30 Oct - Action Research in the Classroom with 3-Caring

On 30 October, during our Science lesson, 3-Caring pupils became young researchers as they were involved in an Action Research project. The purpose of my project is to evaluate whether pupils would enjoy learning Science through music and songs. Pupils were given 2 worksheets with the same questions. For worksheet A, they had to complete it based on their prior knowledge. After that, a mp3 song about Mammals was played. Through the song, pupils would be able to answer all the questions in the worksheet. After the pupils had listened to the song twice, a comparison of the answers on both worksheets was made. There was a significant improvement in Worksheet B as compared to Worksheet A. After completing both worksheets, pupils were given a questionnaire for them to provide feedback about this learning strategy.

26th October - Stimulating Mind-Games for P6 Pupils

On 28 October 2007, 6-Respect pupils had a fun hands-on activity using matches. They were grouped into smaller groups of four/five. I drew a pattern on the whiteboard, followed by a scenario. Based on the scenario, pupils had to reposition/remove/rearrange some matches to form another pattern. E.g. Can you reposition 2 matches to make the fish face left? My 6-Respect pupils had a lot of fun. This game is not only congnitively-stimulating, it also encourages group work and team-cooperation too. The first group which was able to solve the problem, would be awarded the highest points. The rewards are yummy candy. :)

4 October - Learning about Magnets

During our Science supplementary lesson on 4 October, my pupils had an experiment to find out whether different objects are magnetic or non-magnetic. The pupils grouped into groups of 4 or 5. Each group was given a bar magnet and a bag (consisting of a wooden stick, cardboard, paper-clips. balloon, iron nail, steel plate, aluminium foil, marble, paper, plastic spoon and granite). They had to cooperate and observe whether the object is attracted or not attracted by the magnet. Pupils had a lot of fun. They also did an experiment to find out which parts of the magnet is the strongest. Pupils were amazed at the number of paper-clips that can be attracted by the poles of a magnet. :)