Paul Tamblyn
Paul Tamblyn's students in Acton, Ontario, learn by "doing science" — solving practical problems, conducting independent research and working cooperatively with their classmates. Paul inspires confidence in his students to understand and contribute as scientists. For example, his students are participating in the federal government's environmental review process in which public hearings are being held on a proposal to dispose of high-level nuclear waste in the area.
Paul's students have also performed well in science competitions, and his female students speak highly of the way he challenges and encourages them to participate in mathematics and science classes and activities at the school. Several have gone on to distinguish themselves by publishing original research. Students and colleagues alike respect him for extending his role as a teacher far beyond class hours.
Approach to teaching
"There is no higher calling than to be a part of the process of opening people's minds to the possibilities of what might be."
To have the opportunity to take an individual on a quest to be an explorer of the realm of thoughts, information, ideas and dreams is a gift to be treasured. The master teacher we all aspire to be is the one who can use this opportunity to its fullest potential and set individuals free to be independent learners for the rest of their lives.
Creating this process is by no means a straight-line path. If we encouraged our students to look at one tree in the forest we would not expect them to be able to understand the intricacies of the forest ecosystem. Rather, we need them to look often and in many places to find information that will assist in understanding the question they are trying to answer. It is this open-ended search for truth and understanding that is important, rather than a simple answer to a complex question.
Transferable experience
If there is any substance to the right brain/left brain theory or any validity to differences in learning styles, then we are obligated as teachers to teach in a nonlinear fashion. We need to provide our students with a variety of methods of learning and a variety of tools to assess and evaluate their learning. Being able to write out the steps required to light a Bunsen burner is no longer adequate. We need to provide students the opportunity to demonstrate the skill by using the Bunsen burner, teaching someone else to use it, solving a problem using it, and explaining the nature of the energy changes involved.
Here are a couple of examples of the sorts of projects' in which I involve my students that make use of this approach.
Independent lab sessions
I often teach the students the skills they need to know and then present them with a problem that requires them to use those skills to answer a question.
For example, I have students do a lab to determine by experiment the melting and boiling points of known chemicals. They are then given five days to collect relevant information such as the melting point, boiling point, crystal form and solubility of a number of unknown chemicals. Then I present the students with a test tube containing one of the unknown chemicals, and ask them to conduct an experiment, record the results clearly, draw a conclusion based on their research, and then determine the identity of the substance.
Independent research projects
All advanced students follow a process of selecting a topic and defining a problem, developing a method for solving the problem, conducting an experiment, analyzing the results and making a public presentation.
At our science exposition, the students' presentations are assessed by members of the public such as trustees, former students or parents who mayor may not be experts in the area the students have studied. It is the assessment by people from the non-teaching world that allows the students to be confident that they have learned the skills of problem solving and communicating to a variety of individuals at an appropriate level. These are the skills needed for their future success and for the future of science and technology in Canada.
Question period
I also tell students at the beginning of the year that I will regularly set part of a class aside for them to ask any question they want about science. I promise to answer each question as best I can or, if I am unable to come up with the answer, to try to find the answer or find someone who can explain it in an upcoming class. I find that the diversity and depth of the questions are such that everyone starts to see that science reaches into all areas of life.