SBA: Report on Science Virtual Experiment

REPORT

INTRODUCTION

Teaching Science using virtual experiment is another safe and effective way to conduct inquiry learning. I say safe here because children in the primary level still needs a lot of attention and guidance in handling experiments item.

It is effective because teachers can safe time in terms of preparing the experiment item and teacher can benefit from it if the school do not provide the necessary item relevant to the topics. All of this can take place only if there is an internet connection in school. iI the connection is down, teachers should be resourceful and maybe use a broadband internet device to connect to the internet manually.

Our task was done in Sekolah Rendah Rimba II involving 14 pupils of Year 4A using website shown below. Only 14 pupils were selected because the class teacher needed time with the other pupils to do some revision with them. Apparently the 14 pupils that was allowed to join our lesson are those who are of high and medium ability pupils

Teaching Activities

We started the lesson by explaing about "Plants" & "Animals", then continue with their difference & simuilarities.

We also discuss about animals habitats and the food chain.
we assess them by asking pupils orally in the first part of the lesson

The pupils are shown pictures prepared using the ''Power Point"

The website was the used to show a habitat of animals and plants.

The lesson continues with with pupils answering questions on the website and choosing which plants and animals in the woodland habitat, then they were explained about the food chain.

For assessment the answer the MCQ questions provided.

Benefits for pupils

• The activity was fun and pupils enjoy the lesson.
• They used their hands-on and minds-on experience in the activity.
• The activity was colourful.
• The environment is a change from their classroom environment. Pupils usually enjoy going into the computer room away from their class.
• The experiment is safe and effective.

Some vocabulary learned by pupils that day:

• Woodland
• Habitat
• Heron
• Desert
• Seashore
• Meadow
• Woodlouse
  

Pictures can access from: www.picasaweb.com/adrian667

Assessment on Science Virtual Experiments

Assessments

School Based Assignment: Science Virtual Experiment

Our task was done in group on 23rd October 2009 involving :

• Shahriah Binti Haji Ahmad (myself) 08B1049
  
• Kity Kirtiny Binti Haji Kamis (my partner) 08 B1045
  

Our lesson involves using online website from http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/8_9/habitats.shtml to experiment about animals "Habitats". This activity is suitable for children age 9 and above, that is why we had chosen Year 4 pupils for this activity.

We conducted our task at S. R. Rimba II, with 14 Year 4 pupils, the online connection was not working so we had used our online broadband device. Without it, the activity could not be perform.

The pictures from the activity, please click :

http://picasaweb.google.com/adrian667

Our lesson plan, Lesson content and Assessment questions are as follows:

Plants and Animals

Classwork: Monday,12th October 2009.

Discussion: Science Virtual Experiment

• Using Google, type: "primary school science experiments"

• Firstly; Select: http://www.uq.edu.au/_School_Science_Lessons/ , Secondly; click: Primary science lessons

There is a lot of School Science Lesson to choose from For Year 1 to Year 6.

Class Discussion

If students used the wrong word then the concept would be wrong. Such as the word "produced" and "released".

He also explained at Year 3, pupils can use more vocabularies other than only using labelling in teaching. the info from www.uq.edu.au/_School_Science_Lessons

3.6. Care of cats
See diagram 9.309: Care of cats
Be able to care for a pet cat.
You will need a pet cat or kitten to the classroom. Cats are good pets because they are friendly animals and they kill mice and rats. However, they also kill native birds, so cats should be cared for and not allowed to go wild in the bush. Cats should be fed food scraps and have clean water. They should have a dry place to sleep and be allowed to wander about at night.
1. Show the cat to the children. Look at the cat carefully. What can they see? [The cat has a round head, short neck, narrow body, long flexible tail, covered with hair, narrow nostrils, big eyes, eye lashes, long whiskers, large external ears that can turn to catch sound, has canine teeth, 4-5 pairs of teats in female, hair falls out and is replaced, when angry the hair stands on end.]
2. Pick up the cat by the back of its neck. Look at the feet of the cat, what can you see? [There are the pads on the foot and on the toes. It has claws that can be pulled in.] Why can it pull in its claws? [It pulls in its claws to walk and not wear out the claws.]
3. Look at the cat walking. Can it walk in a straight line? [Yes, it can walk side to side in a straight line.]
4. Stroke the cat to make it purr. Can they make the same purring sound?
Extra Activity: Look at the eyes of the cat at different times of day and night. Can you tell the time by their eyes during the day? [The pupils of the cats' eyes are large at night and become a slit in the day.] Do cats eyes shine in the dark? [Cats' eyes reflect light but they do not shine by themselves.]

Some discussion:

Lecturer: Which animal has a bigger head than yours?

(give some clues, such as 'd', 'i'~ the pupils will answer 'dinosaur')

Lecturer: Which animal has the smallest brain?

(give some clues to expand pupils vocabularies)

What does it mean to have a bird brain?? :) It means to have a small brain. Are tails useful? dont only ask about eyes, what are the purpose of a tail?

If on a plane, it uses a rudder to help it change directions

An interesting question: Do fish have ears? Fish detects vibrations...

Things to do, to understand our world & ourselves.

For lower primary pupils they usually are given oral questions, do some matching activities, completing sentences activities

How do we assess pupils work? How do we know that pupils are really learning?

Year 1

1. ask questions orally andand written work (maybe the last 6 months)

e.g by labelling such as put the word on top and then pupils shoul be able to recognise which word goes where

Year 2

1. By filling in the blanks with words given

Year 3

1. By filling in the blanks without words given

Year 4

1. More difficult and stimulate thinking than Year 3, such as "I have two ears for ___________

Year 5 & Year 6

1. For Year 5,pupils can practice writing their own sentences. For example provided with a picture, pupils can write sentences from the picture.
2. For Year 6 pupils by now should be able to write sentences from pictures and write reasons.

Using " EuclideanReality"

Class Assignment: 5th October 2009

LOGO PROGRAMMING ALBUM

Siti Nur Haziqah, a Year 4 student

Using the laptop, to do Logo Programming

Some of the shapes she had done

LOGO PROGRAMMING: REPORT

Logo Programming

Using Excel

Excel for Blog

Lesson Plan: Teaching with virtual Manipulatives

Lesson Plan

Report: Teaching Using Virtual Manipulatives

This assignment was done in a group and were taught by us:

Shahriah Binti Haji Ahmad 08B1049
Kity Kirtiny Binti Haji Kamis 08B1045

The first part of the lesson was taught by Cikgu Kity Kirtiny while the later part was done by myself. This report included pictures of the lesson involving the pupils of year 4 in the computer room.


Teaching Using Virtual Manipulatives

Personal Views on Teaching Using Virtual Manipulatives

Looking positively at the implementation of technology in schools, it has brought dramatic changes in the teaching and learning process. From my experience teaching using virtual manipulatives:

Pupils

• enjoy the lesson;
• motivated to learn;
• eager to answer questions and involve in the activity using IWB;
• helpful with their peers;
• experience a whole new learning environment which is conducive and provide them with oppurtunities which they might not experience in their home.

On the other hand, there are some challenges which are unavoidable and could occur beyond our control such as when:

• the internet connection is down;
• the websites that are not compatible with the system of the computer (not-up-to-date);
• the computer room needs to be used by other teachers as well.

I have learned that in order for this to be successful we need to be prepared days in advance in order for the lesson to go smoothly. Moreover, help from the ICT teacher shouldn't be overlook because a person who is knowledgeable in ICT is a waste to be ignored. Thirdly, we need to be proactive and be aware of what is happening to the technology, update our knowledge and never be embarassed learn something new.

School-Based Assignment: S. R. Rimba II

In the staffroom

Computers in the staffroom

one of the teacher using technology to do the lesson plan

Date: 13 August 2008
Day: Thursday
Time: 10.30 - 11.30

Let me tell you a bit about my previous school. It is one of the school which is considered "Sekolah Model". It is also being used as a center for Special pupils to be located under Brunei III. Due to this the, MOE has been generously supporting the school financial needs to better equip the schools with all the technology and school-related equipments possible. (from what i've heard from the teachers).

The school has 2 computer labs, a computer room in the teacher's staffroom, a computer in the library, 4 computers in the admin office, 2 projectors, 3 photocopy machines. This school is also equipped with CCTV all over the school area, speakers installed in all the classrooms and a bell which chimes every hour to indicate the period of a lesson is over. Furthermore the main hall is fitted with a huge screen and a projector(The school sounds incredible right?....)

Now with the A H1N1 situation the school own 6 thermal scanners.

teacher which uses technology in teaching Mathematics

Teacher 1 : Level 2, 30 pupils

This teacher teaches year 2, the subjects Mathematics and Bahasa Melayu. Technology used is the projector. She prefers to use the projector in Mathematics lesson. All of her pupils comes from a working class family although not all own a computer at home.

According to this teacher using projector has its strenths and weaknesses

Advantages

• pupils enjoy learning;
• understanding is enhance;
• teacher can use pictures from the internet which are not found in books;
• teacher make use iwb with the use of projector;
• smooth learnig-teaching process where teacher do not has to write notes on the board.

Disadvatages

• the projector is limited in quantity, therefore its usage is on a first come, first serve basis;
• teacher had to prepare the teaching materials every night;
• sometimes technical problems are unpredictable and teachers lesson plan will have to change.
  
  
  

MATHEMATICS

How to use technology in Mathematics teaching and learning?

Everyone has a different reason for wanting to incorporate technology, one of the reason is that it can improve the quality (and quantity) of instruction or teachings.

From my understanding technology involves the use of computers, projectors, photo copy machines, television, CD/DVD players, Interactive White Boards (IWB), cameras and video cameras.

Initially what all teachers can do is to write down the lesson plan for the week using the computer. This is a good start to using the technology before actually using it in the classroom. Teachers can surf the net and look for pictures or teaching strtegies that can be use and apply during the lesson.

Next, teachers can make use the projector in the classroom. This may provide a new learning experience for the pupils and make mathematics more fun and enjoyable. Teacher can project the notes or pictures on to the white board. Teachers can also use videos or interesting websites in their teaching and project them on to the white board.

Furthermore, interactive white boards are also an interesting tool in learning. Teachers can always bring the pupils to the computer room to use IWB. This is a way of involving pupils hands-on experiences in mathematics.

Meanwhile less time is spent on tasks such as copying handouts, giving handouts to pupils who missed classes, and grading pupils’ exercises and quizzes.

There are a lot of ways teachers can incorporate technology in their instructions, among of them are:

Provide pupils the oppurtunity to have access to the internet, underprevileg pupils can only have this chance in schools;

Enhance teacher'sinstructions;

Teach concepts that are difficult to convey with words or on a chalkboard;

Vary how content is presented and applied;

Facilitate discussion, problem-solving, simulations, and other learning activities;

Help students work as a group;

Support real-world learning experiences;

Extend interactions and activities beyond the classroom;

Save time on grading and course administration.

For enrichment activities teachers can go to these wbsites:

www.mathsisfun.com
www.coolmathforkids.com
www.primarygames.co.uk

An Investigation on the Effective Method of Multiplying 2 Digits With 2 Digits

1. Grouping Method

It works because it follows a systematic ways of arranging the numbers according to the place value system.

Why the grouping method is interesting:
The method is straightforward, easy to understand and an efficient way to solve the problem.

2. Vertically and crosswise method

Why the vertically crosswise method works:
At each stage, you are computing those partial products whose place value matches the place value of the digit you are computing.

Why the vertically method is interesting:
There are relatively few intermediate results to keep track of (and all of those involve at most two-digit numbers). With a little practice, one can do all of the arithmetic in one’s head, and when presented with a multiplication problem of any complexity proceed directly to writing down the digits of the answers.


3. Grid multiplication

Why the grid multiplication works:

The numbers are arranged in a unique way before multiplying and adding the product together. The secret to why it works rest on the numbers arrangements and the grid box.

Why the grid multiplication is interesting:

This method provides a grid to use which systematically arranged the numbers to come to the conclusion and a fun way to solve the problem.


references:
References
Chamberlain, N. (2005). Long multiplication and percentage without a calculator. Mathematics In School Journal, 34 (2), 22-23.

Curriculum Development Department. (2006). Mathematics Syllabus For Lower Primary Schools. Bandar Seri Begawan: Curriculum Development Department.

Curriculum Development Department. (2007). Smart Mathematics Primary 4. Singapore City: EPB Pan Pacific.

Geary, D. C. (2004). Mathematics and learning disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities,
37(1), 4-15.

Glover, J. T. (2002). Vedic Mathematics for Schools Book 3. New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers.

SCIENCE

Science teachers can make appropriate use of ICT to help achieve their teaching and learning objectives. ICT can support more effective learning and to achieve results. Some might say the use of ICT imposes additional burdens on pupils, but we must look at the positive side of it such as increased understanding of the scientific processes.

For a teacher before we incorporate technology with Science, what we neeed to take into considerations in teaching Science are:

Scientific Knowledge
Scientific Process Skills
Scientific Attitudes and Values

Its is the teachers responsibility to inculcate these 3 aspects within the students in teaching Science. Without these 3 important aspects a Science lesson could not be done.

As I had posted under the heading 'Mathematics', technology involves the use of computers, projectors, photo copy machines, television, CD/DVD players, Interactive White Boards (IWB), cameras and video cameras.

Scientific Knowledge

Before starting a class teachers must be mentally and physically prepare on what to teach the students. All teaching aids must be prepare earlier to ensure a smooth and interesting lesson. Science is a fun subject, a blank teacher would tarnish that joy and the objective of the lesson would not be achieve. Knowledge in ICT would also help a lot in making the lesson fun. Teachers can use the internet such as watch an experiment on "Youtube". For example sink and float experiment.



Scientific Process Skills

Teaching Science usually involve Inquiry Learning. Here is where teachers need to guide students to use their minds-om and hands-on experiences to develop the process skills required. Some of the process skills especially in doing practical work or experiments are predicting, observing, recording and comparing results. For example
"Raisin elevator". Pupils need to apply all these process skills to do this experiment.

items needed are: Sodium Bicarbonate, raisins, beaker

Firstly: pupils must predict what will happen?
Secondly: the pupils will carry out the experiment by pouring the sodium bicarbonate into the beaker and then inserting the raisin in the beaker.
Thirdly: the pupils need to tabulate, take note or record any findings the think necessary.
Fourthly: compare their findings with friends and present their results

Scientific Attidtudes and Values

This scientific aspect involves pupils interactions with each other such as sharing, communicating with their friends, being honest, respecting their friend's opinions and ideas.

Nonetheless teachers attitudes are also important in making the classroom an interesting one.

MATHEMATICS

How to teach Mathematics especially Multiplications.

One of the topics that pupils usually had a low percentage passes is in multiplication because most topics in the upper primary syllabus involve multiplying especially Division, Measurement, Money, Time, Rate, Area, Volume, Fraction, Percentage, Mental computation and Problem solving. Multiplication is a common problem in most schools.

By having a variety of methods and strategies to help the pupils to understand mathematical concepts better the pupils are given the chance to think that Mathematics is not fixed and can have numbers of ways of solving a problem. Having these methods hopefully will bring out the interest and fun in learning Mathematics and the misunderstanding of concept will no longer exist. As pupils acquire new strategies in learning Mathematics they tend to abandon older slower and less accurate ones.

Some methods which are suggested by CDD are multiple representations, diagrams, real objects and especially the usage of ICT.

Assalamualaikum

I would like to say thanks to everyone for visiting my blog. I really appreciate it, it means that this blog has serve one of its purposes.... This is my first time blogging, i really hope that this blog will help everyone especially my SciMths group in their academic matters especially the course PS 2206, under Dr Leong and will INSPIRE all of my friends to work harder and achieve excellent grades in their work. Consequently, all will pass with flying colours and become better teachers than before. Amin Ya Rabbal Alamin.


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