Contextualizing instruction: Leveraging students' prior knowledge and experiences to foster understanding of middle school science |
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| Authors: | Ann E Rivet Joseph S Krajcik |
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| Institution: | 1. Teachers College, Columbia University, Box 210, 525 West 120th Street, New York, New York 10027;2. School of Education, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan |
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| Abstract: | Contextualizing science instruction involves utilizing students' prior knowledge and everyday experiences as a catalyst for understanding challenging science concepts. This study of two middle school science classrooms examined how students utilized the contextualizing aspects of project‐based instruction and its relationship to their science learning. Observations of focus students' participation during instruction were described in terms of a contextualizing score for their use of the project features to support their learning. Pre/posttests were administered and students' final artifacts were collected and evaluated. The results of these assessments were compared with students' contextualizing scores, demonstrating a strong positive correlation between them. These findings provide evidence to support claims of contextualizing instruction as a means to facilitate student learning, and point toward future consideration of this instructional method in broader research studies and the design of science learning environments. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 45: 79–100, 2008 |
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| Keywords: | physical science problem‐based learning curriculum development middle school science classroom research |
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