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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Sample and Activities
This program is part of the content of the module "Teaching of General Studies" in the Retraining Course of Primary Teachers in Hong Kong Institute of Education. It has been conducted for about 80 in-service teachers in four successive cohorts. All the participants are primary school teachers in Hong Kong. Their teaching experience ranges from five to thirty years.

Altogether, there are ten activities, with one formal assignment. They are described in the following paragraphs:

Activity one - "Science equipments are found everywhere"

This is an introductory activity with less open-ended tasks. Given a number of everyday materials (a cell, a Yakult bottle, a magnifying glass, an elastic band, a coca cola can, a magnet, a needle, a drinking straw, a balloon, and a piece of butter paper, aluminum foil and blue tack), teachers are asked to design certain hands-on activities. They include -- (1) demonstration of heat expansion, (2) exploring the effect of short-circuiting, (3) making a camera model, (4) making a compass model, (5) creating a musical instrument, and (6) any other practical work they can think of. After this hands-on work, several books on science activities using everyday materials are shown to the teachers.

Activity two- Multiple ways to use one object

Teachers are asked to think of ten different ways to play with balloon(s). The tasks given are ----- making (1) a rising balloon, (2) a horizontally-flying balloon, (3) a running balloon, (4) a rotating balloon, (5) a swimming balloon, (6) a sound- conducting balloon, (7) a sound-emitting balloon, (8) a sticky balloon, (9) a balloon thermometer, (10) a balloon balance (measuring weight), and any other possible ways of playing a balloon. Besides different kinds of balloons, some simple items like drinking straw, elastic band, and thread are available. Again after hands-on work, books and articles on balloon experiments (e.g. Cheng, 2001; McGlathery, & Malone,1991) are shown.

Activity three- Morphological synthesis of materials and science topics

Teachers are given three different sheets -- a small piece of transparency, color filter, shining metallic sheet (all of them are very cheap and can be easily brought in stationery shop). Some science topics in General Studies curriculum is listed together with the three sheets in a matrix form (see Table 1). Adopting the technique of force association, teachers are asked to relate the sheets with each science topic, one by one, and brainstorm all experiments they can think of.

Table 1. Worksheet for Morphological Synthesis Exercises

Science Topics Everyday items

A small piece of Additional object
(________)

Transparency Shining metallic sheet Color Filter

Light

Heat

Magnet

Electricity

Electrostatic

Force & motion

Air & air pressure

Burning

Sound

Machine

...

...

Participants are reminded of several points --- first, according to the criteria of suspension of judgment, teachers are instructed to put down or voice out all possible ideas they think of, and not to worry about their appropriateness and practicability. Second, participants are remained that they can use one or more sheets together (e.g., the transparency can stick with the color filter after rubbing due to electrostatic generated). Third, they are allowed to cut, fold, or do anything on the three sheets (e.g., creasing the shining sheet to demonstrate rough surface cannot form sharp images). Fourth, after this first exercise, each group of teachers would draw a card from a bag. On each card, one word like "water", "body", "coin", or "ruler" is written. Each group is instructed to associate the sheets with the additional object to design more experiments. For example, one group explores what experiments can be done with the transparency and water (e.g., creating a magnifying glass), and other group explores what experiments can be done with the colour filter and our body (e.g., demonstrating heat expansion). After group discussions, teachers present their ideas and try-out the experiments. They then analyze which experiments are useful and can be implemented in primary classroom.

Activity four -- Identification of versatile everyday objects

After preceding exercises, teachers are asked to brainstorm some everyday items, which they think can be as useful as balloons or these three sheets in doing science experiments. They are encouraged to suggest as many objects as they can (i.e. fluency), as many different kinds of objects (i.e. flexibility) and as unusual as they can (i.e. novelty). At the beginning, they are not required to support their answers with possible experimental designs. Therefore, teachers are free to suggest materials, which they "feel" may be useful. (Their usual answers are paper, ruler, bottles, etc). After collecting an abundant amount of ideas, the whole class is asked to suggest a few experiments using these items. The discussion is brief and just for confirming that these everyday items are useful. Finally, conductor displays a number of books (e.g. "100 science experiments with paper", "Soap science: a science book bubbling with 36 experiments", "Home experiments in physics: 25 investigations with a ball pen"). If time is available, the morphological synthesis exercise would be repeated with some of the versatile object suggested.

Activity five--- Exploring creative uses of toys

Toys are well-known to be very useful tools in physical science teaching (Herald, 2001; Taylor, 1998; Taylor & et al, 1990). Each group of teachers is given a simple toy. They are asked to suggest how the toy can be used in science teaching. In a worksheet, teachers would answer questions like --- Which topic is related to this toy? What questions you can ask around the toy? What activities can be done? (For example, in a group given a metal-plate toy piano, participants used to raise questions like "How sound is made? Why after pressing a metal plate with a finger, sound produced becomes very soft? Is there any way to make sound, besides hitting the piano with the stick given?") A discussion is arranged to consider what are the advantages and disadvantages of using toys to do practical work in primary classrooms. Again, literature on teaching science with toys is shown.

Activity six - Identifying other useful groups of objects

Instead of individual items, teachers are asked to brainstorm on groups of objects, which can be as useful as toys. (Suggested answers include supermarket goods, toilet and kitchen items, stationery, things inside needle-box and first-aid box, objects in the classroom, the human body and items on our body, and etc.) It is followed by a brief discussion on what experiments can be done with various groups of objects.

Activity seven - Taking inventory

Teachers are encouraged to take a personal inventory of all useful things, from various kinds of accessible items to simple models they can make. They include items which teachers or student can collect at home, pick up in the classroom, or buy in the supermarket. Teachers are reminded to read over this list when they want to develop new experiments using everyday materials.

Activity eight -- Multiple ways to explore one science phenomenon

Attribute listing method is adopted to explore the possible ways of demonstrating "heat expansion". Teachers first consider what are the key attributes of this experiment, and create Table 2. (The attributes found are --- a material that teachers wish to investigate and the state of it, a suitable container, a heating-up method, a cooling-down method, ways to make the expansion or contraction apparent and their measuring method.) In order to generate multiple experimental designs, teacher would ask himself/herself several questions. For example, in studying air expansion, teachers would ask, "Besides using ping-pong ball, what other containers can also be used to make the expansion or contraction of air apparent?", "What other methods can be used to heat up or cool down the air?", "Besides direct observation, what method can be used to measure the change?". Teachers are instructed to use only everyday tools and materials. Combining the various options of the attributes, many different designs of the experiment are developed.

Table 2. Attribute Listing of Heat Expansion Experiments

Material under investigation State of the material Container of the material Heating method Cooling method Method to make the expansion or contraction apparent Method of measuring the change in volume

air gas A collapsed ping-pong ball Warm water Place in room temperature A large volume of air, a container which can "expand or contract" Obseerved by eyes

air gas a small plastic bottle Holding the bottle with two warm hands Ice water A tiny balloon covering the mouth of the bottle Direct observation

... ... ... ... ... ... ...

A creative idea should be both new and appropriate. After collecting plenty possible designs, teachers would then evaluate which of them are appropriate by setting up their own criteria. They may need to consider whether the design is convenient and safe, whether the tools are easily accessible, whether the change in volume is obvious and quick, whether the heating and cooling process can be done repeatedly, etc. To check whether their ideas are really useful, some of the experimental designs are tried-out immediately. (Conductor has already prepared some common items, e.g. balloons, small bottles, distilled water bottle, ice, hair dryer, thread. Unprepared items are sought immediately in a nearby laboratory.)

If time is available, the attributing listing exercise would be repeated with "lever experiments". Participants consider the many different ways to demonstrate the lever principle with everyday items by varying the attributes in the experimental design. The guiding questions are --- What can be used as the rotating object and the pivot? How many different ways can we create a load or an effort on the rotating object? In nearly all cases, participants find that there are more than one possible applicable methods to do the heat expansion and the lever experiments. Finally, the conductor guides the participants to make generalization on these experiences. The conclusion is -- similarly, most science practical work in primary curriculum have many possible designs, with the use of everyday materials.

Activity nine --- Alternative approaches to textbook practical work

Some problematic experimental designs are extracted from some popular textbooks. Participants discuss the drawbacks and limitations of these designs. Based on the experience in preceding activities, participants first identify the problematic attributes in the experimental designs, and then try to generate a number of alternative designs to these attributes. Finally, they evaluate the designs according to the criteria set.

Activity ten - Summarizing and debriefing

An in-depth and systematic reflection is done. First, participants would discuss what are the advantages and disadvantages of using everyday resources in practical works, in comparison with the conventional apparatus. Second, they are asked to imagine why many everyday materials are so useful in science hands-on activities, and why science experiments have so many possible alternatives. Third, participants try to compare their image of science and self-efficacy in science teaching, before and after the program.

After these discussions, all the ten activities are revised once, and participants look back at all the worksheets they have done. A checklist method, SCAMPER, is adopted to summarize the strategies used in the program. Teachers are asked, in doing the exercises, when they have used the following strategies --- substitute, combine, adapt, magnify, put to use, eliminate, rearrange and reverse. Some examples of their answers are listed in Table 3. After the SCAMPER exercise, participants try to summarize the whole learning process they have gone through, and what they have learnt. They evaluate how their creative attitudes and abilities in science teaching are enhanced in the program. Furthermore, teachers are asked in what ways they can continue to develop their creativity in science teaching. This debriefing process (including the SCAMPER exercise) aims at increasing the meta-cognitive awareness of teachers in their creative thinking, and, at the same time, strengthening their development in creative attitudes and abilities.

Table 3. Strategies and applications of SCAMPER

Abbreviation Strategy Idea-spurring questions

S Substitute What material could I use instead?
e.g. In an experiment with alcohol lamp, what other everyday tools can be used instead?(in Activity 9)

C Combine How can I combine parts or ideas?
e.g. Can the two objects be combined to do experiments?(in Activity 3)

A Adapt How to change something existing to adapt to this new problem?
e.g. Now the balloon rise up, how to make it fly horizontally ?(in Activity 2)

M Magnify How could I make it bigger, stronger, more exaggerated, or more frequent?
e.g. How to make the liquid expansion more apparent?(in Activity 8)

P Put to uses How can I use this in a new way ?
e.g. How to use this toy to teach science ?(in Activity 5)

E Eliminate What can be omitted or eliminated?
e.g. This experiment takes a long time. Can we eliminate part of the process? (in Activity 9)

R Rearrange or Reverse Could I use a different sequence?
Could I interchange parts?
e.g. Can the parts of the lever system be rearranged ?(in Activity 8)
Could I do the opposite?
Would happen if I turned it upside down, backward, or inside out?
e.g. If I rotate the flying toy in opposite direction, what would happen to its motion?
Would it's direction also be reversed? (in Activity 5)