T3 W4: Teaching Sexual Reproduction for Lower Secondary Science

I started teaching this topic somewhere in Week 4 of the term. Initially, I felt anxious as teaching this topic to a bunch of kids who are experiencing hormonal changes would certainly invite large amount of giggles and talk and I do not think that I would be able to tolerate all the cheekiness, especially from the boys.


I decided to start off with a more serious note, instead of jumping straight into the topic. I touched on the topic of abortion first and showed two video clips which are pro-life anti-abortion. The first showed the development of an unborn baby at different stages of their life-form, i.e, at moment of conception, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, 11 weeks later up till the point of birth. The second clip is also an anti-abortion clip which described the various abortion methods and also depicted pictures of aborted foetus. The scenes from the second clip could be abit disturbing to some, and hence I advised my students to close their eyes if they feel that it is too much for them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2l1-kvKomg


Ironically, it was the second clip that brought alot of talk and discussion. I was actually glad that my students felt appalled and disgusted by the video, and they all understood the immoral act of taking an innocent life and the psychological effect after abortion. We also discussed about the importance of abstinence before marriage and the harmful consequences of having sexual intercourse without being ready. I felt that showing the anti-abortion clips at the start of the topic was effective as it helped the studentsHaving put that into perspective, I then started the lesson on sexual reproduction and thankfully enough, the cheeky remarks that I initially expected did not surfaced during the whole course of my lesson and the lessons after.

T3 W2: The efficacy of mind-maps...

Last week, we attended a training on mind-mapping skills. This gave me a sudden inspiration to try it out with my 2N1 science class. We have just finished the topic on Digestion in Human Beings and I thought that it will serve as a good summary to the class.

This is what I came up with on my own- before the lesson. The initial plan was to show this to them at the beginning of the lesson and introducing the laws of mind-mapping to them before making them follow the mind-map while I drew a new one. I also found a very useful video on you-tube which highlights the important laws of making a mind-map: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UCXalYcoko

My students were very thrilled with the idea of doing something new and attractive. They had all brought their colour pens with them. However, the software gave a few problems as it took a long time to load while I was trying to draw it on the screen. In the end, I conveniently showed them my mind-map on the screen while they sort of 'copied' mine to get the hang of it.

As an assignment, I told them to come up with a mind-map on 'Human Digestive System' at home. I showed them mine as an example.

On the whole, the mind-map has provided with an effective way to summarise or build-up a lesson. I find it very useful, especially with the 2NA kids as they are more hands-on people and they prefer to do things instead of just listening to a boring conclusion.

One challenge I find is for students to come up with one on their own, as the students are not able to come up with the proper keywords to put in their mind-map. For one to come up with a mind-map, the student must first do the basic essential thing which is to READ the textbook. This is especially very challenging with students who are not even reading their text...

I also find that not everyone can do mind-maps. There were a handful who just find difficulty drawing the images required in their mind-maps. I had to repeatedly encourage them to be creative and be more imaginative in drawing out their mind-maps. Those who have difficulty are more comfortable 'copying' the mind-map example given to them, and dare not vary much from the original.

T3W1: The effectiveness of You-Tube videos

I realised that this year, I have been turning to Internet resources, especially You-Tube videos to assist me in my teaching of Physics.

Just earlier this week, I was busy hunting for videos on the topic for Electromagnetic Induction, so I can show my students how an AC Generator looks like and how it works. Previously last term, I was searching for the DC Motor and vidoes to show the magnetic effects of a current-carrying conductor. With the You-Tube videos, there is lesser need for teachers to hunt the Laboratory for equipment to set up for a demo during class time. It reduces preparation time and I feel that the lesson is effective as within the short frame of time, more videos can be shown.

However, I feel that for You-Tube videos to be effective during a lesson, a teacher must be prepared with the exact resources before class. There are many resources in You-Tube and sometimes, the challenge is to find one that is the most effective in delivering the intended outcomes. Also, some teachers might experience some problems in playing the video during class time, while connected to the Internet as there could be some lag time. My solution to this is by using a You-Tube Downloader, which allows one to download the video and converts it to a format that Windows can recognise.

Another challenge is to balance the lesson between showing videos and using other forms of resources. Showing videos ONLY could be boring for some students as not all students are visual and audio learners. Hence, the teacher needs to be aware of the other learning needs of the students and one must try to find the appropriate teaching resources that can meet the needs of the different students.

Showing the videos in class alone is not enough. Perhaps, one step further would be to provide the links to the videos to students so that they can access it at their own time while they are revising their work. Another alternative is that these videos can also be uploaded to the school's online learning portals so that students can access it anytime.

Also, in the event of school closure due to H1N1 breakouts, then I feel that You-Tube would be an one form of effective resources for students! :)