Teaching scientific method to primary school pupils by using the example of adaptation of secondarily aquatic animals...

Geologos 27, 3 (2021): 181–188

DOI: 10.2478/logos-2021-0020

Teaching scientific method to primary school pupils

by using the example of adaptation of secondarily
aquatic animals to the marine environment

Mateusz Antczak
University of Opole, Institute of Biology, ul. Oleska 22, 45-052 Opole, Poland; e-mail: [email protected]

Abstract

Science classes in public schools are usually strictly linked to several subjects and taught by reference to the reading-lis-
tening model. Non-formal educational institutions and events such as ‘children universities’ and science fairs (and
to some degree also some private schools) implement elements of interdisciplinary teaching of science and learning
through experiments and the use of scientific methods. Workshops conducted within non-formal educational struc-
tures prove that only is this method engaging and understandable to primary school pupils, it also is possibly much
more effective than the traditional learning style for coding information and explaining common misconceptions in
teaching evolution, palaeontology and biodiversity. The example of a scenario for science classes presented here (the
so-called ‘aquatic problem’, i.e., adaptations of primarily terrestrial animals – amniotes – to the aquatic environment)
uses simple props, such as everyday items, to address the problems that teachers in public school face. Thus, it can be
implemented independently of school budgets and availability of school equipment.

Key words: Interdisciplinary, experiment-based learning, evolution, non-formal education

1. Introduction
very highly rated by the students. Although in pub-
lic schools (at all stages from Primary School to High
Over many years, numerous educational studies School – ages 7 to 19) the listening-reading model
have supplied ample proof that learning through still predominates, many teachers prepare addition-
experience is more effective than simply reading al activities for their pupils and students in order to
(listening) and repeating the studied material (Cut- improve the teaching process, especially in science
ter-MacKenzie & Edwards, 2013; Campos & Sá-Pin- classes. Scientific method and learning through ex-
to, 2013). Even in higher education, it is proposed perience is the main goal of non-formal education-
that experience-based learning is much more ef- al institutions such as ‘children universities’ (reg-
fective. A good example is that of a palaeontologi- ular meetings including lectures and workshops
cal course at the University of Texas, described by conducted by active scientists, usually for children
Montgomery & Donaldson (2014), which constitut- aged 6 to 13) or at workshops during science festi-
ed problem-based learning “centered on fossils and vals. These kinds of classes are usually provided by
rock samples selected from a research collection” that was scientists who are specialists in a certain field and
182 Mateusz Antczak

can provide not only different apparatuses and tools ducted during science festivals, children’s universi-
but, more importantly, a different view on teaching ty classes and in a private school alongside biology
science. Here I present the example of the evolution courses. However, the given scenario combines bi-
of a secondarily aquatic lifestyle of primarily ter- ological issues with the use of physics, chemistry,
restrial vertebrates, as well as teaching of scientific geology and palaeontology (because adaptations to
method and problem-solving through experiments. aquatic lifestyles can be traced not only in modern,
Learning through experience, scientific method, and but also extinct, species), and it should not be con-
interdisciplinarity of science is important because sidered as a separate subject. Different educational
these bring together the knowledge gained in dif- backgrounds can bring complementary skills when
ferent science classes so as to address complex ques- considering any problem (Maglaughlin & Sonnen-
tions (Maglaughlin & Sonnenwald, 2005) and inte- wald, 2005).
grate modes of thinking (You, 2017). The value of Workshops were given to ten groups of primary
such an approach has been noted in the literature for school pupils (around 150 participants, aged 7–12)
many decades (Jacob, 1953; You, 2017). According to in the years 2018–2020; participants were divided
Jacob (1953), interdisciplinary training should begin into age groups, i.e., 6–7, 8–9 and 10–12. No spe-
as soon as a child (aged 6 or 7) enters school. cific background was needed, although (especially
The study presented here is a preliminary in- in older groups), the lecturer might refer to knowl-
quiry into teaching evolutionary processes (spe- edge gained during the first years of science edu-
cifically, the transition from land to oceans and cation (such as distinguishing individual groups of
freshwater settings) through scientific method in vertebrates, the morphology of organisms as adap-
schools. Scientific method is here understood as a tations to environment and the knowledge that life
method of procedure that has characterised natu- on Earth in the past looked different from today’s).
ral science since the 17th century, comprising sys-
tematic observation, measurement and experiment,
and the formulation, testing and modification of 2.2. Background of scientific problem
hypotheses (Oxford English Dictionary, 2012). The
implementation of scientific methods has proved to The aim of the workshop is to teach scientific meth-
be engaging and effective in, for instance, the ge- od and use problem-solving learning by using the
osciences (topography, field studies, groundwater example of evolutionary boundaries that primarily
and weathering laboratories [see Hannula, 2003] terrestrial animals encountered when adapting to a
and geomorphology [see Markley, 2010]). Evolu- marine (or freshwater) environment. The whole set
tion is long-term process that is not easily traced of such challenges is called ‘the aquatic problem’
and recreated. However, as presented by Cleland (after the Alberta University online course, ‘Ancient
(2001) amongst others, although historical science Marine Reptiles’, 2015). All amniotes (i.e., animals
is not inferior to classical experimental science at with the capacity for embryonic development on
first glance, this does not mean that historical pro- land) are primarily terrestrial, which means that
cesses (such as meteorite impacts) cannot be tested their ancestors were terrestrial. Some groups of
by scientific method. Considering this the aim is to primarily terrestrial amniotes have subsequently
set up a conceptual framework for experimental adapted to the aquatic environment, thus they are
teaching methods using the example of adaptations called secondarily aquatic animals. Different kinds
of primarily terrestrial amniotes to the aquatic en- of primarily terrestrial vertebrates adapted to the
vironment. Objectives include testing a four-step aquatic environment to varying degrees. For ex-
approach, describing students’ misconceptions ample, hippos walk on their toes on the bottom of
and teachers’ problems in implementing experi- the river, but need water to keep their skin moist;
ence-based learning in public schools. outside of water they secrete ‘red sweat’ which
acts like a sunscreen and antibiotic (Saikawa et
al., 2004). Crocodiles move smoothly both on land
2. Method and in water (with such detailed adaptations like
the specific design of the peripheral visual system;
2.1. Theme and respondents Nagloo et al., 2016), while sea turtles only leave the
water to lay eggs (on the same beach where they
The interdisciplinary and experiment-based ap- hatched; e.g., Cassill, 2021) and whales spend their
proach is rarely implemented in public schools, but entire lives in the ocean (e.g., Pyeson, 2019). This
often applied in non-formal educational courses. In means that these taxa occupy different places in the
view of this, the workshop presented here was con- ‘semi-aquatic spectrum’. Moreover, the fossil record
 Teaching scientific method to primary school pupils by using the example of adaptation of secondarily aquatic animals... 183

Fig. 1. Students conducting experiments during a workshop at a science festival (Opole, Poland; January 2020). A – Test-
ing propulsion in water. Students waved their hands, three times in a row, in a large plastic bowl filled with water;
firstly, with widespread fingers; secondly, with straight, joined fingers and, thirdly, with a plastic, hand-sized fin.
They tried to compare the effectiveness of such moves, decide which is best and answer the question of what kind
of limb yields the highest propulsion in water; B – Testing neutral buoyancy. Students observed a thin stick floating
on water, like bones of terrestrial animals. By using the given props, they tried to make the stick sink (to achieve
neutral buoyancy, as in the body of an aquatic animal). It is quite easy to have the stick sink using plasticine, or glu-
ing stones, but an explanation is needed. Following the experiment, different methods of gaining neutral buoyancy
were revealed: 1) pachyostosis (additional layers of bone which cause bone thickening), as seen in, for instance,
manatees and plesiosaurs, 2) osteosclerosis (bone gaining a higher density through mineral deposition in inner bone
cavities), as seen in, for example, turtles and extinct sloths, 3) swallowing rocks (gastroliths), as seen in, for instance,
alligators, birds and ichthyosaurs; C – Testing salt acting on the organism. Students took a piece of cucumber with
skin and one without, and some amount of salt on both pieces and observed. After some time, when the piece not
protected by skin started to dehydrate, students had to answer how salt in water could be harmful to aquatic ani-
mals. Subsequently, several examples of dealing with excess salt could be demonstrated (for example, “sneezing”
iguanas, “crying turtles”); D – Testing preserving body heat. To compare how terrestrial and aquatic environments
are linked with losing heat, students produced three plasticine spheres. One (terrestrial environment) stayed on the
table and two went into the aquatic setting (cold water); one without any protection and the other wrapped in fat
(bacon plaster). After a few minutes students took out the spheres and compared their temperature. Finally, they
answered the question of which of the two was warmest and why there was a difference between the spheres taken
from the water. Ways to retain heat in water can be explained with the example of a walrus; E – Testing the senses:
hearing and sight. Students put a long prop (stick, straw or spoon) in water (while part remains above water level)
and observed the breakdown of the prop. Students also filled a large plastic bag with water, then put it to their ear
and tried to understand what fellow students standing next to them were saying. After these experiments, students
concluded that hearing and sight in water differed from hearing and sight on land, and tried to explain why that
was. Adaptations of different animals to effective sight and hearing in water were given as examples (dolphins and
echolocation, large-eyed ichthyosaurs and seals with a tapetum lucidum).
184 Mateusz Antczak

shows that ancestors of modern semi-aquatic and hearing and sight issues (modified after the Alberta
aquatic amniotes also occupied different stages of University online course, ‘Ancient Marine Reptiles’,
this spectrum when compared with their descend- 2015). Workshops are composed of lecture-like ex-
ants (e.g., Gingerich, 2003). This means that differ- planations and discussion parts, and experiments
ent groups of secondarily aquatic (or semi-aquatic) conducted by pupils or students (with instructions
reptiles, mammals and birds adapted to the aquatic given by the lecturer), by using a large bowl of
environment in different ways. water and simple props, such as sticks, plasticine,
plastic ‘fins’, small rocks, cucumbers, salt, a slice of
bacon, etc. (Fig. 1, Table 1). The first experiment is
2.3. Workshop construction inspired by the Alberta University online course,
‘Ancient Marine Reptiles’, 2015), while all others
The general problem is subdivided into six smaller have been designed by myself.
issues that pupils need to solve by using designed The lecture-like elements discuss issues that are
experiments that employ simple props, so that difficult to test, such as streamlined body shapes,
these can be later repeated at home (or presented body cover (problem of drag and water viscosity)
in school without the need to buy expensive materi- and orientation in a fully-3D environment. Howev-
als). The ‘aquatic problem’ is here broken down into er, most of these issues are tested by the pupils and
propulsion, neutral buoyancy, salt, temperature, students during classes (Table 1).

Table 1. Framework for implemention of scientific method through experience-based learning and activities during
exemplary workshops devoted to the ‘aquatic problem’.
Framework
Hy- Pre-
Scientific Scientific Testing hy-
Observation poth- dic- Conclusions
method problem pothesis
esis tion
Not observed
Workshop
Hypothesis Problem
adaptation Background Question Experiment Explanation
or Prediction solved
of scientific
method
Example
Problem and Misconcep-
setting tions
Propulsion Showing How primar- They use fins
Test the ‘Fin’ gives Presenting Not ob-
Stiff-foil ‘fin’ anatomy of ily terres- instead of propulsion more power different served
marine ani- trial animals legs to ‘push’
in water. Use than hand. styles of us-
mals (having move in from water hand with Hand with ing fins for
fins instead water? non-clasped clasped propulsion
of legs) fingers, hand fingers gives
with clasped more power
fingers, and than without
hand with it
‘fin’
Neutral buoy- Terres- Why bodies They became Try to Stick plasti- Present- Stones ‘held’
ancy trial animals of aquatic heavier change the cine around ing the with limbs
Chicken body floats, species do bone so it – additional examples of rather than
bone or stick while aquat- not float? will sink layers of animals with swallowed
imitating ic species can bone (pachy- pachyostosis, or no expla-
the bone + control the ostosis). osteoscle- nation
plasticine, immersion Glued stones rosis and
small stones, depth – gastroliths swallowing
crayons, gastroliths
pipe clean-
ers, straws,
clothes,
paper clips,
glue, etc.
 Teaching scientific method to primary school pupils by using the example of adaptation of secondarily aquatic animals... 185

Salt Many of the Can salt be It can be Put salt on

Cucumber Presenting Animals
Cucumber aquatic spe- dangerous dangerous the cucum-without examples that live in
with and cies lives in for aquatic even for ani- ber and skin looses of animals water are not
without skin, salt waters species? mals living cucumber’swater more dealing with endangered
salt in salt water skin quickly (due salt excess: by dehydra-
to osmosis). ‘sneezing’ tion.
Skin protects iguanas,
before salt ‘crying’
and dehy- turtles
dration
Temperature Many of the How they They can Make three ‘Table’ and Presenting Not ob-
Plasticine, primarily can stay keep warmth plasticine ‘bacon’ animals that served
raw bacon terrestrial warm? with fur, spheres of spheres are live in very
slices species lives feathers and the same warmer than cold habitats
in cold wa- blubber size. One the one sim- and their
ters goes on ply put into anatomy
the table, water. In wa-
second to ter animal’s
cold water, body loose
third to cold warm faster
water after than on land.
wrapping in Layer of fat
bacon. Take allows to
all three after keep warm
some time effectively
and compare
its warmth
Hear and Sound wave How is hear- Dense water Put the bag It is not easy Presenting Hearing is
sight acts differ- ing under makes it to your to hear with difference the same
Sealed bag ently in air water differ- difficult for ear. Try to water. The in the ear everywhere
with water and water ent than in ‘terrestrial understand reason is that anatomy of as you ‘use
air? ear’ to hear what your our terres- aquatic and the same
colleague trial ears are terrestrial ears’
whispers to not adapted species (ad-
you. Listen to effectively ditional –
to your hear under presenting
colleague water echolocation
without the
bag
Sight Light acts How is see- Water dif- Put it to the The spoon is Presenting Sight is the
Spoon, stick, differently in ing under fuses light in water so ‘breaking’ at adaptations same every-
straw or air and water water differ- a different the part is the surface, for seeing in where as
similar ent than in way than air still above because light deep water you use ‘the
air? the surface. travels with (e.g. tapetum same eyes’
Observe the lower speed lucidum in
surface of in dense en- seals, large
water vironment orbits of ich-
thyosaurs)

Based on the scientific method, the lecturer en- – A thick layer of blubber effectively maintains
courages pupils and students to: body temperature
1. Ask a scientific question. Examples: 3. Test hypotheses and predictions. Examples:
– How do primarily terrestrial animals move in – Comparing the effectiveness of propulsion of
water? the human hand (widespread fingers) and a
– How can body temperature be maintained in hand ‘transformed’ into a fin
cold water? – Comparing the temperature of plasticine spheres
2. Formulate hypotheses and predictions. located ‘on land’ and in water with and without
Examples: a layer of fat (bacon slice)
– Using webbed-toes and fins (adapted limbs) 4. Draw conclusions. Example:
186 Mateusz Antczak

– Fins are more effective in the aquatic environ- experiments properly (80 percent in the last group
ment than ‘terrestrial limbs’ in 2020), they not always knew how to translate this
– Blubber helps to retain body heat. into a scientific explanation of animal anatomy. For
Results are presented on the basis of experi- example, they stick the stones to the bone in order
ence gained in providing science workshops in to make it sink to the bottom, but do not connect
non-formal educational settings and interviews this with swallowing, but, for example, with ‘hold-
with science popularisers, managers of children’s ing rocks by limbs’. Additional data were then sup-
universities, early education teachers and parents plied, in particular a photograph of a ichthyosaur
of workshop participants. skeleton with gastroliths preserved in situ. With
this help, most pupils/students improved their an-
swers, stating that animals can swallow stones to
3. Results achieve neutral buoyancy.
Parents usually pay attention to how their
Observations of students actively solving issues child(ren) engage(s) in the work and if he/she/
revolving around the ‘aquatic problem’ and inter- they enjoy these activities, but engagement is not
views with managers, teachers and parents have al- equal to effective learning (Frensley et al., 2020).
lowed to draw the following conclusions regarding However, teachers and managers (with experience
both method effectiveness and misconceptions. in formal and non-formal teaching) have noted the
Over the years, several elements of the designed ability to answer essential questions with high ac-
workshops have proved to be more effective learn- curacy following workshops (Fig. 2), potentially
ing styles than the traditional pattern. Students higher than after traditional lessons. In future stud-
ask and answer questions on their own, do experi- ies, proper surveys should be conducted in order to
ments to resolve issues, and draw conclusions with test the level of effectiveness of learning new terms
the help of a lecturer, if needed; yet, it should be and problems comparing traditional classes and
stressed that no simple answers or results are given methods described herein.
a priori (Martin & Pressley, 1991; Chi et al., 1994).
Although students effectively draw conclusions
on their own during the workshop, a few miscon- 4. Discussion
ceptions occur systematically. Some of these are
listed in Table 1; the others are: In view of the fact that the workshop was conduct-
– Marine amniotes do not have terrestrial ancestors ed within non-formal educational structures and
(Paleogene ancestors of modern whales turn out at a private school, the availability of props was
to be amongst the most surprising elements of not a problem. In addition, the workshop was giv-
the lecture/discussion part). en by an active scientist with research experience,
– Decompression sickness cannot affect marine animals which is different from the experience of an aver-
(explained later using a bottle of sparkling water age school teacher. Garraway-Lashley (2019) listed
and photographs of pathologies in fossils as a re- several problems in teaching science in primary
sult of decompression sickness). schools that most teachers face; these may affect the
With the designed experiments most of the quality of science education:
misconceptions are easily explained. Moreover, 1. A lack of pupils’ interest in science classes,
although the majority of pupils/students did their 2. A lack of possibilities for the development of
teachers, science instructions and knowledge.
You (2017) postulated that professional develop-
ment can provide teachers with specific input:
3. Stiff curriculum – problems with the implemen-
tation of additional activities.
The last point is also connected with the fact that
teaching in public schools is test-oriented, which ac-
cording to Xiaowei et al. (2018) is another problem,
because:
4. Test-oriented teaching does not support scien-
tific inquiry; on the contrary, it focuses on the
Fig. 2. Percentage of accuracy in explaining results of artificial result rather than on students’ thinking
self-conducted experiments by students (10) at a pri- and productivity.
vate school in Poznań, Poland (December 2019).
 Teaching scientific method to primary school pupils by using the example of adaptation of secondarily aquatic animals... 187

Fitzgerald & Smith (2016) mentioned another ganisms and environment, expressing convergent,
issue: divergent and adaptative evolution. Based on the
5. The amount of time devoted to science classes is Polish curriculum for biology (classes IV–VIII, age
inconsistent. 10–14), students for example learn about birds of:
Despite this, a shift towards an interdisciplinary – the diversity of living environments and mor-
presentation of science and emphasis on the scien- phological features of birds,
tific method are considered to provide a wide range – observation of bird representatives (photo-
of benefits that improve public school curriculum graphs, films, diagrams, natural specimens in the
and instruction. By teaching deductive reasoning, field, etc.) and presentation of common features
synthetic and critical thinking and complex un- and description of bird adaptations to flight,
derstanding and evaluation of multiple perspec- – definition of birds as warm-blooded animals,
tives (Nowacek, 2005; You, 2017) multiple aims – presentation of the way of reproduction and de-
can be achieved, including cognitive advancement, velopment of birds,
strengthening memory trace, increased motivation – explanation of the importance of birds in nature
and improvement of affective domains (Newell, and for humans.
1994; Mulligan & Hornstein, 2003; Nyberg et al., However, the reasons and processes behind this
2003; Lattuca et al., 2004; You, 2017). In general, are not mentioned:
problem-solving learning leads to higher-order – why do birds possess characteristic features that
thinking skills (Boix Mansilla & Duraisingh, 2007). differentiate them from other groups? (only ad-
It has also been demonstrated that the interdisci- aptations for flight are mentioned)
plinary approach increases student scores when – how did they become so diverse? What did their
compared to teaching divided into several subjects ancestors look like? (during non-formal educa-
(Vars, 1991). tion students of different age are often surprised
Yet, drawbacks to providing the scientific meth- by the fact that birds are the descendants of di-
od to primary school pupils cannot be ignored. The nosaurs, while a close relationship between birds
lecturer needs to remember that strict scientific and dinosaurs was first proposed in the nine-
language may confuse and distract younger pu- teenth century after the discovery of the primi-
pils from productivity. The scientific method has to tive bird Archaeopteryx in southern Germany.
be presented with an appropriate approach to the
students’ age and their inquiry can be channelled
by using ‘their own words’ rather than scientif- 5. Conclusion
ic jargon (Xiaowei et al., 2018). For instance, some
terms are tricky and occasionally mislead scientists Considering the issues discussed above, similar
themselves as is seen in the example of the term workshops in future should be tested within public
‘hypothesis’. McPherson (2001) presented multiple schools, provided by science class teachers and the
examples of how this term is occasionally used in- results should be compared with non-formal educa-
correctly, not only in schools but even in scientific tion quantitatively in terms of student engagement,
journals, being confused with ‘prediction’. accuracy of experimental results and coding of the
This kind of workshops can be an efficient addi- information presented after some time.
tion to the traditional classes. The subjects presented However, the scientific method with an inter-
are enclosed in basic development in Polish curric- disciplinary approach might be taught to primary
ula for biology and geography (classes IV–VIII, age school student (informal- or non-formal educational
10–14). Evolution and adaptation are not included structures) groups by learning through experience
in the curricula of science classes (Environment) for with an interdisciplinary approach and focused on
classes I–III (age 7–9), although non-formal educa- the scientific method. With designed experiments
tional programmes do show that, when taught prop- (within the framework presented), students can
erly, it can be effectively addressed for the youngest come up with scientific questions, formulate hypoth-
students. Since evolution explains modern biodi- eses and draw conclusions based on self-conducted
versity, this should be mentioned from the start in experiments with high accuracy. Experience-based
environment education. It is also important to stress learning also allows to explain misconceptions such
that school curricula are strongly systematised and as the fact that even fully aquatic animals can suf-
divided into specific fields, while the workshops fer from dehydration in salt waters and to overcome
presented and most of the experienced-based learn- some of the problems of implementing the scientific
ing classes during non-formal education highlights method in schools that are listed by teachers.
relationships between different organisms and or-
188 Mateusz Antczak

Acknowledgements Historical Dissertations and Theses 8055, 189 pp.,

https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_diss-
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