Dewey's Learning Model and Student Goals

"The sustained use of an effective, research-based instructional model can help students learn fundamental concepts in science and other domains. If we accept that premise, then an instructional model must be effective, supported with relevant research and it must be implemented consistently and widely to have the desired effect on teaching and learning," (2006).

"Dewey implies an instructional approach that is based on experience and requires reflective thinking. In contemporary terms, doing hands-on activities in science is not enough. Those experiences also must be minds on," (2006).

 

John Dewey was a forefather of art integration, learning through nature, learning through interactive processes, and the school as a social institution. His ideas fully interweave social and developmental learning theories while placing great emphasis on conceptual change theory as well. Dewey believed that school must be a social space where students could touch and explore what they were studying, and what students studied was determined by what they didn't quite understand. Teachers were to seek out student misconceptions and then create learning situations for the students that would test those misconceptions and nudge students in the right direction merely through observation, interaction, and reflection.

His original model of instruction is the grandfather of the modern BSCS 5E learning model.

Dewey	BSCS 5S
Sensing Perplexing Situations   Clarifying the Problem   Formulating a Tentative Hypothesis   Testing the Hypothesis   Revising Rigorous Tests   Acting on the Solution	Engagement   Exploration   Explanation   Elaboration   Evaluation

At its heart, 5S is Dewey's model. You could argue that engagement and evaluation are additional steps that surround the original six of Dewey's model but I think that those areas may have been more implicit in his teaching.

In a previous post I mentioned goals for students. If a teacher uses the Dewey/5S learning model for teaching their students they will have a solid structure for which to build content knowledge and other goals. Goals may vary, but because of those goal's focus on the nature of science and Dewey/5S model's focus on the student the two easily work together. Each part works in tandem to ensure that students learn content, communicate effectively, collaborate with peers, relate concepts to other areas, and self-reflect.

If a teacher is going to have goals that rely on student self-efficacy, reflection, curiosity, and observations then they must teach using a framework that allows for those things. You must have a purpose to your lessons that are more complex then "hands on," "fun," "assessment," and the like. As a teacher you must think holistically about what part of your students' thinking is mistaken and how you can push them to discover the correct theory on their own. As a teacher you must always be thinking, "so what?" What is the point of this activity and where are you going with it? How does this concept build upon previous content and how will I tie it to later content? How can I further this class's understanding of the nature of science?

Student led learning is a wonderful concept but a teacher must have a framework on which to build consistent teaching methods that are engaging and research driven. Experimentation is fine, but make sure that how you teach is done with good, research driven, models in mind.

                Bybee, R. W., Taylor, J. A., Gardner, A., Van Scotter, P., Powell, J. C., Westbrook, A., & Landes, N. (2006). Retrieved from BSCS website: http://science.education.nih.gov/houseofreps.nsf/b82d55fa138783c2852572c9004f5566/$FILE/AppendixD.pdf