Critical pedagogy in science: Using curiosity and investigation to develop meaningful

learning and connections

Sabrina Groth

Department of Education, Manhattan College

EDUC 380: Curriculum and Methods of Science

Sister Maryann Jacobs

December 6, 2022
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ABSTRACT

The field of science education is one that has become increasingly in the modern world. The only

problem with this attention is that student learning is suffering. The science classroom is

becoming less about how well information can be applied and exploring the world around us,

and becoming more about fast facts and standardized tests. This problem is not unique to the

science classroom, however, it has a more detrimental effect on content than in other areas. The

scientific method began over a million years ago with the invention of the first tools of man.

Science began with a problem, which turned into a question and someone, the first scientist,

designed a solution. In the modern world, we have cleaned up the scientific method and added

rules and regulations, but the concept remains the same. With the standardization of the

classroom, students are losing out on valuable learning. Their scientific exploration has been

reduced to rote memorization and “teaching to the test.” Students’ time in the classroom should

be spent developing investigative skills, curiosity, complex thought, and communication skills.
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A compilation of various international surveys found that about 15% of secondary school

students dislike their science classes, with most of them (1 in 8) disliking biology. Another study,

from 2015, found that 70% of students felt like giving up on their science classes (Spicer). Most

students cited memorization and lack of application as their reason. Rote memorization

accomplishes nothing in the adolescent brain, or the adult brain for that matter. It fails to form

the neurological pathways that allow for long-term memory and application. According to

Weinstein and Sumeracki, meaningful learning can only happen if the student forms a connection

with the content (2019). Classrooms that are memorization heavy are virtually useless. These

classes result only in working memory, which is severely limited. The average adolescent’s

working memory can only hold information for about 30 seconds at a time, or until a new piece

of information needs to be encoded (Durwin & Weber, 2020). Consequently, modern classrooms

that rely heavily on lectures to introduce new information are inefficient and outdated. So why

do we keep seeing this method used in schools? And what should we be doing instead?

Investigation is more than just giving students a lab packet and sending them off on their

own. Investigation involves students asking questions, making mistakes, and forming

hypotheses. Students are not the only ones asking questions, however. Teachers should always

have at least one driving question for every activity or lesson. This driving question should be

based on an authentic real-world topic that relates to students’ lives. For example, a unit about

plant-growth could ask the question, “What do plants need to grow?” The question is broad, yet

with a focus, and can develop into sub questions about the topic. Driving questions can also be

developed by students through the use of driving question boards. These boards allow students to

add their own questions about the unit and encourages students to engage with the content. These
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student-developed questions can be answered throughout the unit, as they are all related and

would not pull away from the content.

Asking questions is not a new concept for secondary school students, but asking effective

ones might be. Every human being is born with a sense of curiosity and investigation. Humans

are born asking questions. By the time children reach secondary school, their questions should

focus less on the “what” and more on “how” and “why.” But this is rarely the case. The

secondary science curriculum is based on the assumption that students already have a baseline

knowledge that only needs to be built upon, but, as previously stated, this is rarely the case.

Students are so focused on the tests that they forget they are meant to be learning. They also have

a difficult time wrapping their heads around the concept of “making mistakes is okay.” It is

important in any classroom, but science especially, that students know not everything needs to be

right on the first try. I recommend opening the year with an anecdote about a famous scientist

that made a mistake or was proved wrong. One example of this could be the flat Earth theory,

which was the belief of people for millions of years until Socrates proved the Earth was round. It

is important to explain to students that science is about using what we know to form hypotheses

instead of trying to tell the teacher what they want to hear. The flat Earth theory survived for so

long because humans didn’t have any way to prove it wrong for millions of years. Science is

about using what you know and the tools you have, not about getting the right answer.

This concept of accepting setbacks is one that both students and teachers struggle with. A

common misconception is that teachers are expecting their students to fail and struggle. This

could not be further from the truth. Though it has been proven that learning from failure is more

effective than learning from success (Vehkakoski, 2019), failure should not be expected.

Expecting failure increases maladaptive behavior and anxiety, as well as decreases in motivation
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and self-esteem. Teachers who adopt this pedagogy should promote a positive learning

environment that supports experimental setbacks. One study found that students were more

likely to reflect on their learning and share responsibility for mistakes and problems when they

felt supported by their peers and teachers (Tobin, 2013). The obvious component of science is

experimentation. Experimentation is an aspect of science that requires constant reflection and

analysis, which is why it’s so important that students understand that not everything needs to be

perfect on the first try. If a student performs an experiment and their results agree with their

hypothesis, they should dig deeper an discover what else they can learn from their results. On the

other hand, if a student performs an experiment and their results disprove their hypothesis, they

should not just call it a day and state they were wrong. Students should still dive deeper into their

experiment and see if their results can be applied to anything else and still interpret the results

and acknowledge that a disproved hypothesis still has meaning.

The other major component that should be present in all science classrooms is hands-on

learning. Many teachers struggle with this, as the traditional style of assessment is

straightforward and leaves little up to interpretation. A 2019 study found that students in

traditional learning environments that use mostly lower-level thinking skills had fleeting

knowledge of the subject matter and lacked the ability to transfer their knowledge (Chen & Yang,

2019). One major component of a project based curriculum is having multiple means for

assessing student success throughout the year. If every assessment is the same format, students

will start to dread them as much as traditional assessment. The important thing that should never

change, no matter the pedagogy, is that students knw exactly what is expected of them. If

students do not have a tangible goal, they are more likely not to complete assignments and

participate in class (Cowie, 2012).

However, classrooms that incorporate student “choice and voice” (Chen & Yang, 2019)

experience higher levels of motivation and engagement. Giving students the choice between

various assessment formats, such as the use of a learning menu, and creating an environment

where they feel heard boosts learning and motivation. A 2012 study actually found that students

in classrooms with autonomy had more respect for their teachers and peers and were more likely

to put their best effort into completing assignments (Cowie). Students in hands-on classrooms

also have the opportunity to develop other skills indirectly, such as collaboration and effective

communication. These skills can also be fostered through seating arrangements. A common

seating arrangement found in science classrooms is the use of large tables or clusters of desks so

that students are never sitting by themselves. This setup not only encourages students to

collaborate but also encourages students to engage with the content and assignments simply

because they are near someone else doing it (Bandura, 1977).

Another benefit to using student clusters to increase motivation is that it decreases the

need for homework or any other additional assignments outside of class. Homework is a

controversial topic in the field of education, especially with the new generation of teachers in a

post-pandemic world. With the pandemic, students and educators alike became engulfed in

technology and attention spans grew shorter. The average adolescent attention span in 2015 was

about 30 minutes, this attention span decreased with the pandemic to a whopping total of just

under 15 minutes. (Balan & Montemayor, 2021). This decrease in attention span is why many

researchers are preaching shorter lectures, some even claim that no lectures at all would be the

most effective (Bradbury, 2016). The same research also suggests that, should educators need

more than 15 minutes, lecture should be broken up into bite sized pieces, preferably with a

hands-on or kinesthetic activity. Another important idea about lectures in the new world is that
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they do not only need to be used to introduce new information, but can also be used to discuss

past and future lessons.

The pandemic didn’t just change attention spans, however, many students also had their

entire lives changed. In New York alone, around 15% of students were homeless or had unstable

housing (Shapiro, 2021), a number that used to be closer to about 5%. With so many students

lacking stable home environments, how can we expect students to find a place to complete their

homework? In the post-pandemic world, the most effective homework policy is simply not

having any. This can easily be accomplished by creating a classroom atmosphere that is

promotes discussion and application over traditional assessment.

As for how to incorporate each aspect of this pedagogy into each class activity and

lesson, it’s impossible. Each aspect of the pedagogy plays a role and in some lessons not all will

be present, though they will be seen throughout the year on a regular basis. Each unit should

open with a driving question, followed by an additional driving question for each lesson or class.

These questions should force students to think outside the box and consider multiple

perspectives. To introduce a new topic or unit, students should discuss their prioir knowledge,

both with the teacher and their peers (Spicer, 2015). This is often most effective when the

discussion begins in small groups and is later brought together with the whole class, preferably

with the teacher asking follow up questions throughout the lesson. Some form of lecture is

always needed, this could be anything from a simple explanation of student expectations to an

explanation of new material. This lecture does not need to occupy the entire 15 minute window

provided by researchers, but should last a minimum of 5 minutes to provide enough time for

students to encode information before moving on (Durwin & Reese-Weber, 2020).

As for the bulk of class time, it should be spent with students applying their knowledge

rather than regurgitating it. Oftentimes, this is used doing lab activities and experiments, but one

overlooked aspect is research. Students need time to collaborate and communicate with their

peers while they develop new understandings of concepts. In a world where every bit of

information known to man is at our fingertips, why wouldn’t we want to show students how to

find answers? Using research, students learn to think and act more independently, developing

questions and solutions on their own, which increases student respect for their teacher and their

intrinsic motivation (Tobin, 2013). And, following any form of investigation, there always needs

to be a concluding activity that closes the day and sets the stage for the following class. Based on

the idea that kinesthetic activity boosts student retention (Bradbury, 2016), students should do an

activity that requires them to move around. I have two personal favorite closure activities: the

blizzard and the beachball reflection. The blizzard is quite simple: students are each given a half

sheet of paper and write a sentence about the unit, activity, or topic and, on the teacher’s signal,

students crumple up their papers into a “snowball” and throw them into the air. Once all

snowballs are on the ground, students go around the room and pick a snowball and read it aloud

to the class to ensure all students participated. This activity allows students to remain anonymous

with their sentences and creates a little bit of fun in an otherwise serious setting. The second

activity, beachball reflection, involves students tossing a beachball with reflection questions

written around it, generally 12-15 of them, and students each answer one question depending on

how the ball lands in their hands. Students should answer the question closest to their right

thumb, though, once a question has been asked three times, it is removed from rotation.

Putting this pedagogy into practice was not an easy task. Limited to only 30 minutes was

the largest part of this challenge, though time limits are not limited to the education student. To
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open my lesson, I began with a kinesthetic approach to activate students’ prior knowledge.

Students were given four scenarios in which they needed to decide if the scenario described a

homeostatic mechanism or not. Students were required to get out of their seats to move to one

side of the room or the other depending on if they believed the scenario involved homeostasis. I

added a discussion component to this activity in which students not only had to pick a side, but

also defend the side they chose. This activity seemed to work to get students’ minds activated

and have them think of examples of homeostasis in their own lives. On common problem with

science classes is that many students have difficulty understanding how concepts relate to them

and be applied to life outside of the classroom. Following this activity, I incorporated a 5 minute

lecture that introduced the lab activity for the lesson. Students were actively engaged, as many of

them offered to read out sections and answer questions. In corresponding sections, I modeled

what students would need to do (taking their pulse, how to do a jumping jack, etc.). Before

students began their lab activity, they were asked to develop hypotheses for the two experiments

they performed. Both experiments involved students being hands-on, with the second being

directly involved in movement. I also kept track of students’ heart rates on the board so students

could see homeostasis in action on a larger scale than just themselves or their lab partner.

At this point, time was becoming an increasingly concerning issue. By the time the lab

activity had been completed, there were only 2 minutes left to complete the packet and discuss

the results as a class. Students did not have adequate time to complete their packets but, seeing as

they did it as a group, it was not assigned to be completed outside of class. I also did not assign

the packet as homework because I had not yet explained the criteria for their graphs yet and

wanted to ensure students knew what was expected of them. The discussion was extremely short

and only involved broad comments from a handful of students, though did tie up the lesson
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nicely. Another activity I would have liked to accomplish was the blizzard activity I described

earlier. While this lesson was very movement based, much more than an average lesson would

be, I do think it had a positive effect on the students. Following the first activity, students were

already more awake and excited for the lesson. Overall, I think it was a successful lesson, though

I would have liked to have a deeper discussion about the results of their lab and what they mean

for students outside of the classroom.

All in all, the secondary science classroom should develop lifelong skills alongside

content knowledge, though they should be inextricable from one another. Knowledge means

nothing if it cannot be applied, science should teach wisdom instead, science should teach

students how to use their knowledge. Building a classroom based on exploration and application

is crucial to guiding students to become independent learners, both in and out of the classroom.

Building this environment would also decrease the frequency of questions such as: “when are we

going to use this?” or “so what?” The science classroom should develop skills and knowledge

that are transferable to life outside of school by giving students the opportunity to form

connections with the content. After all, what is a teacher if not a guide through adolescence

towards mastery and independence?

References

Balan, A.K., Montemayor, T. A. (2021). The influence of online learning towards the attention

span and motivation of college students.

Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Prentice Hall.

Bradbury, N.A. (2016). Attention span during lectures: 8 seconds, 10 minutes, or more? The

American Physiological Society, 40, 509-513.

Cowie, B. (2012). Focusing on the classroom: Assessment for learning. Second International

Handbook of Science Education, 24, 679-690.

Durwin, C.C., & Reese-Weber, M. (2020). EdPsych Modules (4th ed., pp. 229-277). Sage

Publishing.

Shapiro, E. (2021, Nov 8). Over 100,000 New York City public school students were homeless

last year, data show. The New York Times.

www.nytimes.com/2021/11/08/nyregion/nyc-homeless-children-pandemic.html

Spicer, J. J. (2015). Measuring Student Engagement in Science Classrooms: An investigation of

the contextual factors and longitudinal outcomes. (Publication No. 3701840) [Doctoral//

dissertation, Michigan State University].

Tobin, K. (2013). A Sociocultural Approach to Science Education. Revista Internacional de

Investigación en Educación, 64 (12), 19-35.

Vehkakoski, T. M. (2020). Teacher Promotion of Optimism in Response to Student Failure

Expectation Expressions in Classroom Discourse. Scandinavian Journal of Educational

Research, 64 (3), 408-424.

Weinstein, Y., Sumeracki, M., & Caviglioli, O. (2019). Understanding how we learn (pp. 64-78).

Routledge.