News, Information and Useful Links for Education from
the Chancellor Oppenheimer Library
Did you know that there is a resource pack for Teachers and Learners on the Sasol website? The packs were developed by Sasol, DST-NRF, UCT, and PetroSA. Here's the link to the Free Download
Google Global Science Fair 2011 is open to students (13 - 18 years) from all over the world.
Partners in the Science Fair include Scientific American, National Geographic, LEGO and CERN. Prizes up for grabs include a $50 000 scholarship, a ten day-trip to the Galápagos Islands and a virtual internship at LEGO or a three-day site visit to CERN, Google or Scientific American.
Entries need to be submitted online as videos or slideshows. The Science Fair closes April 4th.
Check out the Google Science Fair blog.
University World News reports
"With its basic education system in a shambles, the South African
government is rolling out easy-to-read workbooks to the poorest schools.
But it may be wasting millions of Rand - more rigorous research is
needed to test the efficacy of such books before they are handed out to
children, according to a new study by researchers at the University of
the Witwatersrand and JET Education Services. The study has infuriated
the book project leaders.
The research, carried out between
January and June this year, found that while a particular set of
workbooks for Grade 6 mathematics was effective, it worked no better
than an approved textbook currently used in South African primary
schools."
The Science Reference Services of Library of Congress (USA) has produced a research guide for Science Education.
From the guide:
This compilation provides references and resources that highlight methods, curricula, standards, and strategies that promote learning in the nation’s elementary, middle, and secondary schools. Many of the books and resources list activities and projects designed to engage and capture the imagination of the K-12 student. Some provide incentives and novel ideas for science teachers, methods of integrating standards into the classroom, or new ways of making connections between mathematics and science, looking at physics, or exploring the environment. Other materials seek to inspire and enthuse both teacher and student, to encourage further study and/or careers in the sciences, or to advance science literacy through the school into the community.
QuestInteractive, an interactive website to make science more accessible and exciting for learners was launched by the Academy of Science of South Africa this week.
The website augments the popular science magazine Quest and caters particularly for learners featuring videos, topical science issues and information as well as science games.
From the Planet Science website:
Bad Science is a column written by Dr. Ben Goldacre where he tells us just how the media sometimes gets it wrong when they’re talking science.
This is affectionately termed "pseudoscience" i.e. false science.
Planet Science have teamed up with Dr. Goldacre and some lovely helpful teachers to bring you "Bad Science" for the classroom: fun activities to do with your students and show them that not everything you read is "proper" science.
(Ben Goldacre is a medical doctor and writes the "Bad Science" column in the Guardian newspaper.)
From Educblogger: You can find the book "Bad Science" on our library shelves at DSL 500 GOLD and check out the Bad Science blog.
Spotted in the Guardian
The controversial new GCSE science papers, which feature multiple choice questions, have been accused of 'dumbing down' the subject.
Sunbeds give off ultraviolet rays. They are used to get a suntan. Sara says: "I know I shouldn't really use them, but I'm going on holiday soon and I don't want to be the only one on the beach without a tan." How could you explain Sara's decision?
Finance Minister Trevor Manual was speaking at the launch of Census@School Project.
Quoting: Minister Manuel said it was important for learners to be involved in
the project because the outcomes of the questionnaires would help
government take certain decisions.
He was greeted by loud applause by learners at the school when he
conceded that Mathematics was a "tough" subject to learn and teach.
However, he highlighted that it was an important proficiency to have.
"So much of what we do in life needs some unit of measurement," he told
learners.
The minister, responding to a question from a learner about how well he
had done in Mathematics at school, said he had battled and did not have
high marks until he came across a teacher who helped him.
The objective of the project, which targets learners between Grades 3 and 12, is to enhance the statistical and numerical literacy of learners as well as raise awareness of the national population census. Here's the link to the Statistics South Africa information about the project.Read the rest of the story from BuaNews Online.
WatchKnow, a non-profit, online community has set up a website to collect, create and share free educational videos for kids. It is now available for beta-testing.
Recent videos posted include a Wind-Generator Demonstration, Boiling Stones Generator, a rendition of "That's Mathematics" to Kindergarten sight words. Worth exploring! There were links to other useful sites and lessons plans.
Two Science Education stories in today's Guardian about an online competition run by the Royal Society of Chemistry. Read here and here.
"There has been a "catastrophic slippage" in standards of science taught in schools, leaving children with a superficial understanding of chemistry, biology and physics, according to the Royal Society of Chemistry."
In a competition run by the society, pupils with "a keen interest in science" sat chemistry questions from O-level and GCSE papers set every decade since the 1960s.
Only 35% got questions from the most recent GCSE papers right, and it seemed to go downhill from there with pupils doing progressively worse, the older the questions.
Here are some of the questions and answers.
Spotted in the Education section of the Guardian (UK), is a report on a Science Council survey of 1000 UK teenagers about their attitudes towards studying science.
"The study said that students were unaware of the range of career options – including in sectors such as fashion and sport – that studying sciences could open up for them. Many young people have preconceived ideas about science subjects leading solely to laboratory jobs and wearing a white coat, it said."
"The research coincides with the launch of Future Morph - a new online resource for students, teachers and parents aimed at changing perceptions of the careers open to students with science, technology, engineering and maths qualifications."
The Canada Virtual Science Fair is a wonderful treasure-chest of resources. It's an annual online science and technology fair open to all Canadian students in grades K-12. Teams pick a science or technologically or environmental topic and then create a website to display their work. (Technical assistance is available)
There are links on the site to past winning projects and more ...
IOL reports on an innovative teaching idea that has its inventor KZN maths teacher Kumaras Pillay competing in the Microsoft Worldwide Innovative Teachers' Forum in Helsinki, Finland.
The programme, MLearner , makes mathematics and physical science available on cellphones through a website developed and managed by Burnwood Secondary School principal Vanesh Gokal.
It was named the national winner at the Innovative Teachers' Forum Awards in Johannesburg in September.
As the link on the Scout Report says, it is "one thing to learn about physics in a lab, but it can be quite another thing to make a pilgrimage to an amusement park to take in the laws of physics."
So how do physics laws affect amusement park ride design? This site , from Annenberg Media, allows learners to design their own roller coasters and learn about laws of gravity, pendulums and kinetic energy. Plus they can also experiment with bumper car collisions.