USING STORYTELLING TO CONVEY SCIENCE AMONG DEAF PUPILS IN GREECE A class intervention on learning the concepts of heat and thermal conductivity of materials

Abstract

Purpose: The following study focused on whether deaf pupils perceive the concepts of heat and conductivity differently, and in particular more scientifically, before and after a new teaching method that uses storytelling and problem-based learning techniques. It also aimed to determine whether the teaching method has an impact on pupils’ motivation, on the growth of academic knowledge and on the appropriate scientific understanding of physical concepts. It took place in three primary education deaf schools in Greece. Theory: The project is based on Conceptual Change theory. This theory is part of a social constructivist paradigm that is pupil-centered and focuses on children’s own ideas about natural phenomena. Central to the theory is the claim that pupils’ learning occurs through cognitive conflicts which lead to alteration of their previous misconceptions with new ideas that are closer to the scientific way of thinking Methods: The study is action research, involving practical, researcher-guided interventions in science teaching, undertaken by teachers participating in the research. Data was collected during various research activities and analyzed using qualitative methods. The two main data collection methods used were interviews with the teachers, and pre- and post- study questionnaires administered to the pupils. The languages that were used in the schools are Greek and Greek sign language, so that all research findings are translated into English. Results: Storytelling is found to help deaf children better understand abstract scientific concepts such as heat and conductivity. Storytelling is also found to have a positive impact on deaf pupils’ motivation to learn natural sciences.