Enhancing Creativity of Elementary Science Teachers

Asia-Pacific Forum on Science Learning and Teaching, Volume 2, Issue 2, Article 4 (Dec., 2001)
Vivian Mo Yin CHENG
Enhancing Creativity of Elementary Science Teachers - a preliminary study

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Context
In Hong Kong, elementary science teachers, like other teachers, need creativity to develop new instructions and activities, to adapt activities in the textbooks to special classroom environment and students' needs, to motivate students, and to cope with classroom management problems. However, besides these general teaching tasks, elementary science teachers in Hong Kong also require creativity to deal with a specific task --- designing experiments using everyday materials. In Hong Kong, most primary schools do not have laboratory and most primary classrooms lack science apparatus. Even if, equipments are available, the numbers of them are few and not enough for individual or small group practical work. However, numerous studies in science education have suggested that direct hands-on experience is highly necessary for children to acquire inquiry skills and attitudes. Even worse, most of the experiments suggested in the curriculum guideline (Curriculum Development Council, Hong Kong, 2001) of General Studies (the subject which has integrated most science topics) and in its textbooks are rather conventional ones. They depend heavily on the use of laboratory apparatus.

Besides the lack of apparatus, there is another reason for using everyday materials to do science experiments. As Monk & Dillon (1995) suggested, "much of science education is presented through the use of apparatus which sometimes seems deliberately arcane¡K. reinforcing the notions that science is a specialist activity undertaken only within institutions rather than giving the impression of science as an everyday activity of great personal relevance"(p.140). Studies (Taylor, 1995, 1998; Taylor & et al, 1990) have suggested that it is more "user-friendly" to use everyday materials (e.g. toys) in science investigations. This kind of activities can help students to build up an image ---- science is fun, science is around us, science is a part of everyday life, science is for everyone (Jocelyn, 1994). However, many of the practical exercises offered in textbooks of Hong Kong do not appeal to young children, or simply do not work in a normal classroom context.

Therefore, there is a great demand for teachers in Hong Kong to self-develop practical work using everyday materials, so as to offer primary students more direct hands-on experience in the classroom.

However, the science teachers in Hong Kong have their formal science education (if they really have) in well-equipped laboratory. They themselves lack the experience in using everyday materials to do science experiments. Therefore, this possibility of arranging experiments is beyond the imagination of most teachers. Besides the lack of relevant experience, the development of teachers in Hong Kong is hindered by another factor. Most local teacher education programs have neglected the training of divergent thinking abilities of teachers. Participants used to generate only one solution to each teaching task. In some cases, the training tasks are even closed-ended with fixed solutions. On the whole, participants have very limited opportunities to develop their divergent thinking abilities in both general teaching areas (e.g. questioning), and specific teaching areas (e.g. the use of everyday resources in designing practical work).

In the context as described, the primary science teachers of Hong Kong are facing several problems. First, the teachers lack the intrinsic motivation (e.g., interests) in both doing and designing science investigations. Most of them feel that science is something difficult, remote and unrelated to them. They themselves seldom try to do some simple science investigations in their daily-life. Second, from their past experience, teachers have built up the misconception that experiments must need to be done with science apparatus. Alternatives seldom exist in their mind. Third, teachers also have the misconception that the practical work exercises offered in the textbooks are the best. They lack the confidence to self-develop or modify the practical work in the textbooks. Fourth, they lack the sensitivity to link up everyday materials with science phenomena. Fifth, they lack the divergent thinking abilities (mainly flexibility) in finding alternative ways to do practical work, other than the one offered in the textbooks.