Ideas
A Context For the topic
The sets of mythical creatures: the ice trolls and their friends the lava dragons. Bothe creature live in Iceland, the trolls amongst the frozen glaciers and the dragons around warm volcanic vents. They are friends but they have a problem: the trolls melt and get poorly if they try to visit the dragons; whilst the dragons chill down and get poorly if they to visit the trolls. Some trolls have heard that if they wrap themselves up and it will help them stay frozen but many other trolls think this is bad idea. The trolls want to know what the children think and ask for their assistance to help find out if wrapping up would work. This is great context for learning about thermal insulation but it also allows the general exploratio of materials required for conceptual change.
Facts
Magnet
Iron is the easiet metal to magnetize and it also loses its magnetism easily. Steel is harder to magnetize but retain it's magnetism much better. This is why our school magnet are made of steel
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Primary Science teaching the tricky bits by Neil Rutledge
How Children Learn
Constructivism holds that the major influence on children's learning is their prior experience which results in their developing constructs that govern how they interpret and relate to the world around them. These constructs are formed from a very early age. We also called them misconceptions if these ideas are scientifically incorrect and yet sensible.
When we are attempting to change children's misconceptions, the key point to note is that simply telling the children the correct answer is most unlikely to work. If children are to modify their ideas, they must themselves accept that their initial ideas were incorrect and build an alternative, scientifically correct, construct to explain the phenomena they are encountering.
To do this, we need to plan the children's learning as shown below:
A learning cycle for Primary Science
In class, we need to get used to " helping pupils to learn" rather than " telling" the pupils. Often many of the activities we present the children with end up being only to reinforce what we are already "telling" the children.
Pupils need to be aware of what they are thinking and why. Their ideas must be properly challenged in a targeted manner. Then , it is easier to consolidate the appropriate ideas.
Open-ended and discovery learning
There are serious potential pitfalls if the approach to learning is too unstructured.
Effective Learning Contexts
It is important to realise that the context of our pupils' learning has a major influence on how effectively they learn.
Constructivism holds that the major influence on children's learning is their prior experience which results in their developing constructs that govern how they interpret and relate to the world around them. These constructs are formed from a very early age. We also called them misconceptions if these ideas are scientifically incorrect and yet sensible.
When we are attempting to change children's misconceptions, the key point to note is that simply telling the children the correct answer is most unlikely to work. If children are to modify their ideas, they must themselves accept that their initial ideas were incorrect and build an alternative, scientifically correct, construct to explain the phenomena they are encountering.
To do this, we need to plan the children's learning as shown below:
A learning cycle for Primary Science
In class, we need to get used to " helping pupils to learn" rather than " telling" the pupils. Often many of the activities we present the children with end up being only to reinforce what we are already "telling" the children.
Pupils need to be aware of what they are thinking and why. Their ideas must be properly challenged in a targeted manner. Then , it is easier to consolidate the appropriate ideas.
Open-ended and discovery learning
There are serious potential pitfalls if the approach to learning is too unstructured.
Effective Learning Contexts
It is important to realise that the context of our pupils' learning has a major influence on how effectively they learn.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
National Environment Agency
Recently, we had green audit validation.
Green Audit programme is designed as a simple environmental audit programme for all schools in Singapore. Students work in teams to audit their school and submit results together with a report on their environmental efforts, including plans for improvements. The Council then conducts on-site visits to verify claims and provides suggestions for improvements.
Mr Joe Lim, the project manager, came and educated us quite a lot. Here are some of the learning points on caring of the environment.
Green Audit programme is designed as a simple environmental audit programme for all schools in Singapore. Students work in teams to audit their school and submit results together with a report on their environmental efforts, including plans for improvements. The Council then conducts on-site visits to verify claims and provides suggestions for improvements.
Mr Joe Lim, the project manager, came and educated us quite a lot. Here are some of the learning points on caring of the environment.
- Adjust the air-conditioner to about 26 degree celcius and turn the fan on.It saves more energy as compared to adjusting the air-con at 21 degree celcius only.
- Get from the canteen vendor the fruit peels or the vegetables and throw them to our rotting log habitat. That will speed up the decomposition process.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Process Skills
I have been thinking of setting targets for pupils' process skills in the science workplan. I believe that pen and pencil assessment does not show a complete picture of pupils' learning. So we need to have alternative modes of assessment.
The next question is how to assess the different skills. In my school, we have been using Science practical. The tasks set by the teachers were good. I actually wanted to set targets for individual skills such as observing, classifying, using apparatus etc.
When I sat down and analysed what are the skills being using for a particular task, I noticed that there were a number of skills involved.
For example, pupils were given 4 buttons. They were to observe and classify the buttons in any of the folliwong ways.
So in reality, when we are given a task, we always use integrated skills. So I have to set targets for integrated skills instead of specific skills.
The next question is how to assess the different skills. In my school, we have been using Science practical. The tasks set by the teachers were good. I actually wanted to set targets for individual skills such as observing, classifying, using apparatus etc.
When I sat down and analysed what are the skills being using for a particular task, I noticed that there were a number of skills involved.
For example, pupils were given 4 buttons. They were to observe and classify the buttons in any of the folliwong ways.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Skillful Teacher - What Have I Learnt Today?
According to "Skilful teacher", what happens in the beginning and at the end of the lesson is what people tend to retain the longest. I always begin my lesson with lesson objectives. I need to use the last 10 minutes of the lesson effectively.
Today, I conducted a lesson on electrical conductors with the Primary 5 pupils. At the beginning of the lesson, I shared with the pupils the lesson objective - Pupils are to identify and classify electrical conductors and insulators. Pupils were given bulbs. batteries and wires to design a circuit tester to test whether the items given conduct electricity. At the end of the lesson, I got pupils to summarise with the following guiding questions.
But after the lesson today, I have changed my perception on this question. It can also draw out pupils' misconception.
One of the pupil wrote the following:
I did not know aluminium can conduct electricity as I always think that only metals can conduct electricity.
This pupil have the misconception that aluminium is not a metal. She has the prior knowledge that metals are hard but what she was handling today is aluminium foil which is soft.
This response gave me great insight on making use of this strategy.
Today, I conducted a lesson on electrical conductors with the Primary 5 pupils. At the beginning of the lesson, I shared with the pupils the lesson objective - Pupils are to identify and classify electrical conductors and insulators. Pupils were given bulbs. batteries and wires to design a circuit tester to test whether the items given conduct electricity. At the end of the lesson, I got pupils to summarise with the following guiding questions.
- What Have I Learnt Today?
- What Puzzled me?
But after the lesson today, I have changed my perception on this question. It can also draw out pupils' misconception.
One of the pupil wrote the following:
I did not know aluminium can conduct electricity as I always think that only metals can conduct electricity.
This pupil have the misconception that aluminium is not a metal. She has the prior knowledge that metals are hard but what she was handling today is aluminium foil which is soft.
This response gave me great insight on making use of this strategy.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Formative Feedback
Today, Dr Koh, my NIE lecturer asked us to do a group activity on feedback statements. We were to decide whether the statements are formative.
I did not realise that the praises or encouragements that I gave pupils are not formative. For example, I often wrote ' Well-done!", " Neat work!", " Try harder!", " Lovely drawing!" on my pupils' Science activity books. The pupils are doing summative assessments.
I always think of only giving a score to an exercise or a test is a summative assessment, for example the semestral examinations in the midyear and final year. But I did not realise what I have been doing in classroom, giving those praises and encouragement are not good enough. I did not tell the pupils the areas they have done well.
It is always not easy to give individual feedback to a class of forty pupils. Right now, I always feedback to the class the areas they need improvement and highlighted to them some of their classmates' model answers. I believe this is step to formative assessment.
I did not realise that the praises or encouragements that I gave pupils are not formative. For example, I often wrote ' Well-done!", " Neat work!", " Try harder!", " Lovely drawing!" on my pupils' Science activity books. The pupils are doing summative assessments.
I always think of only giving a score to an exercise or a test is a summative assessment, for example the semestral examinations in the midyear and final year. But I did not realise what I have been doing in classroom, giving those praises and encouragement are not good enough. I did not tell the pupils the areas they have done well.
It is always not easy to give individual feedback to a class of forty pupils. Right now, I always feedback to the class the areas they need improvement and highlighted to them some of their classmates' model answers. I believe this is step to formative assessment.
Questioning
Questioning is my favourite topic. I feel that every teacher should spend time mastering this skill. But not all teachers think that. Last year, I introduced questioning as one of the strategy that the department would want the teachers to focus. So I actually thought of ways to do sharing and encouraging teachers to plan questions before they step into class. One teacher actually came to me and said that they have done questoning for so many years and felt that they did not need to plan.
Today, I read a chapter on questioning from the book " The Skillful teacher- Building your teaching skills". I was so happy that what I proposed last year was the right move and further confirm that every teacher needs to plan their questions before the lesson.
There are 4 main points of questioning.
Today, I read a chapter on questioning from the book " The Skillful teacher- Building your teaching skills". I was so happy that what I proposed last year was the right move and further confirm that every teacher needs to plan their questions before the lesson.
There are 4 main points of questioning.
- It is an entire toolbox. The questions selected should be matched to hte instructional purpose.
- All pupils including the low ability pupils need to be engaged with high level questioning. A lecturer once told me if we do not scaffold low ability pupils with thinking questions , these pupils will always not be improved and will always be labelled as " low ability".
- Questions should be planned when we are planning the lesson. Don't just spend time planning the activities and the topics for discussion and then wing it on what questions to ask as we go.
- Pupils should be taught to ask questions. I have been teaching pupils to use questions starters, for example
" What happens if ......"
" Why do you think ..."
" What is your reason ...."
It is quite effective for a start but pupils still need a lot of practice.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)