Jari Lavonen, Jari.Lavonen@helsinki.fi

READING AND WRITING FACILITATING ICT USE IN SCHOOL SCIENCE

European Science Teachers: Scientific Knowledge, Linguistic Skills and Digital Media (PEC)

COMENIUS 2.1 Action, financed by Socrates project, 226641-CP-1-2005-1-ES-COMENIUS-C21

Design Based Resaerch - project

Design-Based Research (DBR) project asking, if it is

possible to design activities in school Science emphasizing reading and writing, facilitating use of Information and Communication

Technologies (ICT), helping teachers to emphasize constructive, contextual

and collaborative learning, helping teachers to use versatile evaluation methods, minimizing moral and ethical problems, like copying.

The developed activities serve examples of how science

teachers can guide their students to read and write and use

modern ICT tools in a versatile manner.

Design-Based Research as a Research Method

DBR emphasizes three aspects: a design process is essentially iterative starting from the

recognition of the need to change praxis,

it generates a widely usable artifact, like learning activities or

environment, and

it provides educational knowledge for more intelligible praxis.

In the teaching/learning process, the pragmatic viewpoint

emphasizes the role of a teacher’s reflected actions as

well as the researches’ involvement in authentic settings. DBR comprises of the combination of theory

development, the prescriptions of successful design

processes, and solutions.

Finnish team for developing reading and writing activities

Our designer group consisted of 4 researchers and 24

active science teachers participating in a long-term PD

course. 21 of the teachers contributed to the empirical problem

analysis.

The Design Procedure in the Finnish PEC-project 1

Theoretical problem analysis

The design procedure contains four main phases:needs assessment and theoretical problem analysisdefinition of the objectives for a design solution,

artifact; design and production of the artifact

- designing of a prototype;

- evaluation of the prototype in real classroom settings;

- revising the objectives based on the evaluation; and

- re-designing of the artifact.

andevaluation of the artifact.

empiri

cal

proble

m

analys

is

Theoretical problem analysis

Based on our theoretical problem analysis reading and

writing activities in science should support aspects which

arecollaborative, constructive, reflective and contextual

The activities intended to support learning may include the following:

activating students previous views and knowledge comparing students previous views and knowledge with

the information featured in the text discussing the views presented in the text applying the general principles presented in the text to

imaginary practical settings voicing critical opinions writing a summary

Design solution

Activities for support reading Activities for support writing Projects Small exercises

A. Process writing

Brainstorming and choosing the topic Familiarising oneself with the topic (generating and

choosing ideas, facts, views, goals, and visions) Outlining the topic (analytic questions, mindmaps) and

sketching the structure for the text Writing the first draft Feedback (one’s own views, peer feedback and teacher

feedback) Editing the text and thus creating the second draft Creating the final publication version

(double-checking language points

and headings) Publishing.

B. Short texts like essays, poems, etc.

Cinquaine:Line 1: A word that characterises the essence of the entity or phenomenon to be described.Line 2: Two verbs that describe the activity of the entity or phenomenon.Line 3: Three adjectives that describe the nature of the entity or phenomenon.Line 4: A four-word sentence that represents the gist of the poem (the backbone).Line 5: A final word that summarises what has been stated above.

Physics

Twisting, winding

Difficult, energy-consuming, exciting

When will I get it?

Tomorrow!

C. Writing for concrete outcomesDrawing instructions

Create the written instructions for sketching a chart visualising the operating of a hydroelectric power plant. Read these instructions then to your partner and ask him or her to sketch a detailed drawing on the basis of the instructions, not on the basis of previous knowledge. Compare the drawing to a model found in a course book or some other source. Improve the drawing to eliminate possible shortcomings. Which essential elements were missing from the drawing? Which essential points were not mentioned when giving the instructions? What should have been rephrased?

D. ReadingSupporting independent reading

When students read independently, they can be asked to write down key expressions and pose questions that come to mind when reading a given text. These questions voice points that students have not understood.

The questions can be collected on a white board or on a transparency for everybody to reflect. While reading, students can create a mind map on the basis of the text. This mind map serves as a visual representation on the ideas generated by the reading process and the connections between these ideas.

D. ReadingReciprocal reading in groups

Each member of the group creates an outline on the basis of the read text and then explains the rest of the group this outline (the main points of the text).

Each member of the group creates a mindmap on the read text and presents it to the rest of the group. The created mindmaps are studied and the aim is to find the essential points in each one.

Each member of the group generates questions on the basis of the read text and asks the rest of the group these questions.

Reciprocal reading aims at activating students to read and study in groups. Students are instructed to form pairs or small groups. After independently reading for a short while (for instance, one page), the following activities can be carried out:

E. The exercises using prewritten textsManuals and Booklets

Create an updated and localised booklet, a basic guide for dealing with radiation at home. First, jointly discuss which issues need to be covered in the booklet.

After this is done, divide the students into groups and allocate each group an area of responsibility.

Before you create the booklet, take a look at a booklet published by authorities. Pay careful attention to the booklet’s structure, foreword, headings, contents, visualisations and layout.

   

Output from the evaluation of activities:Strengths in Learning by Reading and Writing

Student skills may be developed Information retrieval, processing and presentation

skills co-operation skills ICT skills (word processing, information search,

publishing, …) science language skills

Motivating students feeling autonomy, social relatedness and

competency curiosity (Internet, …)

Learning contents chemistry and physics integrating themes: sustainable development, …

Problems Students Encounter when Reading Science Texts 1

Problems that students encounter when reading science

texts include (cf. Baker, 1991): Texts are abstract and difficult to understand having a

complicated grammatical structure. Texts neither encourage readers to identify new things

on their own nor guide to problem solving. Texts start by explaining concepts and phenomena,

established information. The number of new terms and concepts (information

density) is high. The information structure in texts is blurred.The information found in the Internet may be correct or

false (need for source criticism).

Problems Students Encounter when Reading Science Texts 2

The problems that students encounter when reading

science texts include further: Introduced concepts are vaguely explained and do not

draw from the previously discussed ones.Students lack substantial previous knowledge in

comparison with what understanding a particular text

presupposes. The extent to which students have

previous knowledge varies. Students have several preconceptions on concepts and

these conceptions often contradict what the text states.Students have never been guided to learning by

reading.

Output from the evaluation of activities: A. Process writing

At least 70% of teachers had used process writing

approaches during science lessons Students were most active: ”Students were more

enthusiastic than before.” Process writing helped students to find the key issues in

various literary sources. All students are not alike: ”All students do not like the

others to read their writings.” Process writing takes time

Output from the evaluation of activities:B. Short texts like essays, poems, etc.

All teachers had guided their students to write short texts. Teachers’ opinion was that students were motivated and it

was valuable preparation for further studies. The experience on poems was that they were nice but not

to be used too often and with all students.

Output from the evaluation of activities:C. Writing for concrete outcomes

About 30% of teachers had guided their students to write

for concrete outcomes like user instructions, drawing

guides etc., :

”Students looked for appletts etc. in the Internet and wrote

in small groups user guides in their native language for the

best ones.”

These tiny projects activated students in discussing and goal-oriented work in teams.

Output from the evaluation of activities: D. Reading

All teachers had used formal methods like concept

mapping to promote efficient reading.

Pedagogical approaches like active reading and reciprocal

reading facilitated discussions during and after reading.

Four teacher reports indicated worries for low level of

comprehension of texts.

Output from the evaluation of activities: E. The exercises using prewritten texts

Altogether 10 teachers organised teaching experiments in

which students in small groups used prewritten texts, then

drafted revised, edited, and published a paper together.

Output from the evaluation of activities: F. Miscellaneous observations

Teachers had developed/implemented 22 different

pedagogical approaches activating reading and writing

processes. The activities emphasized contextual, constructive and

collaborative learning These pedagogical approaches scaffolded students in not

copying mechanically (cut-and-paste). It is important that students do not write to their teacher, but

they have some other audience and clear-cut goals. Teachers need time and perseverance when planning

these activities. Evaluation of student performance and outcomes is time

consuming. ”The best in learning these new pedagogical approaches is

that I have been able to activate versatile methods in

science teaching.”

Summary

Modern pedagogical approaches based on reading and

writing activities implement numerous different learning

activities emphasized contextual, constructive and

collaborative learning. Student-centered activities, both autonomous and team

work, are in the focus of learning. Students should find an audience other than their teacher,

they should have a clear-cut purpose and uncompelled

intention for writing. Different variants of reading and writing processes can be

implemented in various contexts like laboratory work, site

visits, publishing school bulletins, etc. Careful planning of the activities is most important.