Approaches to Teaching Science in the Jordanian Primary School

This article reports on a study of the influence of different approaches to teaching units from the Jordanian science curriculum to over 600 students from grades 6, 9 and 10 in elementary schools. A small sample of male and female teachers was trained in the use of co-operative learning approaches and in lecture‐demonstration approaches to teaching particular units adapted for this purpose from the prescribed curriculum. The aim was to determine how far achievement and attitudes towards science are influenced by the different approaches. A qualitative and quantitative methodology was adopted including tests of achievement and interviews with the participants. The findings of the study are not straightforward, with different methodologies suiting different groups and teachers. However, the implications for teacher training and the advantages of providing teachers with the opportunity to adopt a mixed methodology to suit their students are clear.