In short, budget restraints and common sense dictate that we move over to the electronic medium so, apart from a shortened version in the Fall, Interactions will henceforth be accessed through the SPTN Homepage, details of which can be found in t his issue. This will mean that we have potentially a much wider readership, though some who are not yet linked to the Internet may regret the change. Schools are being hooked up at an increasing rate, so hopefully access will be available to all before to o long.
As I look at this issue, an underlying theme (quite unintentional) seems to be Partnerships. We have stressed in the past the need for teachers to reach out to each other, but a growing trend seems to be developing - teachers reaching out beyond s chools to the business community. In spite of their somewhat adversarial stance in the past, teachers and potential employers are recognizing that they want many of the same qualities in students: flexible, creative thinkers, problem-solvers, effective co mmunicators, and life long learners. This is reiterated in Dr Skoken's article on page 2.
It makes sense, then, that educators and business leaders put aside their differences and open up some meaningful dialogue. One of the goals of this year's Summer Institute will be to examine the possibilities of business partnerships, and to equi p participants with a means of initiating, or expanding, the process in their school.
The Science Hotline [p. 3] could be a good place to start reaching out. The "Speakers in the Schools" program, a partnership between "Scientists in the School" and the Nova Scotia Chamber of Commerce has 540 volunteers province wide: local entrepr eneurs and business people who are willing to visit classes, give tours of their work facilities, and facilitate workshops.
Chuck McMillan's Wheelchair ramp design project.[p. 3] provides a model for the type of curriculum adaptation that we feel provides the needed link between SciencePlus and the real world. Students are given a real problem to solve, using the scien tific skills and concepts learned in the classroom. At this year's Institute, we hope to begin the process of developing more of these types of activities, which would provide a welcome STS addition to the SP texts. We might then "publish" the ideas gener ated through the SPTN homepage, and invite you to use them, improve upon them, and resubmit for further adaptation. After all, this is how SciencePlus got its start, and this is the way to keep curriculum fresh and alive.
We hope many of you will rise to the challenge, and join us at Mount Allison this July to start the process.
Conferences
St. Louis, Missouri, 1996 - Two local teachers, Paula MacInnis, of Eastern Passage Junior High, and David Devan, of Cornwallis Junior High, are off to the 44th Convention of the NSTA, which is being held from March 28-31, in St. Loui
s, Missouri. Paula and David have been sponsored by SPTN in recognition of the valuable contribution each has made to the Network. We know they will have an exciting and rewarding experience, and we congratulate them both. Who knows - maybe they'll even t
ake in a hockey game, now that Gretsky's there.
New Orleans, Louisiana, 1997 - Next year's NSTA conference is in the home of Mardi Gras, New Orleans! The deadline for proposals is May 1, 1996, so time is short - if you have an exciting teaching idea you'd like to share, the SPTN office has prop osal forms. Don't worry if your idea isn't in finished format; only an outline is needed, but it is critical to get the proposal off in time, so DON'T DELAY, CALL US TODAY!! Don't be intimidated by the size of the Convention - most of the presenters are r egular classroom teachers, and the quality of the sessions no different from many we've seen at AST. Go for it!
Summer Science Institute News
The planning committee is hard at work putting together our 5th Annual Summer Institute, to be held again at Mount Allison University, from July 7-11. Brochures are out, and requests for information are already coming in from as far away as Washing
ton, DC.
In response to comments from last year's Institute, we are this year setting aside more time for teachers to pursue individual projects, particularly in the areas of assessment and computer use. After all, SciencePlus began as a curr iculum project generated by teachers; let's give teachers the opportunity to revise and add to the material that is currently available, with the support and help of other teachers and the added experience of several of the authors.
In addition, we will continue looking at the topic of student misconceptions, and suggesting some strategies for diagnosis of, and dealing with, difficulties that are commonly shared by many students. We hope also to open up for discussion the area of partnerships in education, and to suggest ways in which teachers may reach out into the community for help.
It isn't all work, however, and past participants will tell you that some of the most valuable information and help comes as a result of social interaction and friendships developed during the week. For the really adventurous, we are offering a post conference kayak trip on the Bay of Fundy! Don't worry, joining us for this event is purely voluntary!!
Now if you are still not convinced, and wonder why you should give up four days of your precious summer, maybe Tom Harding [A. J Smelzer J.H.] should have the last word in the invitation below. If it has whetted your interest, and you haven't rec eived a brochure, you can get more information by contacting Frances Wallace at the SPTN office.
Organized by people whose ideas you'd not refute.
Make some new friends, see some familiar faces,
Enjoy Mt. A campus, one of our great Maritime places.
Time we're short of from September through to June.
Often, if not planned well, the summer's gone too soon.
There's reason to engage in professional development.
Help yourself - join us - it's all about enlightenment.
Experience new activities, satisfaction of involvement.
It's a great opportunity to rethink how you evaluate,
New colleagues to confer with & ideas to germinate.
Speak with people who know where you are coming from.
Tackle computer problems - you can when you are there,
It will lessen your frustrations and feelings of despair.
Try a bit of Science Olympics, debate Journal writing;
Unless you sing "Sunshine Mountain", life is not exciting!
Take the plunge and let's have no more lessons that are flat,
Eradicate the notion of "I've been there - I've done that".
1-800-565-SITS (in metro Halifax 422-5960) Tues. to Fri. 8:30 am - 1 pm. One of the organizations you'll have access to through the Science Hotline is Innovators in the Schools/APENS. This group accesses the professionals in engineering and technology fields in Nova Scotia to provide educators with specialists who can provide:
Cross-cultural child development research, here and abroad, has found, among other factors, that other countries tend to focus on child-directed problem solving rather than rote memorization of facts and formulas.
I also believe that, in order for children to succeed in the workplace of the future, science education must stress not only technical skills, but also "domain-independent" interpersonal and communication skills.
My own experience, as both a college teaching fellow and an industry scientist, has convinced me that science education must help children develop the following skills:
Science education must move away from memorization to an ability to dissect a problem systematically, so that a reasonable solution can be arrived at with some certainty.
An individual who can manage people that monopolize discussions, who can evaluate and integrate information, and who incorporates all valuable information into a final decision, is indispensable in any type of work group. This ability assumes int erpersonal and problem- solving skills that need to be fostered and developed over years.
Students should realize that if they can communicate in an effective manner, they will be well-received in any type of organization.
In addition, the ability to tailor one's presentation to the current audience is invaluable. To develop these skills, educational programs need to provide programs that are fun, relevant and student-driven. Tasks should be clearly defined, but students should be determining the direction they want to take them. The key is for students to be able to articulate where they came from and where they are going.
Activities need to be group oriented, so that students can learn to come to solutions via the group process. They should also emphasize the process itself, rather than focusing on a single "right" solution.
If you want to inject a little variety into your test or exam, you may want to try a little "hands-on" experience as a basis for your questions. Calvin Nicholson [Eric Graves Jr. High, Dartmouth] decided to use the Cartesian Diver apparatus (p.116) as part of his grade 9 exam this year. He set up 5 bottles in each of the rooms where his classes wrote, and students had a maximum of 5 minutes to examine the apparatus; anyone who needed more time could revisit at the end of the exam. He gave his stude nts the following instructions:
Chuck McMillan [Truro Junior High] designed a group performance assessment item for his Grade 7's, which presented them with a real-life problem to solve; namely, to assess the relative value of several materials to be used as a ramp surface in the construction of a wheelchair ramp for their school. Students were supplied with spring scales and prepared boards, covered with a variety of materials: bare plywood, sandpaper, urethane (1 and 3 coats), plastic stair tread, aluminum mesh, and roof shing le.
He began by dividing the class into groups of five students, each with a specific role:
TOWARDS A MORE AUTHENTIC VIEW OF SCIENCE
The following is adapted from a presentation made by the author at the SPTN Summer Institute held at Mount Allison University, July 1995. Second in a series, the first having been published in our November 1995 edition.
In the last edition of Interactions, I talked about two inauthentic views of science, Dr. Jekyll and Dr. Schweitzer, that we sometimes portray to our students. Well, what image should we portray? I think we should tell students that science is me ssy, complicated, problematic, and inherently interesting. We should tell them that science and technology are forms of problem solving. We should say that the scientific community constructs knowledge and decides what counts and what doesn't. We should t ell them that science is powerful, wonderful but dangerous; therefore, science needs to be understood and controlled by all members of society - including them.
What are the most important characteristics of science that we should share? Well, all of those stated above, and:
For too long, school science has portrayed uncritical images of science in naive and unproblematic ways. Scientific knowledge has been presented to students as lists of known facts to be memorized. This has been called "done science."
Smolicz and Noonan wrote a classic paper in 1975 about the foundations of science education. They said that traditional science education was built upon four ideas:
Send correspondence to:
Nan Armour, Atlantic Coordinator
SciencePlus Teachers Network
1331 Brenton Street
Halifax, Nova Scotia B3J 2K5
Phone: (902) 422-5953 or 422-1944
Fax: (902) 422-1415
email: narmour@fox.nstn.ns.ca
ASCP and SPTN have been online now for about seven months. We have a Home Page with lots of interesting features and links. More recently, SPTN has established a discussion group, or mailing list for junior high teachers. See the box below to find the SPTN home page and instructions for subscribing to the discussion group.
We realize that not all junior high science teachers have access to the Internet. The number of schools in the Atlantic region and Canada as a whole with an Internet connection is still fairly limited, although most Departments of Education are committed to bringing schools online as soon as possible. Some schools have local area networks (LANs) which permit Internet access through several computers, while other schools have a single computer connected -- usually in the library.
We know too that some teachers have Internet access outside the school itself. Most new computers purchased for home use today come bundled with multimedia and modems. Inexpensive Internet connections are available in most urban centres. If you have a com puter and a modem at home, consider joining a freenet if your community has one or contact a commercial service provider such as Istar, Cycor, Isis, Atlantic Connect or your phone company (Sympatico). Some of these firms offer packages as low as $9.95 for five hours a month.
Currently, the phone companies and the cable companies (along with other big players in the communications and computer field) are in a fierce competition to provide a fibre optic connection to the Internet. There is new hardware coming that will turn the ordinary TV set into a real interactive communications centre.
As well, you will find a complete listing of all SciencePlus editions and units on the Home Page. Better still, the ASCP authors are identified with each of their units. And best of all, you can send a message to them right from the page through a link t o their email address!As we approach the revision of SciencePlus for Canada, classroom teachers can play a real role. If you have suggestions for change in particular units, pass them on to the author. They welcome the input.
The electronic SPTN also provides links to other world wide web sites which may be of interest to junior high science teachers. If you have a favorite site, pass it on to us.
We welcome suggestions and contributions to the Home Page. If there is something you would like to see there, let me know.
Peter Kidd (pkidd@fox.nstn.ns.ca) How to find the ASCP/SPTN Home Page:
For those who can't access the Web, but can use Telnet, connect to Chebucto Community Net at: chebucto.ns.ca
STANet has a WWW page, containing basic information on the network, a SciTech Bulletin Board, links to many of the STANet partners, links to research centres and schools, as well as an "Ask a Scientist" page. These pages are continuously growing, and they
welcome suggestions for sites to add (Of course, I suggested SPTN's home page!)
The web site is: http://ac.dal.ca/~past/stanet.html
USEFUL RESOURCES
Materials: measuring cup; skim milk; vinegar; heat source; glass or enameled pan; strainer; baking soda; tablespoon
Environmental Education Network: http://www.envirolink.org/enviroed/
The Awful 8 Lesson: http://www.tnrcc.state.tx.us/air/lesson_plans.html
Day 1: After dividing the class into groups of 4 or 5 students, have each group member join a different "expert" group to study one particular aspect of the problem or solution in the library: causes, effects, alternative energy, and deforestation. (You might work with the librarian to compile a collection of readings)
Day 2 & 3: Show the whole class videotapes on global warming, then have the "experts" rejoin their original groups and share what they have learned.
Day 4: Ask groups to arrange their information into two categories:
(a) factors that add to the problem
(b) factors that reduce the problem
Day 5, 6, 7: Groups work on their boards, which can be of the "Monopoly"- or "Snakes and Ladder"-type, since this gives an opportunity to "advance" with pro-environment choices, and "retreat" with harmful choices
Day 8, 9: Have students play and evaluate each others' boards, based on criteria decided by the class.
This is a lengthy project but it fits in well in the 2 weeks before Christmas, when it is often hard to sustain student interest and effort. There should be no problem keeping them on task!!
You will need: a round aluminum pan, 2% milk, food colouring, magic solution (actually some clear dish detergent).
Pour some milk into your pan until it is about half full (2cm deep). Choose a colour; add 4 or 5 drops of food colouring to the milk (about 1 cm from the edge of the pan). Add the remaining colours as far away as possible from each other.
Once all four colours are placed in the pan, add about 5 drops of your magic solution to the middle of the pan, as soon as possible.
Wait a few seconds and watch very carefully! You will be treated to a surprise!
Students were divided into research groups of 4, and the group was told that they were to experiment to find the best growing conditions for a special plant that the Grow-Rite Seed Company hoped to promote in their next catalogue. Each student was respo nsible for keeping a log of their procedure and results, but only one final report from the group would be handed in. I deliberately gave few instructions, as I wanted a variety of methods and presentation styles. (Prior to this, I had given no instructi on on lab design).
Each group spent the first period planning their strategy and assigning tasks, which had to include choosing a group leader and recorder. At the end of this planning session, they were given as many seeds as they thought they would need, within reason. At the beginning of the final week, the groups were given another chance to get together, discuss results and work on their group report, which was submitted to me.
As expected, there was great variation in the quality of the final reports and experimental design: some were completely qualitative in their observations, others, though quantitative, had no data tables etc. I chose three reports from each class, photoco pied them, and gave them to the groups for evaluation. Since I had three Grade 7 classes, each class saw reports from another class (no names included, to prevent hurt feelings!)
We then discussed the inherent strengths and weaknesses from the point of view of: design (control of variables, daily observation, importance of testing each variable with many plants, the need to be as quantitative as possible, and the value of designin g clear data tables). To promote discussion, I gave each group a set of questions, some of which are included here:
By examining the reports of their peers, and trying to make sense of them, I think students learned far more about the value of good design, clear communication and reasonable inferences, than by anything I could have told them.
Be prepared to report to the company's Board of Directors in two to three weeks..
Happy Growing
G. R. Thumb, Director of Research
As a student, if you were given a multiple choice test on the definition listed above, you could probably pick out a few key words: polythemosis, canine, transfer of energy etc. and could get a passing grade. But how would you do if you were asked to expl ain or apply this definition? Based on that kind of patchwork understanding, it would be difficult to do so. This is why students must construct their own meanings for terms: so that they can understand and apply them.
The bottom line is this: will a student remember a memorized definition two weeks from now? SciencePlus does not introduce vocabulary. Students construct their own definitions as they learn science for themselves. Vocabulary is taught in context, and students create their own glossary of terms as a result.
POE'S REVISITED
You have seen examples of POE's (Predict, Observe, Explain) before in Interactions, but Pierette Pheeney [St. Thomas University] put a new spin on their use by having her students construct their own. There is one you can use in the Light unit (SP
3), as a Black Line Master (BLM).
Some student (or you!) may suggest trying other liquids in place of the water, which would be an interesting extension.
The advantage of this format lies in the revealing of students' thinking that occurs if they are used as intended. Stress that the reasons for their answers are just as important to you as the answers themselves!!
TO SEE OR NOT TO SEE
________________________________________
________________________________________
Fill the cup. What do you see now that the cup is almost full?
________________________________________
________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
-30-