Teaching Statement

Social constructivist theory encompasses many of the principles that I believe in. This

teaching style encourages adult instruction as a way to guide students to actively construct their

own knowledge. The 5E framework is a great way to structure the scaffolding of information to

students. By starting with guided discovery and trending with the comfort level of students to

more self-reliant inquiry methods of education this challenges the students in a learner-centered

way. The 5E model has five phases that keep the cognitive tasks near the zone of proximal

development to challenge students while promoting maximal growth. The phases for this

learning cycle include engage, explore, explain, elaborate, evaluate. The starting point of this

model is accessing prior knowledge and then using that as a base schema to assimilate the new

content into. The beginning of new content is a good time to engage students in discourse with a

discrepant event and discover any underlying misconceptions. Exploration, in my opinion, is the

most important part of this learning cycle. In The Power of their Ideas, Deborah Meier states that

students should be “inventors of their own ideas, critics of other people’s ideas, analyzers of

evidence, and makers of their own personal marks on this most complex world.” This time to

explore a topic independently and create their own understanding is much more meaningful than

rote memorization. Explanation can be done by students or teachers and this collaboration

reinforces a more autonomous community in the classroom. The elaborate phase allows for the

transfer of knowledge between schemas to apply concepts. Providing the opportunity for

students to share their understanding of a topic through an alternative assessment like a project or

presentation will deepen their understanding of the material. Evaluation occurs throughout the

5E learning cycle both formally and informally to assess student understanding and reflect on

how effective my teaching strategies were.

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 The nature of science is conducive to social constructivism. Humans are naturally curious

about how the world around us works which makes inquiry easily embedded in our science

content. I want to facilitate peer collaboration and discussions for students to share their ideas

and build off of one another to create a bigger picture of how a concept may work. An education

in science, and the habits of mind associated with this education, builds a student’s capability to

reason logically which can be carried into many facets of their life. In my science courses my

students will become better problem solvers and critical thinkers by analyzing new problems

using their prior knowledge and creating a claim to support their inferences. Scientific reasoning

supports the collection of data and observations to corroborate an explanation. This causes

students to self-monitor and determine if they have the thorough backing of scientific principles,

research, supportive data, and the connecting reasoning to substantiate their claim. Science

communities facilitate and encourage individuals to share their findings and to consider

alternative perspectives. As a science teacher I would promote this cooperative learning and

guide social interactions that promote students’ knowledge construction and skill development.

Specifically, I would like to teach biology based courses in a high school setting. At this age

students are expanding upon the science fundamentals they have been taught and are discovering

how to self-regulate their own learning. I want to teach students not only the Next Generation

Science Standard aligned curriculum but also foster intellectual rigor among my students and the

capacity to either thrive as future citizen scientists or delve into scientific careers themselves.

The self-determination theory states that for students to be intrinsically motivated to learn

the content there are three needs that must be met. These psychological needs are: the need for

competence, autonomy, and relatedness. Students can struggle working towards a common goal

and constructing knowledge collectively when there isn’t equity in the classroom. Students of all

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genders, orientation, ethnicity, religion, and socioeconomic status should feel like they are

capable of doing in well in my science courses, that they can take responsibility of their own

learning, and that they belong among their peers. I plan to build all students’ self-efficacy by

utilizing accommodations that keep my activities at their zone of proximal development. All

students are capable of science but some students may require more academic and social

supports. English language learners, and many other students, could benefit from word walls,

concept organizers, utilizing dual-encoding by attaching terms to an action or graphic, structured

assignments with sentence frames, and KWL charts. My pedagogy involves students meeting

small, but challenging, goals to build their confidence and affirm their identity as student

scientists. I believe the integration of a portfolio or science notebook where students take notes,

write reflections of their learning, record lab observations and data, and track their progress on

assessments would help students easily visualize their achievements and what they need to work

on. Some students may have a self-perceived lack of competence or belonging in the science

community. I want to nurture a sense of belonging and respect for all individuals in my class. I

want to empower all my students by showing science role models from various groups, sharing

the history of science from different countries, and showing how different aspects in science

affect real world situations throughout the globe. The high expectations that I hold of all my

students will push them to achieve and help construct their belief that they are capable of success

in science.

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 Professional Development Goals for Teaching Science
My goals can be categorized into individual development, local growth, and large scale

progress. I would like to focus on my individual development by taking classes to continue my

education. Continuing my education towards a master’s degree would keep me current on

teaching methods and from becoming stagnant. I can be a better instructor by continuing to

assimilate new strategies to effectively construct science knowledge with my students.

Individually, I can also read books that pique my interest in science and develop more

connections and real world examples that I can share with my class. I can explore and test new

activities to intertwine into my curriculum.

My second goal looks at a school or district-wide scale growth in science education. I

would like to work closely with other science teachers to improve district science standards.

Developing professional friendships where we can share vetted successful activities would better

all of our year-long plans. We can find local resources, like Morrill Hall, that can supplement our

instruction. We can attend local workshops and conferences like Nebraska Association for

Teachers of Science. This promotes professional development throughout our science faculty and

helps keep us motivated to develop our school science program. It takes the whole science

teaching team collaborating to keep the science program as a fluid seamless learning process for

students.

A third goal includes looking at science education development on a large scale. This

goal is harder to define and possibly harder to attain. I would like to attend National Science

Teachers’ Association conferences to network with other teachers, learn from speakers and about

resources, and attend workshops. I could contribute to science education by writing grants and

performing research. Science teachers need to keep the wheel turning on the most effective

strategies to teach science.

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