1. International Workshop
Science Education and Guidance in Schools:The Way Forward
Elaboration of Models as Didactic Project for
Teaching Knowledge of the Natural
Environment in Primary Education
Guadalupe Martínez-Borreguero & Francisco L. Naranjo-Correa
Department of Didactics of Experimental Sciences, University of Extremadura
Dept. of Physics, Faculty of Sciences, University of Extremadura, Spain
mmarbor@unex.es
Florence, 2013

2. Contents
• Introduction
• Methodology
– Objective
– Design of the experience
• Results
• Conclusions
• Future perspectives for teacher
intervention
• Acknowledgements

3. Introduction
Purposes of
Education
to enable
students to
Understand
Generate
Knowledge
Teachers should make an effort to:
search and integrate
new methods of
teaching and
learning of science in
the school
the assessment of
student learning in
science education
Avoiding
Rote learning
Promoting
Meaningful
learning
the creation of new
guidance intervention
evidence-based in science
based
education

4. Knowledge
Society
Teaching methodologies should arouse the
interest of students to make learning active,
participatory, enjoyable and even fun.
Meaninful
Learning

5. Starting Points: Model Building
• To learn science, the need to manipulate, observe
and experiment depends on our aim.
Aim:
That students become capable of
explaining the phenomena of the
world around them using their own
models and theories of
contemporary science
What we need:
The realization of practical works in
the teaching of science as those
presented in this experience
• Learning science involves learning to change the
ways of seeing, reasoning, and speaking about
the phenomena.

6. Focus
As teachers we want to offer a valid basic scientific
training to interpret daily events around us, from a
critical and participatory point of view.
Teaching science from the earliest stages of education is
T
a vital task, is a way of seeing the world and thinking
about it.
Our Proposal: the use of models as a method of teaching science that
allows us to "see the world" and to "think about it" learning scientific
content through inventions, machines and devices from our daily life

7. Methodology
Overall Objective
Develop educational materials that can be used in
the elementary classroom
allow a better
understanding of
science
arouse the interest
towards science
development of models and educational projects

8. Methodology
Specific Objectives
1. Create models of an object, invention, machine or technological device
that helps understanding the scientific basis involved in its operation to
transfer science and technology to the elementary classroom.
2. Generate a contextualized learning through an educational project
that falls within STS activities.
3. Promote meaningful learning through the stimulation of abilities and
skills, the discovery and the construction of knowledge.

9. Design of the Experience
2012 - 2013
Faculty of
Education
University of
Extremadura
253 students
fourth year of
the Degree in
Primary School
Teaching
Knowledge of
the Natural
Environment in
Primary
Education
On this course is taught the scientific and educational content
that will enable the elementary teacher to perform their
teaching in relation to the Knowledge of the Natural
Environment.
Among its objectives are:
"To train future teachers of primary education to meet the challenges of the education
system and adapt the lessons to the training needs of the stage of 6-12 years of the
education system, performing its functions under the principle of collaboration and
teamwork."

10. How to reach our goal?
• Innovative educational project:
–
–
–
–
Conceptual
Practical
Educational
Technological
• Foster meaningful learning of concepts, ideas and
principles, placing them in real life, where they
acquire their functionality.
• STS approach:
– Arouse students' interest and to give value to the
importance of knowledge of the natural environment
through science.

11. Stages of the Methodology
Stage One: Initial session
Introduction on practical work in science education
Theoretical basis for learning to teach primary science
through different learning strategies
Stage Two: Planning
To enhance group learning techniques, collaboration and
teamwork, students were divided into 2-4 people working
groups
They were provided a guidance script for the development
of the model and its subsequent introduction in the
context of the teaching project to be carried out
Stage Three: Development
Developed the proposed projects by an autonomous,
active and participatory work
Creation and exhibition of the models produced

12. Planning
From a
conceptual
standpoint
• Introduction section
From a
didactic point
of view
• Section of justification
of the model
From a
conceptual
point of view
• Section with the
contents

13. Planning
From an
• Section with both curricular and
educational point
instructional objective.
of view
From a practical
• Section with the complete process
and technological
for the construction of the model.
standpoint
From an
• Section that explains the activities
that can be performed in the
educational point
classroom with the model created.
of view

14. Results
115 models representing the physics on inventions, machines and
devices of our daily lives.
Each model has been complemented with an educational project
Description of the contents, prior knowledge, competencies, learning
objectives, the socio historical context of the model, the construction
socio-historical
process, the theoretical foundation, the working, and classroom
activities to perform based on different teaching strategies.

15. The models are focused on different
themes
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Alternative Energies
Energy Transformations
Simple Machines
Complex Machines
Light and Sound
Optical Instruments
Electric Circuits
Electricity and Magnetism
Forces
Motion…

16. Photographs of the some models
developed in this experience

18. Conclusions
Students who will be future teachers expand their knowledge
and learn, in a very active way, different ways of teaching science
in the elementary classroom.
During the project, students had to research and bring into play
their prior knowledge.
The students managed to make different models of the same invention or theme
but with different materials and different operating physical principles. This can
enrich the explanation of the concepts in the classroom, as it is possible to draw
analogies and similarities of the mechanisms involved in each model.

19. Qualitative validation of the work
We have sought the views of the students who
participated, who evaluated the usefulness of the
methodologies as teaching and learning strategies in
science.
Students indicate that such methodologies achieve to awake in children more
interest in the scientific content, as it is introduced in a novel, playful and
dynamic way.

20. Qualitative validation of the work
The creation of the models has made much understandable and interpretable
how the world around us works, and allows the child to explore, manipulate
and discover the cause and effect relationships involved in each of the
inventions produced.
The project has enabled the work on historical and social aspects related to
each of the models developed, which has facilitated the introduction of STS
activities.
activities
Such projects are an excellent didactic methodology for the teaching and
learning of scientific concepts involved in the operation of the technology that
surrounds us, promoting meaningful learning in which theoretical content
relates to procedural content.

21. Future work
Independent variable ?
Experimental Group
Using models
Control Group
Using traditional learning
methodologies
Teaching
Methodology
Dependent variable ?
Amount of learning achieved by
students related to the methodology
used
21

22. Thank you for listening!
Acknowledgements
To all our 4th year students of the subject
Knowledge of the Natural Environment in Primary
Education, for their participation and time, as well
as for the creativity and originality that they have
shown in this project.