THEORIES,

APPROACHES, GUIDING
PRINCIPLES AND
METHODS OF TEACHING
SCIENCE
• CONSTRUCTIVISM
• SOCIAL COGNITION
• LEARNING STYLES
• BRAIN BASED LEARNING
 EDUCATIONAL THEORIES ON WHICH
SCIENCE TEACHING IS GROUNDED

1. CONSTRUCTIVISM
-The philosophical and scientific position
that knowledge arises through a process of
active construction."
2. SOCIAL COGNITION
Bandura (1986) Social Learning Theory
states that learning as a cognitive process
takes place in a social context and can occur
through observation or direct instruction.
3. LEARNING STYLES
Learning styles theory explains that
students have preferential individual
learning styles and therefore people may
vary in their response to learning
opportunities and how they learn.
3. LEARNING STYLES
4. BRAIN-BASED LEARNING
Brain based learning refers
to teaching methods, lesson designs, and
school programs that are based on the latest
scientific research about how
the brain learns
 HERE ARE SOME BRAIN-
BASED LEARNING PRINCIPLES
1. THE BRAIN IS A PARALLEL PROCESSOR
•Both hemispheres work together
•Many functions occur simultaneously
•Edelman (1994) found when more neurons in the brain
were firing at the same time, learning, meaning, and
retention were greater for the learner
2. THE SEARCH FOR MEANING IS INNATE
•Lessons need to be exciting and meaningful
•Allow students to have rich experiences and then give
them time and opportunities to make sense of their
experiences.
3. THE SEARCH FOR MEANING OCCURS THROUGH
PATTERNING
•PATTERNING REFERS TO THE ORGANIZATION AND
CATEGORIZATION OF INFORMATION
•LINK NEW LEARNING TO “OLD MENTAL HOOKS”
THROUGH THE USE OF EXAMPLES, STORIES, ETC.
4. EMOTIONS ARE CRITICAL TO PATTERNING

•IN THE BRAIN YOU CANT SEPARATE EMOTION FROM

COGNITION. IT IS AN INTERACTING WEB OF FACTORS.
•IN FACT RESEARCHERS NOW BELIEVE THERE IS NO
MEMORY WITHOUT EMOTION
•EMOTIONS ARE WHAT MOTIVATES US TO LEARN, TO CREATE. THEY
ARE PART OF WHO WE ARE AS A HUMAN BEING
5. LEARNING IS ENHANCED BY A CHALLENGE AND
INHIBITED BY THREAT
•MAKE YOUR LEARNING TASK CHALLENGING BUT NOT
THREATENING.
•IF IT IS TOO EASY , IT MAY NOT BE CHALLENGING.
•IF YOU MAKE IT VERY DIFFICULT , IT MAY TURN OFF OR
THREATEN STUDENTS’ DESIRE TO SUCCEED.
EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
•is the process of learning through experience, and is
more specifically defined as "learning through reflection
on doing".
•Learning through participation rather than by listening to
a lecture or reading about a topic.
SITUATED LEARNING
•LEARNING NATURALLY OCCURS IN A REAL LIFE CONTEXT
•WORKSHOPS, KITCHENS, GARDENS AND FARMS ARE
USED AS CLASSROOMS.
REFLECTIVE LEARNING
•IT IS NOT ENOUGH THAT LEARNERS ENCOUNTER REAL-
LIFE SITUATIONS. THEY MUST REFLECT UPON THEIR
LEARNING EXPERIENCES.
DISCOVERY LEARNING
•TAKES PLACE IN PROBLEM SOLVING SITUATIONS WHERE
THE LEARNER DRAWS HIS/HER EXPERIENCE AND PRIOR
KNOWLEDGE TO SOLVE A PROBLEM.
GUIDING PRINCIPLES
IN THE TEACHING OF
SCIENCE
CONSTRUCTIVIST PRINCIPLE
•Find out the learners ideas and consider
them in your teaching.
DISCOVERY PRINCIPLE
•LEARNING BY DOING PRINCIPLE – DON’T
TELL THE ANSWER
•MAKE CHILDREN LEARN SCIENCE BY DOING
SCIENCE NOT TEACHING ABOUT SCIENCE.
BRAIN-BASED PRINCIPLE
•TEACH FOR MEANING. MAKE YOUR
TEACHING MEANINGFUL.
•KEEP LEARNING ATMOSPHERE
CHALLENGING BUT NOT THREATENING
•MAKE STUDENTS WORK TOGETHER.
ENCOURAGE COLLABORATIVE LEARNING
•CONSIDER MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES AND
LEARNING STYLES.