Teachers
are not often referred to as being scientists, but the longer I study biology
and education, the more apparent it is that they are actual scientists.
Teachers think about what method would be best suited for their students’
learning. They also have to measure progress in their students and themselves,
and then reflect on it in order to improve for the next lesson. This is a very
common theme in biology; try an experiment, record data, say why it didn’t work
(or publish a paper if it did work) and what you want to do next, repeat. In
education, data does not have to be numbers that are riddled with arithmetic
means and chi squared tables. Informal assessments can give an educator enough
data to determine if it is time to move on. Being able to know more
definitively when a student has understood material sufficiently enough to move
on is a crucial ability that any good teacher should have.
When I
was in high school, my grandparents brought me to a pond to teach me how to
fish. My grandfather gave me a fishing pole and some hooks to use. He said, “Now
watch what I do. Don’t try anything yet, just watch.” So I watched as he
grabbed a worm and set it on the hook for bait. He then showed me how to cast
it and to wait for a bite. Shortly, a bluegill had bitten the hook and Papa
reeled him in. Then he said, “You want to hold the fish like this so his spines
can’t get you when he tries to jump. Once you got him, grab the hook and twist
gently so it comes out. Now he’s good to go back to his friends!” Grandpa told
me to grab a worm and set it up for him to cast. And just like that, he got
another one. So now it was my turn. I put my worm on the hook, casted it out,
and did that a few more times because I kept missing the fish biting. But when
I got one, I reeled him in and grabbed for him, but couldn’t bring myself to
get the hook out. I was afraid to hurt him, ironic I know, but I guess it’s
common for a beginner. Papa unhooked my first few and then I tried the way I
had seen him do it and it worked like magic. I felt like I was a professional
fisherman.
The
story I just told you outlines some ideas I came across in the reading. The way
I learned was through Learning Centered Teaching and worked really well for
something that I wasn’t so confident in. My zone of actual development was
being able to put the worm on a hook, and my zone of proximal development was
reeling in a fish. However, I was not ready for unhooking a fish, but more
practice helped me get over that and I was eventually able to do it. I learned
how to fish because my grandpa taught me how. He knew when I was ready to learn
the next step, and when I needed to practice on the level I was at. He
collected data informally about my progress and used mental notes to keep track
of what I should be doing. And, he was able to teach me because somebody had
taught him. I know this because I used the same method to teach a friend how to
fish and it worked well enough for him to catch and unhook a bass!
I agree
with Dr. Comer’s ideas about using science in teaching. I believe that data is
a powerful tool that helps both student and teacher realize their progress. To
me, the question I would like to further explore is what methods of gathering
data would be statistically biased and how can I avoid that so my data is more
accurate? I believe that I could use assessments that require students to
express their knowledge in a variety of ways, aligning with the multiple
intelligence theory, so that every student has an equal opportunity to show me
how much they know. Vygotsky’s beliefs can be applied to the attainment of
knowledge of any nature. This does not have to be solely within a classroom
setting or relating to math, history, etc. Having a full understanding of this
theory allows a teacher to more accurately express how students’ learn.
