Science Centre Resources

Information for Teachers

An ideal program of study is based on an "all encompassing" idea that will connect your week on site to a larger plan. The program of study will include many other experiences that take place prior to and following the week on site (i.e. in-class projects and other activities).

Making the Most of the Science Centre School
Bibliography
Links

Teacher's Checklist

• Consider possible ideas for your long term plans
  
• What will be your major focus and how will this fit with the Program of Studies?
• How do you think a week at the Open Minds site can fit in with this?
• What kind of research do you need to do about the Open Minds Site?
• Attend the welcoming and orientation session
• Send the ChevronTexaco Open Minds information, the health form and the release form home
• Gather the necessary health information
• Through the year, interweave the teaching of needed skills with the teaching of your long term plans
• How will you teach observation skills?
• How will you develop journal writing skills?
• How will you incorporate drama?
• How will you develop creative writing skills?
• Consider making use of measuring tapes/trundle wheels
• How will you develop sketch-style drawing skills?
• What other research will the students need to do to help them with their week at the Open Minds site?
• Continue to develop long-term plans
• Select parents and other volunteers
• Buy observation/journal notebooks
• Prepare notebooks for leaders and parent volunteers
• Confirm your bus one week prior to your visit
• Check out the information and ideas on the Internet
• Have your school prepare the $600 or $350 cheque
• Discuss with volunteers what their roles and responsibilities will be
• Please review your site's rules and expectations with your students
• If you have any questions, give us a call.

Please note: Teachers should ensure all students come prepared for school and should bring all necessary supplies for the week

What your students will need:

Student List (all things of value should be labeled)

• Pencils, pencil sharpener and eraser
• Crayons or felts
• Hard cover journal/observation books - A must have!
• Plastic water bottle
• Appropriate clothing
• Camera (optional)
• Garbage-free nutritious lunch
• Snack (each student can bring a snack or parents can send a snack for the whole class)
  
  

Making the most of the Science Centre School

Allow time for kids to really look and gather as much information as they can. Different experiences cause children to see the same thing in different ways. Show genuine interest in whatever the kids find. Avoid the suggestion that the only worthwhile result is the right answer in terms of facts and conclusions.

Accept what they find out from their investigations and listen to their reasoning. The right kind of questions should be productive not dead-end but lead to further observation or investigations.

• Attention-focusing questions
  Did you notice? What did it do?
  
  
• Measure / Count Questions
  How many? How long? Which is stronger, faster?
  
  
• Compare
  How is this the same as? Different from?
  
  
• Action
  What happens if… questions
  
  
• Can you find a way to …?
  Be careful with how or why questions, lead in with why you think?

Allow children to make sense of their observations without imposing explanations outside their experience or comprehension.

Observation activities can revolve around objects familiar to the children. A favorite activity given by one teacher of 11 year olds is to set up a lighted candle and have the children write / draw their observations. They are encouraged to gather as much information by consciously looking at detail.

Drawing increases knowledge. P 31 - 32 Primary Science - Taking the Plunge

Give the kids a task of drawing a familiar object from memory only (ie. Grasshopper) before having them observe the live specimen. They quickly realize what they did not know about grasshoppers and are eager to have a closer look. Information is gathered and will lead to questions and further investigations.

Give kids experience in planning - To teach them how to plan, pose a question and have them plan an activity. ie: Is a plastic carrying bag stronger than a paper one?

Look critically at worksheets or science cards that do all the planning with step by step directions. Don't use them too often as they hinder children from developing planning skills.

As you question kids, you teach them controls and variables.

Kids have many ideas about things, and they may be quite different from the scientifically 'accepted ones'. Find out what ideas the kids have and give them the opportunity to investigate their ideas. Allow them to explain in their own words and show evidence for their ideas.

If you impose your explanations, their already formed ideas will be unaffected.

A good question is more important than the answer. Good questions are the scientific step to the answer.

Provide lots of time for conversation and discussion:

• In a large or small group or individual with teacher
• In small groups without teacher (exchange and share ideas, challenge each other's views and defend their own)
  

Journals:

In the form of drawing and writing -

Special way of communicating - a record, a paper memory of their personally-valued information.

Avoid the tedious writing of a science experiment as it spoils excitement of science.

A record of what they see and do, not what the teacher expects them to have seen and done.

Journal writing should be a normal part of science work. They should write and draw as they need during science exploration. A list of teacher questions that they must answer stifles writing their own ideas. Kids may view this as a test and try to give the "right" answer.

Teachers should regard journals as personal to the child, not ones to be marked by the teacher. Teacher comments to the journal can add knowledge, clarify ideas, add correct vocabulary or encourage further thought or investigation.

It is interesting that you observed spikes on the end of the isopod's abdomen? Did he move them? How do you think they might help him live?

Journals "can become a source of inspiration to both children and their teacher, who are bound to notice the rich variety of the children's discoveries and interests and their charming ways of description and representation. All children who have learned to realize that their notebook is their own means of expression increase their interest and their ability in recording their work." (Harlen, Wynne, Primary Science Taking the Plunge, Heinemann,1991, pp101-102.)

Bibliography

www.nsta.org/
www.nsta.org/recommendedsites/default.asp
www.sciencealberta.org/index.cfm
www.2learn.ca/
www.calgarysciencenetwork.ca/
www.atasc.ab.ca/
www.calgaryscience.ca
www.spaceplace.jpl.nasa.gov
www.planetary.org.html/learn/index.htm

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