Sweater Article

Students that come into a classroom whether it is second or fifth grade have prior thoughts. The students that enter a classroom are not clean slates, they have previous experiences to guide their thinking such as the students in O'Briens class. Do sweaters and hats give off heat? Instead of Deb O'Brien just saying no she allowed them to discuss it as well as do an experiment. Allowing students to conduct their own experiments help them deal with their sensible reasoning as to why something is. Conceptual change is ongoing because children will hold on to their constructed schemes of thought. When students thinking is up against evidence teachers can play a huge role. In order to promote new thinking patterns teachers can use methods such as stressing relevance, making predictions, and stressing consistency. Science textbooks in the classrooms have grown so much in the past years when it comes to guiding students in the right direction.

"Despite massive evidence suggesting that students learn by doing, by manipulating, by experimenting, the great bulk of science teaching is still based on textbooks" (Davis). I think what O'Brien did in her classroom was the best way to approach such a situation. Students often stick to these beliefs they have and conceptual change is often out of the question. It is the teachers duty to be able to allow students to experiment with things in order to prove to themselves what is right from wrong. The students having hands on experience with a topic like heat will leave a greater impression on them rather than just telling them the facts from a book. Although textbooks are important, I believe it is the hands on learning that really leaves those facts from the textbook in a students mind.

When I am teaching my students science I will use the textbook in order to have the facts down. This will allow the students to be able to read the information on paper. I do not however think reading the text is enough. I want my students to be able to have hands on learning to either test their own thoughts or learn new things. I remember mostly reading the textbook in elementary school and believe that is why I do not remember much.