Introduction to 4-H Series

By Richard Ponzio, Ph.D, 4-H Youth Development Specialist, University of California

What makes 4-H Science Experiences and Resources for Informal Education Settings 4-H SERIES different from other science activities. There are few if any new science activities. The difference is in how they are used. The science learning available to youth participating in SERIES is significantly different because SERIES includes five important context dimensions. The science processes imbedded in the learning experience; the value of cross-age instruction; use of the learning cycle in each activity; and the value of an apprentice structure where youth are involved in community-based service learning projects.

Scientific Thinking Processes. Virtually all science instruction in schools is content oriented and delivered through readings, lectures or demonstrations. Adding the scientific thinking processes to the content and using those processes to find, frame, and develop solutions to science-based community service projects provides a fresh avenue for the development of critical thinking skills. Further, SERIES scientific thinking processes adapted form the California State Science Framework (1993), and implemented in an authentic science inquiry of the students' own design match well with the science benchmarks (1993) and national science standards (1996). In SERIES materials the processes have been organized in a unique project-based way that other curriculum organization schemes lack. SERIES reflects knowledge from two research fields: developmental psychology (matching stages of development to the thinking need to complete each activity); and cognitive science (providing particular kinds of learning experiences that related to specific science concepts.) Great care has been taken to ensure that the processes build in each other, each subsequent one inclusive of the prior one. Thus, content will build in the same manner towards the advanced concepts that participants use to develop and reinforce their academic understanding of science as they carry out their community service projects.

Cross-Age Teaching. Current research emphasizes the value of social interactions for improving learning. The current national trend toward cooperative learning is an example of this value. SERIES builds in opportunities for younger learners to solve problems, record data, make inferences, and so on. The modeling that older youngsters provide is more effective than the modeling provided by an adult in a teaching role for several reasons including age differences, time for personal, more individualized contact, and status (Ponzio, et al; 2000). With less age and status difference two-way interactions begin faster and seem to generate more enthusiasm and learning opportunities.

Photos by Suzanne DeJohn

The Learning Cycle. The instructional model used in presenting the inquiry based activities is an adaptation of the Learning Cycle (Karplus and others, 1977); Lawson, and others, 1989; and Marek & Cavallo, 1997). This instructional format has been found effective in working with youth to develop reasoning abilities in science. Researchers have found it to be particularly effective when used in combination with other instructional interventions such as inquiry labs, peer-led discussions and Socratic teaching methods (Guzzetti and others, 1993). Activities based on the Learning Cycle involve three distinct phases:

EXPLORATION - Youth are given materials or engaged in an experience and are encouraged to explore, manipulate and observe. This is often a rather playful part of the program, and the youth learn through their own actions with little guidance or expectation of specific accomplishments. As a leader, you are not looking for particular answers. Your role is to be a co-investigator - you may explore also and even enrich their observations with your own.

CONCEPT INTRODUCTION - In this phase, you encourage the youth to discuss their observations and discoveries that they made during the Exploration phase, These findings should be made by the youth. In your role as a facilitator, you can help them describe their discoveries - 'the bee visited many flowers of one kind' and develop questions--"What was the bee getting from the flowers?" "Was the flower benefiting from the bee's visit?"-- that will lead to understanding of their observations. This phase also provides an opportunity for them to discuss the significance of their findings, develop hypotheses, begin to outline ways they can test those hypotheses, and learn new terms related to the concept.

CONCEPT APPLICATION - In this phase, youth again have a chance to manipulate the materials. They may test the hypotheses they developed during the first two phases, refine a technique, or explore something in more depth. Ideally, theories and experiments should be developed solely by the youth investigators. (Ponzio, 1994)

Apprentice Structure. Another form of learning through social interactions is the apprentice structure of SERIES. This allows the novice to work side by side with the expert to learn the craft, the processes and the knowledge development aspects of " sciencing." The adult volunteers serve as "coaches" for the teen leaders, and the teen leaders serve as "personal instructors" for the younger participants.

Community-Based Academic Service Learning. An assumption in SERIES is that we are not focusing on just providing youth with more information about science, but rather our emphasis is upon developing scientific thinking skills and decision-making through the community-based application of what is being learned. The problem identification, design and application activities provide increased relevance and connection between what is being learned and "the world" by focusing on high intrinsic interest topics chose by the participants themselves. The academic service learning dimensions of SERIES units fit well with the suggestions of Robert Reich, former US Secretary of Labor for experiences necessary for youth to be able to be better prepared to participate effectively in the emerging global economic Reich, 1983, 1991a, 1991b, 1994). The authentic learning opportunities provided participants in community-based projects are described by McKenna and Ward (I 999) and in Howard Gardner's book The Unschooled Mind (1991).

In his seminal book, A Place Called School, based on a study of the nation's schools, John Goodiad noted that science instruction found in most schools was just another reading lesson. The goal of SERIES is to encourage the youngsters to begin to use the processes and approaches of science in his or her personal decision making as a citizen in our society. Content is carefully chose and related to the processes so that participants develop a clearer understanding of how science related to their lives every day. SERIES carries science beyond the 4-H meeting, camp project or other group experience by incorporating a community-based academic service-learning component related to science literacy in each of the units of study. After experiencing the content and processes related to the unit, the participants take their new knowledge into their community. Through direct interaction they reinforce and enlarge upon their own knowledge and skill base while contributing, in the spirit of 4-H, new knowledge and direct service to their community.

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