How does the Learning Cycle allow science to be taught as scientists define science and how does the Learning Cycle allow students to achieve the central purpose of American Education?
The Learning Cycle allows science to be taught as the process it actually is and has been historically, not as a static collection of facts to be memorized as it has historically and unfortunately often been taught. It also organizes the concepts and terms that are learned in a way that reduces the world around a student to a logical system, much as a pile of bricks compares to the same bricks organized into a house or other useful structure. The central purpose of American education is, or should be, teaching the students in such a way they can develop the ability to think. That is, for a student/citizen to be able to follow instructions with teacher guidance to collect and evaluate good data (Exploration), formulate an explanation and/or viewpoint and use appropriate terminology (Concept Development), and then extend and apply it to his or her life. (Expansion). This correlates to the steps of the Learning Cycle, which are in parentheses above. The first phase of the inquiry-based Learning Cycle is called Exploration because new information (good data) is acquired. Disequilibrium occurs as the new data is temporarily in conflict with the student's current viewpoint. In Concept Development this conflict is reconciled as an understanding of the new concept occurs and appropriate terminology is put into place. In Expansion the organization of the new concept is locked in and developed further as the student practices, extends, and applies it through various means such as more labs, readings, practice problems, discussions, computer simulations, videos, and so on.
The Central Purpose of American Education was issued as a 21-page pamphlet by the Educational Policies Commission of the National Education Association in 1961. The focus of the report is quoted as "The purpose which runs through and strengthens all other educational purposes—the common thread of education—is the development of the ability to think.” The ability to think draws upon the use of the ten rational powers, which are discussed below. Some other points quoted from the document are:
¶ It is "crucial that the teacher possess a thorough knowledge of the material to be taught," as well as mastery of teaching methods.
¶ "The school must foster not only desire and respect for knowledge but also the inquiring spirit. It must encourage the pupil to ask: 'How do I know?' as well as 'What do I know?' "
¶ Schools should teach "the strategies of inquiry by which man has sought to extend his knowledge and understanding of the world."
¶ the need is for "that kind of education which frees the mind and enables it to contribute to a full and worthy life. To achieve this goal is the high hope of the nation and the central challenge to its schools."
This led to the development of national standards for science education such as the National Science Education Standards (NSES) by the National Research Council and the Benchmarks for Science Literacy by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Standards like these state that “Inquiry is central to science learning. When engaging in inquiry, students describe objects and events, ask questions, construct explanations, test those explanations against current scientific knowledge, and communicate their ideas to others. They identify their assumptions, use critical and logical thinking, and consider alternative explanations. In this way, students actively develop their understanding of science by combining scientific knowledge with reasoning and thinking skills.”
Oklahoma’s Priority Academic Skills (PASS), which draw upon both of the above sets of national standards, also emphasizes inquiry-based instruction that requires the use of the rational powers and therefore helps develop “the skills and knowledge of a scientifically literate citizen”, and most importantly the ability to think. The PASS objectives also “build conceptual bridges between process and scientific knowledge”. It follows that the Learning Cycle teaching approach would be a logical means to accomplish these goals and objectives.
As the student initially collects data the rational powers of comparing, inferring, and recalling are used. This data must be organized, classified, recalled, and analyzed, all of which are likewise rational powers. In the second phase of the Learning Cycle the student must interpret and draw generalizations from the data in order to develop the new concept, and calls upon the rational powers of inferring, comparing, recalling, and synthesizing. In the third phase of the Learning Cycle the student must expand the concept by explaining, predicting, and applying the generalizations, patterns, and models developed previously. This requires the rational powers of imagining, evaluating, and deducing as well as the others. I feel strongly that the Learning Cycle allows the teacher to teach science as the process it is, and incorporates the rational powers as well to give the student the best chance to truly develop the ability to think, which should be the purpose of all education.
Bibliographic Note:
Edmund Marek and Timothy Laubach, "Bridging the Gap between Theory and Practice: A Success Story from Science Education", (M. Gordon, T. O'Brien (eds.), Bridging Theory and Practice in Teacher Education, 47-59. copyright 2007 Sense Publishers.
Marek, Gerber, and Cavallo, Literacy Through the Learning Cycle, http://www.ed.psu.edu/CI/Journals/1998AETS/t3_6_marek.rtfEdmund Marek and Ann Cavallo, The Learning Cycle: Elementary School Science and Beyond, (Portsmouth NH, Heinemann, 1997).
PASS Objectives, Oklahoma State Board of Education, 2002.
http://sde.state.ok.us/home/defaultie.html
National Science Education Standards from the National Research Council, 1995.
http://books.nap.edu/readingroom/books/nses/
Educational Policies Commission. (1961). The central purpose of American education.
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