Facilitating students ownership of learning in science by developing lifelong learning skills

Learning is most effective when the scientific context used in the classroom is a transformed extension of the students real world and so inspires students intrinsic motivation, encouraging students to ask meaningful questions and seek their own answers through an inquiry or investigative approach. The Student Owned Learning Model (SOLM) provides a pathway for transferring ownership of, and responsibility for learning, from the teacher to the student and reflects the way scientists and others construct and verify answers to their questions, thereby promoting the development of students lifelong learning strategies. In so doing, SOLM is a powerful springboard for teachers implementing the futures-oriented draft National Curriculum (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority [ACARA], 2010).

Introduction
It is clear from the research that primary school students enjoy science when it is student-centred and focused on relevant investigations involving an inquiry approach (Goodrum et al., 2001). Similarly, we know students attitudes towards science decline as they progress through schooling, which is not only an issue in Australia but also the majority of western countries (Sjoberg & Schreiner, 2005). While this decline is a complex issue with many interrelated factors highlighted in the science education literature, intrinsic motivation, engagement and student identity are critical components (Panizzon & Westwell, 2009). Furthermore, as students move from primary to secondary education, the many demands on teachers to complete mandated syllabi, measure student

achievement against performance standards, focus upon external high-stakes testing, and higher degrees of accountability, can conflict with other priorities and further accelerate this rate of decline. Evidence from the US and UK indicate that if left unchecked, these external factors can become curriculum drivers, resulting in student learning being based solely upon test achievement (Wiliam, 2000). We know that students interest in science is heightened when they have the opportunity to select relevant and meaningful issues that link to their local community and when they are able to negotiate their own learning goals (Schraw et al., 2006). This is because intrinsic motivation is maximised when students have some ownership and responsibility for decision-making about their learning. Aligned to this is the need for students to develop metacognitive skills that allow them to question their learning processes, develop learning plans, and ultimately reflect upon the changes in their own learning (McInerney & McInerney, 1998). Clearly, these skills need to be introduced early in schooling and developed alongside scientific knowledge, understandings, skills, values and attitudes, which are critical components of any science curriculum. If students are to personally engage with science and its applications within society, they must be scientifically literate (Goodrum et al., 2001). This is particularly important given the present rate of technological and social change that requires continuing engagement with learning-to-learn strategies throughout life, in order to maintain skills and knowledge currency (Cornford, 2000). The importance of these skills is demonstrated by the fact that critical thinking, problem-solving, and self-management appear in the Charter on Primary Schooling developed by the Australian Primary Principals Association (2007). The SOLM presented in this paper, supports students developing their own successful learning pathways, guides students beyond their schools scientific studies, and links with their personal contexts throughout life to promote successful citizens into the future.

The Student Owned Learning Model

The model presented in Figure 1 was developed in response to primary preservice teachers concerns about teaching science. Based upon the successful features of Faire and Cosgroves (1988) interactive learning model, SOLM incorporates aspects of the social and cultural learning contexts of students more explicitly. In particular, it builds upon students initial ideas and supports conceptual growth while allowing students to enhance their metacognitive awareness. Subsequently, the learning process transfers much of the responsibility for learning from the teacher to the student. In this context, the role of the teacher is to interact with students, support their investigative strategies, challenge their scientific ideas, monitor their progress, and stimulate their metacognitive awareness. As highlighted in Figure 1, the model comprises a

number of major components along with feedback loops, or iterations, which reflect the dynamic, interactive nature of how people learn science. The interdependent components are like nodes, or steps in a ladder, emphasising the principal focus for that section. However, students may, and frequently do return to previous steps, or jump to later components at any time, as scientists do. The remainder of this paper unpacks the various components of this model, providing practical examples around implementation

Learning Context
Creating a learning context involves transforming the workspace to model students real-world interests around a curriculum focus (e.g., life cycles in nature). Even with the implementation of Primary Connections and the drafted National Curriculum, there is a higher degree of flexibility for primary teachers to use opportunities that arise in the classroom as particular avenues for scientific study. Possible themes for investigating science often emerge through class talk, the questions raised from students outdoor experiences, or a local environmental issue of interest and relevance to the students. When interest occurs there is likely to be greater student engagement, generating intrinsic motivation that results in immediate ownership driving the learning process (Duit & Treagust, 2003). While it is not always possible to pursue themes of interest for all students, with some careful thinking it is usually possible for the creative primary teacher to help students understand real-world relevance. Importantly, the role of the teacher is to engage as an active member of the learning community while: encouraging cooperative learning strategies; orchestrating the workspace to induce engagement; ensuring the availability of resources; and evaluating students readiness for further learning.

Student Questions
Students are more highly motivated to raise relevant questions and to seek answers when their curiosity is aroused prior to commencing their study. Questions are generated when students are involved in: exciting workspace transformations and new experiences; personally relevant environmental stimulations; challenging discussions with parents and/or resource personnel; informal and formal student-student and student-teacher conversation; engagement via the media and/or internet; and exploratory and other activities that challenge their previously held views. It is important that all students contribute to the question pool, as differing backgrounds, experiences, interests and curiosity levels stimulate different questions. In general, large talk-fests, such as class brainstorming

sessions, are dominated by a vocal few, thereby reflecting the interests and concerns of a minority group. In contrast, all students can contribute and retain their anonymity by writing their questions on strips of paper (with the teacher doing this for younger students) and maintaining ownership by sorting the questions into investigative themes. The use of large hoops, arranged as a Venn diagram, acknowledges the overlap between questions. Displaying themes or topics on posters, along with students initial questions, helps to generate further questions over the course of study.. Teachers contribute to the question pool by using it as a means of probing for alternative conceptions and encouraging the development of scientifically accurate conceptions. They encourage students questioning by: seeding the learning context with stimulating models, textual and digital materials; engaging students in question sorting-strategies; and assisting students to unpack and clarify their questions. Ultimately, helping students to ask their own questions is an important step in developing their independence and ownership of learning, and is a crucial contribution to the development of metacognitive and lifelong learning skills.

Before-Views
Students initial perceptions and conceptions provide teachers with evidence of thinking before additional learning and teaching occurs. Before-views allow students to match existing beliefs with explanations, clarify their personal conceptions, expose alternative conceptions, and recognise ideas as their own. Popular strategies for obtaining students before-views include concept mapping, surveys, one-to-one interviews and interactive questioning.

Information Searc hing and Retrieval

The possession of skills in this area is critical for enabling students to seek out relevant data in constructing answers to their scientific questions. Given that these are lifelong skills, once introduced they will be refined and expanded throughout the educative process. Development of these skills will involve students: collaborating with others; conducting literature searches of electronic and printed materials; and negotiating with resource personnel (scientists, teachers and school librarians). Teachers play a pivotal role by: determining the literature and resource personnel available; identifying and enabling access to relevant and safe internet sites; and providing opportunities for students to develop searching and retrieval skills in a range of forums (e.g., electronic and printed media and audiovisual

resources).

Procedure Selection
With possible scientific questions identified, along with some background knowledge of the area, students need to select appropriate procedures to investigate their own questions. This can be achieved by seeking guidance from their parents, teachers, colleagues, and other resource personnel (e.g., representatives from museums, zoos, or environmental resource centres) and by using various information-searching and retrieval mechanisms alluded to in the previous section. By the completion of this step, students are wellpositioned for identifying, selecting and justifying their preferred investigative procedures for answering their scientific questions.

Exploratory Activity
These activities help students become more immersed in their scientific question and theme, stimulating their interest and curiosity, engaging their creativity, while encouraging questioning. During an exploratory activity students learn to: work collaboratively; use social language to clarify meanings for questions, make observations, or challenge their initial views; consider the notions of fair testing; select appropriate materials and equipment; conduct trials of their planned investigation; collect, analyse and interpret evidence in relation to their before-views; negotiate tentative answers to their scientific questions; justify their answers using the evidence obtained from their exploration and their information retrieval; and evaluate their design and procedures used. Exploration is important because through these experiences students often learn that there are a number of possible solutions for any scientific problem or question. Additionally, it provides students with a basis for: challenging their alternate conceptions; formulating future investigative strategies; extending their existing ideas; and stimulating cognitive growth. The role for teachers is to use interactive questioning techniques to challenge students scientific answers, to encourage further construction and reconstruction of their understandings, and to help them move towards a scientifically acceptable conception.

Iteration of these Steps

Having worked through the initial steps of the model, students are likely to generate further iterations (refer to the middle section of Figure 1), clarify their scientific questions and continue to refine and modify the procedures trialed, in order to capture the data necessary to answer their questions. Importantly, this

process models what happens with real-science as scientists learn from and modify their research directions based upon the data and observations made as they investigate hypotheses.

Answers
In developing tentative answers for their questions, students must reconstruct their scientific understandings using their recent experiences and comparing these with their before-views. This is challenging for many students, particularly if required to justify their explanations to their peers. The result is that it ensures that students own their learning. It is critical then that the teacher encourages students to form answers from their experiences with the assistance of their group and teacher. The role for teachers therefore is to: seek supporting evidence for tentative answers; investigate new scientific questions (keeping their minds inquiring); and evaluate the appropriateness of their answers to questions and the validity of their reasoning.

Communication in Context
Communication with a group of peers allows students to test their personal views against the views of others and the generally accepted scientific community (Littledyke, 2008). For example, this often occurs in the classroom when one groups answers differ from that of another group, thereby requiring some negotiation and teasing-out of explanations. A critical outcome of this level of sharing is that it potentially expands a students individual thinking to incorporate the conceptions of others. Communication is fundamental in developing scientifically literate students who are positioned to appreciate scientists continuing revision and reconstruction of scientific ideas in response to new evidence and peer review.

After-Views
Once students construct answers to their scientific questions they are ready to record their after-views by applying the same methods as those used for their before-views. By comparing these two records, students and their teachers can identify the degree to which scientific ideas and thinking have changed and developed over the course of the study. This is a very powerful metacognitive strategy (McInerney & McInerney, 1998).

Assessment
As a critical component of the teaching and learning process, assessment allows students to reflect on and monitor their own progress towards their future learning goals (Schraw et al., 2006). Assessment provides an ongoing and systematic process for gathering, analysing, and using information to draw inferences about the needs, strengths, abilities and achievements of students (Linn & Miller, 2005). As such it identifies (i.e., involves formative and summative tasks) what students

know and can do and where they need to focus their attention in their future learning. For teachers, assessment not only enables them to monitor individual student progress but it helps to inform their own practice in terms of the types of opportunities that are required to enhance student learning in science. When considered in this manner assessment needs to: focus on diagnostic strategies that map evidence of, and reasons for, a students change in learning; include strategies that empower students to reflect upon their prior learning and so inform their planning for future learning; and incorporate interactive questioning as a means of reviewing changes in students thinking and scientific understanding.

Evaluation
In contrast to assessment, evaluation is defined as the systemic process of gathering, analysing, and using information to judge the merit, worth and/or value of a program, project or entity (Rossi et al., 2004). Subsequently, it needs to be considered in relation to students and teachers.