Invertebrates and organ systems: science instruction and ‘Fostering a Community of Learners’

Abstract

This paper is the third in a set of papers that explores the understanding and implementation of the educational system, ‘Fostering a Community of Learners’ (FCL) across subject matters. We examine how FCL is influenced by the discipline of science, the teaching of science, and the conceptions that teachers have surrounding these two topics. We discuss the compatibilities between the discipline of science and the vision of science teaching in FCL. We explore the development and implementation of an ‘invertebrates’ unit and a ‘circulatory system’ unit by two teachers. Two issues of curriculum design from FCL—finding ‘big ideas’ around which to build a unit, and the ‘jigsawable research’ that is intended to build on students' interests as well as create interdependence and discourse among students—offer evidence on how these teachers understood the discipline of science, science teaching, and FCL.