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Journal Critique: [Planning and Assessing for Understanding]
EDUC 324 Teaching Elementary and Middle School Science
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Journal Critique: [Planning and Assessing for Understanding]
Teachers frequently struggle to figure out how to get students interested in particular
subjects. Presenting information in a variety of ways to keep students interested and connected
to the subject matter can be challenging in the scientific classroom. Sparking Discussion Through
Visual Thinking written by Tarah Connolly, Ron Skinner, and Danielle Harlow, is the title of the
article that I have selected. The primary focus of this article is how scientific and visual thinking
may both assist children understand science and, ideally, spark their curiosity. Using a still
image, a video clip, or a live example to get students talking about the material is one way to
implement a visual thinking method. The use of graphics should pique students' interest and
engagement with the material so they may begin to ask questions and have discussions to gain a
deeper knowledge.
Summary
Using visual thinking techniques in the classroom is simple and beneficial. Teachers can
foster deeper, more meaningful conversations about science with their students by using visual
aids like images, short films, or in-class demonstrations. The authors of this article hope that by
doing this, students will have a better understanding of the material being taught. Students in
upper elementary courses were used to test VTS, according to the article. In addition to using
the VTS approach, the authors included innovative ideas to enhance the teaching strategy's
level of involvement. Students' physical engagement reaches a new level when presented with
exciting concepts. “VTS requires close observation and evidence-backed claims, which mirrors
important practices in science and engineering. To adapt this discourse tool for science and
engineering, the visual that the educator selects might be a still image, a video clip, or a live
demonstration. It should prompt discussion about key ideas that are built upon during
subsequent activities or prompt questions that motivate further investigation” (Connolly,
Skinner, Harlow, 2019). In order to help teachers do their best work in using this strategy in their
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classrooms, it can successfully engage students and generate interesting yet informational
discussions!
Analysis
This article was written specifically with science teachers in mind. To assist educators in
implementing this approach in the classroom, the authors included a large number of examples.
But there was not any data or evidence in order to support the idea that this approach engages
students much more effectively than others, which would have been crucial for this article. I
believe that science teachers will find this article useful, despite the fact that it lacks some
evidence. It seems that it can be useful to educators by giving them concrete examples of how
to approach this teaching method and why it might work for their classroom. The evidence
required to support the appropriate teaching practices would have been supplied if I had
written this essay. More teachers would be able to determine whether this approach is
appropriate for them and their classroom if existing statistics were made available.
Personal Application
I feel that I have learned a lot from this article about especially about effective teaching
techniques. I would still benefit from the practical strategy of generating stimulating ideas even
if I choose not to apply the visual thinking technique. Every tactic in this essay is helpful, in my
opinion. In order to get students interested in the subject matter, I would not be against
implementing similar strategies in my own classroom. By offering stimulating concepts and
visual conversation as an essential educational tool. Visual thinking may have a positive and
engaging impact on students in practically every classroom, even for non-science teachers.
Conclusion
Science instructors can increase their students' interest in their course subject by
employing the visual thinking technique. In their classrooms, the authors found that offering
both new concepts and tangible examples worked effectively. Even though there was no
information on how well the students performed while employing these techniques compared
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to other approaches, it still appears to be a successful teaching strategy. Teachers who plan to
implement this strategy in their own classrooms may find the article's numerous sample chats
to be of great assistance. Experiment ideas and details that appear to be helpful in getting
students interested in the material are included with sample conversations. This article offered
practical and significant strategies for teaching science while keeping pupils interested.
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References
Connolly, T., Skinner, R., & Harlow, D. (2019). Sparking discussion through visual thinking.
Sparking Discussion Through Visual Thinking. https://par.nsf.gov/servlets/purl/10192350
