Motivating Students In The Science Classroom

Toni Enloe
Sep 15, 2008

Imagine a classroom where things roll uphill, pennies dance and objects fall upward. Wouldn't you like to be a student in that magical learning environment?

In his book, Influencing Human Behavior, Harry Overstreet states, "Action springs out of what we fundamentally desire and the best piece of advice which would be given to would be persuaders, which you and I are , whether it is in the home, in business, in school, or in politics is: First arouse in the other person an eager want. He who can do this will have the whole world with him. He who cannot will walk the lonely way." The use of discrepant events in the science classroom can "arouse" students' curiosity and create that "eager want" to learn.

Tik Liem (Invitations to Science Inquiry) describes a discrepant event as an event that "causes a discrepancy in what is physically observed and what the observer thinks should happen - surprising, counter intuitive, unexpected, paradoxical, mind capturing, and intuitive-offending." In Learning-Focused terms this translates to the perfect activating strategy, the activity that will create the "eager want."

A study, done by Liem on the effects of using discrepant events on concept retention, revealed that teachers who used discrepant events as part of their classroom instruction had a significant increase in the retention of new concepts. He pretested students before the instruction and then administered three post-tests.

Test A: administered immediately after the lessons
Test B: administered one month after the lessons
Test C: administered three months after the lessons

When comparing his control group (discussion and reading about discrepant events) to his experimental group (using discrepant events to introduce and teach new concepts), Liem concluded that the group taught using discrepant events retained the science concepts longer.

Liem puts forth a three step approach to teaching with discrepant events that incorporates both acquisition and extending thinking activities.

1. Presentation (Activating Strategy)
During this step, the teacher may present the students with the names of the objects and the operations but cannot tell them why something is happening.

2. Interaction (Teaching Strategy)
Through a series of guiding questions, the teacher gradually leads the students to the main reason for the occurrence. Through this process students apply the tools of scientific inquiry.

3. Involvement (Extending Thinking)
In an effort to solidify their learning, students are given a variety of opportunities to apply their new knowledge to similar events based on the same concept.

Though Liem does not specifically mention summarizing or sharing, students should be allowed to share what they have learned.

He adds that there are five essential elements that must be in place for the event to be successful and valuable. As the teacher you must:

1. Arouse your students' interest.
a perplexing problem that appears magical

2. Use simple materials.
every day things that students recognize

3. Use multiple gateways.
demonstrating, choosing a volunteer, involving students in a related activity

4. Include examples.
real life applications

5. Show joy and enthusiasm.
contagious excitement

The questions then become:

Why should I use them?

• What students know to be true is not what they see, creating cognitive dissonance. This dissonance piques student curiosity and opens their minds to alternative explanations.

When do I use them?

• Use discrepant events to engage students to learn the new concepts and/or to unlearn a predetermined misconception.

The use of discrepant events moves students toward the bottom of the Learning Pyramid into active involvement. When students are motivated, they put forth more effort. That effort impacts their self esteem,  their self efficacy and ultimately their academic achievement. If we can do that as classroom teachers, we have done our job!