The Use of Constructivist Teaching Model in the Environmental

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The Use of Constructivist Teaching

Model in the Environmental Science

of Beijing Normal University

Ye ZhaoBeijing Normal UniversityThe University of Sydney

10th June, 2003

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1. Intruduction• The traditional teaching and learning is the

process of the transmission of knowledge From teacher To student，i.e. the students have empty mugs to be filled up with knowledge from the professorial jugs.

• This teaching method baffles the development of students’ active and creative abilities, and the students from the mug and jug education are no longer sufficient for an educated citizenry.



3Fig. 1 The mug & jug education Model

jug with knowledge

mug wants some knowledge



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• The constructivism is a theory about how students

learn. It believes that the students learn by fitting

new information together with what they

already know. It has been one of the catchwords

in modern high education.

• The constructivist teaching (CT ) emphasizes:

active & collaborative learning

S-T discover and construct knowledge together

Students confront real-world problems



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students observe or formulate his own questions

multiple interpretations and expressions of learning

group work and the use of peers as resources.

•Everyone lives in the environment, and so everyone has some knowledge about his environment, based on the constructivism theory, everyone has the potential ability to learn the knowledge about environmental science (ES).

•The CT models are very useful in teaching ES.

•This paper shows how to use the CT models in teaching ES at university.



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2. The development of environmental science

• The concept of ES was first used at the meeting (1948)

of IUCN in Paris.

• 1968 UNESCO Conference called for the development

of curriculum materials of ES.

• In 1970s the studies of the University of Southern

Illinois had significant impact upon European,

Australian and Asian environmental education.



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• BNU is one of the forefront Chineseuniversities that developed ES.

• In 1960’s Prof. Liu Peitong beganto study the environment-pollution in China. But he was limited and was sent to farmland.

• In 1978 UNESCO Supported BNU to train some researchers and teachers for environmental study in China, and then Prof. Liu formulated the definition of ESand published some textbooks of ES in Chinese.

• I teach the ES for the third-year students at BNU.

Prof. Liu Peitong



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• Most Chinese students passively receive and absorb the environmental knowledge and theories recorded in the textbooks and in the thematic plan of teacher. Therefore, it is impossible for the traditional teaching methods to teach ES that is young, dynamic, complex.

• CT model has emerged as a prominent method toteach sciences during the past decade, it includes concept map, mind map, PBL(case study).

• CT model may be very effective & useful in teachingES in universities.



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3. The use of constructivist teaching models in environmental science

3.1 Concept mapping for teaching and learning environmental science

• The concept map is a technique for representing knowledge in graphs, which may help students to integrate the new knowledge with their old knowledge, to design a complex structure and to communicate complex ideas.



10Fig.2 The concept map of new-concept’s formation



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• Cpt-map method can improve the teaching of ES,

which makes the students’ learning to be a process

of sense-making, of adding and synthesizing new

information within existing knowledge structures,

adjusting prior understandings to new experiences.

• How to construct some concept maps of ES ?

The teachers should get acquainted with the old

knowledge of the students based on constructivist

theory and principles.



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Because old knowledge and experience are very important and effective for students to construct new ideas or concepts of ES.

For example, when teachers instruct the concept of environment (environment is the total of the factors in which human lives, the factors come from the techno-, atmo-, bio-, hydro-, lithosphere and sun).

CptMap of environment includes five nodes, there is so complex interaction between human and the nodes, so much close links among the nodes for students to understand, as shown in Fig.1.



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Fig.1. T

he CptM

apof the environm

ent



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• How to use concept maps teaching ES ?

Teachers should use the knowledge of geology, meteorology and climatology, hydrology and ecology that the students have learned during the first and second year improving them to understand the factors and their links;

Teachers should encourage the students using their experience from their living to observe the factors (of technosphere, biosphere) and their links.

This method not only mobilizes the students’interesting in learning ES, but also educates their creative and observes abilities.



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3.2 Mind mapping for teaching and learning

environmental science • The mind map is the tool that helps students think

and learn new knowledge, it consists of a central

idea, around the central concept you draw the 5 to

10 main second concepts that relate to it. You then

take each of those child concepts and again draw

the 5 to 10 main third concepts that relate to each

of the child concepts.



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• The difference between a CptMap and a MdMap is

that a MdMap has only one main idea in it and

a CptMap can have several linked concepts.

• The knowledge base of ES is very difficult for students

to comprehend. First the content of ES often address

an wide-ranging&bewildering array of the knowledge;

Second, the content is dynamic and ever-changing;

Third, it has complex inter-relationships, problem

causes, impacts and solutions.



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• During Teaching ES, MdMap can help teachers

to train their students’ creative writing abilities

to explain why we are focusing on the particular

aspect of a topic.

• Example: the students of my ES classes have been

living in Beijing for 2 years, they have some sensibility

of the air quality of Beijing. And so they are

encouraged to make some MdMaps of the air pollution

in Beijing City, as shown in Fig.2.



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Fig.2

The m

ind map of the air pollution

in Beijing C

ity



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During making the MdMaps; some students believe that winds import much particle in the air, but others think that winds often purify the polluted air, and than they make more observation, analysis and discussion for this question, the students understand that one person’s solution may be another’s catastrophe in learning ES, and the students should have active learning abilities.



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The photo of BNU campus

In 12H, 7th April 2000

SPI=500

The photo of BNU campus

In 12H,

16th April 2000

SPI=112



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• From the mind map that student made, the teacher

may know whether the student understand the

topic and whether the student is able to organize a

suitable structure of knowledge that he has learned;

The teacher may know whether the student has some

analysis and communication abilities.

And so it is a useful tool of teaching & learning ES.



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3.3 PBL for developing the students’ integrated consideration skill

PBL is both a curriculum and a classroom process; the curriculum consists of the real-world problems that demand from the students’ acquisition of critical knowledge, problem solving proficiency, self-directed learning strategies, and team participation skills; the classroom process replicates the systemic approach to resolving problems. So PBL can motivate students to identify and apply research concepts, information, work collaboratively and communicate effectively.



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People obtain the knowledge of environmental science from three main sources, as shown in Fig.4.

The first source is the observation in his living;

The second source is the learning from other;

The third source is the experience his living.

And so during using PBL to teach ES, teachers should

pay attention to real-world question, and taking some

environmental problems that the students know as

the case studies for students.



25Fig. The processes of new-concept’s formation in human brain



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PBL is a strategy that promotes life-long habits of learning (Barbara, 2001).

Palmer (1998) thinks that the environmental teachers should pay attention to the students’communication and information that results from living and interacting in a particular locality and community. It is obvious that BPL is able to play a very important effect in teaching ES.



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How to construct some case studies (or real-world problms) with PBL in teaching ES ?

Teachers should present some real environmental problems that are related with the content of ES, and the students are familiar with and interesting in one of these environmental problems, as shown in Tab. 1;

Teachers should recommend some papers, books, internet which are related with the problems;

Teachers should suggest the students to form some PBL groups.



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Tab. 1 Some case studies (real-world EQs) for BPL in ES at BNU

Demand reading in Lib & Internet

What is the effect of population growth on the environmental degradation in China?

5-8

Be familiar with Xiangshan Part and it’s tourism.

Which factors are important in minimizing the environmental impact in Xiangshan Part of tourism: technology, education, client-selection & management?

4-5

Be familiar with the geography in Beijing and GIS.

What are the effects of the geographical factors on the atmospherically environment or the water resources of Beijing City?

3-12

Demand to sample and Lab. Works.

What is impacts of the wastewater from Yanhua Co.on the agriculture?

2-6

Demand to sample and Lab. Works.

What is major factors affecting the water quality of Yuehe Revier in Beijing City?

1-5

Special demandThe case studies (real-world environmental question)Group



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How to use PBL in making these case studies?Every PBL group should select one of their interesting environmental problems;

read the materials relating with the problem;organize their ideas and previous knowledge; discuss and make a plan of their study;survey and sample the environment;measure and analyze the samples;write relative research papers or make some academic report or communication.

As shown in Fig. 6



30Fug. 6 The PBL processes of ES based on case studies



31During ES’s PBL, the students are measuring some samples in Lab.



32The mid-water purifying landsystem of Fangshan in Beijing



33The case study of E.S. The students are observing and sampling.



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During ES’s PBL, the students are measuring the COD of the waste-water in Lab.



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The Data for students to do some case study in PBL of ES in BNU. (The of Chinese population growth in last 30 years).



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The RemateSensing Image of Beijing City

The Data for students to do some case study in PBL of ES in BNU.



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From these case studies using in PBL,

the students have been given some important practical models, which can be copied if they successful or avoided if not.

the students have received the form of reality check, which is very useful in a field such as ES, where there are much rhetoric and recommendations literature.

Perhaps most importantly, at least from an academic perspective, PBL with case studies provides a basic for analysis in any field where predictive theory is week and testable hypotheses are wanting, such as ES.



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4. ConclusionConstructivist teaching models necessitate respecting students' ways of knowing and learning.

By using Cptmap and Mdmap methods, the students’active and collaborative learning were emphasized, and their integrated consideration skills was educated, which gave the students much interdisciplinary knowledge;

By using PBL with case study, the student’s learning curiosities were engaged, and they are motivated to identify & research the concepts and principles, their skill of acquiring, communicating, organizing information and writing ablities were also educated.



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CTMs have changed the traditional mug and jug education models into the teaching &learning integration models,

The roles of the teachers have been changed, teachers becomes the guiders or collaborators in the students’ learning, i.e. they play the roles as “guide-on-the side” or “sage on the stage”.

CTMs are very effective in teaching and learning ES.

That is all for today!



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Thank you very much

for your questions!



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The Use of Constructivist Teaching Model in the Environmental