2. Competencies
• one competency in the first cycle ( 5 to 7 years old)
• three competencies in the other cycles
(students aged from 8 to 17 years old)
Concepts, techniques and procedures
•Elementary: belong to the teachers
•Highschool: ministerial
3.
4. We use a collection of 20 subject matters that address
the four compulsory concepts in the Quebec Education
Program:
•The Living World
•The Material World
•The Earth and Space
•The Technological World
5. The six principals of the Inquiry Approach
Adaptation of La map
Principal 1
Students observe a common object or phenomenon and do
experiments on or about it.
Principal 2
During their investigations, students reason and debate,
share and discuss their ideas and their results to build
their knowledge because a purely manual activity does
not suffice.
6. Principal 3
The activities that the teacher presents to the students
respect the Progression of Learning as well as the Quebec
Education Program and leave many opportunities for the
students to demonstrate their autonomy.
Principal 4
Approximately two hours per week are devoted to one
specific theme and this for a period of a few weeks. A
continuum of activities and pedagogical methods is ensured
throughout the learning.
7. Principal 5
Each student writes and keeps an experiment log
book, written in their words with their own drawings.
Principal 6
The main objective is a progressive appropriation of
scientific concepts and techniques as well as written
and oral consolidation.
8. General Procedure
Introduction of the questionnaire
This questionnaire is a preamble to the learning situation.
The purpose is to:
•Introduce the topic and motivate students;
•Identify the students’ prior knowledge of the topic.
9. Each Learning Situation is organized in much the same way
1. Class group work (plenary)
Recall and discuss the common thread of
the study subject, the responses already
given, and any remaining questions and
finally expose the challenge of the day.
10. Co-operation
2. Team work
Students seek and find possible solutions to the proposed challenge.
They discuss their ideas and try to agree on a common understanding
to share with the class.
The teacher ensures that the tasks are shared fairly and may decide or
assign the defined roles within the teams.
During the experiment, the teacher observes the students, facilitates
their exchanges and helps further their work in progress through
questions that confront their ideas and their concepts.
While the teams are working, the teacher keeps track of observations
made, other traces and how the students work to be used during the
plenary.
11. 3. Collective summary (plenary)
Discussions, both in small groups or as a class are crucial in
each session.
Discussions allow students to reflect on what they already
know (their prior knowledge), to become aware of their
hypotheses, assumptions and prejudices, to learn from their
peers and to develop and improve their communication skills.
As animator of the plenary, the teacher’s role is to guide
students as they clarify their ideas, organize their thoughts and
compare different solutions, analyse and interpret the results.
Thus, tentative conclusions will be made so that students
gradually appropriate the scientific concepts and techniques as
well as the specific language and vocabulary used in science
and technology (disciplinary competencies).
12. 4. Homework
Offered on a regular basis, homework is meant to:
• ensure continuity with
classroom work (research,
reinvestment…);
• promote school-family ties;
the universal aspect of the
proposed topics often raises
interest among parents, an
interest that brings an added
incentive to students in their
school work.
13. Role of the teacher
It is not necessary to be a scientific expert to lead these
sessions; to develop this approach simply means:
•working directly with students with scientific equipment;
•allowing fumbles and/or mistakes to be made by both the
students and the teacher and then showing how they can be
beneficial;
•accepting not knowing everything and accustoming the
students to search for the missing information from others or
from books and then resuming the investigation;
•asking questions and be willing to consider all of the answers;
•questioning one’s own ideas ,thoughts and predictions, if
necessary.
14. While circulating among the teams:
•encourage exploration and participation of all team members;
•provide support to teams to conduct their own experiments and
resist the temptation to solve problems for them;
• help students focus their reasoning by asking open questions that
provide direction and challenge;
•remind students to leave traces of their work;
•encourage students to use their prior knowledge (or prior
experiences) and apply them to the new situations that are
proposed;
•participate in the discussions as a team member.
15.
A few suggestions to lead stimulating discussions:
•make the discussion an exchange of ideas and impressions;
•accept each students’ input as valid and important;
•help students clarify their ideas; an incomplete or odd
remark/statement may be the core of a unique, important
idea;
•ask open questions that ensure their understanding and that
allow them to make connections throughout the learning
process;
•help students understand that you are not the only person that
asks questions and that their questions are also an important
part of the discussion and the learning process.
16. […] The goal of science education should no longer be to simply
transmit science, but to introduce the young into a science
culture appropriate for them. What generally takes priority in
schools, in grades 3 and 4 more specifically, is encouraging a
child to be open to knowledge and to be curious about what is
unfamiliar or unclear. “Doing science” should lead to developing
attitudes of curiosity, critical thinking, creativity….
What basic skills in science in elementary school? André Giordan, Cahiers pédagogiques no. 479,
February 2010.
17. Then, through science, the objective should focus on the steps of
thinking, the thought process. On the one hand knowledge
“passes” through accessing and sorting information and through
knowledge and mobilization on the other. In this respect, the
individual must also master the experimental procedures in their
multiple dimensions: observation, investigation, measure,
estimation, experimentation,…(see Fig.1)
Fig 1. The different
dimensions of the
experimental
approach
What basic skills in science in elementary school? André Giordan, Cahiers pédagogiques no. 479,
February 2010.
18. The systematic approach is another compulsory passage of
elementary or even nursery school (see Box 1). It is the same for
pragmatics, which is commonly forgotten. The idea is no longer
to simply learn to solve problems, but first to know how to clarify
situations in order to expose the problem. It’s about realizing
that there is not always one solution to a problem, there may be
several or none at all; that in any event, they depend on the
context.
19. The challenge of evaluation is not in measuring acquired
knowledge, the quality of the technique used, the use of an
appropriate procedure or in the results obtained by the
students.
The greatest challenge is to help students to identify the
most effective strategies they or their peers are using
throughout the course of the project.
20. But how can we realistically help students to identify
their strengths and to recognize their peers’ strengths
and effective strategies?
21. 1. By having clear expectations and ensuring students know
what they are.
22. 2. By using the silent walk (or the museum tour)
video
23. 3. By making posters
It brings discoveries and effective strategies to mind; thus
becoming the collective memory of the group.
24. 4. By having students present their work or productions
(oral presentation, posters, power points…)
25. 5. By having self evaluation and peer evaluation:
6. By frequently discussing self evaluation
(Target and strategies)
27. Conclusion
Everyone can reach the target,
as long as it can be seen and as it doesn’t move.
• Give clear expectations that are known to everyone
• Provide access to other students’ strategies, procedures and
learning processes
• Reflect on strengths, challenges and on identifying concrete
ways to improve
28. A challenge: Teachers’ training
The main obstacle to the development of students’
competencies is the teacher’s lack of scientific knowledge*.
Although it is known and acknowledged by teachers, it is
rarely seen as a priority. A training session in science would
allow teachers to be more effective in guiding their students
when developing competencies in science.
*Research Action with Dr. Annie Savard from McGill
University.
29. • Design and adaptation of new lesson plans (6 to 8 hours);
• Adding new subjects integrating technology;
• Professional development:
didactic (concepts, processes and reasoning);
pedagogical (classroom management, guiding and
assessment).