Stephen Klassen

The renewal of case studies in science education

Our objective in this paper is to clarify the contextual approach in scienceeducation and to suggest appropriate uses of history in the science classroomfrom early years through post secondary education. We present a descriptionof the variety of approaches by which teachers and educators may include thehistory of science in science instruction. This is followed by five sections inwhich historical approaches appropriate for early years, middle years, senioryears, college, and university level learning are discussed.

Science Teaching with Historically Based Stories: Theoretical and Practical Perspectives

This chapter deals with the use of historically based stories in science teaching. Stories can be viewed as pedagogical tools to help improve the learning experience of students and the learning of the content itself. The focus of this chapter is the structure and content of science stories and the effectiveness of properly constructed stories to enhance learning. Studies on the use of stories are identified and categorized, and the related empirical studies utilizing science stories are reviewed in greater depth. The chapter explains the concepts of narrative, story, and science story and addresses the need for their standardization. The model of the story as the reenactment of a type of learning process and the role of the story in generating a romantic understanding of science are expounded as pedagogical reasons supporting the story approach. History of science that is suitably adapted serves as the raw material for the construction of such science stories. The story-driven contextual approach as a framework for using stories in science teaching is presented as the undergirding for the classroom use of science stories. Topics for future studies are addressed in the conclusion.

Integrating science curricula in the middle school: Utilizing historical perspectives

Science curriculum outcomes at the middle school level are typically associated with the decontextualized science found in textbooks and teacher resources. However, the typical middle years classroom with a single teacher is an ideal setting for an integrated approach to learning science in the context of social studies, language arts, art, and other subject areas. In this paper, we describe the first phase of a three-phase integrated curriculum project. The curriculum uses an historical perspective, narratives, and a student-centred approach to create materials that integrate the Grade 5 Science weather cluster with the Grade 5 Social Studies unit on the Canadian fur trade. Risk factors that contribute to inadequate science teaching and learning are identified and several protective factors that contribute to teacher efficacy are advanced.RésuméLes résultats des curriculums scientifiques au 1er cycle du secondaire sont normalement liés aux contenus dvcontextualisés qu’on trouve dans le matériel et les ressources pedagogiques disponibles. Toutefois, la classe normale de ce niveau, qui n’a qu’un seul enseignant, constitue un contexte id’al pour une approche intvgrée où I’apprentissage des sciences se fait dans un cadre comprenant également les sciences sociales, le langage, les arts et d’autres matières scolaires. Dans cet article, nous présentons la première phase d’un projet de curriculum intégré à trois étapes. Ce curriculum se fonde sur une perspective historique, sur le récit narratif ainsi que sur une approche centrée sur l’étudiant pour créer du matériel pédagogique qui intègre le programme d’études scientifiques de cinquieme année sur le climat avec le programme d’études sociales de la meme annee sur la traite des fourrures au Canada. Nous analysons certains facteurs de risque susceptibles de nuire à I’enseignement et a I’apprentissage des sciences, de même que plusieurs facteurs qui au contraire favorisent un enseignement efficace.