Term 3 Week 7 - Youtube Video Demonstration of Cooling Curve of Napthalene

3E1 's Rekha and Harmeet

3E1's Elaine and Cheryl

The experiment was conducted with the Science (Physics) pupils at the subsequent weeks and there was a slight modification (direct heating) which allowed the solid-state napthalene to melt at a faster speed.

The Youtube video above shows the example without the use of datalogger temperature probes instead of the conventional method of mercury thermometer. It also shows the change in the napthalene as it cools down from a high to a low temperature. The solidification process is clearly captured in the video as napthalene cools down.

3E2's Zhao Wei and Ganeish

3E2's Fadeelah and Ashikin

3E2's Yunru and Nurul

The experiment has shown the full capacity of the use of dataloggers to measure fixed intervals of temperature instead of the conventional method. At the end of experiment, the teacher summaries the lesson by linking the observations to the cooling curve and to indicate the melting point/freezing point of napthalene.

Term 3 Week 6 - Practical Experiment on Transfer of Thermal Energy (4E1/5A1)

In the experiment that was carried out, the pupils were expected to produce the setup as shown above. Boiling water was to be poured into the stylofoam container and its temperature was to be recorded. Every 5 cm*3 of tap water is to be poured into till a total of 50 cm*3 of water was added into the container. Every time 5 cm *3 of water was poured, its corresponding temperature was recorded into a table of values.

Subsequently, a graph of temperature against the total volume of water added was plotted and a curve was obtained.

Precautions when conducting the experiment:-

1. Preparation of the experimental setup before obtaining the boiling water. Many pupils did not plan ahead of the requirement of the experiment and were anxious to fill their stylofoam container with boiling water. They did not fill their beakers with a total of 5o cm*3 of tap water first and were in the midst of thinking what to do while the temperature of the boiling water was dropping rapidly. They could have poured 5 cm*3 of water into the measuring cylinder and ensured that once they have obtained the boiling water to start recording the temperature.

2. Use of cloth to insulate the heat to reduce drop in temperature of boiling water. A cloth could be wrapped around the glass beaker before the start of the experiment.

3. The above preparation seeks to resolve the slow reaction time of the students as they need to improve on their peparation and planning skills.

Term 3 Week 5 - 2E1- Series and Parallel Circuits (Physics T.O.Y.S.)

In the teaching of physics, teachers aim to help pupils predict, observe and explain (POE) the things that they see or use around them. Teachers also aim to help our pupils to see the connections to the things we see around us to the physics theories and concepts that physicists have discovered.

Research has shown the the use of toys in physics teaching is common and have been widely used to illustrate and to discuss various physics topics in physics lectures and demonstrations. It is believed that toys may play a role in introducing young people to science and to scientific method.

In particular, after an experiment with a toy has been performed, questions may be raised such as ‘and what happens if ….?’ The physics of toys can also be used to encourage advanced students to develop small research projects. With this new experience, pupils may realise that reality is richer than the theory appearing in textbooks. (Guemez, Fiolhais & Fiolhais, 2006)

I believe that through the use of toy-based physics instruction, the learning of physics would become tremendously become real to the pupils. The pupils would be able to appreciate the beauty of physics and learn to appreciate the importance of physics in improving human lives.

Lesson Apparatus: Electronic Toy bricks

Lesson Objective: Exploring the difference between series and parallel circuits and short circuit.

Rachel, Elizabeth and Maisy (2E1 pupils) with their end-product (parallel circuits)

Duration:
45 min (1 period)

Pre-knowledge:
· state what is a closed circuit
· recognize electrical components
· state that voltage and current (Power) will affect the brightness of a light bulb

Curriculum Targets:
· state the difference between series and parallel circuits in terms of the current flow and the potential difference across the light bulbs

Lesson Procedure:

INTRODUCING THE ACTIVITY
Electronic Toy Brick contains a board to hold the number of electrical components such as switches, light bulbs, battery holders, connecting wires. In the conventional electricity practical experiments, pupils will have connecting wires, switches and light bulb in their respective holders. The toy bricks by their appearances look less intimidating and are easier to connect than the conventional way of crocodile clips. The connections are more of a ‘lego’ type and would be more visually appealing to the pupils. The concepts of differences between series and parallel circuits in light bulbs would be investigated by the pupils by a series of guiding questions in the attached worksheet so that students can predict, observe and explain what they are seeing. As the saying goes, seeing is more believable.


1. Series circuit
Pupils would connect a simple circuit with only a set of batteries, connecting wires, a switch and a single light bulb. They would observe the brightness of the light bulb and to state what they have observed. The guiding questions in the worksheet would provide more details as to what they have observed. The next step is for the pupils to add another light bulb to be placed in series with the single light bulb and to state what they have observed.

Finally, the pupils would connect another light bulb in series with the two light bulbs and to state their observations. From there, pupils would have to infer what they can generalize on what they have observed and to link to the concept of voltage and current to account for the difference in the brightness of the light bulbs in series.

2. Parallel circuit
Pupils would disconnect the earlier circuit and connect a simple circuit with only a set of batteries, connecting wires and a single light bulb. Two empty light bulb holders with their respective connecting wires would be connected in parallel with the batteries. The pupils are then instructed in the worksheet to switch on the circuit and to observe the brightness of the single light bulb. Now, the second light bulb is added onto the holder and connected to the circuit.

Pupils would be asked to note down their observations in their worksheet. Next, other light bulb is added on to the parallel circuit. Pupils are once again instructed to note down the brightness the three light bulbs. From there, pupils would have to infer what they can generalize on what they have observed and to link to the concept of voltage and current to account for the difference in the brightness of the light bulbs in parallel.

Aini, Ashraf and Sharmini (2E1 Pupils) with their work

Feedback from the pupils and teacher:

1. As compared to the earlier experiment in Electricity using the conventional connecting wires and switches, the pupils find the Toy Brick apparatus easier to handle and fun to use.
2. The concepts of series and parallel circuit is more visually understandable to the pupils and they find it easier to see the effects of the way the bulbs were connected will affect the brightness.
3. With their newly acquired observations, the teacher find it easier to explain the concepts of brightness being affected by both the potential difference (voltage) and current flowing through the bulbs, which is the power concept.

Term 1 Week 4 - 3E1 SPA Class Datalogging Expt (Cooling Curve of Napthalene)

The practical experiment was conducted to allow the pupils to experience for themselves the cooling effects of napthalene. The use of dataloggers with the temperature probe has helped to allow the measurements of temperature readings every minute.

As compared to the conventional method of recording temperature readings with a mercury thermometer and using an electronic stopwatch, the use of dataloggers has enabled the recording mechanism to be streamlined. The configuration settings of the dataloggers can be preset to allow equal time intervals to be recorded for each temperature reading. Pupils can instead focus more on performing the experiment to improve accuracy of obtaning the data.

The video below shows the 3E1 pupils engaged in the use of temperature probes to take their readings as shown below. The later portion of the video demonstrated vividly how Faye, obtained her data by constantly stirring the napthalene in a systematic manner.

Learning Points:-

1. Pupils need to be familar with the use of dataloggers in taking simple temperature readings. They need to know how to use the icons in the dataloggers to execute the program to obtain the data needed.
2. Teachers need to move around to assist pupils who might have difficulties in performing the experiment and to provide them with the words of encouragement to affirm their belief in themselves.
3. For pupils who did not obtain the 'ideal' cooling curve, it would be a teachable moment to ask them reasons why they did not and to reflect on what happened during the experiment that caused the discrepancy.

Term 3 Week 3 - Transfer of Thermal Energy - Talk-Write strategy and Cooperating Learning Strategy in 3E1 class

Research has shown the positive impact of cooperating learning structure for pupils to construct their own knowledge and build up on their existing prior knowledge.

In the research articule titled 'The Effect of Talk and Writing on Learning Science: An Exploratory Study' by Rivard, Le´onard. P.& Straw, Stanley. B.(2000), there have been significant results from the use of talk-write for their experimental group.

The summary of the results are as shown below:-

o The results show that peer discussion together with analytical writing enhances the retention of science knowledge by students over a period of time, but seems to have minimal effect on immediate learning. Talk-write (TW) group outperformed these groups on all three knowledge measures (simple, integrated and total knowledge).

o Peer discussion may be sufficient for the retention of facts and simple concepts, but to have to be supported by writing for the retention of more complex integrated knowledge.

o Four different mechanisms appeared important during the group discussions: (1) asking questions, (2) hypothesizing, (3) formulating ideas together, and (4) explaining. The role of asking questions or asking for clarification is an important catalyst for moving the discussion along.

During the recent lesson with a class of pupils in 3E1, a similar approach was used in the introduction of the topic of 'Transfer of Thermal Energy'.

This particular group of pupils have learned the three forms of heat transfer (Conduction, Convection and Radiation) in Secondary One. Therefore, this topic should be familiar to many of them.

Therefore, in order to enhance the learning experience and to allow them to learn from each other, the structure of cooperating learning and talk-write strategy was designed in the lesson.

Pupils were asked to form groups of three to four each and to be given a choice of their area of specialisation, of either Conduction, Convection and Radiation.

They were tasked to find out around the topic in their textbook and to assigned roles as shown below:-

1. Definition

2. Concept Explanations

2. Diagram/ Pictorial Explanations

3. Real-life Applications

Then, each group would be given time to discuss and to later on write and draw their discussion outcomes on the whiteboard. The main presentatin was on their verbal presentations and their own explanations on the things that they had written/drawn on the whiteboard.

At the end of their presentation, the other groups were given time to clarify and ask questions pertaining to the terms used and to seek further understanding.

Term 3 Week 2 - 2E1 Self- Assessment Independent Learning (Electricity Circuit)

Title of Activty: Electric Current: Here or There?

Aim
1. To construct simple electrical circuits with series and parallel connections.
2. To deduce how an electric current is split when there are multiple pathways.

May with her electric circuit setup

Hui Ping and May using the ammeter to measure amount of current

The session was a continual from the previous lesson whereby the pupils have done an Informtion Technology (IT) based lesson on series and parallel circuits. The brightness of the light bulb is an indication of whether the current that flow through the bulb is higher or lower. Pupils will follow a series of electric diagrams and to measure their corresponding current values. Through the activity, pupils will observe and record down their observations and to explain their own observations using the concepts of currents in series and parallel. At the end of the experiment, pupils used a list of rubrics (three-levels) to self-assessment their own progress and to check which level of attainment they have reached. The rubrics for the highest level of attainment are shown below.

Got it!
(LEVEL 3)

1. I am able to follow the instructions all the time and set up all the circuits correctly and safely.

2. I am able to record all observations accurately for Q3, Q5 and Q6, with proper units, for Q5 and Q6.

3. I am able to identify patterns and draw correct conclusions and provide explanations for Q7 and Q8 and make the correct prediction for Q9.

Advantages of having a rubric for physics practical:-

Pupils are

• able to self-assess their own level of attainment for practical skills,
• clearer of the expectations to attain a higher level of attainment, for their own self-improvement.

Term 3 Week 1

Holidays has just ended and another new term is starting.

Many things have happened during the June holidays. I had a good break and look forward to the new challenges ahead. Some of the pupils from 3E1, 3E2 and 4A2 participated in the Advanced Elective Module (AEM) (Aerospace Fundamentals and Electronics) conducted from 8 June to 12 June) in Singapore Polytechnic.

Group photo taken with students from 3E1

Mr Chaganti (Lecturer) with the team and their model planes

Wai Kei testing out his model plane for flight test

The AEMs are one of the recommendations of the Polytechnic-School Review Committee (PSRC) to enrich the school curriculum with more applied learning options.

Posing with their model plane (Rasidah, Vani, Kasthuri, Isabel and Cheryl)

AEM serves to provide pupils with an understanding of the applications of Physics in their curriculum. During the AEM sessions, students learn how to make model planes through learning about basic aircraft instrumentation components, flying dynamics and airworthiness. This module allows the pupils to have a greater insight in the Aerospace industry.

Ruhayah and her soldering work on the circuit board.

Zachary and Javier with their LED circuit

Through their experience, they have gained first hand insights on possibilities in higher institutions of learning and became more motivated to find meaning in their own learning and exploring career options in the Aerospace industry.

Feedback from the students has been positive and most have gained a better understanding of life as a polytechnic student and the wide variety of student facilities available in the polytechnic.

Term 1 Week 10 - Newton's Laws of Motion (1st and 2nd Laws)

Isabel and Rekha (3E1)

Learning outcomes of balanced and unbalanced forces were covered in the earlier lesson. The intent of the white-boarding exercises was for the pupils to recall and discuss what was covered earlier. They were discouraged to refer to the textbook or notes prior to the activity.

Pupils paired up with each other and spent the next 20 minutes to discuss and write and illustrate their sharings on a whiteboard. Subsequently, they were encouraged to do a 'gallerywalk' of the work done by other pupils in their class. At the end of the activity, selected groups of pupils presented their whiteboards to the class and share their learning points.

Teacher concluded the lesson by highlighting concepts shared by pupils and used the parachute example to reinforce the balanced and balanced forces as shown in the object.

Term 1 Week 7

Class and homework exercises on the tracing of ray diagrams for both a point object and a shaped object for an image in a mirror (2E1)

Pedagogy used:-

1. Teacher demonstration using visualiser and recap of previous learned concepts.

2. Time provided for the pupils to practise what they have learned and to share with their classmates the work that they have done through the visualiser

3. Pupils give comments to the completed work done by their classmates and learned whether their work is correct at the same time.

4. Further homework given to pupils to internalise the concepts and steps in the school-based designed workbooks.

Pupils' common mistakes made:-

1. drawing of the arrows from the eye to the image.

2. positioning of the image.

3. tracing of solid lines on the side of the mirror - should be dotted lines to show virtual rays and image

4. not using ruler to draw the rays

5. object and image size differs

Term 1 Week 6 - Learning Stations for refraction phenonmen in different objects

The 2E1 pupils observed and investigated the various forms of refraction phenonmenon in objects such as :-

1. coin in a styrofoam cup appearing after water has been poured in

2. bended straw in a beaker of water

3. magnifying glass effect of a glass block over a sentence of words

4. dispersion of light through a glass prism

Each pair of pupils was instructed to rotate at a 10 min interval. Within the 10 min intervals, the pupils had to follow a set of instructions at the learning stations and to perform the steps and to note down their observations and to think of explanations to explain what they have seen in their physics workbook. The pupils were advised to use their textbook as a form of reference to answer the questions if they are unsure of how to explain what they had observed.

Benefits of learning stations:-

1. Students need to learn to read instructions in order to perform the experiment. The skill involved in science practical is to be able to perform the experiment given a set of instructions.

2. By working in pairs, they learned to communicate with each other, clarify doubts and to come to a common understanding before they can explain what they have observed.

3. The pupils are given adquate opportunities to observe and to have hands-on experience. With their hands-on experience, the pupils would be able to appreciate the real-life examples to to find meaning in what they are learning. The physics concept of refraction would be real to them.

Term 2 Week 5 - Reflection in Mirror (Using Optical Pins)

2E1 pupil - Jamie @ work

In the previous practical lesson, the 2E1 pupils had investigated the properties of light as it bounced off the plane mirror by using a ray box. In this particular experiment, pupils would use another method to investigate the image of optical pins in the plane mirror and to trace the corresponding reflected ray to their eyes.

2E1 pupil placing the optical pins to trace the reflected ray

After tracing the reflected ray, the pupils will measure the angle of reflection and verification with repeated readings on the law of reflection. (i.e. angle of incidence = angle of reflection)

Reflection on the practical lesson

1. Pupils were given time to read through the whole practical experiment and given time to figure out how to perform and take measurements.

2. Due to the new skill of tracing the reflected ray by the placing of the two optical pins, elaborate instructions were given to two separate groups of pupils.

3. Work was assigned to the 2nd group as I explained the details and demonstration the procedures of the experiment. In doing this, the whole class would be engaged in the activity and class work.

4. Demonstration of the procedure would enhance pupils' learning and reduce the likelihood of them being unsure of how to perform the experiment.

5. Pupils who still have difficulties understanding how to perform the experiment and take the measurements were requested to bring their individual sets to the front of the teacher's bench as that extra assistance can be rendered to them while the rest of the class proceeded with the experiment.

6. A video of the placing of the optical pins would enable visual pupils to learn better.

7. Notes of the investigation can be found on the web - http://www.ugandaschoolresources.org/elate/physics/light/lighttchr.doc

Term 1 Week 4 - Investigation of Law of Reflection

During a practical session with the class of 2E1 pupils, they investigated the light phenomenon of 'Reflection' through a mirror. The diagram as seen from the practical worksheet is as shown below.

Diagram of the experimental setup
(extracted from CPDD resource for Lower Sec Science Package)

The pupils were not taught the theory concept of the laws of reflection but were expected to learn to follow the procedure of the investigation and to translate the diagram setup to actual setup. The intention was to allow the pupils to explore the reflection phenomenon and to infer from their observations and measurement of the angles the laws of reflection. In doing so, pupils also need to learn to read the procedure carefully before they commence on the investigation and subsequently the measurements of the angles. Initially, most pupils faced difficulties in interpreting the diagram and understanding the procedures. The instructions and steps are as follows:-

1. (Pair-work) "You will work with each other and read the procedures and study the diagram before you commence. Time given is 10 minutes for you to setup the apparatus and to measure the angles to fill in the table as provided. Later, I will select 2 to 3 pairs to present their interpretation of the investigation to the class." (skills: teamwork, meticulous reading, focusing and commitment to succeed)

2. Teacher commented on each presentations and give her inputs and praised the efforts of the pupils who presented. (skills: confidence-building and willingness to make mistakes and learn from their peers, students who were unsure know how to perform the experiment more confidently)

3. Pupils traced the rays and measure the angles and record into their practical worksheets. Subsequently, they answered inference questions to summarize their investigations.

Youtube Video on the experiment

The Youtube video has shown an easier method to obtain the angle of incidence and reflection. We could consider using this way to allow pupils to focus on observations at lower secondary level and to later elaborate on the drawing of ray diagrams.

Term 1 Wk 3 - Critical Angle and Total Internal Reflection

Practical Experiment on Critical Angle and Total Internal Reflection

4E1 pupils had a session of experiencing for themselves first hand the light phenomenon of total internal reflection when light travels from an optically denser medium to an optically less dense medium. The pupils were given a set of ray box and a semi-circular glass block. The theory concept was covered earlier, but given hands-on experience would help them to internalise the concept better.

Crysta, Indrani, Saranya and Saktheswari (4E1) - happily posing with the ray box and the semi-circular block

Youtube video on critical angle and total internal reflection

A video would help pupils in recapping the concept which was covered so that they can relate better to the theory aspect.

Reflection Term 1 Wk 1-2 : Use of Whiteboarding

2E1 pupils presenting their whiteboard to the class

2E1 pupils with their work

Vocalising their thoughts through whiteboarding (a shy boy hiding behind his whiteboard)

2E1 pupils showing their works with pride

Formative Assessment is about constantly checking for pupils' conceptual understanding and obtaining feedback and to close the learning gaps in good time. The use of whiteboard is an immediate way of obtaining valuable feedback from the pupils and to allow them the time and the space to think, reflect and respond to the question asked. Pupils were encouraged to spend time writing/illustrating on the whiteboard and to share with either a partner / group and share with their class their most representative answer. In this way, pupils were given the opportunity to communicate with their classmates, to reason with each other as to the pros and cons of their whiteboard answers and to come to a common understanding of the concepts.

Whiteboarding provided pupils a platform to think, reflect, share and present/vocalise their understanding to the rest of their classmates. With more practice, pupils would build up their confidence in presentation skills and proper negotiation skills with their peers.

First Day of School 2rd Jan - New Beginnings...

New Beginnings....

A new school term has started. new challenges ahead...new form class, CCA, pupils and textbooks... In summary, I am bracing myself for the upcoming changes and looking forward to a new year with renewed passion to embrace change and to inspire pupils to be enthusiastic about Physics and becoming a holistic person.

New Year Resolutions...

Reflective Practitioner..
Being a reflective teacher-practitioner and able to share insights on various aspects of teaching to colleagues. To be able to build on strengths and to work on areas for improvement. As iron sharpens iron, we need to work along side fellow colleagues so that we can grow professionally and collectively.

Teacher Researcher..
Pursuing a Masters Degree in Education provide me with opportunities to read up on educational research articles and journals and tried-and-tested pedogogies and different aspects of child psychology development and updates in learning environments. Understanding and applying what I have learned is an excellent way of using the knowledge learned and sharing it with others.

Leader of the classroom...within and outside...
As teachers, we need to walk our talk and be role models for our pupils. Pupils come to us in all shapes and sizes. The question is to customise our curriculum delivery to match the learning style of the pupils and to convince pupils to believe in their ability to succeed. Formative assessment is a way for teachers to constantly connect with the pupils to obtain feedback on their performance. Having measureable data of the pupils' performance can enhance the teacher's understanding of the pupils' progress and learning gaps. With this knowledge, learning gaps can be close by using differentiated instructions and remediation to help the weaker pupils and challenging questions for the higher ability pupils.

Blogging as a way of sharing professionally and building rapport with pupils
New technology has given me a platform to share innovative teaching practices, working with colleagues and pupils. Communications is a two way traffic and providing the opportunities for colleagues to comment and students to share would enable open communications.

signing off..

Term 3 Week 6 Reflection

A datalogging experiment to investigate the cooling curve of naphthalene was done for the class of 3E1. A temperature sensor and a PDA were used to collect temperature data every minute. Before the start of the experiment, instructions were given to the pupils on the procedure of the experiment and how to use the PDA with the datalogging equipment. Pupils tabulate their readings in the practical worksheet before they commence on the experiment.

Learning Points/ Things to be improved

1. As some pupils are more apt visually, it would be better that an exact experimental setup was displayed on the teacher’s bench prior to the start of the experiment.
2. A mercury thermometer could have been used to verify the accuracy of the temperature sensor before the start of the experiment.
3. Some pupils found difficulties in following the procedure of the experiment. It would be good if the detail steps were video-taped and shown to the pupils before the start of the experiment to better support the learning of pupils.

Term 3 Week 5 Reflection

3E1 pupils did a SPA experiment on the 'Cooling Rate of Water in different containers'. The pupils used two different containers (styrofoam and glass beaker) to hold the same amount of boiling water and recorded the temperature at different time intervals. ( every one minute record one temperature). For the subsequent practical session, pupils would use a datalogger to record the temperature of napthalene as it cools down.

Learning Points

1. As the temperature of water drops rapidly after pouring from the electric kettle, pupils were instructed to set up the apparatus with the thermometer clamped on the retort stand before starting on the experiment.

2. Pupils were also instructed on drawing a table for collecting the temperature every minutes for a total of 5 minutes.

3. Pupils would familarise themselves with the use of electr0nic stopwatch before starting the recording of temperature drop.

Things to be improved further

As two containers are used in the experiment, it would be better for the temperature reading to be taken at the same time. At present, pupils were instructed to do separate recordings for two different containers. The reason is to allow pupils to observe the drop in temperature at the same time and understand which container is a poor conductor of heat.

Term 3 Week 4 Reflection

For the Sec 4E and 5NA pupils, a 2006 Science (Phy) Exam Paper on the 'Pendulum' Experiment was conducted. As a similar experiment was done previously, the focus of the exercise was not on performing the experiment but rather the processing of the data, graph plotting and answering the questions.

Therefore, pupils were instructed to only setup their apparatus individually and to collect only two sets of data. After the pupils had verified that there collecting reading were close to the teacher's results, they proceeded to process the data and to copy down the rest of the reading from the solution.

Pupils were given adequate time to plot the points and sketch the best fit straight-line. After the best fit straight line was sketched, the pupils proceeded to obtain the gradient of the line and subsequently to the answering of the question.

Things to be improved further

1. Pupils need to be given time to familarise themselves with the apparatus needed for the experiment - electronic stopwatch.

2. Pupils need to be sure of the precision of the instrument used and the subsequent precision and significance figures for the processed data.

3. For the precaution question on how pupils can improve the accuracy of their results, pupils are quite unconfident of this aspect.Having a ready-made guideline of practical skills list and precaution for different type of experiments would hellp pupils to answer this question more confidently. For the next practical session, pupils would be brief on the various forms of precautions to improve the accuracy of their measurement.

Term 3 Week 3 Reflection

There were three lessons in total whereby pupils had done Physics experiments.

For the 3E1 Pure Physics pupils, they had done an experiment to tackle school-based practical assessment (SPA) on Mechanics. They were given a practice task which aims to determine the centre of gravity of an irregularly shaped plane lamina which is part of the Skill 1 component. Skill 1 expects the pupils to follow procedures of the experiment and to perform the skills needed to attain a level of mastery.

To ensure that the pupils were engaged in the activity, a demonstration set was placed on the teacher's bench for the pupils to use it as a sample of how their experiment setup should be. Pupils were instructed to read and highlight important keys words in the practical worksheet. Timeline for each segment of the practical was also explicitly written on the whiteboard for pupils to pace themselves to complete the practical in time.

Practical Experiment for SPA classes (Skill 1 and 2) is 1h 30 min. As each lesson is about 50 mintues, there was only adequate time for pupils to complete the performing and following procedure segment and not to the other segments of the practical activity. Therefore, pupils were briefed on the expected timeline and to constantly keep track of the time. Pupils who have completed the task were specifically told not to dismantle the set and the teacher would walk around the laboratory to ensure that the setup was well done and the pupils have done the task to completion. Specific questions on how they setup the apparatus was asked and pupils would answer to show that they were able to perform a similar task subsequently.

At the end of the practical session, the debrief on the important steps and the common errors done by pupils were highlighted and pupils were asked to answer a series of questions in a 'Checklist' of the skills that they need to master.

As for the Sec 5NA and 4E1 Science (Physics) pupils, they were tasked to practice a 2007 GCE O Level Practical Assessment. The experiment should have taken them 45 minutes to complete. As a similar experiment on finding the refractive index of glass was done in a previous experiment, the focus during the lesson was more of the ability to score higher in following the procedure, collecting accurate data, tabulate their reading, plotting a best-fit curve and answering specific questions relating the the experiment.

Term 3 Week 2 Reflection

For the lessons conducted for the week, the use of ultra-mobile PC (UMPC) enhanced the teaching and learning in a few ways.

During the lesson on the topic of pressure for 3E1, there was time left at the end of the lesson for the pupils to reflect on their learning and to bring up areas where they were unsure in the 'Forum' section of the Learning Management System (LMS).

This way, pupils can take time to consolidate their own learning and also to provide feedback to the teacher on their understanding. After pupils have written down their comments, the teacher can spend the next 5 minutes to look through the comments with the class and to highlight strength and weaknesses of the class as a whole. Possible Misconceptions can be addressed almost immediately or at the next lesson. The pictures of the 3E1 pupils engaged and their comments captured from the forum are shown below.

3E1 Pupils @ Work on the UMPC

Video of the 3E1 pupils in class using UMPC

As for the Sec 4A2 pupils, they were given a topical test on the topic of Practical Electricity. Each pupil would login to a online test and used the UMPC to attempt the questions online.

As for the Sec 4E1 and 5NA pupils, they were given time to write their reflection of the recently over Mid Year Exams.

4E1 Pupils @ Work on the UMPC

Questions such as:-

1. How did you think you have fared?
2. Your strength -which topics, your weakness -which topics?
3. How have you spend your june holidays?
4. Ways to improve your results.

An example of a pupil's entry as follows :-

"1. i think this time i did very badly for my science especially chemistry. i guess i did not revise enough and most of the topics need lots of practice like the electricity and we need to remember the formula in order to work the steps. if the formula is remembered wrongly, the whole steps would be wrong.

2. my strength is on the topic of heat transfer when the question is about the convection. the convection of the water is much easier to understand and easier to score as most of the question is about the same thus answering the question will be okay. Another strength is on the drawing of the loudness and pitch. My weakness is on the topic on the moments of a force. I am not too sure on the anti-clockwise and clockwise moment. Sometimes hard to determine which is the moment of the force on the clockwise and the anti-clockwise.

3. I spent my holidays mostly to complete my homework and going back to school for lessons. I only have a few days to revise every topics on different subjects so i did not have enough to look through everything. Some of the topics also forgotten so quite hard to catch up the work so i really have to work harder in order to score better and get a A1 instead of the C6 when combine both the chemistry and the physic.

4. I think i will need to practice more on the certain topics like my weakness on the moment of a force. i will approach teacher more to ask the doubts. "

The pupil's reflection allows both the pupil him/herself to benefit as it provides the platform for them to look through and write down their weaknesses and strength. At the same time, the teacher can take note of the common strength and weaknesses of the class to address those issues during lesson time.

AEM (Materials Science) @ Republic Poly - Day 1

Saranya and Rebekah hard @ work

A total of 20 pupils from 3E1 were selected to attend an advanced elective module on Materials Science facilitated by Republic Polytechnic.

The AEMs are one of the recommendations of the Polytechnic-School Review Committee (PSRC) to enrich the school curriculum with more applied learning options. Sembawang Secondary School is happy to work in partnership with Republic Polytechnic to offer an AEM on Materials Science.

Susan , Dina and Farhanah

These AEMs serve to provide our students with an understanding of the applications of Chemistry and Physics in their curriculum. During the AEM sessions, students would be introduced to a wide range of natural and synthetic materials and their different applications by relating to their unique structural properties. Advances in technologies such as replacing copper telephone wires with optical fibres, making smaller and better hand phones and computers will be explored.

Wan Heng, Ashiq, Shao Jie, Ahmad and Joel @ Presentation Time

Indrani, Saktheswari, Sivan, May Day and Chen Hong @ Presentation Time

The pedagogical approach taken is one that involves a problem-driven curriculum requiring students to seek evidence to support, refute or throw doubt on a hypothesis or proposed solution to a given problem scenario. This process helps students to develop an open but questioning mind, much valued in the science classroom.

Video Clip 1 of their presentation

Video Clip 2 of the facilitator sharing

Reflection - Learn @ One Deg North - The Climate Change Challenge @ Science Centre (28 May)

Learn@ is a technology-based educational event organised by the Ministry of Education (MOE) on an annual basis. It aims to take learning outside the classroom and encourages pupils to make linkages between what they observe during the learning experience and what they learn in class. Based on their field experience and research, teams of pupils will be tasked to complete web-based projects and submit them as competition entries.

Teams will participate in an online quiz one week prior to the actual day event. Each team member must answer a set of 20 Multiple-Choice Questions (MCQs) by logging in to http://www.icellwireless.net/learn/. The set of MCQs pertains to Land, Air and Water and must beanswered by the assigned team members, respectively.

All teams must attend the event launch and participate in The Climate Challenge on 28 May 2008. Team members are required to use their registered mobile phones to unlock 9 Climate Challenges and race against other teams to complete a total of 9 Team Quests from designated Climate Challenge Stations. Teams will use the blog as a platform to discuss and prepare a proposal that outlines an activity, or a series of activities, that the team can implement in their school, to raise awareness of the consequences of climate change, and rally support from their class and schoolmates in an effort to mitigate the effects of climate change. They should package their proposal as the final entries in their blogs.

The photographs were taken on 28 May (Wed). The team from Sembawang Sec Sch comprises of 2E1 pupils Rekha, Elaine and Yun Ru. They went to the briefing session earlier at MOE HQ and knew what is expected on the actual day. Throughout the whole event, they were enthusiastic and were keen on doing well for this session.

Reflection Term 2 Week 9 - Checking of exam papers procedure

After each major test or examinations, subject teachers have to give out the pupils' scripts for the pupils to check to ensure that the answers are marked correctly and the marks are added accurately.

Pupils are often overly enthusiatic about obtaining marks which they think they deserve and pester the teachers for extra marks.

To ensure the smooth flow of the checking and allow the pupils an opportunity to seek extra marks/correction for marking, a procedure for checking is important.

Therefore, I have designed a standard list of procedure for checking of test/exam scripts and for the marks to be keyed into the school cockpit accurately.

Standard Procedure after test/exam scripts have been marked

1. Prepare a set of answer sheet
2. Key in the marks into the school cockpit and click 'Save and Calculate'
3. Print the school cockpit classlist with the marks which have been keyed into the system earlier
4. Bring this marklist along with the scripts
5. Write the procedure of collecting the scripts on to whiteboard and emphasize to the pupil the importance of following the steps
6. Items on the whiteboard as follows:-
7. Sign against the classlist when collecting the script to ensure that the mark on the script tallies with the mark on the list
8. Refrain from discussing with your classmates but spend the short duration to check your anwers on the scripts to the answer sheet and ensure that the answers have been marked accurately and marks added correctly
9. If there are questions about the marks allocation, write in pencil the question number on the cover page
10. I would look through the entire set of scripts to add/deduct marks if necessary.
11. Do not ask me for marks in the lesson itself
12. At the end of the whole checking, all question papers will be returned according to your index numbers.
13. If there are corrections to your marks after the checking, the new marklist will be printed and all amendments should be acknowledged by the pupils by signing against the new marks.

Having procedures in class and setting the expectations for the pupils would enhance the checking process and pupils understand their role in the whole exercise.

Reflection on Term 2 Wk 8

Revision tests were conducted for the 2E1, 5A1 and 5A2 classes.

Advantages:

The pupils are kept in tune with the subject matter and are encouraged to constantly revise and to check their own understanding. For those pupils who did not do as well as expected, they now know which areas they need to work on and the teacher also knows which pupils are doing alright and which pupils need additional support.

How the test is administered:

For immediate feedback for both the teacher and the pupil, peer marking is done after the test. Every pupil will know their scores and then will do corrections for the tests.

Revision Tests conducted:

2E1: Light, Electricity, Using Electricity
5A1: Electricity
5A2: Electricity

Green Audit PBL Presentation (2E1)

The verbal presentation was held during the 2 periods of the week to assess the pupils on their PBL projects. Majority of the pupils did a good job and presented their audit findings clearly and concisely.

PBL interdisciplinary project was meant to invoke their problem identification skills through various data collection at different areas in the school. After they have collected their data, they need to select their problem area and work on the resources to solve the problem. From the Internet, they can research on their interest area and come up with innovative ideas to solve the problems that they have identified. The following pictures show the problem area that one particular group has identified and the discussion points on transportation.

Through this project, the pupils gained more awareness of the need for each member of the school to do his/her part in environmental care. They also see the need to encourage their fellow school mates in keeping the environment polllution-free and litter-free.

Studying in a litter-free and clean environment would help to enhance the teaching and learning around the school.