Student Centered Approachesfor science education

Developing Science Reading Skills

RTTC Kandal, November 2008

Starting Point activity

• Why do you include reading activities in your lessons?

• How often do you include reading activities in your lessons?

• What problems do you encounter when giving reading assignments?

• What measures do you take to involve your students in reading activities?

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Active reading strategies

• Active readers do more than just read the words.

• Science texts often more challenging than normal texts.

• But what does “active reading” mean?

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Active reading strategies

• Active readers do more than just read the words.

• Science texts often more challenging than normal texts.

• But what does “active reading” mean?

• Active readers:– Predict– Connect– Question– Clarify– Evaluate 4

Active reading strategies

How to integrate active reading in your

lessons?

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Active reading strategies: clozed worksheets

• Predicting– Retains attention from the reader– Requires eye for detail– Occurs automatically if you’re thinking while reading

• Read the text on the following slide & answer :– Do you manage to fill in the empty spaces?– On what do you base your answers?– Do you manage to understand the meaning of the text?

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Active reading strategies: clozed worksheets

• The central idea of plate tectonics is that the earth’s surface is made up of rigid plates that are moving slowly across the surface. Since the plates and the _____ riding on them are in ___________ motion, any given map of the _______ is only a snapshot that ______ the relative positions of the ________ at a given time. The continents occupied _____ positions in the distant _____ and they will occupy _____ positions in the distant future. The _____ of the earth, which ______ so solid and stationary, is in fact mobile. The surface of the _____ is no longer viewed as _______ but is understood to be _____ in a continuous cycle of destruction and renewal. 7

How to make and use a cloze worksheet?

1. Select a short text2. Transcribe the first sentence exact3. Transcribe all but the last sentence, replacing approx.

every fifth word with a blank (of equal length).4. Transcribe the last sentence exact.5. Keep a list of the missing words on a separate sheet.6. Let students compare their missing words.7. Discuss text & give correct answer

• Not intended as test, but as reading activity• Review activity: let students make their own

worksheet and test each other

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Clozed worksheet example

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Active reading strategies: Read-Write-Read-Write

• Connecting– Connecting to prior knowledge– Identify key concepts in the text and relate to other

concepts– Distinguish main points from details– Identify cues in text structure

• Example: – Read the following text – Put away the text and try to write down the main ideas– Read the text again– Complete your text where necessary.

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Active reading strategies: Read-Write-Read-Write

• Ecology is the branch of biology that studies the relationship between organisms and their environments. This is a very simple definition for a very complex branch of science. Most ecologists define the word environment very broadly as anything that affects an organism during its lifetime. These environmental influences can be divided into two categories. Other living things that affect an organism are called biotic factors, and nonliving influences are called abiotic factors. If we consider a fish in a stream, we can identify many environmental factors that are important to its life. The temperature of the water is an important abiotic factor, but it may be influences by the presence of trees (biotic factor) along the stream that shade the stream. Obviously, the kind and number of food organisms in the stream are important biotic factors as well, whereas the material that makes up the stream bottom and the amount of oxygen dissolved in the water are important abiotic factors too.

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Active reading strategies: 3-2-1 sheets

• Reflecting & Questioning– Thinking about what they’ve read– Evaluating their learning against

their expectations

• Example– Read the text– Try to fill in the 3-2-1 sheet– Compare with your neighbour

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Active reading strategies: 3-2-1 sheets

• Before 1990 agriculture chemicals were not readily available in Cambodia, but as the country opened up to the outside world this changed. Between 1989 and 1999 pesticide imports more than doubled. No policy existed and dangerous chemicals banned in other countries were imported. A 1999 study of toxic residues in fish found DDT levels were low. The researchers concluded that residue levels were lower than in other parts of Asia, and that Cambodia was one of the cleanest countries in the region. But it may be difficult for Cambodia to keep its enviable status, as a recent report by the UK NGO, the Environmental Justice Foundation, found the use of hazardous pesticides to be increasing across the country.

• An alternative way forward is being provided by integrated pest management (IPM), the objective of which is to encourage natural pest control methods. It involves minimizing the use of pesticides by adopting a range of approaches and interventions to pest management, some chemical, but others biological, cultural or temporal. An example is the promotion of rice-fish culture systems, as fish are both beneficial in pest control and increased fish production raises farmers’ livelihoods. 13

3-2-1 sheets: some experiences from teachers

“ This technique is very useful. It doesn’t take much time and it helps me to decide whether students have understood the lesson”

“ Students like to fill in the sheets”

“It helps students to review the lesson”

“Students find it difficult to complete the sheets.”

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Active reading strategies: Jigsaw technique

• Clarify:– Being able to explain to others is a key component of

understanding– Students learn easily from each other– Students can evaluate their understanding while

explaining

• Example:– Divide lesson in different parts for study by expert groups– Coach expert groups– Mix expert groups into home groups– Organize class discussion & review understanding

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Jigsaw technique: organizational scheme

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D1 A1 D2 A2 C1 D1

C1 B1 C2 B2 C4 C2 D4 D2

C3 D3

D4 A4 D3 A3 B1 A1

C4 B4 C3 B3 B4 B2 A4 A2

B3 A3

Go to expert group to study

Return to home groupsto teach peers

Home groups Expert groups

For example: Lesson on respiration•group A: meaning of respiration in animals and people•group B: main parts of the respiratory system•group C: illnesses and viruses w.r.t. the respiration•group D: ways to prevent these illnesses.

Jigsaw technique: expert groups & home groups

In expert groups

students – Read the text– Develop a summary– Make a list of key terms– Make or interpret diagrams– Formulate review questions

teachers– Listen to student explanations– Make mental notes– Give tips to home groups

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In home groups

students – Explain to each other what

they have learned in their own words.

– Use the material prepared in expert group.

teachers– Coach expert groups– Answer questions– Pose additional questions

Jigsaw technique: expert groups & home groups

Jigsaw technique checklist

• On topic selection:– Can topics be studied independently?

– Are topics of approx. equal study length?

– Is there new science vocabulary that you need to explain?

– Do I need to give additional information or extra questions?

• On class management:– How many expert and home groups do I make?

– How can I quickly make groups?

– How much time do I give to expert groups and home groups?

– How will I review understanding of the topic afterwards?19

Active reading strategies: Flash cards

• Evaluate– Evaluate their understanding of key ideas in the text– Explain key terms in their own words– Card sets are swapped among groups and used to

practice knowledge– Cards are kept for future use.

• Example: – choose a topic from the list– Work together to develop 10 flash cards– Swap the flash cards, use them to review your

knowledge– Would you change some of them?

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Examples of flash cards

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Active reading summary

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Evaluation activity

• Which techniques will you try-out in class? Which not?

• Find an example of a lesson topic for each one.• Argue if these tools contribute to better learning

in class.

23Image Inge Grewen