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Friday / March 28

Action Science: Relevant Teaching and Active Learning

Action Science

Contributed by William H. Robertson, Ph.D. aka “Dr. Skateboard”

Action Science

How can you get young people interested in science and mathematics? What efforts are there to integrate the experiences of middle school students into the things they need to do and learn in school? How can action sports, like skateboarding and bicycle motocross BMX, be used to teach physics, algebra, data collection, and help students to grow in their engagement and motivation in science and mathematics?

Answers to these questions and more are addressed in Action Science: Relevant Teaching and Active Learning, a new book for middle school teachers and the students in their classes.  This book combines physical science concepts in areas such as forces, motion, Newton’s Laws of Motion, and simple machines set in the context of activities that young people enjoy doing, such as riding bikes and skateboards.


Action Science: Relevant Teaching and Active Learning by William H. Robertson – Video Overview

I’ve been a skateboarder for over 35 years, and I have performed for thousands of students in elementary, middle, and high school levels throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico and in South America. Additionally, I have been an educator for over twenty years, currently as a professor in science education with experience teaching at the middle school and high school levels.

As an educator and a skateboarder, I knew I would have unique opportunities to instruct and to work with students and teachers. The development of Action Science is a practical example of this. Through skateboarding and education, I have learned creativity, practice, patience, discipline, and goal setting. Many of my audiences of students and parents typically don’t see the connection between skateboarding and science. They often wonder, ‘if you have a Ph.D., why do you ride a skateboard?’ The answer is because it’s fun and it’s part of who I am.

Action Science was written as a resource for teachers to integrate practical learning opportunities linked to skateboarding and BMX in order to bring physics to life. This book looks to provide solutions for dilemmas educators face in teaching physical science concepts in a relevant context for the modern learner. The main idea is to place the content in an interesting format with action sports as the focus, and this, combined with the use of constructivism, presents a fun way to energize the classroom.

The book helps the teacher to connect important science applications through the use of hands-on activities and engaging video and graphical content.  Teachers need to utilize technology in teaching and learning, and this book is designed as a crossover text that integrates video and high quality images, as well as demonstrates an interactive strategy of content immersion for students. The book is not a workbook or a series of activities in and of itself; it is a professional development resource for teachers, which utilizes a constructivist approach that can be integrated into the classroom pragmatically.

Action ScienceThe importance of an active environment for learning that integrates oral, visual, and kinesthetic strategies by the teacher allows for learning to be student-centered. In this approach, teachers become change agents, linking the relevant life experiences of the students to the content of the curriculum, and in no area is this more needed than in middle school science. The teacher must establish connections within the learning communities, and engage their students in active learning projects that require them to interact with individuals inside and outside the school. For the constructivist science teacher, learning needs to be extended into the fabric of student’s lives, not solely as a subject to be explored uniquely in a classroom.

The purpose of my book is to provide middle school teachers with a resource that will help them to be better equipped to instruct students through rich and compelling content that is motivating and engaging.  Action Science is about modern students in today’s classrooms, and is designed to help teachers with relevant and practical approaches in science instruction. As with all middle school students, but even more so with marginalized students, science education needs to be transformed, and Action Science: Relevant Teaching and Active Learning is a great example of student-focused transformative resource designed to reach the modern learner. This is the way you wish you were taught and certainly the way in which you would want your children to learn.


Dr. William H. Robertson

Dr. William H. Robertson is an Associate Professor in the Teacher Education Department in the College of Education at the University of Texas, El Paso. His academic areas of expertise are in science education, curriculum development and technology integration in the K-12 levels. A long time participant and performer in skateboarding with over 35 years in the sport, Dr. Robertson has developed Dr. Skateboard’s Action Science (http://www.drskateboard.com), which addresses physical science concepts for middle school students utilizing skateboarding and bicycle motocross (BMX). He is the author of Action Science: Relevant Teaching and Active Learning.



Written by

Ryan Dunn, PhD, has twenty years’ experience as an educational leader, elementary teacher, and researcher. Ryan has advised schools and systems in the United States, Canada, Singapore and Australia to develop innovative educational solutions. He has worked extensively in the United States, where he led large-scale research and professional learning initiatives in New York City and California. Ryan is a senior lecturer at the University of Melbourne, where his teachings focus on teacher professional learning, educational leadership, evidence-informed practice, and implementation science.
 
Pauline Thompson, D.Ed., is a senior lecturer in educational leadership at the Faculty of Education, The University of Melbourne. Pauline has vast experience working in schools as a teacher, middle leader, assistant principal and as an educational advisor. She is the course coordinator for the Master of Instructional Leadership, working with teachers and leaders to build their skills and knowledge to lead teaching and learning in their school. Her research interests include middle leadership, women in leadership, teacher career pathways, and teacher professional learning.
 
Professor John Hattie is an award-winning education researcher and best-selling author with nearly 30 years of experience examining what works best in student learning and achievement. His research, better known as Visible Learning, is a culmination of nearly 30 years synthesizing more than 1,500 meta-analyses comprising more than 90,000 studies involving over 300 million students around the world. He has presented and keynoted in over 350 international conferences and has received numerous recognitions for his contributions to education. His notable publications include Visible LearningVisible Learning for Teachers, Visible Learning and the Science of How We Learn, Visible Learning for Mathematics, Grades K-12, and, most recently, 10 Mindframes for Visible Learning.

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