Choice Chamber Experiment

Nathania is setting up a choice chamber experiment which larval king fish will have the choice of harbour water or estuarine water.  This is the last part of her experimental work before she starts writing up her Masters thesis.

To test the water flow Nat added food colouring to check that the flow of each sample was the same - it did look the same which was fantastic!  

This links to the science capability of critiquing evidence in which data will be evaluated for trustworthiness.  If the experimental design is flawed, her data is less reliable.  This also links to the NoS objective of Investigating in Science in which appropriate investigations are carried out develop explanations.

Nat is going to segment and label the areas of the chamber so that she can count how many fish are in each area at different intervals.  This is a good example of how numeracy is inextricably linked to science.  

Marine Biology and Aquaculture kit launch

After weeks of thinking, planning, creating resources and trialing the activities, our kit was reading to be launched at the meeting of the Regional Council today who have sponsored the kit.

Our brief was:

• 3- 4 activities pitched at NZC levels 1-4
• activities must be hands on
• all materials required must be contained within the box
• must cost less than $1000
• must have an aquaculture component
• teacher manual must be relatively short

Chris spoke briefly about the House of Science and its aims then we had a chance to talk about out role as participant teachers, the activities in the kit and how this will relate to real life teaching in classrooms.

The response was positive and we felt a great sense of achievement to have the kit complete and about to be sent out to schools.

What's the point of school?

Another PT recommended this reading - I cheated a little and watched a 30 minute clip!

At the heart of education are engaged students, enthused teachers, improved results and life long learners.  

Spoon feeding, superficial labels such as VAK and parroting back slogans such as which multiple intelligence we are using do not work.

Aspects of a BLP (Building Learning Power) culture are using the language of learning - not work, Modelling being a learner, activities which will stretch the learning muscle, valuing progress as much as the product and truly co-constructing the school curriculum.

Now what?

I need to think about my current classroom practice and how I can adapt it to Build Learning Power.  NoS and Science Capabilities seem an excellent vehicle and a good place to start.

Exciting rangatahi about the potential of science

Yesterday we attended the launch of two bilingual resource kits at Te Wharekura o Mauao.

This work has been a collaboration between the secondary school and the House of Science, facilitated by the Priority One instep programme and with funding from the NZ Lottery Grants Board.

The kits are both about wetlands. One focuses on the land and one on the water.  The teacher notes and activities are in Te Reo Maori and English.

The day started with a Powhiri, morning tea and then two Y11 students spoke about their experiences working with the wetland so far.

We then had speakers from other stakeholders speak to the group and then the kits were officially launched.  After lunch we were taken on a tour of the school.

The school has its own wetland, Te Repo to look after.  This means that the students can relate what they are learning in the kits directly to their own context.

Science Capability:  Engage with Science