Yannis Hadzigeorgiou

Humanizing the teaching of physics through storytelling: the case of current electricity

The main purpose of this article is to discuss the potential role of storytelling in the teaching and learning of physics. I first present the main historical events concerning the discovery of current electricity by focusing on the Galvani–Volta controversy and the work of Michael Faraday. Then I outline a planning framework for teaching through storytelling. This framework consists of the following components: Idea(s) to incite wonder, main plot of the story, ideas to be learned by the pupils, content knowledge, human values and the moral of the story.

A Study of the Development of the Concept of Mechanical Stability in Preschool Children.

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether preschool children (aged 4.5–6 years) can construct the concept of mechanical stability through structured hands-on activities involving the building of a tower on an inclined plane and through the use of cans of various sizes and weights. The data derived mainly from direct observation and the visual component of video tape recordings of thirty-seven children. These children formed three treatment groups which participated in structured-guided, structured-unguided and unstructured-unguided activities respectively. There is strong evidence that appropriately structured activities involving childrens action on objects and the objects immediate reaction, as well as childrens opportunity to vary this action, complemented with a scaffolding strategy can help children construct the concept of mechanical stability and apply it in other similar contexts. The paper also presents a theoretical framework for the teaching and learning of physics in the early years.

Romantic understanding and science education

This essay outlines the potential role for Kieran Egan’s (1990) notion of “romantic understanding” in science education. A summary of conventional approaches to science education is followed by a detailed analysis of the implications that romantic understanding may have for the science curriculum, teaching and student learning. In particular the relationship between teaching scientific concepts versus scientific ideas is discussed as well as the possible role in science teaching of inspiration, anticipation, and aesthetic understanding.This essay outlines the potential role for Kieran Egan’s (1990) notion of “romantic understanding” in science education. A summary of conventional approaches to science education is followed by a detailed analysis of the implications that romantic understanding may have for the science curriculum, teaching and student learning. In particular the relationship between teaching scientific concepts versus scientific ideas is discussed as well as the possible role in science teaching of inspiration, anticipation, and aesthetic understanding.

Teaching about the importance of trees: a study with young children

This paper reports on a study undertaken with the primary aim of investigating the effect of the storytelling teaching approach on kindergarten childrens retention of ideas about the importance of trees. The study also assessed the effect of storytelling on childrens intention to participate in a tree planting activity that they had to select from a list of activities. The story that was created included such elements as binary opposites, mental images, mystery, and wonder, according to Kieran Egans theory. The study utilized a two‐group design, was conducted in three phases (pre‐test, intervention, and post‐test), lasted 11 weeks, and its results provide evidence of the effectiveness of the storytelling approach when compared with the traditional method of expository teaching complemented with visual images (pictures) of trees and their importance to human beings. The pedagogical appropriateness of the story, which was based upon the binary pair of opposites ‘security–insecurity’, is also discussed in the paper.

The utilization of sensori-motor experiences for introducing young pupils to molecular motion: a report of a pilot study

Does a sensori-motor experience help a young physics student understand the movement of molecules in solids, liquids and gases? Students aged 9-10 were given either traditional demonstrations of solids, liquids and gases and the variation of molecular motion with temperature (iconic presentation), or they were involved in physical activities as they pretended to be molecules (enactive presentation). This enactive group did significantly better in subsequent tests on the subject.

A study of the effect of sensorimotor experiences on the retention and application of two fundamental physics ideas

The primary objective of this study was to investigate whether sensorimotor experiences can help young students ages 9 to 10 to construct a mental model involving a relationship between the speed of the molecules of a substance and its temperature. The sample consisted of 86 children who were randomly assigned to two groups. The children of the first group were presented with photographs and animated pictures regarding the motion of “little balls”—the molecules—in various contexts, while the children of the other group participated in sensorimotor activities regarding the same contexts. For the assessment of children’s understanding, six tasks involving visual material (photographs and animated pictures) were used. This procedure took place one week after the treatment and again four weeks later. The significant difference that was found through a t-test between the two groups on both occasions, the correlation coefficients between the scores on the two tests for both groups, and the effect sizes provide support for the effectiveness of the treatment based on sensorimotor activities as far as the development of the aforementioned relationship is concerned. Further research is warranted to confirm whether these findings can be generalized over to other populations and other science concepts.

Young Children’s Ideas About Physical Science Concepts

This chapter focuses on young children’s ideas in physical science, specifically on the concepts of matter and the changes in the state of matter, heat, evaporation and the water cycle, force, floating and sinking, electricity and light. It reports on the main research findings, the theoretical perspectives and the methodologies (along with their limitations) that guided the research studies, including a framework for analyzing children’s reasoning patterns about phenomena and concepts. The evidence concerning the effectiveness of those studies in relation to children’s conceptual development trajectories, the implications of the findings of those studies for classroom practices, and the directions for future research are also discussed.

Creative Science Education

This chapter focuses on the notion of creativity in the contexts of science and science education. It discusses the meaning and the various conceptions of creativity and their relationship to school science, as well as the problems inherent in the development and evaluation of students’ creativity. In examining, as it does, some taken-for-granted ideas and science activities regarding inquiry science and the integration of art and science, this chapter attempts to formulate a conception of creativity for school science that is both compatible with the idea of scientific creativity and realistic with regard to what students can actually do. A number of activities/strategies that encourage creativity, and more specifically imaginative/creative thinking, are also included at the end of the chapter.

Implications of R.S. Peters’ notion of ‘cognitive perspective’ for science education

Abstract This paper discusses R.S. Peters’ notion of ‘cognitive perspective’, which, through careful reading, can be interpreted as a wider perspective resulting from an awareness of the relationships of one’s knowledge and understanding to one’s own life. This interpretation makes cognitive perspective a holistic notion akin to that of worldview, and also points to the possibility for students to experience a change of outlook on the world, as a result of learning science. Given the ongoing debate regarding the notion scientific literacy and the problems associated with it, the development of cognitive perspective can be considered the primary goal of school science education, as it provides an alternative way to think about what it means for a student to be educated in science. Such a goal, in turn, points to the importance of teaching for the (practical and emotional) significance of scientific facts and ideas, as awareness of such significance does not necessarily follow the acquisition of content knowledge and the application of the latter in everyday contexts. The paper also attempts to clarify the notion of utility of scientific knowledge, as an understanding of such notion is crucilal for understanding the implications of the development of cogintive perspective for school science education.

Narrative Thinking and Storytelling in Science Education

This chapter focuses on the ideas of narrative thinking and storytelling in school science education. In distinguishing between narrative and paradigmatic (or logico-mathematical) thinking, the chapter discusses the complementary role of these two kinds of thinking, the relationship between stories and scientific theories, and the role of story as a conceptual tool that can provide coherence, continuity, and meaning to its content, in addition to its potential to encourage students’ emotional engagement with such content. A discussion of the characteristic features of a story and the difference between narrative and expository text makes it quite clear that making (or ‘crafting’) a story, especially an attractive and an instructive one, requires more than a sequence of (historical or fictional) events. The specific functions/purposes of a science story as well as the role of storytelling in science teacher education are also discussed.