An Active Approach to CLIL Natural Science: Exploiting ICT and Hands-on Activities

Michele C. Guerrini, Spain

Michele C. Guerrini combines teaching at the University of Alcalá de Henares, Spain with developing materials for educational publishers. She is interested in helping teachers use a multimodal approach that draws on ICT and hands-on experiences. She has published CLIL course books for primary and secondary education, and is co-author of a primary EFL course, Comet. E-mail: michele@mguerrini.eu

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Introduction
Background
Locating appropriate resources
Content and language: awareness and support
Cognition or thinking skills: question stems as support
Culture
Selecting and exploiting interactive ICT input
Selecting and exploiting hands-on activities
Conclusions
References
Annex

Introduction

Natural science is one of the subjects taught through English in Spanish primary schools. There is no official English curriculum for the subject, but up to 2014, most textbooks in English reflected goals taken from the curriculum for speakers of the native language (Ley Orgánica de Educación 2006, BOE, p. 31498), for example:

• Learning science is linked to observation, searching for, collecting, organizing information.
• Communication of information and reflection on the learning process are considered the basis of the scientific method.

The work of specialists in the field of content and language integrated learning (CLIL) provides guidance for those teaching a school subject through a language other than the learner's native language. Coyle et al (2010) describe CLIL in terms of four C’s: content, communication (language), cognition (thinking skill development) and culture (of the subject area or citizenship). Developing these C’s usually involves an active approach in which inquiry and problem-solving tasks play a prominant role: see examples in Dale and Tanner (2012, pp 11-13) and Coyle et al (2010, pp 99-101). Input material for these tasks is varied: texts, ICT resources such as interactive animations and hands-on activities.

The potential benefits of hands-on activities for classes taught through the native language are several; most seem appropriate for developing the 4 C's in CLIL classes:

• Learners must think in order to interpret the events they observe: memorization is not possible.
• Learners discover that interpreting data may lead to different interpretations.
• Learners are led to question what they observe and the data that they collect.
• Learners must apply cause-and-effect thinking
• Learners become more independent thinkers as they rely on practical experience.

Adapted from STEM Lesson – Real Benefits of Hands-on Science Learning.

CLIL primary teachers who wish to adopt an active approach in natural science need appropriate ICT-based resources and hands-on activities. Some of the challenges this involves are: where can appropriate materials and activities be found? What criteria can be used to select and exploit them? How can language and procedural support be provided? Answers to these questions are explored below.

Background

The author's interest in an active approach to natural science grew out of observations of CLIL classes in two Spanish primary state schools in the Comunidad de Madrid, Spain, during the 2013-2014 school year. All the sessions were held in the classroom as neither school had a science laboratory. Many classrooms had a computer or an interactive whiteboard. Session length ranged from 45-50 minutes. All students used a textbook with science content in English. Teachers had little time outside of class to look for or prepare supplementary activities, but they used some for topics at lower levels (grades 1-4): for example, plants were brought to the classroom so learners could examine the parts.

At upper levels, (grades 5 and 6), topics were more complex, and often taught primarily through a reading approach. One topic was especially challenging for learners: sources of energy and natural resources; renewable and non-renewable energies; benefits and risks related to the use of energy. Exploration of how this topic could be made more accessible to learners through an active approach led to a workshop (IATEFL, 2014), and this article.

Locating appropriate resources

ICT-based resources and hands-on activities can be found on many websites, for example: museums (Science Museum, London), government organizations (California Energy Commission) and commercial sites (About.com). Searches can be initiated with key words: energy + transformation + primary or renewable energy + interactive animation

Most sites are not designed for CLIL learners, but many of the resources can be used in CLIL contexts. The age of the CLIL learners and their level of language proficiency, (PET or KET level) can help the teacher narrow the search for appropriate resources. Research by Mayer (2009) can further refine the selection of multimedia resources. For example, Mayer has shown that the presence of some or all of the following features in multimedia material facilitates understanding and encourages active participation.

• Audio: narration of text. Ideally, it should be possible to turn sound on or off to accommodate different learning styles.
• Abundant visual input: photos, drawings, video. Visual content can compensate for difficulties in understanding text.
• Animation. It is helpful if learners can control the pace or repeat the animation.
• On-screen labels and text. Both should be close to the corresponding visual input in order to clearly link the concept and the corresponding language.
• Self-correcting options with feedback. This feature enables learners to work effectively in groups and more autonomously.

Some of Mayer's criteria are useful when selecting hands-on activities too, especially if learners need to interpret procedural texts like instructions. Instructions should include a list of materials and a sequence of instructions accompanied by labelled / captioned visual input that clarifies the text.

Content and language: awareness and support

When selecting content from an outside source, comparing the key words and communicative functions with those used in the textbook can help determine if the source is a good fit. Are there points of similarity? Is the language at a similar level of complexity? Key words in the extracts below from The Children's University of Manchester website are burn, coal, gas, generate, generator, oil, turn / turn to. All are commonly found in textbook discussions of energy production as is the communicative function of expressing purpose using the infinitive form of the verb:

To make enough electricity for everyone, we need to use very large generators. We make these generators turn in different ways.

In an oil, coal or gas fired power station, we burn fuel to make water turn to steam. This steam is then used to turn a big set of wheels called a steam turbine. This then turns the generator.

Analysing the language in the source is the basis for creating a table like this one:

The table helps learners to summarize what they have understood.

Cognition or thinking skills: question stems as support

Teachers always ask questions, but to consistently stimulate a wide range of thinking skills and reinforce language skills, Bloom's Revised Taxonomy is a useful reference. Question stems that support lower and higher order thinking skills (LOTS and HOTS) can be prepared to correlate with lesson objectives:

Question and sentence stems can be displayed in the classroom as posters during the lesson as a reference to encourage autonomy.

Culture

Applying scientific techniques is one of the main cultural goals in natural science: learners formulate hypotheses, take notes on procedures, present results or conclusions, etc. To do this in English, learners benefit from the tables and thinking skill "stems" described above as well as stems for general academic language: If..., then ... First we..., then we... We found that... Our experiment showed... Working in cooperative groups provides multiple opportunities to use this language.

Selecting and exploiting interactive ICT input

Interactive ICT input presents content dynamically. Two interactive resources are discussed here; others can be found in the Annex. National Geographic: Harness the power of the wind shows how wind farms produce electricity. The animation on screen four, Try it out, includes two variables: wind speed and altitude. Learners formulate hypotheses about how much energy will be produced at a specific speed and altitude. Sentence stems provide support: If the wind blows at ... miles per hour and the altitude is ... more electricity is produced. Afterwards, they adjust the variables, click and check their hypothesis with the on-screen graphs to draw a conclusion: More electricity is supplied when....

Educational websites such as The Children's University of Manchester offer online, virtual science material which incorporates several of the features recommended by Mayer (2009). One example is the Interactive House, a game that stimulates awareness of how we use energy. Learners observe several parts of a house. In each, they read on-screen clues to identify the source of the energy described. In the living room, for example, they read this clue: Pull this on to stop shivers and keep the temperature spot on! then click on the illustration that matches it: the jumper. Interactive input like this, appeals to those with visual and kinaesthetic learning styles; getting points motivates all learners. Positive feedback, Well done, is accompanied by further energy-saving advice. Incorrect answers receive a red X, and several chances to reply again.

Like any classroom activity, exploitation of an interactive resource will be more successful if some basic steps are followed:

• Prior to viewing, focus attention by defining the problem and elicit relevant vocabulary: for example, How do we use energy at home? Learners brainstorm replies: we use energy to...
• Send learners to the computer in small, mixed-ability groups. Show them how to use the resource. Roles can be assigned: text reader, 'clicker', recorder, presenter. Note: on-screen text considered too difficult or unnecessary can be optional.
• Guide interaction with the resource and among group members by providing questions, gap-fills, matching activities, sentence stems, etc For example, What could you use to keep warm in the living room? I think it is the (jumper).
• Ask learners to report back orally or in a digital or hand-written presentation. Support tables can be provided:
  
• Offer follow-up activities at different thinking skill levels, for example, LOTS: learners make a list of the uses of energy they have examined and compare them with those brainstormed earlier. HOTS: learners rank energy uses at home and suggest additional ways to save energy. Sentence stems can be provided: we could...

Selecting and exploiting hands-on activities

Several factors condition the selection of hands-on activities: the age of the learners, the availability of a science laboratory and the duration of class sessions. The criteria proposed by Jodl and Eckert (1998) and Haury and Rillero (1994) can further refine the selection process: activities should be safe, enable manipulation of objects, be easy to carry out and be inexpensive.

Two hands-on activities that focus on renewable energy sources, water power (California Energy Commission) and solar power (Home Science Tools), meet these criteria and are examined here; others are available in the Annex. Each activity presents a science concept: falling water can turn turbine blades; solar energy produces heat that can be used for cooking. Neither activity requires a science laboratory. Materials are inexpensive and readily available.

• Water power: a turbine made of cork, plastic blades, two nails, a container made of card, a craft knife.
• Solar power: an oven made with a pizza box, aluminium foil, black paper, plastic film, scissors, a craft knife and glue.

Learners manipulate both of these objects under teacher supervision to guarantee safety. A detailed description of each activity, available online, can be used as a class handout: see the Reference section.

The success of a hands-on activity depends on several factors, but two are especially crucial. First, teachers should always carry out the activity before introducing it to the class. This makes it possible to calculate the time necessary for each step, potential difficulties, and how to solve them. The second factor, learner participation, can take various forms. Learners may carry out parts of the activity working alone: for example, collecting materials from home. Other parts of the activity are best done in groups to foment sharing of ideas and language and to guarantee teacher supervision.

To carry out a hands-on activity and focus attention on the four C's, the following steps are suggested:

• Initiate thinking with a question or a problem: How can we show that water makes turbines move? How could you show the heating power of the sun? Could you cook food with solar power?
• Encourage learners to formulate a hypothesis: if we pour water on the turbine...
• Present the activity; show examples of the materials and describe the construction process. If instructions are provided as handouts, help learners to detect key language: names of materials, procedures: Glue the foil to... Tape the ...paper on the inside.
• Organize materials collection. Some may be available in the classroom. Learners can volunteer or groups can be assigned to collect other materials from home. Spreading the cost of materials among all learners provides a supply of extra materials and stimulates responsibility.
• Decide how many devices will be built. Put learners in groups and assign simple, safe tasks: for example, measuring and cutting turbine blades to size, gluing the black paper on the oven floor. Cutting materials like cork or card should be done by the teacher.
• Set up (or elicit from learners) the independent and dependent variables: for example, the amount of water poured, the height it is poured from; the colour of the oven floor, the position of the oven with respect to the sun.
• Pose a range of questions to encourage observation, analysis and evaluation of the experiment: Water power: Do you think the distance from the pitcher to the turbine will affect the turning of the turbine blades? How could you prove this? Solar power: What factors might affect the temperature inside the solar oven? And the amount of time needed to 'cook' the food? To help learners express their thoughts, provide tables and sentence stems.
• Ask learners to take notes and summarise results. Supply tables as support for note-taking.
  Language support for summaries might include: first, next, then, finally and verbs in the past tense.
• Take photos of each stage of activity: learners can add labels later. If problems occur, document them: they can be the basis for further reflection and included in summaries. See examples below of labels and statements that learners can produce.

The reflecting lid directs sunlight into the oven. Black paper absorbs the heat and plastic film keeps it inside. The heat melts the chocolate.

To accommodate a hands-on activity to the school schedule, it can be divided into stages: initial discussion, collecting materials, construction, carrying out the experiment, taking notes, reporting observations and conclusions. Work can be spread out over several sessions if preferred, and some done at home.

Tips for carrying out each experiment:

• To avoid spills, the turbine can be held over a large plastic container to collect the water as it falls.
• Ideally, the solar oven should be placed outside, for example, in the school patio; a windowsill with direct sunlight might be an alternative. Cooking time will vary depending on the amount of light, length of exposure and ingredients. Suggested food and ingredients: ‘sandwiches’ made of crackers and soft cheese, biscuits with pieces of chocolate as a filling. The heat will melt the cheese and the chocolate. Ask learners for other suggestions.

Conclusions

Teaching natural science through English has four major goals: learning content, improving language skills, becoming familiar with techniques of scientific inquiry, and enhancing a range of thinking skills. These goals can be achieved by incorporating interactive ICT resources and hands-on activities. At the same time, these activities satisfy several learning styles (visual, kinaesthetic, interpersonal), provide collaborative experiences and motivate learners.

Selecting and preparing activities that foster active learner participation requires more time than would be needed if learners simply read about the topic in their textbooks. Teachers may find the extra time by working in new ways: planning activities with colleagues or teaching assistants, even eliciting help from parents. Some aspects of the activities can be re-used, so they are a long-term investment.

Omitting material from the textbook to gain time for an active approach may be a source of concern for some teachers and parents. However, the Spanish curriculum published in late 2014 specifically recommends the implementation of the scientific method (Real Decreto Curriculo Básico Primaria 2014, p. 19366), and encourages the use of problem-solving activities to make complex topics accessible (Real Decreto 2014, p. 33846-7). Familiarity with these goals may encourage teachers to try the active approach.

As time passes and teachers move forward with CLIL natural science instruction, some questions arise. Have more teachers adopted the active approach as a result of the new legislation? What barriers are preventing change: time, overall amount of content? Are teachers sharing their activities as a means of reducing preparation time? Future research may discover answers to these questions and provide useful insights into how CLIL instruction is being carried out.

References

N.A. N.D. Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy/Essential Questions and Learning Maps. Retrieved from https://docs.google.com

California Energy Commission. Energy Quest. Hydro-power experiment with water to produce energy. Retrieved from http://energyquest.ca.gov/projects/waterenergy.html

Coyle, D., Hood, P. and Marsh, D. 2010. CLIL. Content and Language Integrated Learning. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Dale, L. And Tanner, R. (2012). CLIL Activities. A resource for subject and language teachers. Cambridge University Press.

Haury, D. L. and Rillero, P. (1994). Perspectives of Hands-on science teaching, ERIC clearinghouse for Science, Mathematics and Enviromental Education, Columbus, Ohio. Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED372926.pdf

Home Science Tools. Solar oven for kids. Retrieved from: http://www.hometrainingtools.com/a/build-a-solar-oven-project

Jodl, H. J and Eckert, B. (1998). Low-cost, high-tech experiments for educational physics. Physics Education 33(4), pp. 226 – 235.

Mayer, R. (2009). Principles for multimedia learning. 2nd edition. Cambridge University Press.

_____. (2014). Principles for multimedia learning. Lecture given at Harvard University Initiative for Learning and Teaching. Retrieved from http://hilt.harvard.edu/blog/principles-multimedia-learning-richard-e-mayer

National Geographic. (2016). Harness the power of the wind. Try it out. Retrieved from
http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/wind-power-interactive/

STEM Lesson – Real Benefits of Hands-on Science Learning. Retrieved from http://www.schoolimprovement.com/strategy-of-the-week/stem-benefits-of-hands-on-learning/

The Children's University of Manchester (2012). How do we make electricity? Retrieved from www.childrensuniversity.manchester.ac.uk/interactives/science/energy/electricity/

_____ (2012). Interactive House. Retrieved from
www.childrensuniversity.manchester.ac.uk/interactives/science/energy/energyhouse/

Annex

Interactive animations and quizzes

ACS Chemistry for life. Energy. Types of energy. Retrieved from https://acswebcontent.acs.org/scienceforkids/index.html#Energy

Energy.gov. Quiz: Test your solar IQ. Retrieved from https://energy.gov/articles/quiz-test-your-solar-iq

Hydroquebec.com. Build a power system: from the generating station to your home. Retrieved from http://www.hydroquebec.com/games/network/flash.html U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Nottingham energy partnership. Interactive ECO house. Making decisions that save money. Retrieved from http://www.nottenergy.com/in_the_home/interactive_energy_house/

Wonderville. Save the World. Game. Retrieved from https://wonderville.org/app/asset/save-the-world

Hands-on activities

Energy Kids. U.S. Energy Information Administration. The NEED Project. (2013). Wind around your home. Retrieved from http://www.need.org/Files/curriculum/sciencefair/WindAroundYourHome.pdf

_____ The NEED Project. (2013). Energy from garbage. Retrieved from http://www.need.org/Files/curriculum/sciencefair/EnergyFromGarbage.pdf Host-Jablonski, AIA. (2000). The energy house experiments. Retrieved from http://designcoalition.org/kids/energyhouse/pdfs/experiments.pdf

Stemmom.org. (2012). Building wind turbines: an engineering lab. Retrieved from http://www.stemmom.org/2012/10/building-wind-turbines-engineering-lab.html

Steve Spangler Science. (2015) Fruit-power battery. Retrieved from
www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/fruit-power-battery/

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