News from Mathnasium of Columbus Bradley Park

STEM IS THE HOTTEST ACRONYM IN EDUCATION. HERE ARE TIPS FROM COLORADO'S TEACHER OF THE YEAR FOR HELPING STUDENTS DISCOVER SCIENCE, TECH, ENGINEERING AND MATH.

From Matt Watson

Ingrid Carter, associate professor of elementary education at Metropolitan State University of Denver, says the key to teaching science to students is helping them discover it themselves.

Carter employs the 5E instructional model with her teacher-education students:

1. Engaging learners
2. Exploring phenomena
3. Explaining phenomena
4. Elaborating scientific concepts and abilities
5. Evaluating learners

Crucially, the explanation phase comes after the students have already explored a new idea without knowing what it is, rather than a teacher explaining how to do something before having the students try it out.

“Rather than the teacher front-loading it and saying, ‘This is what we’re going to learn today, and here’s the vocabulary,’ they’re actually exploring the concept before they’re even labeling it,” she said. “This may be a new idea for parents. The teacher is not the one lecturing – the student is actually formulating ideas on their own first, and then the teacher is guiding those thoughts.”