Developing a constructivist proposal for primary teachers to teach science process skills: "Extended" simple science experiments (ESSE)

Abstract

Although science experiments are the basis of teaching science process skills (SPS), it has been observed that a large number of prospective primary teachers (PPTs), by virtue of their background, feel anxious about doing science experiments. To overcome this problem, a proposal was suggested for primary school teachers (PSTs) to teach science and SPS without focusing on "structure" of experiments based on Constructivist 5E Model. Some "extended" simple science experiment (ESSE) samples were implemented to 39 PPTs according to this proposal. Then, 39 PPTs were allowed to design and to conduct several ESSE. Finally, they assessed their ESSE experiences. They stated that ESSE is not only easy and enjoyable to engage in science but also useful for teaching and learning science concepts and SPS. In this paper, ESSE process is illustrated in "Sound is a kind of energy" experiment. © 2018 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.