by PRP Group, on 09/20/2024
As a high school science teacher, I was fascinated with learners and learning to the point that I pursued a PhD in science education focused on how people become effective teachers. I learned that many people go into teaching with views about what good teaching looks like that are different from what the research suggests are best practices. Phenomena-based science instruction is a practice that some teachers may not be comfortable with, likely because it’s not how they were taught science as students.
Their science classes would have had a lecture from the teacher, followed by a lab to verify what the teacher had said was true, and then some practice and activities. But when science instruction begins instead with students having first-hand experiences by investigating phenomena that happen every day in their lives, they have more meaningful and relevant learning experiences.