Lifelong Learning Programme

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.
This web site reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Also available in: fr el ie it lt pt ro en fb yt

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This web site reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

E-lessons

Homepage > Learning Science through Nature > E-lessons

E-LESSON DATA

TITLE OF THE E-LESSON
E-learning from Nature: experiencing the scientific method and the nature of science
COUNTRY
Ireland
INTRODUCTORY TEXT TO THE LESSON
In this lesson, the scientific method and the nature of science are illustrated through the experience of students and teachers in a local primary school.
The lesson provides an example of the nature of science very effectively.
Students from the Salesian primary school are lucky to have access to Westfields, a nature sanctuary on the banks of the River Shannon near Limerick city. The lesson shows the location and some of the wildlife there.
It also follows the experiences of the students as they visit the sanctuary with biodiversity expert Geoff Hunt.They are shown sampling water organisms, observing their characteristics, learning their names and then bringing them back to the classroom in vivo to learn how to observe more carefully using microscopes.
The importance of discussion and note-taking is also illustrated.
Secondary school students often learn the 'Scientific Method' as a series of words from their text-book. Watching this lesson shows them the steps in action.
A discussion session would ask them to say how the E-lesson identifies the following stages:
- Questioning
- Observing
- Sampling
- Further Observation
- Discussion
- Recording Findings
- Making Conclusions
Above all it should instill a sense of the excitement about experiencing the natural world.
THEMATIC AREA
Geography, Biology
TARGET AGE GROUP
14
VIDEO