User:Peac-ing it Together/Context-based learning

Context- based learning (CBL) is a teaching strategy in which students’ constructed knowledge (knowledge which is built off personal and cultural experiences) is used to enable enriching learning experiences in the classroom. It is a student- centred approach, meaning that students are given more agency which leads to deeper learning experiences. The aim of this is to facilitate a sense of competence within the learner as they realise that they can understand content, use their skills and knowledge and successfully complete their tasks . CBL was developed throughout the end of the twentieth century when educational theories and the methods of teaching were under reformation, following the Cold War. The pedagogical teaching relevance of CBL makes it a valuable method for educators to implement in their practice and is primarily encouraged for use in the subject of Science. This strategy may also be referred to as the Salters Approach as it was used by the Salters Company to reform the way advanced chemistry was being taught in England. Salters Advanced Chemistry is one method that Science teachers may use to implement CBL in their classrooms, amongst other ways across subjects.

Background

The fundamental framework of CBL is that all content students are exposed to must be relevant to their experiences and the current day and age in which they are living. This notion comes from the belief that “human lives are situated within meaningful activities, relationships, commitments and involvements that set up both possibilities and constraints for living [and have] situated possibilities, certain ways of seeing and responding…” . This perspective is supported by instructional designer and coach, Anna Sabromowicz, who sums up the purpose of CBL by stating that learners will succeed in a course if they can relate its content to the real world because they “recognise the material as valuable”. From this view, it is understood that CBL encourages the construction of a classroom which mirrors students’ social and cultural experiences and that this is important as humans are the product of their experiences and understand the world through that lens. This strategy is often used in group work in which students collaborate through a process of discussion to problem- solve and generate learning. During group work, CBL allows students to use and then build on their own skills as they solve problems and reach conclusions.

In the state of Israel, CBL gained popularity in chemistry as educators struggled to engage students which hindered students’ achievement. The lack of engagement is said to be caused by the traditional, rote methods that were used for teaching the science disciplines, comprising a “cognitive load of facts and concepts… demanding mainly algorithmic thinking and memorisations”. This caused students to feel disconnected from the content as the relevance to them was unperceivable. Thus, an education reform was underway and a new chemistry curriculum was constructed for high school students who elected chemistry. It was a pedagogically sound and theory- based curriculum, designed by the National Chemistry Superintendent in the Ministry of Education. This new curriculum adhered to the following features of a context- based chemistry curriculum:

1.    “the curriculum is centred on real-world societal problems and issues with significant chemical content.

2.    A student-centred approach emphasizes discussion and group work.”

Conceptual and pedagogical frameworks

Pedagogy refers to the models of teaching that informs educators’ practice, with the impact on students being at the centre. Student- centred learning is the central pedagogy of CBL. Student- centred learning “encourage[s] students to become active, engaged participants in their own learning experiences” instead of simply taking in the curriculum. Specific ways of implementing student- centred learning include group work, discussions and problem- solving between students. This pedagogy is favourable within post- modern educational strategies as students across educational institutions i.e schools, colleges, universities etc. often perform at their best when they find subject content and tasks interesting due to the sense of intrinsic motivation they develop. Human beings develop a sense of interest based off their constructed knowledge and so a student- centred approach means that the learner’s background and their needs are capitalised on to develop lessons and tasks. Intrinsic motivation is supported when an individual feels a sense of efficacy and agency that arises from competency in completing tasks or conceptualising content. CBL is centred around this notion- students require a sense of intrinsic motivation in order to succeed. In the context of schools, a study conducted in the United States reveals that schools are miniature ecologies of society’s cultures, beliefs, values and practices and that each student contributes towards its construction. This then necessitates the capitalisation of students’ contexts for the delivery of increasingly effective and meaningful learning experience.

Implementation

The main message sent out by Gonzalez, Moll and Amanti, who are pioneers in CBL related research, is that effective implementation of CBL starts with educators- irrespective of the institutions they teach in- developing the agency to research the demographic of the community in which they are operating.  This is to ensure authentic implementation of CBL that is non- tokenistic and enriching to students’ learning experiences. It is further suggested that effective second language teaching occurs when the teacher recognises themselves as an actor in the cultural setting that their students socialise in, not as a controller or an authority, aligning with the CBL framework and central pedagogy as mentioned in the above sections. This conclusion was developed through a study in which researchers observed Chinese students who were being taught English. The teachers who participated in the study incorporated group work, peer marking and encouraged students to understand language by drawing relationships of the language features and words to their surroundings and cultural practices. This is central to CBL as it privileges the construction of meaning by the students, rather than by utilising traditional rote methods of learning.

The most research on the implementation of CBL is concerned with the subject of chemistry. Inquiry-based laboratory investigations, group work and a reduction in lectures by teachers are amongst the several ways that CBL may be implemented. Specifically, teachers must be trained to view the contextual relevance of CBL to the subject they are teaching, i.e. chemistry, so that they may incorporate issues of “public policy, economics and ethics”. Context- based chemistry modules, containing topics such as the “design of an automobile airbag, the manufacture of integrated circuits, the origin of life, and the composition of stars”, are always linked back to contemporary society. This fosters a sense of relatedness within students which is necessary for their engagement, as mentioned previously.

The frameworks and procedures of a context- based approach to teaching chemistry were first applied in the construction of a text- book named Chemistry in Context written by a team of teachers in the United States of America. It is now in its tenth edition.

Outcomes

The goal of the Chemistry in Context text- book text- book is to foster a sense of citizenship within young people and to reinforce their awareness of the presence of chemistry within society and the environment. Although this goal behind the development of the book was achieved, it is unclear as to whether the knowledge and skills of students who have used the text- book have been refined. Therefore, based off current research, the known effectiveness of CBL is limited, but it is nonetheless constructive.

As per the aforementioned conclusion by Gonzalez, Moll and Amanti, effective learning took place when teachers adopted the positionality of an actor in the cultural settings that their students were from. This is because the teacher is enabled to give the students room to develop meaning and understand a second- language in a way that is relevant to their personal backgrounds, hence facilitating intrinsic motivation as they develop a sense of competence. CBL has also been effective in developing students’ problem- solving skills when tasks were scaffolded based off student’s contexts . This has been concluded from studies on how to best teach students chemistry. One example of an effective CBL- based strategy is in the scaffolding of problem- solving questions in which questions that facilitate thinking should be directly related to students’ personal, societal or professional contexts across educational institutions.

Salters Advanced Chemistry

Development of Salters Advanced Chemistry began in 1988 and is premised upon the CBL framework. It has been developed and is used across secondary and pre- university institutions in England and Wales. An important ingredient in the construction of Salters Advanced Chemistry, which makes it a reliable teaching tool, is that it was a collaborative effort by a team which comprised of more than 40 authors and close to 100 expert advisors. Campbell, a member of the University of York Science Education Group reveals that the two “fundamental design criteria” of the Salters approach is that all content taught “should enhance young people’s appreciation of how chemistry:

• Contributes to their lives or the lives of others around the world; or
• helps them to acquire a better understanding of the natural environment.”

Hence, Salters Advanced Chemistry enables students to understand chemistry based off their broader social contexts and/ or that of their environments. Over time, Salters Advanced Chemistry has expanded and is now divided into six courses, including:

1. "Chemistry: the Salters Approach (for students aged 14–16, developed in the mid
2. 1980s);
3. Science: the Salters Approach (for students aged 14–16, developed in the late
4. 1980s);
5. Salters Science Focus (for students aged 11–14, developed in the early 1990s);
6. Salters Advanced Chemistry (for students aged 17–18, developed in the early
7. 1990s);
8. Salters Horners Advanced Physics (for students aged 17–18, developed in the mid
9. to late 1990s);
10. Salters Nuffield Advanced Biology (for students aged 17–18)"

    

    The University of York Coat of Arms. The University of York is dedicated to the use of Salters Advanced Chemistry. Their website contains a page outlining the details of the course. Access the webpage here: https://www.york.ac.uk/education/research/uyseg/projects/salters-advanced-chemistry/

At the time that the research paper containing the above information was written, Salters Nuffield Advanced Biology was still under development, but was finalised in 2008.

Each Salters course is expected to adhere to the concepts underpinning the context- based curriculum that was discussed above. Specifically, it aims to reveal how chemistry operates in the real world, increase appeal by relating its content to students’ lives, adding variety to the types of learning activities used to teach knowledge and skills and increasingly challenge students to ensure their preparedness for tertiary studies in chemistry.

Salters Advanced Chemistry has been broken down into three publications, including a Storylines book, Chemical Ideas book and an Activities folder. The Storylines entails the context, or the “story”, behind development of ideas relating to chemicals and chemistry- based skills. Chemical principles from each unit are broken- down then related to different parts of the course in the Chemical Ideas books. CBL is embedded into the course as ideas and concepts are introduced and explored across different levels of complexity based off students’ ability to understand them, measured by the prior knowledge they have gained and their age- group. One concept is delved into more deeply across two years which ensures that students do not become lost in the content or forget concepts their education.

Overall, teachers who use the Salters curriculum reveal that they enjoy teaching it and find it valuable in their classrooms. As per the goal of CBL, students undertaking the course have been seen to develop greater intrinsic motivation, ultimately resulting in optimum achievement and understanding. This was revealed in a questionnaire whereby dedicated to understanding why students attending a college for over 16- year- old students elected Salters Advanced Chemistry. 40% of respondents documented that they elected the course due to interest whilst the remaining 20% had career- based motives for their decision. These results portray that the relatedness of the course to students’ contexts were perceivable and the problem of engagement was being tackled as a result of incorporating CBL into the redefined chemistry curriculum. The Salters Advanced Chemistry page on the University of York webpage provides a cohesive breakdown of the course overview and assessment.