| |
|
| |
|
|
....................................................
|
|
|
|
| |
Teachers attended the inaugural International Science Education Conference 2006 to glean inspiration and share views on how to provide the best science education possible.
How do we endeavour to make science meaningful, enjoyable and worthy of a lifetime of pursuit and commitment? In response to this challenge, 400 educators, practitioners and policy-makers from different parts of the world gathered in Singapore to share their views, experiences and insights in creating innovative practices in the teaching of science.
‘Science Education: What Works’ was the theme of the inaugural International Science Education Conference 2006, organised by the Ministry of Education (MOE), Nanyang Technological University (NIE/NTU) and the Science Teachers’ Association of Singapore (STAS).
Science Buzz
The focus of the conference was on researchers who have discovered—through investigations and studies—ways of
|
Science teachers from Chung Cheng High School (Main)—(from left) Mdm Teo Jo-Hsuan, Ms Teo Choon Mei and Ms Munirah Bte Shaik Kadir—were excited to gain new insights from the Science Conference. |
|
providing a meaningful education in science. Keynote and invited speakers included Professor Jonathan Osborne and Professor Wolff-Michael Roth. Prof Osborne, who is Chair of Science Education at the Department for Educational and Professional Studies at King’s College in London, spoke on Science Education for the 21st Century while Prof Roth, Lansdowne Professor of Applied Cognitive Science at University of Victoria in British Columbia in Canada, shared some of his personal experiences in Learning Science in Informal Settings.
Jo-hsuan Teo, Teo Choon Mei and Munirah Shaik Kadir, teachers from Chung Cheng High School (Main) were eager to pick up new ideas at the conference. Jo-Hsuan reflected, “Education is changing, I’d like to find out where it’s headed, what others have to say, especially the speakers from other countries. The buzz of the academic scene here is very exciting!” She joked, “We are products of the old school so if we don’t see what other educators are doing, how do we know we’re teaching correctly?” Choon Mei readily agreed, “If we’re ‘holed up’ all the time, we don’t get a chance to participate in this exchange of ideas.”
Munirah, who is interested in research work, is keen to conduct lessons which are more
|
400 educators, practitioners and policy-makers from all over the world came together to share their views, experiences, insights and challenges on innovative practices in science education. |
|
student-centred, saying that she “wants to actively engage learners.” She said, “In Primary school, I think they should learn about the history of Science, and the great ideas and the people behind them.” Choon Mei added another suggestion to Munirah’s list, “important discoveries in Science”, and mused, “Students are information-crazy about everything exam-related. Maybe there’s a need to cut down on content and focus on processes.”
Guest of Honour, Minister of State, Ministry of Education, Rear-Admiral Lui Tuck Yew shared his vision for science education: “Singapore hopes to initiate dialogues and collaborations on how science educators can contribute to their national agenda as well as how we can better prepare our students for life in the 21st century.”
Prof Jonathan Osborne is Chair of Science Education at the Department for Educational and Professional Studies at King’s College, London.
|
| Prof Jonathan Osborne plays a game of ‘Guess what happened to the animal tracks?’ with the amused participants. |
|
Prof Osborne considers knowledge a product of education, but he clarifies that it should not be an object that can be acquired, but rather “something organic and developing”. He felt that it was important to be able to see that knowledge needed to be revised from time to time.
In his keynote speech, he argued, “The problem with school science is that it leaves future citizens without knowledge necessary to interpret or critique. Science for all is justified only if it offers universal value to every young person.”
To Prof Osborne, the emphasis on content in science courses has excluded the other three pillars on which any comprehensive understanding of science rests upon:
| • |
The scientific approach to enquiry; |
| • |
An understanding of how scientific knowledge is produced and validated by the community; and |
| • |
An appreciation of the risks and benefits associated with science and technology. |
He urged educators to include these three pillars in their teaching. “The difference between information and knowledge,” Prof Osborne clarified, “is that information is second-hand, it’s other people’s interpretation of their experiences. Knowledge is conjecturing, reasoning and evaluating evidence. The mastery and learning stays with you.” |
|
|
|
|
Prof Wolff-Michael Roth is Lansdowne Professor of Applied Cognitive Science at the University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
 |
| Prof Roth (middle) enjoys sharing about the importance of bridging the gap between textbook science and real-life science. |
|
Prof Roth is all too familiar with the differences between school and ‘real-life’ science. The difference between the science that students learn at school and what they do when knowledge is called for outside of school is what he calls the gap between formal knowledge and everyday knowledge.
Intuitively, we know how to bridge the gap—through “learning in practice.” He shared with the participants his recent experiment in which students contributed to the environmental knowledge of their village community and in the process, learnt science.
“It’s a sign of learning,” he said, “when you expand on the possibility of what you need to do. For example, when I first started teaching, I had to depend on my notes. Through learning in practice, I can now ad-lib. There is expanded room to manoeuvre.”
He encouraged educators to give students the opportunity of “learning in practice” so that they could bridge for themselves, the gap between formal science and real-life application. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
