OF SHARING, RESPONDING, AND
COMMUNICATING WITH OTHER STUDENTS. THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT STRATEGY IN
TEACHING CONTEXT. STUDENTS WHO “WORK BY THEMSELVES USUALLY DO NOT
PROGRESS AS MUCH AS STUDENTS WHO WORK IN GROUPS (BORKO & MAYFIELD,
1995) P.54.” WORKING IN GROUPS HELPS STUDENTS TO SOLVE COMPLEX PROBLEMS
WITH VERY LITTLE HELP. THIS PRACTICE HELPS STUDENTS TO UNDERSTAND AND
LEARN THE CONCEPT AND CONNECT IT WITH THE REAL WORLD. LATER IN THEIR LIFE
THIS EXPERIENCE WILL HELP THEM IN THEIR WORK ENVIRONMENT TO
“COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY, SHARE INFORMATION WELL, AND WORK
COMFORTABLY IN A TEAM (POWERS & GUAN, 2000) P.34.” F
 FOR EXAMPLE,
• TO CHECK STUDENTS’ UNDERSTANDING
THE CONCEPT OF A SLOPE, TEACHERS CAN
DIVIDE THE CLASS INTO SMALL GROUPS
AND ASK THEM TO PLAY “WHO WANTS TO
BE A MILLIONAIRE” GAME WHERE ALL
QUESTION AND PROBLEMS ARE ABOUT
SLOPE OF A LINE. BY PARTICIPATING IN THIS
ACTIVITY, STUDENTS WILL LEARN TO
ANSWER TO A QUESTION OR SOLVE A
PROBLEM COOPERATIVELY.
 E. TRANSFERING
• TRANSFERRING IS “LEARNING IN THE CONTEXT OF EXISTING KNOWLEDGE. IT
USES AND BUILDS ON STUDENTS’ PRIOR KNOWLEDGE (BILLETT, 2001) P.44.” IN
THIS STAGE THE TEACHER MAKES HELP STUDENTS TO TAKE WHAT THEY HAVE
LEARNED AND APPLY IT TO NEW SITUATIONS AND CONTEXTS (LENT ET AL., 2001)
• FOR EXAMPLE, TO CHECK STUDENTS’ KNOWLEDGE OF THE CONCEPT OF A SLOPE OF A
LINE, TEACHER CAN SHOW A PICTURE OF AN OLD CAR (PICTURE 2) GIVE THEM THIS
PROBLEM: THE PRICE OF THIS CAR WAS $25,000 IN 2001 AND IT WAS $15,000 IN 2006. WHICH
YEAR I’LL BE ABLE TO BUY THIS FOR $5,000?THE WORD “DATA” IS PLURAL, NOT
SINGULAR.
GARDNER’S THEORY ABOUT MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES EXPLAINS
THAT THE KNOWLEDGE OF HUMAN’S BRAIN AND BODY CAN BE
HELPFUL IN EDUCATIONAL SETTINGS (GARDNER, 1985). STUDENTS
HAVE MANY “LEARNING STYLES” AND TEACHERS MUST DESIGN
THEIR LESSONS BY USING MANY TEACHING TECHNIQUES TO
REACH ALL STUDENTS (FELDER & SILVERMAN, 1988) P.76. DAVID
KOLB’S STUDY SHOWS THAT “LEARNERS TEND TO PERCEIVE
INFORMATION EITHER ABSTRACTLY (BY
CONCEPTUALIZING/THINKING) OR CONCRETELY (BY
EXPERIENCING/FEELING) AND THEN PROCESS THAT INFORMATION
EITHER ACTIVELY (BY EXPERIMENTING/DOING) OR REFLECTIVELY
(BY OBSERVING/WATCHING) (KOLB & KOLB, 2005) P.64.”
 EXPOSITORY APPROACHES
OR TRANSMISSION APPROACH

• EXPOSITORY APPROACH IS ALSO KNOWN AS TRANSMISSION APPROACH. IN THIS APPROACH THE

TEACHER IS COMMUNICATING MAXIMUM INFORMATION TO THE STUDENTS IN MINIMUM OF TIME.
THIS APPROACH HELPS THE TEACHER TO COVER THE CONTENT TO BE TAUGHT TO THE STUDENTS.
THIS APPROACH IS WIDELY USED ACROSS ALL THE SUBJECTS AND DIFFERENT LEVELS OF
EDUCATION BY THE TEACHER. 
• THE MAIN PROPONENT OF THIS METHOD IS DAVID P. AUSUBEL. THE WORD EXPOSITORY IS DERIVED
FROM EXPOSITION WHICH MEANS AN EXPLANATION OR INTERPRETATION IN WHICH COMMENTARY
BY THE TEACHER IS GIVEN THAT SEEKS TO CLARIFY THE MEANING OF AND IMPLICATIONS OF THE
OBJECT OF EXPOSITION. IN THIS APPROACH THERE ARE VARIOUS METHODS SUCH AS EXPOSITORY
METHOD, TELL AND DO METHOD, DEDUCTIVE METHOD ETC. ARE INCLUDED. THE APPROACH IS
TOTALLY TEACHER CENTERED. 
• EXPOSITORY METHOD: IF THE INITIAL MOVE OF THE TEACHER IS THE STATEMENT OF THE RULE OR
GENERALIZATION OR PRINCIPLE (FOLLOWED BY CLARIFICATION, JUSTIFICATION AND APPLICATION
OF THE RULE) THEN THE SEQUENCE OF MOVES IS KNOWN AS EXPOSITORY METHOD. SR—CR—JR—AR.
STATEMENT OF RULE
IF TWO LIQUIDS MIX VERY WELL WITH
EACH OTHER THAN THE LIQUIDS ARE
KNOWN AS MISCIBLE LIQUIDS. IF THE
TWO LIQUIDS DO NOT MIX WELL THEN
THE TWO LIQUIDS ARE KNOWN AS
IMMISCIBLE LIQUIDS. THE TEACHER
CAN MAKE USE OF DIFFERENT MEDIA
TO SHOW THIS RULE TO THE
STUDENTS SUCH AS WRITING ON THE
BOARD OR USE OF PPT SLIDE OR
PREPARING A WORKSHEET
SPECIALLY PREPARED BY THE
TEACHER TO RECORD THE DATA.
CLARIFICATION/EXPLANATION OF RULE
In order to clarify the rule to the students, the teacher will conduct the
experiments to demonstrate miscibility-immiscibility of any two liquids. He will
have to use a number of liquids to clarify the rule.

Materials Required Test tubes, Liquids such as Water, Alcohol, Milk, Kerosene,
Lemon Juice, Mustard oil, Vinegar, Coconut oil, Butter milk and many others.
Data sheet for recording observations
Sr. No Liquid 1. Liquid 2 Observations by
Students
1. WATER MILK
2. WATER KEROSENE

3. WATER ALCOHOL

4. WATER MUSTARD OIL

5. WATER COCONUT OIL

JUSTIFICATION OF THE RULE

THIS IS THE RARE MOVE USED BY THE TEACHER IN

THE CLASSROOM. THE JUSTIFICATION OF THE RULE
CAN BE DONE BY VARIOUS TECHNIQUES SUCH AS
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE RULE, PROVING
THE RULE BY DIFFERENT METHODS, ASKING THE
STUDENTS TO PERFORM THE EXPERIMENT AND
REPORTING OF THE OBSERVATIONS.
 APPLICATION OF THE RULE

A) THE TEACHER CAN APPLY THE RULE TO MORE

THAN TWO LIQUIDS
B) IF A IS MISCIBLE WITH B, B IS MISCIBLE WITH C
THEN A IS MISCIBLE WITH C.
 C) WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IF MILK
WOULD NOT HAVE MISCIBLE WITH WATER?
D) WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IF KEROSENE
WOULD NOT HAVE MISCIBLE WITH DIESEL/IF
PETROL?
 ADVANTAGES Limitations
 THIS IS MOSTLY PREFERRED METHOD/APPROACH BY
THE TEACHER ALL OVER THE WORLD. THIS METHOD  Although this is widely used
HAS DEFINITE ADVANTAGES OVER TWO OTHER approach/method, it suffers from the
APPROACHES. THESE ARE GIVEN BELOW. following limitations.
 ● Students are passive to a large
 EFFECTIVE IN COMMUNICATING NEW KNOWLEDGE
extent. All the cues provided by the
IN SHORT PERIOD OF TIME. THE TEACHERS ALWAYS
teacher.
COMPLAIN SHORTAGE OF TIME TO COMPLETE THE
 ● Rote memorization is encouraged.
SYLLABUS. IF THIS METHOD IS JUDICIOUSLY USED
 ● Not effective for higher level of
THE TEACHER CAN ‘COVER’ THE SYLLABUS.
objectives especially analysis,
 GESTALTIC VIEW OF THE SUBJECT IS PRESENTED evaluation and Creativity.
TO THE STUDENTS RESULTING INTO MEANINGFUL  ● Students depend on teacher all the
VERBAL LEARNING. time.
 EFFECTIVE FOR KNOWLEDGE AND COMPREHENSION  ● No scope for the creativity of the
OBJECTIVES. THERE IS NO CONCLUSIVE PROOF. students.
 ● Not at all suitable at lower level
 SUITABLE FOR ALL TYPES OF SUBJECT MATTER
(Elementary and secondary)
AND HIGH LEVELS OF EDUCATION. HENCE IT IS
STILL USED TO LARGE EXTENT AT ALL LEVELS.
• BERNS, R. G., & ERICKSON, P. M. (2001). CONTEXTUAL TEACHING AND LEARNING:
PREPARING STUDENTS FOR THE NEW ECONOMY: NATIONAL DISSEMINATION CENTER
FOR CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION. BILLETT, S. (2001). LEARNING IN THE
WORKPLACE: STRATEGIES FOR EFFECTIVE PRACTICE: ERIC. BJORNAVOLD, J. (2000).
MAKING LEARNING VISIBLE: IDENTIFICATION, ASSESSMENT AND RECOGNITION OF
NON-FORMAL LEARNING IN EUROPE: ERIC. BORKO, H., & MAYFIELD, V. (1995). THE
ROLES OF THE COOPERATING TEACHER AND UNIVERSITY SUPERVISOR IN LEARNING TO
TEACH. TEACHING AND TEACHER EDUCATION, 11(5), 501-518. BYARS-WINSTON, A. M., &
FOUAD, N. A. (2008). MATH AND SCIENCE SOCIAL COGNITIVE VARIABLES IN COLLEGE
STUDENTS CONTRIBUTIONS OF CONTEXTUAL FACTORS IN PREDICTING GOALS.
JOURNAL OF CAREER ASSESSMENT, 16(4), 425-440. CATRAMBONE, R., & HOLYOAK, K. J.
(1989). OVERCOMING CONTEXTUAL LIMITATIONS ON PROBLEM-SOLVING TRANSFER.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY: LEARNING, MEMORY, AND COGNITION,
15(6), 1147