Question 2:

Form the term of constructivism, it refers to the idea that learners construct or build up
their own understanding or knowledge individually. Thus, we can summarize that
Constructivism is focusing on student-centered learning style. Constructivism is an
educational theory and also a key perspective to inform pedagogy especially in science.
According to Brooks (1993), he mentioned that constructivism is a philosophy of
learning founded on the premise that, by reflecting our experiences, we construct our own
understanding of the world we live in. Based on his statement, we can explain that
learning is not just let teachers stand and lecture in front of the class to give students
some information but we can learn it through our experience or reflection on these
experiences from the reality.
There are few principles of constructivism approach that able to apply in teaching
science. These principles influence how the teachers teach the truth or think seriously
about their pedagogies. The first principle that always integrated in teaching and learning
science is Learning is an active process. According to Jean Piaget, who developed the
cognitive learning theory, he felt that children were active learners. They constructed the
new knowledge as they moved through different cognitive stages, building on what they
already knew. He brought out that knowledge is constructed from or shaped by
experience. For example, a child will get the meaning of the word hot when he touched
a hot kettle or boiling water. It is a process which emphasizes on problem solving and
understanding. Basically, in order to bring out this principle, we always use authentic
tasks, experiences, settings or assessments. For example, experimentation is one of the
activity that encouraged in constructivist approach in teaching science where the students
perform an experiment individually and come together as a group to discuss the results.
However, the content presented holistically and not separate into smaller parts. In a
classroom, teacher as an instructor will help to negotiate the goals and objectives with
learners. He will pose problems of emerging relevance to students. He also will
emphasize hands-on, real world experiences to seek and value students points of view.
Through the coaching, moderating or suggesting, teacher brings out new understandings
to students. Indirectly, he encourages and supports students initiative and autonomy.

Secondly, the principle states that the crucial action of constructing meaning is mental.
Through this principle we know that knowledge is built up through our mind. in reality,
students hardly remember what have learned or they will forget about 80% of the
information that they received after one day. Students begin to forget as soon as they stop
learning. It means that besides physical actions like hands on activities, visualizing or
listening, students hardly to store the knowledge in their memory. Therefore, Dewey
mentioned that reflective activity is needed to enhance a better learning. Students need
time to reflect on what they have discovered so that the knowledge will move from short
term memory to the long term memory, where it will stay forever. It requires attention,
organization, and repetition to build out their new knowledge. Students discuss the
experiences and reflect upon understandings. Various studies have provided evidence that
the most effective instruction in this area is explicit and reflective, and provide multiple
opportunities for students to work with key concepts in different contexts. After the
lesson, we take the time to reflect and revise. During the lesson, we pay attention to what
happens. There are few questions that lead the learner to do their own reflection. For
example, regarding forces and pressure, students need to think deeper on how to get
maximum pressure and what should we do in order to prevent our structure sink into the
ground. After answering these questions honestly, we revise. In other words, students will
remember the concept that they had learnt in a lesson when they do their own selfreflection.
Moreover, the principle of constructivism also stated that learning is a social activity. It
means that learners can engage to their learning through interaction with their friends.
According to Vygotsky, he stated that attention to the ways in which social environments
influence this learning process. He also proposed the idea that learning and development
take place in the interactions children have with peers as well as with teachers and other
adults. Teachers can guide children learn from each other by creating a learning
environment where there are ample opportunities for student-to-student discussion,
collaboration, and feedback. Strategies they can use to build learning communities to
enhance students learning process. For example, after teacher teaches about the concept
of inertia, teacher can pair up the students or put them in groups. The discussion should
be informal so that students can share their opinion or ideas freely about the positive and

negative effect of inertia in our daily life. Through the discussion, Teachers will recognize
that when students work collaboratively to assist one another and take on expert roles
easily. Thus, their learning is strengthened, reinforced, and refined.
Besides that, learning is constructed. We need prior knowledge before create new
knowledge. The principle of constructivism stated that one needs knowledge to learn.
Jean Piaget believes that students learn through their experience and they adapt to the
situations based on what they have previously learned from other situation. They discover
the new truth or principles through their own exploration rather than direct instruction
from the teacher. Most common teaching methodology in science is discovery learning or
problem based learning where the learners draw on their past experience and previous
knowledge to discover the facts and new knowledge to be learnt. For instance, there is a
problem posted by Biology teacher to his students stated Four hundred people at a rock
concert collapsed or experienced faintness, with possibly as many as six different
proximal causes. In order to solve and discover the factors, students must reflect on the
biology prior knowledge on organ systems such as fasting hypoglycemia, fasting
acidosis, orthostasis, hyperventilation-induced cerebral vasoconstriction, Valsalva
pressure from screaming and crowding and so on. Students work through a series of
problems designed to approximate the real world, so that students find themselves
actually engaged in the problem and not just observers of it. Students discuss and analyze
problem using prior knowledge and resources available. Thus, teachers as facilitator
need to prepare or customize suitable lesson to help their students connect their prior
knowledge.
Furthermore, one of the constructivism principles stated that learning involves language.
Lev Vygotsky emphasizes the fluencies of cultural and social contexts in learning. He
also mentioned that learning and development is a social and collaborative activity that
cannot be taught to anyone. This understanding of language sees a language not simply
as a body of knowledge to be learnt but as a social practice in which to participate
(Kramsch, 1994). Osborne (1996) mentioned that learning physics that is more akin to
the learning of a foreign language that it is to the learning of historical facts. Therefore,
language is needed in order to express, create and interpret meanings and to establish and

maintain social and interpersonal relationships. Students should communicate frequently

with themselves and teacher. Through social interactions such as collaborative learning or
cooperative learning, it will increase a learners level of thinking in his learning process.
It also will help students to increase their language levels if teacher always use a high
level of language to discuss with them. For examples, if a teacher always uses Chinese
language to do the explanation then students will understand in Chinese context or
students even understand better if the explanation is done by using their mother language.
In addition, the greatest barrier to learning science is the language barrier. Teacher need
to lower the barrier by transmitting and interpreting the science knowledge through
talking, listening and sharing. As part of learning science, it is important for students to
explore their own views and develop an independent way of thinking. To do this, teacher
must provide opportunities to practice the writing skills and social skills of
communicating and collaborating. For example, in science, it involves investigations.
Students need to learn to present the evidence in the style of a scientific paper. Teacher
can explore different ways for students to present their written records of the
investigation and observation and give them opportunity to show that they understand a
scientific concept. For example, use poetry or prose to describe some scientific event.
Learning takes time. Learning is a long term investment in our lives and we could not
expect that we achieve the result only in few minutes. We start to learn since we are born.
Babies take few months to learn how to crawl and sit. We even cannot transform our
body without time at the gym, and we also cannot transform our mind without spending
time in classes, at the computer, in the lab, and with the books. Students are not concrete
and simplistic thinkers. As an active learner, we need to go over the information, ponder
them, use them frequently even practice it and the process needs time. For instance, time
is needed for students to observe and analysis their findings. They need to do a lot of
hands on activities in order to explore the phenomena of light and achieve their own
understanding about how does the light refract when enter to different density medium.
Teacher need to give time to students to accept and digest what they have received
during the lesson. During the grouping activities, appropriate time must be given to
students in formulating their own research questions, developing procedures to answer

their research questions, collecting and analyzing data, and using evidence to reach their
own conclusions.
According to Von Glasersfeld (1989), sustaining motivation to learn is strongly
dependent on the learners confidence in his or her potential for learning. Thus, principles
of constructivism also stated that motivation is a key component in learning. Research
findings show that teachers who are effective at supporting learners via the affective
domain are also able to show improvements in student learning and academic
achievement in science. Motivation to do something can come about in many ways. It can
be a personality characteristic or a stable long-lasting interest in something. Teacher
should encourage and engage their students with the environment and make the lesson
relevant with their experience. For instance, relate the concept of projectile motion with
the Angry Bird game which most of the students enjoy playing this game. Teachers
should give a chance to the students to voice out their comment and ideas about the
solution on the science problem. The science young children must learn has to be
rigorous enough to afford the students the opportunity to move forward in their
understanding of key scientific concepts (Butler & Nesbit, 2008). Through motivation,
learners will feel in control and more confident. Thus, more conducive environment to
learning is created among the learners. These feelings of competence and belief in
potential to solve new problems are derived from first-hand experience of mastery of
problems in the past and are much more powerful than any external acknowledgment and
motivation (Prawat and Floden 1994). Therefore, relevance, curiosity, fun,
accomplishment, achievement, external rewards and other motivators facilitate ease of
learning.
In addition, people learn how to learn because they are learning. This principle brings the
meaning that learning consists construct meaning and build a system of meaning.
Everyone has a different interpretation and construction of knowledge process. The
learner is not a blank slate (tabula rasa) but it brings part experiences and cultural factors
to a situation. The new information or knowledge always linked to the prior knowledge.
Therefore a person will actively create their mental representations which are subjective.
Von Glasersfeld (1989) emphasized that learners is constructing their own understanding

and that they do not simply mirror and reflect what they read. For example, if we learn to
identify lags in the timetable in mathematics, we will learn the meaning of the timetable
at the same time. Each meaning that we construct will makes us able to give better
meaning to other sensations that can be loaded in the same pattern.
Learning is also contextual. It means that we are learning about what else we know, what
we believe, our prejudices and our fears. We cannot avoid the learning of daily life. As a
learner, we focus on learning the standard values, and the knowledge of the society by
raising questions and accepting challenges to find out the solutions. Learners are
motivated to make connections between knowledge and its applications to their lives as
family members, citizens, and workers. We do not isolate facts from the situations and
environments in which they are relevant. It became clear as this is a consequence of the
idea that learning is active and social. Meaningful science activities, which are relevant to
students daily lives, allow students to make connections between what they already
know and what they are learning. Sense-making discussions promote childrens
awareness of the learning and concept development and facilitate the restructuring of
alternative ideas into scientific mental models. For example, we can learn the function of
baking soda when we use it not only for baking cake but also use it to clean the dirty stain
of the tiles. We learn and gain our new knowledge from our experience or social
interaction.
As a conclusion, all the principles of constructivism are related with each other. Each
person constructs his or her own mental frameworks and conceptions using preferred
learning styles. However, this is seldom done in isolation. Language passing back and
forth between individuals in written and oral forms is viewed as indispensable for the
development of understanding (Belenky et al, 1986; Driver, 1995; von Glasersfeld,
1995). The social interdependence perspective has the assumption that the way social
interdependence is structured determines how individuals interact. This, in turn,
determines what is accomplished by the group (Johnson & Johnson, 1994). Intrinsic
motivation is generated by interpersonal factors and joint aspirations. At the same time
that students become more aware of and take more responsibility for their own thinking,
they increase their understanding and appreciation of other peoples thinking.

QUESTION 3:
Science is a tool that brings human to know more about the world, transform the
world and also to meet their needs. According to Zeidler, Walker, Sackett and Simpsons
(1999), the teaching of science associated with knowledge of the philosophy of science
and current developments is able to attract students to do science subjects. They also
thought that with a depth of understanding on the nature of science, students were able to
give their views on issues that are struggling with moral dilemmas and ethics in science
perspective. This goal is in line with the national education to produce students who are
creative and innovative. What is nature of science? It is important to clarify what it is
about the nature of science that we want our students to understand. Nature of science is
not so much defined by a concise statement, but rather defined more by its components.
According to McComas, Clough, and Almazroa (1998), the nature of science is that the
philosophy, history, sociology, and psychology of science affect science teaching and
learning. Science is a way of knowing, and there are values and beliefs inherent to the
development of scientific knowledge (Lederman 1998). Unfortunately, there are few
misconceptions occurred among the teachers and students which caused them unable to
possess the nature of science well.
Nature of science as a school subject is not understood well enough by students, teachers
and teacher educators (Irez, 2006; Thye & Kwen, 2003; Tsai, 2006; McComas, 2003;
Sandoval & Morrison, 2003; Dagher & Boujaoude, 2005; Blanco & Niaz, 1997; Dogan
& Abd-El- Khalick, 2008). People have ideas about science based on personal
experiences, previous education, popular media and peer culture. Many of these
ideas are commonly held misconceptions or myths about the nature of science. Teachers
as a curriculum implementer in the classroom play important role for policy,
arrangements and classroom experiences on nature of science understandings of students.
Thus, the teachers understanding on nature of science is directly affects students
mindset. One of the main misconceptions is all the science knowledge that we learn
now is a fact. The idea or science concepts are unchangeable from the time to time.
However, in reality scientists develop their ideas based on evidence and they change their
ideas when new evidence becomes available. Their conclusions are changeable. In

school, because of the examination oriented system, many teachers ignore the importance
of the science process skills which need to be integrated among the students. This kind of
actions causes students feel that science is very dull as need to memorize a lot of the
facts. Indirectly, it also makes students ideas very schema. For example, when teacher
posts a question that what kind of liquid which will cause the object float, most of the
students will give salt water as their answer. In fact, not only salt will causes the water
become denser but sugar or different dissolvable impurities too. As a consequence of
such beliefs and practices held by teachers, students develop similar positivist
perspectives about science and learning. Students adopt rote learning that leads them to
memorization and meaningless learning.
Although teacher as facilitator in the classroom but quite a number of science teachers
do not have a deep understanding of science content. They even lack of confidence
due to poor science knowledge. Mohamad Azmi (2001) reported that science teachers
still have misconceptions about science in alternative frameworks such as those held by
pupils are taught. Most of the time, they behave as information providers. Some of them
do not dare to students to solve the doubt about science concepts that they learn in the
classroom. There are few studies stated that many teachers teaching of science in schools,
do not get adequate training in the field of science (Lay, 1999). In addition, lack of
experience in teaching also cause them just follow whatever in the textbook without
finding out or update the current information. For example, Newton was well known with
his laws of motion such as inertia is affected mass. However, Einstein pointed out that
there is a type of energy that causes inertia to occur. Students will confuse about these
two principle, they will think that mass is energy. When this kind of situation happened,
science teachers should give students an opportunity to reflect, questioning and guide
them to think deeply about this two principle in order to develop the students
understanding and do not stop them to question and force them to accept them as the
facts. Teacher should dare to take it as challenge in order to build up the science content.
In their teaching belief, mostly hold a nave and inadequate science philosophy (nave
epistemology). This is because they have a myth that science ideas are unchangeable.
Although some ideas of science are well established and reliable and supported by

accumulated evidence which are hardly been replaced, but these ideas may be will
replaced or reinterpreted by new evidence. Scientific knowledge is tentative which means
that science knowledge is durable and it will change from time to time. Scientists are
working out hardly to prove or find out new evidence about a certain concept. For
example, regarding Einsteins principle about relativity, many scientists wish to prove his
theory is wrong. Thus, they keep on repeating doing same research, hoping to discover
different evidence. Furthermore, students used to get idea about the solar system through
teacher but recently scientists have just decided that there will be tenth planet. Teacher
need to prepare themselves well with the new information as scientific theories can
change.
On the other hand, science teachers thought that there is a universal scientific method,
with a common series of steps that scientists follow. The steps usually include defining
the problem, forming a hypothesis, making observations, testing the hypothesis, drawing
conclusions and reporting results. In classrooms, students can be seen writing up the aim,
hypothesis, method, results and conclusion. Many science teachers begin activities by
introducing this procedure as the single scientific method in their instruction (Gallagher,
1991). In fact, there are many methods to investigate the problem statement. Scientists
always take different pathways by conducting investigation with different disciplines. For
example, when scientists study the relationships among inorganic and organic
components of the environment, since they cannot do a classical experiment since cannot
control the environment, but scientist can do the stimulation in the laboratories by
controlling the ratio of the compound so that they can assess the effects without going
outside.
Moreover, ignorant cause teachers lack of considerations on scientific theory in their
teaching instruction. Most of the time teachers do not plan comprehensive scientific
skills in the lesson and just focus on the repeating science process skills. This resulted in
a polarization of frequency of science process skills and different types of science process
skills that are do not exist in the planning. This may have relationship with the level of
conception of science and science process skills among teachers and confidence to
deliver and apply them in their learning process. A teacher needs to master all the science

process skills before able to deliver it effectively to students Matters such as

misconceptions and lack of confidence when asked can be overcome. The science process
skills are not taught significantly in the syllabus but is inset and deposit that lasts all year
and lasting. It is given emphasis in the implementation and assessment activities practical
work of students such as PEKA. Therefore, teachers need to ensure the application of
these skills is ongoing and teachers also need to master and embrace those skills. Science
process skills can encourage effective teaching methodology and student-centered
learning in the classroom. Thus, students learning is not just focused on theory only.
To realize the teaching and learning of science in an active and effective, teachers need to
master the science process skills with good understanding of science concepts. Both
science process skills and science concepts must be proportional to produce better
teaching and learning in order to deliver the correct understanding of nature of science.
Next, due to our Malaysia education system, most of teachers focus on students
academic performance. Nowadays, they stress on the product of science instead of
the process of science. They overemphasize the factual basis of science with traditional
assessment formats and fail to characterize scientific knowledge as tentative, and
scientific work as creative. It is because they believe that the scientific knowledge is the
facts and truths that need to deliver to the students. Yerrick et al. (1997) consistently
found that most teachers set up their science instruction around fixed knowledge. For
example, when there is a student who is curious and doubt about the concept, asking
about the reasons why his experiment result is rejected as it is different with the actual
value, those teacher will give a response that only this answer can be accepted although
there is a problem with your experiment result. Teacher is teaching science as telling
science instead of teaching as a process, science as a way of thinking. It will cause the
science students lost their interest in science and they only will know the method of
memorization when they come across the science concept. Therefore, teachers concerned
with the construction of scientific knowledge will also be interested in teaching the
process of science, which leads them to pay more attention to their students
interpretation.

Teachers teaching belief affects their classroom practices. Although some teachers
have developed a real understanding of the nature of science, it is not necessary that
their teaching approaches are totally committed to communicating this
understanding to help promote their students conception of the nature of science
due to the conditions under which teachers work such as curriculum constraints,
administrative policies, and school infrastructure. For example, many teachers stress
on teacher centered approach or chalk and talk to deliver their lesson due to the pressure
of class time and lack of the facilities such as LCD projector. Besides that, some teachers
have a misunderstanding that acceptance of scientific knowledge is straightforward.
Therefore, the teachers largely practice the traditional teaching method with closely
controlled activities, emphasized transmission of knowledge, and considered students as
simple receptors of that knowledge. In fact, the new interpretation of the evidence is not
automatically accepted by the scientific community. Some examples of scientific ideas
that were initially rejected because they fall outside the accepted paradigms including
Sun-centered solar system, the germ theory of disease and continental drift. When
teachers fail to develop appropriate conceptions of the historical, philosophical, and
sociological foundation of science, a number of successful students chose different
majors (Tobias, 1990).
While teachers epistemological commitments to the nature of science affects their role in
building students conception of scientific knowledge, students nave theories,
preexisting knowledge, and experiences have an impact on science learning (Edmondson
& Novak, 1993). Firstly, student unable to held appropriate understanding about nature of
science due to students perspectives confused science with technology. When they were
talking about science, they were actually referring to technology. This is because science
and technology are the words often used interchangeably. As a result, students will ignore
the science process skills easily during their learning. They prefer on how to design a tool
to solve the problem instead of concerning the factors or the reason why does the
problem occurs. They hardly connect the science knowledge with the real life situation.
For example, apply Newton 3rd law to make the stones can be stacked up statically. The
goal of science is to study and gain knowledge of science concepts while technology aims
to create products that solve problems and enhance human life. Science Is very concerned

with what is (exists) in the natural world such as Biology, Chemistry, Physics,
Astronomy, Geology and so on. Technology is very concerned with what can or should
be designed, made, or developed from natural world materials and substances to satisfy
human needs and wants. In short, technology is the practical application of science.
In addition, students nowadays do not aware of the influence of scientists values
including religious, ethical, masculine and feminine factors on scientific knowledge
construction. Social and cultural influences the development of scientific knowledge
which establishes rules of practice and evidence. For example, scientists invent new
medicine by referring and review on traditional medicine or herbs to cure dengue.
However, students often accept scientific knowledge without reasoning and questioning
(Edmondson & Novak, 1993) because of their nave epistemological commitments. For
example, they accept the presented knowledge coming from textbook and from teachers
even if the scientific knowledge conflicts with their own experiences. They learn the facts
without understanding and interpreting underlying principles (Posner, Strike, Hewson, &
Gertzog, 1982). For example, student accepts the fact that the earth is round even though
his own observations and experience of different that the earth is flat. According to
Posner et al. (1982), if a learners current conception is functional and if the learner can
solve problems within the existing conceptual schema, then the learner does not feel a
need to change the current conception. Even when the current conception does not
successfully solve some problems, the learner may make only moderate changes to his or
her conceptions.
Besides that, students also have a nave view of science focus on factual knowledge
which leads students ignore the imagination and creativity in scientific knowledge
construction. Scientific knowledge is understood as collection of facts, the truth, and the
formula and not a conceptual structure that allows us to generate alternative hypothesis to
the test. Therefore, in their point of view, understanding the science has been likened to
memorize formulas, laws and calculations in the minds of students. In fact, we need
human inference, imagination, and creativity in order to construct the scientific
knowledge. The invention of explanation and theoretical entities requires a great deal of

creativity. For example, Bohrs model of the atom is created to explain the energy level
and the atomic spectral lines.
Equally important, teachers equipped with such understandings can be enabled to enact
learning environments corresponding with those that approximate authentic scientific
practice, that is, teach with NOS. Instead of continuing to assertin the face of evidence
to the contrary, that teachers can use inquiry to help precollege students develop informed
NOS understandings, teaching with NOS asserts that teachers with informed NOS
understandings are better positioned to enact inquiry learning environments in their
classrooms. The assumption that undergirds the teaching with NOS notion is that the
ways students develop their understandings of scientific knowledge bear some
resemblance (though by no means a one-to-one correspondencesee Abd-El-Khalick
2008) to the ways scientific communities of practice generate and validate such
knowledge. Starting with such an assumption, science teachers who have internalized
robust understandings of key aspects of NOS, and who seriously entertain the importance
of these aspects to scientific practice, are more likely to abandon some old orientations
(Anderson 2007) or traditional science teaching practices (see for e.g., AAAS 1990) in
favor of practices that would bolster authentic science learning environments.

Question 4:
Relevancy means connecting the processes and products that we utilize in society or
make use of the scientific principles in solving a problem or making a decision. Relating
science to the developments in society is not new. It would seem we need to find ways to
initiate teaching based on societal situations and then develop the conceptual learning that
allows students to appreciate the relevance of the science (Holbrook, 1994). Relating
science to the developments in society is not new. As teacher, we need make sure that
students are actively engaged so that the learning is relevant, authentic and valuable in
their lives. The importance of making learning relevant not only to reduce the difficulty
of learning, maximize the interest but also allow students to face the real perception of
life and able to have a better adaptation in the future society. Thus, there are few
instructional strategies that can be used to make the teaching of science subjects
( Biology, Chemistry, Physics) relevant.
1. cross- curricular approach
Most of the time, students have the perception that there is no crossover between the
subjects such as science and language. Our teaching should focus on creating integrated,
cross- curricular instruction between multiple subjects so that our students will able to
view knowledge as interdependent and connected rather than as individual, isolated
subjects. Ultimately, this enables students to achieve higher level of critical thinking and
collaborative skills.
By using topic of human breathing system in Biology as example, teacher can bring out
ideas of mechanism of breathing in and out through physical education. Firstly, in order
to engage the students in the lesson, teacher can bring students go to stadium and ask
them to have a 200m race. After the run, teacher should post a question that after a long
distance race, why we often feel out of breath and even feel back pain? Can you trace the
route of air reaching the alveoli of our lungs? The above questions help to engage
students and promote active participation. Students might give the answer based on their
prior knowledge such as due to insufficient supply of oxygen during the long distance

race, cell body will encounter a small amount of anaerobic respiration that produces lactic
acid. Excess accumulation of lactic acid cause people back pain.
Next, teacher can request student to find out and explain the mechanism of breathing.
This topic is supported by practical activity or demonstration. Students are allowed to be
grouped into smaller groups and explain the mechanism as how breathing takes place
(how inhalation and exhalation are affected). A model of human lung to show the
mechanism of breathing is built by using plastic bottle, balloons and rubber sheet.
These questions are given to stimulate students thinking:

You are aware that the air we inhale or exhale is a mixture of gases. What do we

exhale? Do we exhale only carbon dioxide or a mixture of gases along with it?
You must have also observed that if you exhale on a mirror, a film of moisture

appears on its surface. Where do these droplets come from?

To understand the expansion of the lungs, pull the rubber sheet from the base
downwards and watch the balloons. Next, push the rubber/plastic sheet up and
observe the balloons. Did you see any changes in the balloons? What do the
balloons in this model represent? What does the rubber sheet represent?

Now, the students should be able to explain the mechanism of breathing.

After that, teacher requires students do some research on the features of alveoli for which
allow efficient gaseous exchange. Besides that, the students are also able to find out the
features of blood capillaries that allow them for efficient gas exchange. The teacher acts
as a facilitator that explains concepts and addresses misconceptions. Students may extend
concept to the new situations. Student can design an experiment to measure the rate of
breathing due to different action such as cardio, strength training and stretching circuits
that they have done during their physical education. Before the lesson end, teacher
evaluates their understanding through summative assessment.
When the skills and information gained by students are interconnected, the teaching and
learning will be more structured. It allows the transfer of metacognitive knowledge from
one situation to another become easier as it supports the progressive development of
student too.

2. Bringing the real world into the lab

This resource contains intriguing investigations designed to provide an activity-oriented
approach to learning science and to engage students in a genuine pursuit of science. It
also serves as a resource book for teachers and students. Each set of activities is preceded
by a concise introduction giving students a foundation on which to build their
understanding, including a discussion of major concepts related to the activities.
The activities provide meaningful interactions between students and their world in a
manner encouraging sound scientific reasoning. Many of the activities produce
unexpected or dramatic results that capture student interest. Thought provoking questions
follow each set of activities. Following the questions is a section developed especially for
the teacher in which concepts are explained in greater detail and directions are provided
for converting some of the student activities into impressive classroom demonstrations.
Also included in this section are clear and concise answers to the questions. Because
students often have difficulty seeing the relevance of science, we discuss applications of
the investigated principles to their everyday lives.
Activities included in the book have been successfully implemented and tested in the
classroom by experienced and novice science teachers. These activities, coupled with the
explanation of the underlying concepts, show that science is composed of two dimensions
- content and process. Science is not merely something a scientist does in the laboratory
or a rhetoric of conclusions to be gleaned from a textbook or lecture and soon forgotten.
The book emphasizes the "process-dimension" of science. Without processes such as
observing, measuring, and hypothesizing, there would be no scientific facts, theories, or
laws.
Most of the activities can be performed with materials commonly found in the students'
everyday environment. Some require equipment found in the typical science classroom or
inexpensive equipment available from scientific supply houses.
Every effort has been made to ensure teachers and students will enjoy the activities so
they will become meaningfully engaged in the processes of science. Consequently, they

will acquire knowledge and understanding of basic science concepts and the application
and relevance of these to their everyday lives.
3. Real world connection.
Teaching based on real world connection is drawing from or upon actual objects,
situations and experiences to address a concept effectively. It involves learning which
allows students to experience or practice the concepts and skills. This approach utilizes
the problems or issues which are similar to the one that have encountered in life. It brings
the relevance, complexity and motivation of the real world to learning. Besides that,
making real world connections in the teaching promotes student achievement through the
authenticity of the learning. It is not only generating many issues or questions to pursue
through inquiry but it also provides more opportunities to learn how out communities and
society work.
For example, the process of generating electricity from renewable energy is related to the
concept of electromagnetic induction in Physics.
Teacher combines the experiential learning activities, student handouts and assignment in
engaging lessons that also the concept of electromagnetic induction, renewable energy
and sustainable development. This lesson also stresses the benefits of using green
technology to produce electricity. As engagement activity (induction set), a video clip
regarding solar energy ( everything comes from the Sun) is shown to students. Students
need to use a graphic organizer to explore the source of different forms of energy. The
process of generating electricity by using wind turbine is shown by using video clip.
Activity 1 : Discussion: the concept involved
In order to elaborate or introduce the concept of electromagnetic induction, the working
principle of the wind turbine, bicycle dynamo and generator is shown by using
stimulation video clips. Through the discussion between group and teacher, students are
expected to discover the involving concept and point it out. Then, teacher will introduces
and explain the concept of electromagnetic induction.
Activity 2: Making a Model Wind Turbine

Students design and create a model wind turbine. They test their designs with regards to
the workability of the blades and discuss why some turbine designs work better than
others. Students need to discuss in their own small group. In addition, student also need
to state out the problem and various ways to improve wind turbine performance.
Activity 3: Design: how do we make electricity from flowing water?
By applying the concept of electromagnetic induction, students need to consider the
magnitude of the water force and design a generator that enable to generate electricity by
using the flowing water. Therefore, teacher as facilitator, need to provide assessment
tools and rubrics including related discussion questions. Besides that, teacher needs to
give simple and clear experimental procedures for students to investigate the force of
water. Students explore the energy in water, the various sources of water, and how water
is converted into useful energy. Students build a device from 1L milk cartons to
investigate how hydroelectric facilities use the energy stored in bodies of water to create
hydrostatic pressure. Collaborative learning is applied in this situation. By using the
information that collected from the experiment, students need to design a suitable
hydroelectric generator. Students also need to answer response questions related to key
concepts. Teacher will assess the product according to the rubrics.
Moreover, teacher also can bring the real world situation into the laboratory. For
instance, in chemistry lesson, teacher can connect the real life situation or living situation
with the content to develop a chemistry experiment. Students will feel familiar, in
particular, they are able to identify the problems and have desire to solve the problem. By
using topic of the condition of combustion as example, through the familiar scenes or
actions such as turn off the Bunsen burner, empty the firewood rack, build a vents for the
gas stoves, it will guide students to have meta- cognition and found out the problems.
4. Inquiry based approach
Inquiry connects the learning to the students own experience and knowledge by
providing a context to develop the critical thinking skills besides encourages problem
solving. It is an important learning strategy for developing engaged citizenship and
entrepreneurial, employment, community and interpersonal skills. Inquiry involves

students to: handle the real- world problem, issues and controversies, develop the
questioning, research and communication skills, create solution to solve the problems,
collaborate with each other, develop a deep understanding of content knowledge and
participate in the public creation and improvement of ideas and knowledge.
Posting questions is the most important part in the inquiry approach as it able to prompt
students to have the motive or initiative to explore deeper. Teachers need to create a
situation which is more intuitive, vivid, can arouse the students to discover the problem
and have the desire to solve the problem.
In order to engage the students in the lesson, teacher can make use of technology to
explore the problem. For example, in chemistry lesson, chemistry teacher can guide
students to understand the social issues which are related to chemistry through internet
and explore related content. By using teaching the topic acid rain in chemistry as
example, teacher provide the link of the website regarding the information of acid rain
such as news or article, students will raise the questions about sulfur dioxide, sulfuric
acid and the process of other chemical production, especially the causes of acid rain,
chemical composition and chemical reaction .
Besides that, we also can use multimedia technology to create a problem situation. For
example, in the topic of mineral- Iodine in biology , teacher can play video clips about
iodine and human health during carry out the lesson as engagement activity. The vivid
stimulation will give students a strong visual experience and mental stimulation so that
students understand the necessity of research on iodine chemistry knowledge. After
watching the video clips, students are required to write their opinion and comment based
on the message of the video clips.
5. 5E instructional model
This model embraces personal and social constructivist learning emphases (Yore,
Anderson & Shymansky, 2005). Investigating scientifically, with an emphasis on science
inquiry skills, is embedded in the cycle, as are diagnostic, formative and summative
assessment practices. The 5E learning cycle, with its Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate
and Evaluate phases, is a constructivist model for planning and implementing science.

In Biology lesson, in the topic of erosion and transportation, teacher need to make sure
that students are able to describe the process of erosion, transportation and deposition
through 5E instructional model.
Engagement: Teacher Takes students on a walk outside the school building and ask them
to note where the soil is worn away or seems to have collected. Before going on the walk,
teacher may requires students to explain what they will look for or what are the signs
that soil has worn away or built up? (Suggested answers may include: erosion - puddles,
hollowed out areas, areas that dip or are lower that the surrounding area; deposition mounds of dirt, collection of soil or other materials in a certain spot, etc.) Upon returning
to the classroom make a list of the sites where soil was worn away or collected.
Exploration: Construct a rainmaker model to investigate how these changes may have
occurred. For example, provide materials so the students can construct their own model
of a landscape. Once students have constructed their models have them diagram and label
their models and make a prediction as to what will happen if it "rains" on their landscape.
One student pours a cup of water all at once into the rainmaker. Hold the rainmaker about
4 inches above the upper end of the landscape and slowly move it back and forth so the
water "rains" down on the model landscape. Observe what happens to the landscape.
When it is finished raining have the students observe the final effects of the rain on their
landscape. Have students go back to their predictions and record what actually happened.
Explanation: The process of erosion and deposition is explained through discussion with
students based on their model.
Extension: Teacher lead a class discussion on the topic Erosion And Deposition- Help
Or Hindrance?
Evaluation: Assessment such as multimedia presentation, digital poster and reseacr
papers is given by teacher.