Science Gurus, Please Help Me Do Better Teaching

[Gil]

How can a parent with out an science background or passion better approach science, so that they can be a better teacher and co-learner for their student who is eager to learn science and usually enjoys it?

Things are going pretty good now  and we have a plan to finish out the term, but it wasn't smooth sailing or easy to get the course up off the ground, due to me.
I wouldn't want to flounder through another science course unnecessarily. Apparent science isn't really my "thing" when it comes to teaching and I need more practice/a better system, but I know that I can do better than this.

The biggest "con" to this course wasn't the books or the students, it was the "teacher". What are some things that I can I do to improve?

Edited March 1, 2019 by Gil

[Dicentra]

Short answer - gently... I'm not sure that you teaching them is the best pathway.  If I remember correctly, your students are accelerated learners with a passion for math.  In order for them to be engaged and challenged in science, you're probably going to need to find experts in the fields or at least master teachers, particularly if science isn't your "thing".  I've always thought that the best teachers at the high school level are ones who are knowledgeable in the subject far beyond what the students are learning.  Those are the teachers who can, off the cuff, pull out interesting anecdotes about the topic and connect the topic to the larger sphere of human knowledge - on the fly. 🙂  If you don't enjoy the subject, it's going to be difficult for your student to enjoy the subject if you are teaching/co-learning.

There are books out there on pedagogical systems and different methods to teach science but the best teachers at the high school or college level, particularly for advanced learners, are going to be the experts and master teachers.  Please don't misunderstand me - I'm not saying that those who are not experts or master teachers can't teach/co-learn science with their students at the high school level. 🙂  But you asked how you could better engage your particular student.  And I think that outsourcing, if possible, may be your best bet.  If outsourcing is not an option, I can see if I can think of any book suggestions I can pass on regarding the pedagogy of teaching science.

[8filltheheart]

While I love the fact that my Dd is in Dicentra's chemistry class (bc I strongly dislike chemistry) and it is an extremely well-thought out course with excellent teaching and one I am thrilled to have had my Dd take, I do disagree that you cannot do this at home if that is the path you want to take. (I have taught chemistry to my kids multiple times; I simply didn't want to teach chemistry this yr.)  There is a distinct difference between unable to and not wanting to. I am not on a tight-budget, so paying for an outsourced class that I want to hand off completely to someone else is always an option for me. That said, it is also an option I have chosen to take only a handful of times over the yrs (and so far that is getting 6 kids through high school science.)

Teaching high school courses that you do not have the background in all comes down to your students and resources. Highly motivated students and good resources can work alongside you for very positive learning outcomes. Less motivated students and poor quality resources will most like result in low-levels of mastery.  

Finding the right resources is where I spend hours upon hours of research. Teaching resources are readily available in all sorts of forms. There are electronic textbooks with embedded videos. There are lecture series. There are self-paced, online courses that you can use to supplement what you are doing at home. Cengage, Pearson, etc have online resources that accompany their textbooks (like Mastering Astronomy). Opencourseware courses have lectures, videos, assignments, etc that you can intertwine into what you are doing at home, etc. It absolutely does not have to come down to you, the boys, and a textbook.

Some ideas to get you started:

http://www.gpb.org/chemistry-matters

http://www.gpb.org/physics-fundamentals

https://mashable.com/2013/08/06/opencourseware/#PyOBBzwYMPqa

https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/audio-video-courses

https://www.thegreatcourses.com/category/science.html?CFM=category_slider (we own just about every physics and astronomy lecture series they proeduced prior to ds going to college in 2014)

 

Edited March 2, 2019 by 8FillTheHeart

[Clemsondana]

I'll put my opinion somewhere between Dicentra and 8 - I think that you can absolutely have a class done at home, but it would be much harder to be the one actually doing the direct teaching if you have advanced, enthusiastic students who want to be taught.  If we decide to do a module on allergy and immunity when I teach Bio 2, I usually start off by having the students watch the Khan Academy videos on the immune system.  I don't need to do that with most other topics, but there is no reason for students to slog through my 'barely better than the textbook' explanation when those videos are really good.  After that, we move back to me-led discussions of papers about what is wrong with the system that we just learned about if somebody has an allergy, for example.  

My kids do Science Olympiad, which, as they get older, has them dig deeply into whatever topics are covered that year.  The coaches don't directly know the material, but they're willing to help research it. We usually start with the kids reading through middle/high school textbooks, general interest articles and explanations online, crash course videos, etc.  Then we move on to more detailed materials, khan academy, etc.  Some of the kids move on to college textbooks (the students are typically grades 5-12).  So, they learn a lot and are guided by the coaches, but not taught directly.  If we come to something that the student doesn't understand, they ask for help from parents or coaches, and it's not uncommon for the coaches to confer with each other to figure something out.  Sometimes you get topics that a coach can help with directly (I get to coach Heredity this year - my advanced degree is in genetics), but last year I coached microbiology - I knew the basics, but had to pull in other resources once we got beyond that.  

Whether you want to outsource the class, or just use outside resources, probably depends on your preferences and how much your kids want to be taught directly vs how much they are interested in piecing together information from different resources (or somewhat self-teaching using traditional textbooks).    

[Dicentra]

And I agree with both @8FillTheHeart and @ClemsonDana. 🙂  I totally agree that a parent can teach virtually anything at home - my response was more due to Gil stating that he didn't have a passion for science and it wasn't his thing but he had a student who was eager to learn science and enjoys it.  In my mind, that seemed like a scenario that would either push Gil or his student (or both) past their breaking points. 😉

But yes, @Gil - both 8 and ClemsonDana have given you some great resources to make a go of this.  Who knows - once you start to dig deeper with your student, you may find a hidden passion for science in yourself after all. 🙂

[Lori D.]

On 2/28/2019 at 7:45 PM, Gil said:

How can a parent with out an science background or passion better approach science, so that they can be a better teacher and co-learner for their student who is eager to learn science and usually enjoys it?

... What are some things that I can I do to improve?

Choice of resources
Use curricula that has a lot of teacher supports for YOU (teacher manual, schedule, DVD lessons, links to extension activities). If you really prefer to create you own course, or want to blend multiple resources, get someone with solid science background to look over your choices to make suggestions to help it flow better for you

Increase your own knowledge
Learn more about Science yourself -- and enjoy doing it with your DSs. Plan a once-a-week educational video to watch together (NOVA; Mythbusters; etc.). At lunch, watch short "Science bites" videos (ex: Science Netlinks; Top 100 Science YouTube Channels; etc.). Get a magazine subscription (ex: Popular Science; Popular Mechanics; Science News; Discover; Scientific American...) As your students get older, enjoy listening to/watching Khan Academy and Teaching Company: Great Courses series on Science.

Also, plan a once-a-month field trip that involves Science. Just a few ideas to kickstart your thinking:
- museum visit or attend a museum kid activity program
- observatory or do night viewing with your local amateur astronomy club
- visit planetarium, aquarium, fish hatchery, or other
- arrange a tour of one of the science dept. at your local university/community college
- attend special science "fun day" put on by your local university/community college

Make Science a priority
Allot time in the weekly schedule for student to explore science topics of special interest to the student. Get kits and supplies to have on hand for student exploration.

Support with Science extracurriculars
Commit some of your time/transportation to getting your student involved in:
- state or regional student Science Fair (ex: S. FL Regional Science & Engineering Fair, SSEF) -- or local school's science fair
- 4-H Science projects
- Science Olympiad
- Lego FIRST Robotics team (ex: here or here or here)
- summer STEM camps and programs
   * local camps usually offered through your university/community college
   * list of Florida summer STEM camps
   * list of national summer STEM camps

Outsource
- use a science program with DVD lessons
- hire a local university student to mentor your student
- online course provider
- free MOOC (ex: Coursera)

Edited March 3, 2019 by Lori D.

[Dicentra]

This has been bothering me since I posted originally and I wanted to apologize to @Gil and to everyone.  I was originally posting late at night and after a very stressful few days and my post was not helpful - all of which might help to explain my ill-conceived view point but doesn't excuse it.  Thankfully, wiser brains prevailed and @8FillTheHeart, @ClemsonDana, and @Lori D. gave Gil some great resources and ideas.  I'll also say to Gil that if he would like any ideas on chemistry teaching, I'll do my best to help.

Mea culpa.

[Clemsondana]

@Dicentra, don't feel bad!  We have, at times, come to a similar conclusion at my house.  One of my kids is a good self-teacher, but if there was something that kiddo really wanted to learn but needed direct instruction to learn, I'd consider outsourcing just because I'm not sure that I could maintain the right enthusiasm while trying to fly through a subject and stay a day ahead of kiddo.  Thus far it hasn't been an issue, thankfully - the subjects that have needed more parent help happen to be subjects that I know/can easily figure out.  But, at some point we may hit the wrong combo of 'student is really interested, student wants to move quickly, mom has no knowledge of the topic, and student finds it difficult to self-teach this subject' and then we may be looking to outsource.  And, in some families, having students watch Crash Course videos would be different if they are usually taught directly by a parent.  Honestly, both of my kids will probably take a literature class at co-op in high school - I can find the protagonist and explain the symbolism, but I never understood why anybody would want to.  🙂  Give me a good metabolic pathway any day.  I want for them to have a chance at learning to appreciate that sort of thing, because I doubt that they'd get any 'appreciation' even if I did a great job of teaching the content.  I've had co-op parents who were completely capable of teaching biology send their kids to take my class just because I actually like it and they wanted their kid to enjoy it as much as possible.   

[Lori D.]

8 hours ago, Dicentra said:

This has been bothering me since I posted originally and I wanted to apologize to @Gil and to everyone.  I was originally posting late at night and after a very stressful few days and my post was not helpful - all of which might help to explain my ill-conceived view point but doesn't excuse it.  Thankfully, wiser brains prevailed and @8FillTheHeart, @ClemsonDana, and @Lori D. gave Gil some great resources and ideas.  I'll also say to Gil that if he would like any ideas on chemistry teaching, I'll do my best to help.

Mea culpa.

I thought you had some great thoughts expressed very kindly, Dicentra! There are absolutely circumstances where outsourcing to someone with more knowledge and background is the way to go. No need for apologies from my perspective. 🙂 

Sorry you're having a stressful time right now, and hope it quickly calms down. Warmest regards, Lori

Edited March 4, 2019 by Lori D.

[Gil]

6 hours ago, Dicentra said:

This has been bothering me since I posted originally and I wanted to apologize to @Gil and to everyone.  I was originally posting late at night and after a very stressful few days and my post was not helpful - all of which might help to explain my ill-conceived view point but doesn't excuse it.  Thankfully, wiser brains prevailed and @8FillTheHeart, @ClemsonDana, and @Lori D. gave Gil some great resources and ideas.  I'll also say to Gil that if he would like any ideas on chemistry teaching, I'll do my best to help.

Mea culpa.

I'm sorry that you're having a rough time. But don't worry about it. You should know that I wasn't offended or hurt. What you said might not have been "helpful" in the most literal sense, but it certainly wasn't wrong, or hurtful. You didn't attack me. Or rather there was nothing in your post that made me feel attacked. (Maybe I'm just dense. I reread what you posted and I just don't get the insult/attack or whatever it is that you perceived you've done to me.)

Hell, I know that I'm not a good "teacher" when it comes to science. It would be insane for me to get angry or hurt because someone mentions that fact to my face in a non-confrontational way. Outsourcing science class isn't the right option for us at this time, which is why I'm looking to improve the way that I'm handling it in-house.

We're doing chemistry next, so if you have any suggestions...I'm all ears.

[8filltheheart]

Yep, @Dicentra I read it as you just expressing your thought. No need to apologize to me. 🙂

[Plagefille]

I am just commenting because I have the same problem and I want to be able to easily find this thread.

Thanks for all the tips.

[Dicentra]

22 hours ago, ClemsonDana said:

@Dicentra, don't feel bad!  We have, at times, come to a similar conclusion at my house.  One of my kids is a good self-teacher, but if there was something that kiddo really wanted to learn but needed direct instruction to learn, I'd consider outsourcing just because I'm not sure that I could maintain the right enthusiasm while trying to fly through a subject and stay a day ahead of kiddo.  Thus far it hasn't been an issue, thankfully - the subjects that have needed more parent help happen to be subjects that I know/can easily figure out.  But, at some point we may hit the wrong combo of 'student is really interested, student wants to move quickly, mom has no knowledge of the topic, and student finds it difficult to self-teach this subject' and then we may be looking to outsource.  And, in some families, having students watch Crash Course videos would be different if they are usually taught directly by a parent.  Honestly, both of my kids will probably take a literature class at co-op in high school - I can find the protagonist and explain the symbolism, but I never understood why anybody would want to.  🙂  Give me a good metabolic pathway any day.  I want for them to have a chance at learning to appreciate that sort of thing, because I doubt that they'd get any 'appreciation' even if I did a great job of teaching the content.  I've had co-op parents who were completely capable of teaching biology send their kids to take my class just because I actually like it and they wanted their kid to enjoy it as much as possible.   

Thanks, CD!  And to the bolded above - you're a gal after my own heart. 🙂

21 hours ago, Lori D. said:

I thought you had some great thoughts expressed very kindly, Dicentra! There are absolutely circumstances where outsourcing to someone with more knowledge and background is the way to go. No need for apologies from my perspective. 🙂 

Sorry you're having a stressful time right now, and hope it quickly calms down. Warmest regards, Lori

Thanks, Lori!  My stress level is much better now - it was mostly just lots of little things with the opening of registration for my courses last Friday piled on top.  During which my printer decided to have a temper tantrum and demand a driver update.  Which then didn't work.  So I was writing out all the registration information coming in by hand so I could send invoices and keep track of everything.  The printer and I had a discussion after things calmed down and it's very sorry for causing so much stress.  We'll see if it continues to behave... 😉

15 hours ago, Gil said:

I'm sorry that you're having a rough time. But don't worry about it. You should know that I wasn't offended or hurt. What you said might not have been "helpful" in the most literal sense, but it certainly wasn't wrong, or hurtful. You didn't attack me. Or rather there was nothing in your post that made me feel attacked. (Maybe I'm just dense. I reread what you posted and I just don't get the insult/attack or whatever it is that you perceived you've done to me.)

Hell, I know that I'm not a good "teacher" when it comes to science. It would be insane for me to get angry or hurt because someone mentions that fact to my face in a non-confrontational way. Outsourcing science class isn't the right option for us at this time, which is why I'm looking to improve the way that I'm handling it in-house.

We're doing chemistry next, so if you have any suggestions...I'm all ears.

Thanks, Gil. 🙂  I do have some suggestions but I'll put those in a separate post below.

14 hours ago, 8FillTheHeart said:

Yep, @Dicentra I read it as you just expressing your thought. No need to apologize to me. 🙂

Thanks, 8! 🙂

[Roadrunner]

23 hours ago, Dicentra said:

This has been bothering me since I posted originally and I wanted to apologize to @Gil and to everyone.  I was originally posting late at night and after a very stressful few days and my post was not helpful - all of which might help to explain my ill-conceived view point but doesn't excuse it.  Thankfully, wiser brains prevailed and @8FillTheHeart, @ClemsonDana, and @Lori D. gave Gil some great resources and ideas.  I'll also say to Gil that if he would like any ideas on chemistry teaching, I'll do my best to help.

Mea culpa.

 

Your answer is spot on for me. I think even with teacher materials, a person needs to understand the material in order to self learn. Although I once rocked chem in college, I will shamefully admit that there are times I read a textbook and I simply can’t understand it. Old brain? Maybe. But I don’t want to be in a position where I can’t answer my children’s questions and I know I will be if I taught sciences myself. It’s such a relief to direct my boy to you. 

Having written this I know there are plenty of parents more than capable of understanding this material and guiding their children. I am just not one of them. I can do miracles in other areas though, but not in science. So I think my answer is know yourself and your limitations. I also don’t want to feel ashamed that I can’t figure it all out. I decided my efforts were best to concentrate where I can bring more to the table and let professionals handle what I can’t. 

 

[Dicentra]

From my own perspective as a chemistry instructor (and an instructor of non-chemistry courses occasionally), I've tried to always operate on a few guiding principles:

1. If the subject you're teaching is not your passion, find a way to link it to your passion.  This will help you to model passion (even if it's somewhat peripheral passion) about the subject for your students which, in turn, helps to make the subject more enjoyable and interesting for them.  I've taught a number of semesters of both intro psychology and developmental psychology at the college where I teach and psych, while interesting, is certainly not my passion. 🙂  When I teach psychology, there is a whole lot more biology and biochem involved in my explanations than if someone with a humanities background was teaching it. 😉  If math is your passion, see if you can find a way to focus on the math side of whatever science you're teaching.  If it's chemistry, there's a whole lot of math in the physical chemistry side of things but that's mostly arithmetic and algebra with bits of pre-calc and integral calculus tossed in - not the fun kind of math.  You could see if your gateway to finding chemistry interesting might be through mathematical chemistry:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathematical_chemistry

It deals with the mathematical modelling of chemical phenomena.  Granted, you'll probably need to have some basic chemical knowledge before looking into something like that.  I suppose every subject is the same - one has to get through the basics (arithmetic in math, grammar and spelling in languages, etc.) before the subject starts to become really interesting and fun.  The reward comes after slogging through the basics to get to the meat of the subject.

2. Once you've found a way to find passion or a connection to the subject for yourself, start exploring ways to connect your students' passions to the subject.  Your students' passions may or may not be the same as yours although if they are the same as yours, then my first point kills two birds with one stone. 🙂  If the students' passions are different, try to find a way to link the subject you're teaching with each individual student's passion - art and chemistry (chemistry of different pigments, chemistry behind art restoration), history and chemistry (chemistry of gun powder or explosives and how that's changed the course of warfare in history and the ramifications of that, chemistry of fertilizers and how that changed how we feed ourselves over time), geology and chemistry, physics and chemistry, literature and chemistry, math and chemistry...  You get the idea. 🙂 This is where being an expert in the field or being a teacher of that subject can come in handy because then one has a wealth of "extra" knowledge to pull from beyond just the knowledge required to teach the course.  If you want to pick my brain about making chemistry interesting for your particular students, let me know their passions and I can try to give you some specific ideas.  I should note - this is obviously much easier when there are only a few students.  If it's a large class or if you don't know the individual students' passions, you just have to try to make things as interesting as possible and throw in a lot of "Did you know..." type things from a lot of different subject connections while teaching in the hopes that you'll hit upon something that connects with each student at some point. 🙂

3. Be consistently upbeat and encouraging - even if what you're currently doing is dry as toast. 😄  Remind the students (in a fun, upbeat way) that, although the current topic isn't the most interesting or fun, it needs to be learned and mastered so that they can move on to topics that are more interesting and fun.  If your students enjoy quirky humour, use lots of that.  Find really bad chemistry jokes.  Make really bad chemistry puns.  Most pre-teens and teens will roll their eyes and groan with disdain but I can guarantee you - they'll remember the pun and the topic. 🙂 

That's basically my teaching philosophy in a nutshell.  The rest is gaining subject knowledge for yourself, finding appropriate resources, trying to vary the activities (some lectures, some reading, some online activities, some paper worksheets, some hands-on labs, etc.), and learn from your mistakes.  I've been teaching for over 20 years and there are still activities that I'll try or explanations that I'll give where I think, "Dang, Connie - that did NOT work."  So I change things up for next time. 🙂

Hope that helps some!  You've gotten some great ideas and suggestions from others in this thread, too, so you should have somewhere to start.  Again, if you want to pick my brain for ideas specific to chemistry based on your individual students' passions (or on your own passion), just let me know.

[Dicentra]

11 minutes ago, Roadrunner said:

 

Your answer is spot on for me. I think even with teacher materials, a person needs to understand the material in order to self learn. Although I once rocked chem in college, I will shamefully admit that there are times I read a textbook and I simply can’t understand it. Old brain? Maybe. But I don’t want to be in a position where I can’t answer my children’s questions and I know I will be if I taught sciences myself. It’s such a relief to direct my boy to you. 

Having written this I know there are plenty of parents more than capable of understanding this material and guiding their children. I am just not one of them. I can do miracles in other areas though, but not in science. So I think my answer is know yourself and your limitations. I also don’t want to feel ashamed that I can’t figure it all out. I decided my efforts were best to concentrate where I can bring more to the table and let professionals handle what I can’t. 

 

Thanks, Roadrunner!  To the bolded above...  I outsourced English lit for my dd as soon as humanly possible. 😄  I think I've told the story before of doing poetry with her (badly) when she was young.  We read through Jabberwocky because it was listed in the curriculum I was using at the time.  I finished reading and my little 7 year old says, "That was nice, mummy.  What does it mean?"  and my response was, "I don't know, peanut.  Let's do some math." 😉