Transcript Slide 1

Modules developed by the partners of
PARSEL
Avi Hofstein, Rachel Mamlok-Naaman, Ron
Blonder and Mira Kipnis
Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel
The symposium is part of an EU project (PARSEL), which
involves researchers from eight institutions
1
Rationale
Popularity and Relevance of Science of Science
Education for Scientific Literacy

To promote scientific literacy

To enhance popularity and relevance of science teaching
and learning
Relevant chemistry studies have the potential of
increasing students' motivation to study science
(Fensham, 2004)
2
What we are trying to do?
 We are trying to add to the richness of science
education material within a country.
 Possibly we stimulate the creation of materials,
based on our exemplars styles (within the country
in the future).
 We are NOT trying to change the curriculum –
although we may help the implementation of
science teaching to better match the curriculum
intentions.
3
PARSEL with respect to Education
From
To
Science taught to enable
students to become scientists
Science taught for responsible
citizenship/careers
Science education emphasising
“basic” or “fundamental” (19th
Century?) cognitive concepts
Increased emphasis on relevance,
argumentation, working together to
drive cognitive learning
Science as an isolated school
subject
Inter-disciplinarity between school
subjects
Teacher centred approach,
limited feedback
Student centred approaches for
greater feedback for the teacher
Emphasis on summative tests
and examinations
More attention to formative, ongoing assessment
4
Method
 Develop
 Test
 Disseminate
5
Examples of modules developed by the
partners of PARSEL
Teaching –learning module compiled by the PARSEL consortium as
part of an EC FP6 funded project (SAS6-CT-2006-042922-PARSEL) on
Popularity and Relevance of Science Education for scientific Literacy
University
of Ionnina
6
Examples of modules developed by the partners
of PARSEL
Preventing Holes in Teeth – are Beliefs Justified?
A grade 8-9 science (biology) module on tooth decay and its
prevention (Tartu/Estonia, 5 lessons)
Ways into the Microscopic World “What happens with the iceblocks in my softdrink?”
Properties of substances (chemistry), states of aggregation, 5th to
6th grade (Berlin/Germany, 2 lessons)
Which cleaning agent do we choose?
Characteristics of Cleaning agent (Science for all). Grade level: 8-9.
(Lund/Sweden, 4 lessons)
7
What is a fair insurance premium?
A grade 10-12 (mathematics) module on Mathematical
Modeling (Odense/Denmark, 4-12 lessons)
How much Champagne could you afford?
Caluclation of volumes, part per Million as an use of volumecalculation. A grade 8-9 mathmatics module on getting scientific
information (Kiel/Germany, 2 lessons)
Shall we create new organisms?
A 9th to 12th grades student’s module for use in Biology; Integrated
Sciences and Science for Public Understanding curricular areas.
(Lisbon/Portugal, 4 lessons)
8
Bathing and bubbling with chemistry
Getting to know bath bubblers, their composition,
What ingredients are used in products that we use in
everyday life, such as the bath bubblers? Also to know
the role/function of the ingredients. Also, we can extend the
topic to effervescent medical tablets, their function of
which is based on the same principle. Baking products
such as baking soda are an integral part of this activity.
The activity provides the oportunity to study acidbase chemistry, and in particluar the neutralisation
reaction, 9th to 11th grade (Ioannina/Greece, 3-4
teaching periods at school)
9
Should Vegetable Oils be used as a Fuel?
A grade 10-12 science (chemistry) material on making and testing
Biodiesel as a Fuel (ICASE/UK, 5 lessons)
How can I design a cellular phone that is
safer to use?
A grade 10-11 science (science in context in society, design-based
science) module on Electromagnetic radiation (Rehovot/Israel, 2
lessons)
10
Three stage Model
The modules set out to meet a 3 stage model
geared to :
 Establishing relevance (stage 1) - setting the scene
 Acquiring science concepts and problem solving abilities
(stage 2) - Inquiry-based problem solving
 Learning socio-scientific decision making skills while
reinforcing the transference of the underlying science
concepts to the everyday life situation (stage 3) – SocioScientific decision making
11
Front page









Title
Abstract
Sections included
Overall objectives / competencies
Curriculum content
Kind of activity
Anticipated time
Prior Learning
Overall view
12
Teaching –learning module compiled by the PARSEL consortium as
part of an EC FP6 funded project (SAS6-CT-2006-042922-PARSEL) on
Popularity and Relevance of Science Education for scientific Literacy
University
of Ionnina
How can I design a cellular phone that is
safer to use?
A grade 10-11 science (science in context in society, design-based
science) module on Electromagnetic radiation
13
Front page
Abstract
In this activity students are introduced to the design project
and they are provided with an overview of some of the
activities they will be participating in. This lesson introduces
the context of their design project and it provides the
motivation to hook them into being interested in the project.
Students watch an ABC news video on cell phone safety and
they participate in an activity that has them evaluating the
facts and opinions found in the video. The teacher gives an
overview of the design process and the students participate in an
activity that introduces them to the concept of a target market.
Students end this lesson by creating their first concept sketch of
their ideas and getting feedback in a pin up.
14
Front page
Sections included
1. Student activities Describes the scenario
(for the students) in more detail and the
tasks the students
should perform
2. Teaching guide Suggests a teaching
approach
3. Assessment
Gives suggested
formative assessment
strategies
4. Teacher notes
States the theoretical
physics and gives the
expected calculations
15
Front page
Overall Objectives/Competencies
The students are expected to:
* understand the project’s goals and objectives
* understand the design process
* understand the concept of a target market produce their first
concept drawing
Curriculum content: Electromagnetic radiation
Kind of activity: Critical reading and group activity
Anticipated time: 4 lessons
Prior Learning: not required
16
Front page
Overall view
This unique teaching-learning material is intended to guide
the teacher towards promoting students’ scientific
literacy by recognizing learning in 4 domains –
intellectual development, the process and nature of
science, personal development and social development.
Its uniqueness extends to an approach to science lessons
which is designed to be popular and relevant. For this
the approach is intentionally from society to science and
attempts to specifically meet student learning needs.
17
This uniqueness is specifically exhibited by :
 a society related and issue-based title (supported in
the student guide by a scenario(
 student-centered emphasis on scientific problem
solving, encompassing the learning of a range of
educational and scientific goals
 including socio-scientific decision making to relate the
science acquired to societal needs for responsible
citizenship
18
Materials for students
 Scenario
 Tasks
 Decision making
19
Materials for students
Scenario (Stage 1)
In this project you will be examining a common
communications device – the cellular phone: How
does a cellular phone work? What is electromagnetic
radiation? How do we hear sound from a cellular
phone? Are there any health risks associated with
using a cellular phone? You will examine some
information about cell phones from the text
embedded in your tasks, and from internet websites
recommended by your teacher.
20
Stage 2
Stage two dealt with the way in which
telephones function, and during stage
three, the students had to examine some
information about cell phones from ABC
news and decide what some safety issues
when using cellular phones are .
21
Tasks (Stage 2)
Task 1
What are the alleged dangers of using a cell phone?
Describe at least one below.
What kind of radiation does a cell phone use to
communicate?
Where have you heard of this radiation before?
22
Task 2. How do telephones work?
Every telephone has four basic functional parts:
a microphone, a speaker, a transmission unit
and a dialing unit.
The teacher will divide you into small groups:
Each group will elaborate on each concept –
microphone, speaker, transmission unit and
dialing unit.
23
Stage 3
Task 3
Today you will examine some information about cell
phones from ABC news and decide what are some
safety issues when using cellular phones.
General Instructions:
Dear student, please refer to the following
article
24
Wireless worries?
New Studies Call for More Research,
Some Scientists Say 20/20 arranged
for a leading research laboratory in Europe
to conduct tests on five popular cell phone
models to determine how much microwave
radiation can be absorbed into the
head of a cell phone user, depending
on how the phones are held.
(ABCNEWS)
By Brian Ross
25
Task 3. Class Brainstorm on Cell Phone Safety
Facts versus opinions. In any controversial
issue there are facts and there are
opinions. Scientists use these two types
of information differently.
What is a fact? What is opinion? Which
kind of information is more reliable in
science?
26
The discussions which followed this
activity involved almost all the students,
since the issue is related to everybody's
daily life, to health concerns and to
decision making regarding the way of
using cellular phones.
27
Teaching guide






Rationale
Goal
Lessons overview
Task description
Scientific / technological background
Teaching notes
28
Teaching guide
Rationale
The curriculum, "How Do I Design a Cellular Phone that is Safer to
Use?" was developed in the Center for Highly Interactive Computing
in Education (Hi-ce) at the University of Michigan by one Israeli and
two US science educators. Hi-ce has a history of involvement in
science education reform in both urban and suburban settings. Over
the course of the 1999-2000 school year, Hi-ce developed reformfocused science curricula. The development of the science curricula
was only one component in a larger project called the Primary
Sources Network (PSN), a federally funded Technology Innovation
Challenge Grant.
29
Teaching guide
Goal
The goal of this learning set is to:
 Introduce students to the project’s goals and objectives
 Provide an overview of the design process for the students
 Introduce the students to the concept of a target market
 Have the students produce their first concept drawing
30
Teaching guide
Lessons Overview





Class 1
1. Assign students to new teams
2. Project goals and objectives
3. ABC News video & reading
4. Defining design slide show
 5. Initial concept sketch
31
Teaching guide
Task description
In this activity students are introduced to the design project
and they are provided with an overview of some of the
activities they will be participating in. This lesson introduces the
context of their design project and it provides the motivation to
hook them into being interested in the project. Students participate
in an activity that has them evaluating the facts and opinions found in
the video. The teacher gives an overview of the design process and
the students participate in an activity that introduces them to the
concept of a target market. Students end this lesson by creating their
first concept sketch of their ideas and getting feedback in a pin up.
32
Teaching guide
Background: How do telephones work?
Every telephone has four basic functional parts: a
microphone, a speaker, a transmission unit and a
dialing unit.
33
Teaching guide
Teacher notes
Additional suggestions:
*Students’ activities
*A breakdown of a conventional phone + a
cellular phone
*A breakdown of a speaker.
34
Assessment tool
Lesson 1
 Assign students to teams of four. For this first activity it is okay
to randomly
 assign students to teams since everyone is new. You may find
that you need to rearrange teams if people are not being
productive or not getting along.
 Tell the students that these teams will exist for the first project
and that they will get new teams for the second project. In the
second project you can let people have some choice on
teams.
35
Lesson 2
A. Pass out the document “Cell phones goals and
objectives”
 Explain to the students that this new project will have
them working with a familiar technology that has
some controversial issues associated with it. Have the
students read along while you read the first paragraph
to them.
 Have the students write their team members names
on this form. (We will return to this document at the
end of the lesson.)
36
Modules assessment




Students SD questionnaires
Teachers open questionnaires
Interviews
Different assessment tools by the
different partners
37
PARSEL dissemination activities in Israel
 10 PARSEL teachers: 3 meeting of 8 hours each,
followed by personal work with us
 2 hours meeting during a teacher's workshop in
Davidson, January 2008, 25 leading teachers
 2 hours meeting during a teacher's workshop in the
north, February 2008, 30 chemistry teachers
 2 hours meeting of the chemistry group at the
Weizmann institute
 4 hours meeting in a workshop of science and
technology teachers in Shelomi (North), 30 teachers
38
Up-scaling PARSEL
39
Preliminary results
Question: Can you please indicate some differences
between the PARSEL modules and regular science
curriculum?
Answers
 We are more active…
 We work in small groups…
 We can advice our parents about dental products…
 We feel that it's connected to life. It has an issue, a
subject…
 We can apply the knowledge. We learn about atoms
and ions, but it has a meaning…
40
Many thanks to the PARSEL partners!
 Leibniz Institute for Science
Education - Germany
 University of Tartu - Estonia
 Weizmann Institute of
Science - Israel
 University of Lisbon Portugal
 Lund University - Sweden
 University of Southern
Denmark - Odense Denmark
 Freie Universität Berlin Germany
 University of Ioannina Greece
 ICASE (Hatfield, Herts) - UK
41
Thank you for your attention!
42