Science kits make remote learning effective and
MacDonald says , " We had very little problem coming up with activities for the students to do . The real problems were finding sources for the materials that could provide them in a timely manner . Ordering balances and magnets from China was much easier than obtaining materials from Ontario ."
MacDonald says , " The reaction of the students to the activities seems to be largely very positive . Some activities we picked turned out to be less effective at a distance than face-to-face . We now have a better understanding of what constitutes a good at-a-distance activity and how to structure these activities for success . Doing activities at a distance should also help improve running these activities in a face-to-face setting ."
Take-home science education lab kits were a great way developed by the science education instructional team to overcome the difficulties of teaching and learning science education remotely .
Teaching remotely has been challenging for many professors who are accustomed to face-to-face classroom instruction and methods . Transitioning into remote teaching environments is especially difficult for activity-based subject areas such as science education . Science education professor Dr . Shana Graham says , " the biggest challenge in teaching science during the pandemic is to find ways for students to engage in experiential learning ."
Science education professor John MacDonald concurs , " The learning of science content , skills and attitudes are all greatly facilitated by having the learners interact with the phenomena that illustrate the concept under study . Students communicating their observations and inferences with classmates is also an essential part of learning about the nature of science . Added in to the mix is the importance of students exchanging their reasoning as to how the activities add to their understanding of the concept and connecting this new found understanding to prior knowledge ."
In a previous term , professor Michael McCoy had developed math kits to help students engage with concepts and he found them successful .
" John , Shana and I decided the best way to go about teaching science education remotely was to develop a kit for our science methods classes ," says McCoy .
MacDonald , who had found that moving back to the university lab to teach had been helpful in that it " afforded access to materials and equipment not present in a home office ," knew students would also need to have access to materials to learn : " The kits were our attempt to provide our students with an opportunity to experience the activities that they should be using in their future classrooms ." The three professors put together 100 science kits for their elementary and secondary science methods classes .
Developing the kits during a pandemic presented some new problems .
Besides the use of take-home science kits , Graham says she adopted a different way of teaching : " I found myself practicing more guided inquiry with my students , instead of coupled or full inquiry . When you cannot walk a round a classroom and observe students in order to determine how they are engaging and find ways to encourage them , you need to improvise . I found the use of guided inquiry created a less stressful and more encouraging online environment for online learning ."
Science education student Jaclyn Kearley says , “ I think having this science kit ... made learning more accessible in the virtual learning classroom . It kept me interested and engaged , and I felt like I was having a much higher quality learning experience than I would if we didn ’ t have the materials to interact with . In a virtual classroom , the science kits are an incredible tool !!!”
Student Ireland Sorestad says , “ Getting the chance to use these science kits ... made me excited to come to class as I knew I would get to be hands on . Compared to my other classes where I listened to lectures for hours , ESCI 310 was a breath of fresh air . Ultimately , I look forward to continuing using the science kit and implementing some of these activities in my future classroom .”
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