REVISED (July.14)
I want students to start a topic about whether there will be extraterrestrial life. This is the biggest question in the universe: Are we alone? Philosophers debate on this question for thousands of years when the 16 th-century Italian astronomer and the Dominican friar giordano Bruno, announced that the universe contains the same world with us infinite, he directly violates the religious doctrine later during the inquisition, he was burned at the stake, in part because he dared to question the unique position of the earth (Rugheimer, 2019). To this day, the debate continues in a restrained fashion. For some, the size of the universe makes it impossible to form a single life. For others, the extraordinary complexity of life on Earth proves its uniqueness. The scientific community has yet to accept the evidence for extraterrestrial life as real, and has failed to take a clear-cut stand on the existence of other life forms. It is worth noting that bringing extraterrestrial belief to a supernatural scale are disputed (Dagnall, 2011).
This topic is based on the sixth item of the big ideas in the BC Curriculum. Students are expected to be able to demonstrate a sustained curiosity about a scientific topic or problem of personal interest, and Identify questions to answer or problems to solve through scientific inquiry. The key to this topic is how do students verify their conclusions through their own research and inquiry, and in this process students will inevitably investigate relevant knowledge across disciplines. This further enhances their ability to imagine and connect with their surroundings (Jardine et al., 2003). In this process, the teacher will guide them to narrow down the scope of discussion and try to let each group see the topic from a different perspective.
Reference
Dagnall, N., Drinkwater, K., & Parker, A. (2011). Alien visitation, extra-terrestrial life, and paranormal beliefs. Journal of Scientific Exploration, 25(4), 699–720.
Jardine, D., Clifford, P., Friesen, S. (2003). Back to the basics of teaching and learning. New York: Routledge, https://doi.org/10.4324/9781410606938
Rugheimer, S. (2019). Is there anybody out there? New Scientist, 243(3245), 42–45. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0262-4079(19)31632-x
I want to conduct a topic about group learning, and through the guidance of others and self-exploration and understanding of knowledge, determine a learning direction of my own. Realize self-directed learning. Teacher adopts the transformational leadership. A number of studies have proved that transformational leaders can lead students to better creative thinking, especially in the educational system, transformational leaders can improve students’ ability to continue learning, and transformational leaders have played an important role in supporting change and learning-oriented learning activities (Creţu, 2015).
I believe it is effective that teachers guide the students to set a goal according to their interests, which will allow students to achieve effective learning outcomes since it is based on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (Burleson & Thoron, 2014). Maslow thought that human beings are encouraged to achieve goals, and every time they meet a goal, people rush to the next goal. After meeting the basic physiological needs, safety and security needs, and love and belonging, self-esteem is next. People are eager to achieve wonderful achievements to gain appreciation from others. When this need is met, people feel personally valued, and their ability is recognized. Conversely, when this demand is not met, people will lose their confidence. Guiding students to set future goals is to help them achieve this demand. People with clear goals can often have better performances, especially when they have a strong awareness to achieve it. Students will gradually form their own clear goals through lectures from other industries, the query of materials online, and under the guidance of teachers. They may change their goals as they get older; In the future, students may move to Maslow’s next need for self-actualization, which is a self-fulfillment need that arises from personal growth. It may be too early to talk about this need, but I believe that as long as they are properly guided to establish the meaning of learning, they will be motivated to learn efficiently.
I also believe that learning is effective when students work together in social situations such as group work and discussions in order to deal with real-life scenarios. I think that when students get to work together, they become more engaged and learn how to get along with each other, just like they will have to do in the real world. In groups, students that struggle can get help from other students, and they do not feel alone in their learning. The teacher also needs to be part of the students’ learning process and needs to get involved in setting up lessons that break up information in manageable chunks and finding learning strategies that guide and support students in their learning. I believe in learning is that it is an effective way for students to work together to deal with real-life because it is based on Vigotsky’s constructivism (Verenikina, 2003). Vigotsky believes that when people actively seek new information, they will learn best through meaningful interaction with their surroundings; he does not believe that people will learn in isolation. He said that building new information requires guidance and support from adults or more capable peers. He believes that in the environment, more capable members can help people learn by providing guidance or support and help them improve their cognitive abilities. These capable members support young children through interactions and dialogues in the form of reminders, speeches and encouragements. These natural teachers gradually guide the children to learn, starting with the child’s knowledge or skill level, and then transferring them to a higher level of understanding. From there, teachers continue to promote children’s learning until they develop problem-solving skills.
Reference
Burleson, S. E., & Thoron, A. C. (2014). Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and its relation to learning and achievement. Gainesville: Department of Agricultural Education and Communication.
Creţu, D. (2015). Identification of leadership styles in the pre-university educational system. case study. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 186, 535–543. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.04.058
Verenikina, I. (2003). Understanding scaffolding and the ZPD in educational research. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267778614_Understanding_Scaffolding_and_the_ZPD_in_Educational_Research/citation/download