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Asia-Pacific Forum on Science Learning and Teaching, Volume 17, Issue 2, Article 16 (Dec., 2016) |
In her search to find a teaching procedure to determine and increase student familiarity of biological terminology, the first author of this paper thought that the answer would be simple. What she discovered was that the problem was more complex than she could have imagined. To summairse very briefly, the term recall procedure provided students with the time, opportunity and expectation to reflect on old and new terminology and knowledge and, as this study illustrates, encouraged students to be more aware of connecting old and new terminology. The use of this procedure also provided students with the opportunity to focus on the specific language and to mentally link terms that they knew with new terminology. However, this procedure did not provide the teacher with information about how well the students knew the terms and knowledge. This led to the development of the term recognition procedure, which was a quick way for the teacher to gauge where students 'were at' with biological terms.
As this research shows, while the idea of looking for a teaching procedure to assist students to learn biological terms may appear simple, putting it into practice is not so simple at all. In this research, the trial of one procedure (term recall) led to the development and implementation of another (term recognition) which led to the view that students needed help to make effective use of yet another teaching procedure (mind or concept maps). The challenges continue to present themselves and the complexity mounts, raising the question: "Is a solution even possible?"
Loughran (2010) suggested that teaching can be more professionally rewarding when it is viewed as problematic. The desire to search for simple solutions to complex problems is difficult to overcome, yet it does empower teachers to begin a journey that leaves them far better informed about their practice. While the first author had not recognised the complexity of the task that she had set for herself, the journey led her to develop and implement teaching procedures that support student learning of biological terminology and further, to increase her awareness of her own practice and inspired her to develop ideas for new and enhanced practice.
As a teacher researcher, Baumann (1996) captured the essence of the experience and illustrated why it is that teacher research matters, but also why it is perhaps under-represented and under-valued in the Educational research literature. He noted that:
It is through the very process of dealing with the realities of teaching while researching that [one experiences] … the costs and benefits of being [a] teacher researcher. [But there is an] inevitable, natural, and productive tension that arises when inquiry is infused with teaching. However, by struggling with ways to integrate inquiry into their work, teacher researchers come to know themselves better as teachers and persons, learn to understand their students and families in ways heretofore unknown, increase their professional esteem and credibility, share their learnings with colleagues locally and beyond, and, most importantly, help their students develop intellectually, socially, and emotionally. And that is what a dynamic, reflective, action-oriented research pedagogy is all about … (p. 35)
We trust that this paper is a good example of Baumann's points (above) and is illustrative and helpful in terms of a strong example for students of teaching and the profession at large as to what a vision for being a teacher can mean and how it might be enacted.
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Copyright (C) 2016 EdUHK APFSLT. Volume 17, Issue 2, Article 16 (Dec., 2016). All Rights Reserved.