Impact of TR-5E-ICT Model
on Critical Thinking and Learning Attitude in Science
Authors
Guo Fengling SH/Physics
Damien Lee Kian Aik Physics Teacher
Liang Ruishan Physics Teacher
Nurfazilah Abdul Aziz AED/T&L
Abstract
This study examined how the TR-5E-ICT model would improve critical thinking skills and learning attitude in Secondary One Express Science students.
Teachers make use of simulations to engage students' inquiry in the concept of density. Students present their ideas by constructing explanations to explain the concept buoyancy via widgets set up on a Google site. Conceptual understanding and scientific reasoning is learnt collaboratively through iterative peer feedback and improvement.
Introduction
There is a growing emphasis on developing critical thinking skills amongst students, which are deemed as the essential outcomes of education. Critical thinking involves the ability to reason and reflect on an issue, looking at it from several viewpoints before reaching a final solution. This important skill is a necessity for lifelong learning which we hope our students would develop through their course of study. In addition, having a positive learning attitude also proves to lead to better success in learning.
In physics, an important critical thinking skill is the ability to identify physical variables and analyse the relationship among them. Thus, this study aims to develop this critical thinking skill among secondary 1 physics students. In particular to the chosen topic of density, our students often face difficulties in stating the crucial variables and in the sequencing of casual relations between density, mass and volume. Our research aims to design lessons for clarity and better understanding of the chosen subtopic, thereby raising the ability to thinking critically and heighten interest and learning attitude amongst the students.
Literature Review
5E Inquiry Model
In developing the 21st century competencies in the learners, inquiry-based instruction has been deemed by pertinent literatures to be an effective pedagogy in doing so. It is a powerful tool in learning Science and it is able to spark inquisitiveness in the classroom (National Science Foundation, 1999). In addition, Billings (2001) and Ebrahim (2004) reported positive changes in attitudes toward Science.
Inquiry based learning (IBL) is a pedagogy that builds on the constructivist theory, where learners discover meaning and construct their own understanding of new ideas or information. Through the inquiry process, students will gain principles about how knowledge is derived from human curiosity about natural world and get experience how scientist make interference through their observation. These core principles enhance students’ understanding through scientific world and provide experience to gain scientific attitudes.
Inquiry-based instruction involves a classroom where students are engaged in open-ended, student centered, hands on activities. There are several approaches to inquiry-based instruction. In the lesson design, the guided inquiry model is selected where the teacher provides only the materials and problem for scientific investigation to take place. Students devise their own procedure to solve the problem.
The Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) 5E Instructional Model developed in the 1980s consists of five phases of learning that structures learning experiences so that students have the opportunity to construct their understanding of a concept over time: engage, explore, explain, elaborate, and evaluate. Each phase allows learners to formulate scientific and technological knowledge, attitudes, and skills.
Thinking Routine
Thinking routines are simple patterns of thinking that can be used over and over again and folded easily into learning in the subject areas. They have a public nature, so that they make thinking visible, and students quickly get used to them (R Ritchhart, 2002).
Thinking routines is popularised from an initiative called Visible Thinking that Professors at Harvard Graduate School of Education have come up with. They work together with collaborators in various schools and developed and fine tune the thinking routines.
In the research conducted Harvard Graduate School of Education, professors have explored the practicality of using thinking routines and documentation as classroom learning tools, developed a framework for pursuing cultural transformation in classrooms and schools, and devised tools for integrating the arts. This work has spanned elementary through university settings, included both public and independent schools and involved schools in the United States, the Netherlands, Sweden, Belgium, and Australia.
Making students’ thinking visible requires some sort of organizing structure, and the Visible Thinking programs at Project Zero use what they call “thinking routines” to guide learners’ thought processes. A distinctive feature of thinking routines is that they encourage what cognitive psychologists call active processing. They don’t ask that students simply list facts. Rather, they encourage students to actively engage with a topic by asking them to think with and beyond the facts they know through asking questions, taking stock of prior knowledge, probing the certainty of their ideas, and visibly connecting new knowledge to old.
Benefits of thinking routine
Classroom activities become more learning oriented rather than work oriented (Marshall, 1988). Students who previously believed they lacked a voice or that their ideas weren't valued, including students with learning disabilities, participate more actively and confidently (Ritchhart, Palmer, Church, & Tishman, 2006); and students' awareness of thinking strategies dramatically increases at all grade levels (Ritchhart, Hadar, & Turner, 2008).
Research by (R. Ritchhart and D. Perkins 2008) conducted a study at Bialik College, a private K-12 school in Melbourne, Australia. Teachers at Bialik College have feedback that making thinking visible enables them to more accurately assess students' understanding. In addition, it also reflect improved student learning. High school students at Bialik reported that thinking routines helped them structure their thinking before they began writing essays for their state graduation exams, which boosted their confidence and increased the time they spent writing.
In the same report, by (R. Ritchhart and D. Perkins 2008), they found that at Long Lake Elementary in Traverse City, Michigan, where Visible Thinking ideas has been implemented since 2004, student scores have significantly increased on state and district tests in reading, writing, and social studies. Thus, there are positive changes in school culture and student learning in Bialik and other schools implementing the Visible Thinking approach.
Classroom activities become more learning oriented rather than work oriented (Marshall, 1988). Students who previously believed they lacked a voice or that their ideas weren't valued, including students with learning disabilities, participate more actively and confidently (Ritchhart, Palmer, Church, & Tishman, 2006); and students' awareness of thinking strategies dramatically increases at all grade levels (Ritchhart,Hadar, & Turner, 2008).
The TR-5E-ICT Model
The model integrates an inquiry approach, based on the 5E model, with Thinking Routines and ICT tools to design lessons that promote critical thinking and engaged learning in Science. Thinking routines were chosen to make thinking visible, to encourage students to engage with a topic by asking them to think with and beyond the facts that they know. The ICT tools provides the platform for collaboration which leads to deeper learning and understanding.
The TR-5E-ICT model uses the 5E inquiry approach as the basis for the scientific inquiry process. Thinking Routines (TR) and ICT is integrated as parts of the five phases of the 5E model as follows:
Research Questions
The research questions are:
- To what extent does the TR-5E-ICT model improve critical thinking and learning attitude towards Science?
- How does the TR-5E-ICT model improve critical thinking in the learning of Science?
Table 1: Lesson Design Using the TR-5E-ICT Model
Intervention
The Participants' background:
This project involved two Secondary One Express Stream classes, with about 40 students per class. The ability of the students within each class is heterogeneous, and there is no significant difference in the pre-test scores between the experiment class and the control class. The same teacher conducted the intervention to ensure homogeneity.
- Conducted a pre-test and pre-survey to determine the ability and learning attitude of the students before the lesson.
- A lesson unit consisting of six one-hour lessons was designed based on the TR-5E-ICT model (see table 1).
- A post-test and a post-survey was done to assess the students’ improvement in their responses to Higher Order Thinking questions and questions related to learning attitudes.
- Qualitative analysis involving coding of students' written work and case studies.
Students performing the various tasks
Students Observing Phenomenon using Eggs and Discussing using the thinking routine See-Think-Wonder!
Students manoeuvre around the applet, observing and discussing explanations.
Findings
The test resulted in a small significant difference (t(73) = - 1.57, p < 0.1) between the experimental class and the control class. Students in the experiment class scored higher in the post-test than students in the control class, indicating that students who have gone through the lesson package would have a higher positive difference in pre and post test scores.
The weighted average scores was higher in the experimental group.
Open coding of students' written work resulted in several specific criteria for critical thinking in the learning of density, such as asking relevant and constructive questions, comparing crucial variables and sequencing causal relations. Based on these codes, a coding scheme was developed to assess the level of critical thinking in all 8 groups. 4 groups performed exceedingly well, while the other 4 groups performed moderately. Two case studies were carried out to further examine how a high and low performing group completed the task.
A strong positive correlation (r = 0.86) between the post test and rubrics results was also observed. This implies that students who performed well in the conceptual test as measured by the pre-post test also tend to perform well in critical thinking as measured by the qualitative coding analysis. This is indicative of the study's high internal validity as there is consistency in two separate measurements.
Data Analysis
Comparing pre and post test and survey results between the classes.
Discussion and Conclusion
- Through peer and group feedback, there was an improvement in the quality of students’ work.
- The lesson design appealed to students who thrive on doing their own research on the internet as well as those who prefers to work in groups.
- TR-5E-ICT model provided students with greater exposure towards collaborative learning and ICT tools as well as real world contexts.
- More exposure to similar lesson design requiring group work and processes could be a solution to improving critical thinking skills.
- Students with better learning attitude could reap the benefits to a greater extent as active learning and teamwork made learning relevant and enjoyable.
- TR-5E-ICT model does have the potential to encourage students to think more critically and to enhance student learning attitude during lessons.
References
Billings, R. L. (2001). Assessment of the learning cycle and inquiry-based learning in high school physics education. Masters Abstracts International 40(4): 840.
Bybee, R. W. (2009). The BSCS 5E instructional model and 21st century skills.Colorado Springs, CO: BSCS.
Ebrahim, A. (2004). The effects of traditional learning and a learning cycle inquiry learning strategy on students’ science achievement and attitudes toward elementary science (Kuwait). Dissertation Abstracts International 65(4): 1232.
Educational Technology Division, Ministry of Education, Singapore. 2011 – 2012. The ICT Connection, “Harnessing ICT, Transforming Learners”. The ICT Connection website. Available from: http://ictconnection.moe.edu.sg/masterplan-3/ understanding-the-goals/for-students [24 August 2013].
Ron Ritchhart and David Perkins (2008) Educational leadership: Making thinking visible February 2008 |Volume 65|Number 5 Teaching Students to Think pp. 57-61