Research on Science Essay Example for Free

Research on Science Essay ABSTRACT The study explores ways in which students who have participated in a curriculum innovation, Science ALIVE! acquire Science process skills and perceive the relevance of Science in everyday life. It investigates whether students have, after the programme, perceived an improvement in applying Science process skills. Four classes of Secondary 2 Express students attended one of four modules in the Science ALIVE! programme and responded to a pre- and post-course survey to measure their perceived skill competency for each process skill. They also responded to questions on whether the programme enhanced their awareness of the relevance of Science in everyday life. Five students from each module were selected to provide written feedback at mid-course and write a journal after the course. The content of their feedback and journals were analysed to provide deeper insight of the results of the perception surveys. The data was triangulated with teachers’ feedback, which was used to provide insight of the factors that affect the acquisition of the process skills. The findings show significant increase in students’ perception of skill competency while a high percentage of students indicated that the programme has made them more aware of the relevance of Science in their lives. INTRODUCTION Traditional learning approaches in which students are passive recipients of knowledge are inconsistent with the call for Singapore schools to Teach Less, Learn More (TLLM). There is a need to allow learning to occur in settings that are relevant to students’ experiences and real world problems. In Clementi Town Secondary School (CTSS), Project Work was used as a platform for students to transfer their learning and apply in authentic applications. However, teachers who had conducted Project Work for Science at Secondary 2 observed that students’ projects lacked depth in the specific content area, and the skills needed for scientific investigations. This spurred the need to cover content knowledge relevant to the projects assigned. It also raised the concern that Science process skills, as stipulated in the MOE Lower Secondary Science (LSS) Syllabus, were not sufficiently emphasised compared to acquiring scientific knowledge. Teachers also indicated that students were una ble to appreciate the relevance of Science in solving problems in their lives after past Project Work tasks. Science Process Skills â€Å"Science process skills† is commonly used to describe a set of broadly transferable abilities that are reflective of what scientists do. These skills are grouped into two types – basic and integrated. Basic process skills provide a foundation for learning the integrated skills, which are more complex skills for solving problems or doing Science experiments. In this study, reflecting is listed as a process skill to be investigated, though it is usually considered part of thinking skills which is a broader category that subsumes process skills. Some Science educators have argued that â€Å"teaching students Science facts is not as important as developing their Science process skills so that they can learn this knowledge on their own† (Young, 1995). Studies in the United States have shown that elementary school students who are taught process skills, not only learn to use those processes, but also retain them for future use. In Singapore, the MOE Primary Science syllabus also emphasises the teaching of basic process skills and some integrated skills, while the LSS syllabus emphasises the use of process skills for planning investigations and creative problem solving, and other thinking skills. Curriculum design plays an important role in the acquisition of Science process skills. The MOE Assessment Guidelines for LSS recommends an explicit teaching of the process skills, followed by the integration of these skills by students in experimenting or carrying out investigative projects. Padilla (1990) pointed out that â€Å"when Science process skills are a specific planned outcome of a Science programme, those skills can be learned by students Teachers need to select curricula which emphasise Science process skills.† These basic skills are learnt more effectively if they are considered an important object of instruction and if proven teaching methods are used. There must be a deliberate effort to focus on teaching process skills through a modified LSS curriculum. Young (1995) recommended that if teachers have the freedom to select their own topics, they should choose topics of direct interest to themselves and which would excite students. Science knowledge serves as background for lessons but should not take up the whole lesson. Instead, more time should be spent on activities that enhance the understanding of Science concepts and improve Science skills. Some studies have shown that instead of using the didactic approach, teaching Science through the use of activity-based approaches significantly improved students’ achievement in Science process skills (Beaumont-Walters, 2001). Berry et al (1999) suggested a few crucial factors that influence the acquisition of process skills used in laboratory work. Firstly, students need the relevant content knowledge that is assumed by the task to be mentally engaged. For example, a more knowledgeable student would be able to explain an observation, which in turn â€Å"validates† his knowledge and gives him a certain amount of intellectual satisfaction. The ‘doing’ of Science has to be coupled with ‘learning about’ Science, if students are to appreciate the value of scientific inquiry (Haigh et al, 2005). A second factor suggested by Berry et al (1999) is students’ ownership of laboratory tasks. Ownership would be more apparent in open laboratory tasks, where the student has to design his own experiment than in closed laboratory tasks, where the â€Å"correct† experimental procedure is written out in a â€Å"cookbook† style and the student is likely to carry out the tasks unthinkingly. Another effective strategy to enhance students’ process skills would be to let students keep a â€Å"scientific journal† (Tomkins Tunnicliffe, 2001). It was observed that diary writers tend to build more confidence in their own interpretations, engage in intellectual debates with themselves over the plausibility of their explanations and ask questions that are more quantifiable. Relevance of Science in everyday life Research studies conducted in recent decades on students’ perception of school Science have consistently shown that they perceive Science as not relevant (Bennett, 2001). Similar findings have raised a serious concern in several countries. For instance, a report by the Dutch Ministry of Education in 2002 observed that secondary school students did not see a connection between what they learnt in Chemistry lessons and the chemistry happening around them (Van Aalsvoort, 2004a). A subsequent report recommended teaching Science in context. However, a study carried out on a contextualised Science curriculum introduced to Swaziland students highlighted some shortcomings (Campbell et al, 2000). The findings showed that less than half of the sample students could draw on Science concepts to explain everyday experiences or solve everyday problems. It was suggested that contextualised learning could be made more effective through student-initiated project work on everyday problems. Van Aalsvoort (2004b) suggested using activity theory to address the issue of the relevance of Chemistry in chemical education, where reflection plays a key role in evaluating and developing an activity. Reflection could be carried out through writing reflection journals, which also helped enhance the acquisition of process skills, as mentioned earlier (Tomkins Tunnicliffe, 2001). According to Van Aalsvoort (2004a), relevance can be defined in four aspects: (i) personal relevance – Science education makes connections to students’ lives; (ii) professional relevance – Science education offers students a picture of possible professions; (iii) social relevance – Science education clarifies the purpose of Science in human and social issues; and (iv) personal/social relevance – Science education helps students develop into responsible citizens. This study considers relevance in three aspects – personal, professional and social. INTERVENTION Project Work aims for students to transfer the learning of concepts into applications in authentic settings. To address the areas of concern raised by teachers teaching Project Work, the Science ALIVE! programme was conceived to integrate Project Work and the LSS syllabus. This 13-week programme was conducted during Semester 2 of the Secondary 2 Express Science curriculum and used alternative assessment to replace the traditional end-ofyear examination. In this programme, a team of teachers crafted four modules which covered a variety of topics from Biology, Chemistry and Physics. As a motivating factor, students could choose from one of the four modules offered: Aroma Chemistry, Biodiversity, Life Science and Water Rockets. In each Science ALIVE! module, specific content knowledge was taught using hands-on strategies such as laboratory work, field trips, journal writing and group discussions. These strategies were intended to promote student engagement. Most importantly, the programme addressed the three key issues of concern in the following ways: 1. Content knowledge covered was specific to each module and relevant to the projects that students were assigned. This enabled students to better transfer the concepts to the projects. 2. Science process skills could be applied by students through journal writing, laboratory work and investigative project work. Science process skills were used as criteria for assessment to emphasise their importance and focus. 3. To enhance the relevance of Science, students were given a choice of the elective module to study, and to decide on the problem to work on for their projects. Contextualised learning, which draws on scientific understanding to explain everyday situations, was consciously infused into the curriculum design for each module. Reflection journals were written after selected activities, which according to activity theory helped students evaluate their learning (Van Aalsvoort, 2004b). RESEARCH QUESTIONS The two research questions are: (1) How does the Science ALIVE! programme help students to apply their Science process skills? And (2) How can the Science ALIVE! programme enhance the relevance of Science in students’ lives? METHODOLOGY Participants 147 students from all four Secondary 2 Express classes attended the Science ALIVE! programme and participated in the study. Pre- and post-course perception surveys were conducted for all students to measure their perception of their skill competency and their awareness of the relevance of Science in their lives through the programme. In addition, five students were selected from each module to give written feedback in week 8 (mid-course) and write a journal in week 13 (at the end of the course). To provide maximum variation, the five students from each module were selected based on their Science grade in Semester 1 and their reasons for selecting the module which reflected their motivational level. Instruments In the pre- and post-course surveys, students were asked to rate their perception of their Science process skills using a four-point Likert scale. The post-course survey included an item to measure students’ perception of increased awareness of the relevance of Science in their lives. Data Analysis For survey items on Science process skills, the mean value of each skill was calculated for the individual module (Table 2) as well as across all modules (Table 1). Skills with ratings of less than 3 (out of 4) were identified and analysed. The differences in mean values for pre- and post-course surveys were compared. The differences were considered significant if there was an increase or decrease of at least 0.3 in value (or 10% of the range of scale used). Journals and mid-course written feedback of the 20 selected students were used to surface possible reasons for these perceptions. The data was triangulated with teachers’ feedback, which was used to provide insight of the factors that affect the acquisition of the process skills. For the survey item on the relevance of Science, the total percentage of students who indicated an â€Å"Agree† or â€Å"Strongly Agree† was computed for each module. Content analysis of the journals and written feedback from the selected students were carried out. Frequency counts of the responses were based on three categories: personal, professional and social relevance. Teachers’ feedback was used to provide depth to the findings. RESULTS Acquisition of Science process skills The perception of all students on the level of their skill competency before and after the Science ALIVE! programme was measured through surveys. The survey results were compared using the mean values for each process skill, as shown in Table 1. Table 1: Comparison of students’ perception of skills before and after Science ALIVE! Mean value (scale 1 – 4) Pre-Course Post-Course 3.1 3.2 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 3.1 2.8 2.6 3.0 3.0 2.7 3.1 3.2 Process Skill (a) Elaborating (Research) (b) Conducting scientific investigations (Planning investigations) (c) Conducting scientific investigations (Using scientific apparatus) (d) Conducting scientific investigations (Analysing data) (e) Communicating (Writing scientific reports) (f) Reflecting (g) Questioning (Learning by asking questions) In the pre-course survey, the items which scored less than 3 are the skills of ‘planning investigations’, ‘using scientific apparatus’, ‘analysing data’, ‘writing scientific reports’ and ‘learning by asking questions’. Students’ perception rating increased in the following skills ‘using scientific apparatus’, ‘analysing data’ and ‘learning by asking questions’ suggesting that the Science ALIVE! programme had benefited them in these areas, with the exception of ‘planning investigations’ and ‘writing scientific reports’ where there was marginal increase or no change between the pre- and post-course rating. This revealed that in general, students still did not have much confidence in these skills and suggests that more could be done in the next cycle to guide students in these aspects. The changes in the rating for items (b), (c) and (d) in the pre- and post-course surveys suggest that students’ perceptions that their skills in handling apparatus and equipment have improved. This could be attributed to the fact that students were introduced to various new apparatus or equipment during project experiments in all modules. For example, the Biodiversity module used dataloggers which was equipment new to students. Skills in items (b), (c) and (d) are all part of the process of conducting scientific investigations. However, there was only a marginal increase in the rating for (b) ‘planning investigations’ after the programme. This could be because planning investigations is a higher order process skill which encompasses making hypothesis, identifying variables and writing the experimental procedures. Analysis of Science process skills by skill category The results were further categorised to compare and study the changes in students’ perception of skill competency for the individual modules, as shown in Table 2. Table 2: Comparison of perception of skill competency by module Mean value (Scale 1 – 4) BioLife diversity Science Pre Post Pre Post 2.9 3.2 3.0 3.3 2.3 2.4 2.6 2.9 3.3 2.9 2.4 2.9 2.8 2.4 3.3 3.3 2.4 2.9 2.7 2.5 3.1 2.9 2.8 3.0 3.1 2.9 3.2 3.0 Module Process Skill (a) Elaborating (Research) (b) Conducting investigations (Planning investigations) (c) Conducting investigations (Using scientific apparatus) (d) Conducting investigations (Analysing data) (e) Communicating (Writing scientific report) (f) Reflecting (g) Questioning (Learning by asking questions) Elaborating Aroma Chemistry Pre Post 3.3 3.2 2.6 2.4 2.6 2.7 3.1 3.0 2.7 3.1 2.9 2.7 2.8 3.2 Water Rockets Pre Post 3.1 3.1 2.3 2.4 2.6 2.5 2.9 2.6 2.5 3.0 2.9 2.7 3.0 3.2 The results of item (a) in the pre- and post-surveys showed an increase in rating for this skill for the Biodiversity and Life Science modules. This could be because these modules are more content-based topics, which require greater use of such skills. It should, however, be noted that for Aroma Chemistry module, the pre-course survey score was already high and it might be difficult to make further significant improvement. From the written feedback of selected students in the 8th week of the programme, half indicated that they had learnt to research to look for more information. All five students from the Biodiversity module wrote that they had learnt to assess â€Å"how reliable the sources are†. For example, one student from the module wrote in her journal that â€Å"before creating our ecosystem, we need to do research on the organisms that we choose, on what they feed on and their suitable habitat† (Student S8). Teachers conducting the programme felt that most students were still at the developmental stage of doing research, as they could not extract relevant information from sources. They also observed that some students lacked the initiative and discipline to do research work, though teachers had provided a list of resources. This could be seen in project reports, where the evidence of research is lacking. A likely explanation for this observation is the past practice of didactic teaching, resulting in students â€Å"so used to being given all materials and information by teachers that they do not know how to get started† (Teacher T3). Teacher T1 recommended the need to balance between providing students with information and allowing them to be independent in their learning. Conducting Scientific Investigations For item (b) on ‘planning investigations’, the Life Science module had the largest increase in perception rating (more than 10%). Here the Life Science teacher explained that students were taught how to design experiments step-by-step with given examples. The importance of planning in investigations is stated by one of the students in the module: When we need to choose something, we need to think about all its aspects. After everything is ok, we can start work (Student S14). However, Teacher T2 commented that students still needed a lot of hand-holding and practice to be competent. A student from another module echoed this: â€Å"I am not sure how to design an experiment on my own†. Item (c) on the practical skill of ‘using scientific apparatus’ or equipment had the largest increase for all modules, except Life Science where the initial pre-course rating was already high (mean 2.9). All modules were designed to include more hands-on activities, which required the use of apparatus and equipment. One student wrote about the importance of using the right procedures as he â€Å"learnt how to use steam distillation by setting up the apparatus correctly and doing the extraction properly† (Student S2), while another student shared her new skill of using â€Å"dataloggers to measure the different abiotic factors from the †¦forests† (Student S7). Teachers observed that the students were excited and enjoyed themselves when using new apparatus. On their part, teachers also sought to infuse rigour by ensuring that students perform the experimental procedures accurately. The enjoyment of Science through hands-on activities, particularly laboratory work, was a motivating factor in learning Science. The rating for the skill of analysing or inferring from experimental data in item (d) increased more for three modules than for the Biodiversity module. This could be the result of students being given more opportunities to handle experimental data in their projects and make conclusions for the Aroma Chemistry, Life Science and Water Rockets modules. On the other hand, the investigative project for Biodiversity was of a smaller scale, and students’ main form of project assessment was a conservation proposal. One factor which attributed to the increase in perception rating was group collaboration. As students did their projects in groups, they could discuss how to analyse the data obtained from the investigations. Students analysed their data in various ways depending on the type of data collected in each module. For example, Student S11 commented: â€Å"I got a chance to compare and compile the results of surveys, test the reliability of our product, put into tables and identify the similarities and differences present. Others learnt to analyse the cause of problems in their projects, as noted by Student S16: â€Å"†¦ our rocket failed in launching and we realise that the problem is due to the leaking of our rocket†. Teachers however concurred in their observations that though students could comment on their data, their analysis lacked depth. Besides these investigative skills, many students also reflected in their journals that they had developed observation skills during practical work and investigations. One student wrote: â€Å"In the past, I would have just used my eyes. Now I have learnt to use all of my five senses to know more about the subject I am observing† (Student S10). Communicating In item (e), ‘writing scientific reports’ was the focus in the skill of communicating. Though there was no change in overall student perception (see Table 1), Table 2 showed a significant drop in the rating for Biodiversity module compared to an increase in Life Science module. The Biodiversity teacher attributed the drop in rating to students’ â€Å"realisation and shock† in receiving feedback on their first report draft, as they â€Å"did not anticipate scientific reports to be of slightly different nature and demands though they were briefed†. But she noted that the provision of formative feedback and the re-drafting of reports helped students in this skill. The Life Science teacher linked the increased rating to having provided illustrative examples and templates for students, but she felt that they were still lacking in the skill and could be given more practice. Students’ journals hardly mentioned this skill, except Student S10 who wrote that he â€Å"learnt to sieve through the report for important points to put in the abstract†. Reflecting Generally, students felt that they were able to reflect on their lessons. Item (f) in Table 2 showed an initial high rating which was unchanged after the programme. Students saw their journals as an â€Å"opportunity to clarify and reflect upon their learning† (Student S3). At the end of the programme, a few students said that the reflections helped to monitor their understanding of lessons, and one student mentioned that she would research on the internet to address questions she had (Student S1). Teachers believed that â€Å"journal writing and providing consistent formative feedback help(ed) the students develop reflection skills† (Teacher T1). However, specific journal prompts are necessary to guide students so that they do not simply give a detailed account of the activities and concepts covered without reflecting on the learning points (Teacher T2). Questioning The survey results of item (g) showed more significant increase in the Biodiversity and Water Rockets modules. For each module, students acquired this skill through reflecting on their lessons in their journals and then asking relevant questions to find out more. One student reflected that she dared to ask more questions in class after learning to ask questions through journals (Student S6). Students had opportunities to generate questions when they were verifying the reliability of information. They also formulated questions prior to industrial visits and field trips, and posed them to the experts. At the mid-course feedback, a few students mentioned that they learnt to â€Å"raise questions in class† through ways such as â€Å"being a questioner in group discussions† (Student S13). The Biodiversity teacher attributed this improvement to conducive â€Å"lesson environment and delivery (that) promotes questioning†. Such lesson delivery may include guiding questions in class activities and journal prompts that encouraged further questioning, and peer evaluation where students critiqued the projects of other groups. The Water Rockets teacher reflected that in comparison to traditional Science lessons, â€Å"there was more chance for students to ask questions as things are now less predictable† as in most real world situations. The post-course survey included an item which required students to state whether â€Å"Science ALIVE! lessons have made them more aware of the relevance of Science in their lives†. Table 3 shows the percentage of students who â€Å"agreed† or â€Å"strongly agreed† with the statement. Table 3: Percentage of students who indicated that the programme had made them more aware of the relevance of Science in their lives Module Aroma Chemistry Biodiversity Life Science Water Rockets % Agree 73.5 47.2 64.1 73.0 % Strongly Agree 17.7 50.0 23.1 10.8 % (Agree + Strongly Agree) 91.2 97.2 87.2 83.8 The results in Table 3 show a very high concurrence with the statement for all modules. This is consistent with the programme objective of enhancing the relevance of Science in students’ lives. Students’ journals were analysed for indications of the relevance of Science in three areas: personal, professional and social. A frequency count of the responses showed 82% for personal relevance, 24% for professional relevance and 65% for social relevance. This revealed that students perceived the relevance of Science as mostly related to their personal lives. Only a handful of students could relate the relevance to their future career prospects. Further probing into students’ definition of personal relevance showed an extensive range of interpretation depending on the modules taken. Enhancing one’s quality of life is frequently mentioned in terms of personal relaxation and cure for illnesses. Students from the Aroma Chemistry module stated that they â€Å"could use essential oils to calm a person if he feels nervous† (Student S2). Life Science students surfaced the use of medicines when they fall sick and the growing of genetically modified food (GMF) for convenience (Student S15). Students also stated the importance of process skills in their lives, such as questioning the reliability of information sources. The majority of students could not appreciate Science as having professional relevance. Those who were able to see career possibilities were students who had gone for field trips, where they were introduced to experts in the related field. They saw the knowledge and skills gained through the programme as relevant to their â€Å"future education and working career† (Student S11). Others used the knowledge gained to better understand the requirements of various jobs. A student stated that she â€Å"could understand how people designing furniture, buildings and other things require this knowledge (of centre of gravity)† (Student S16). Three out of five students could relate Science to social relevance, which included how Science affected interaction between people and the environment. One Biodiversity student wrote: â€Å"This also taught me that in school or at work, we have to depend on one another for a living† (Student S10), while another could â€Å"understand nature better† and learnt not to pollute the environment (Student S7). Life Science students pointed out various applications in social and ethical issues, such as the use of forensic Science by police to solve crime (Student S11), knowledge of DNA in cloning (Student S15), and even checking via blood tests whether a child is biologically conceived or adopted (Student S12). Teachers’ feedback indicated that students were generally able to â€Å"connect Science to reality and †¦ in explaining happenings in their lives† (Teacher T2). These observations were made through students’ group discussions and written journals. Examples quoted by the teachers were mostly related to personal and social relevance. It showed that students had an increased awareness of scientific discovery (e.g. antibiotics, genetics) and technology (e.g. making of soap and sweets) that were directly related to their lives and the lives of those around them. The main catalyst that enhanced their awareness was personal experiences through engaging them in experiments that relate to real life and exposing them to more field trips (e.g. Yakult factory, flavour and fragrance industry, nature reserve). DISCUSSION Key features in Science ALIVE! that have helped students acquire Science process skills include scaffolding, group collaboration and journal writing. Scaffolding guides students in learning new or complex skills. Nelson (2004) pointed out that more scaffolding is required for students to be able to do research independently. To illustrate this, the increase in rating for skills on ‘planning investigations’ and ‘writing of scientific report’ in the Life Science module was attributed to â€Å"a lot of hand-holding† and exemplars provided by the teacher. Scaffolding in the form of specific journal prompts can also be adopted to ensure greater depth in student reflection. Teachers, however, will need to balance between providing students support and allowing them to be independent learners. Group collaboration is deployed extensively in the programme, where students worked in groups of three on projects, laboratory work and group assignments. This concurs with findings of a study conducted by Hofstein et al (2004), where cooperative learning in laboratory work helped students construct knowledge. Hofstein et al argued for more time to be spent on laboratory tasks, so that students could reflect on findings and also discuss with their peers. This would be one way to further improve students’ analytical skills, which they are still lacking. Journal writing in Science ALIVE! proves to be very useful in informing teachers of students’ conceptual understanding, acquisition of skills such as reflecting and questioning, and how students relate Science to their everyday life. It allows teachers to give regular feedback as part of assessment for learning. It is also of considerable value to students as it promotes greater ownership to their learning (Tomkins and Tunnicliffe, 2001). This leads to independent learning and moves students to a higher level of thinking, according to the principle on ‘Experience of learning’ in the Principles of Engaged Learning (MOE, 2005). Science ALIVE! lessons are different from the didactic traditional Science lessons, as they focus largely on the application of Science process skills. Hence there is a need to prepare students for the change, for example, from structured experiments to partially open investigations (Haigh et al, 2005). The need for such preparation was evident in the Biodiversity module as students were surprised to learn that scientific reports were different from other project reports, but they managed to overcome it after a few rounds of re-drafting. After the pilot run of Science ALIVE! programme, the teachers recommended that process skills be explicitly taught first followed by opportunities â€Å"created on purpose† for students to practise the skills. This is consistent with Padilla (1990) who suggested the need to provide students with â€Å"multiple opportunities to work with these skills in different content areas and contexts†. To enhance students’ investigative skills, Haigh et al (2005) proposed that teachers provide ‘refresher’ courses to cue students in the planning and conducting of their investigations .On completion of the investigation, students should be given the opportunity to evaluate their work so as to make it more meaningful. In Aroma Chemistry, students were asked to compare the quality of two batches of soap that they had made from different laboratory sessions and analyse the possible causes for the difference, while Biodiversity students had to reflect on the additiona l learning gained after a second trip to the nature reserve. Besides using appropriate strategies to help students adapt to the shift, it is also crucial to rectify students’ mindset on the importance and relevance of acquiring Science process skills. This is because students will be more motivated if they consider process skills an important object of instruction (Padilla, 1990). Thus teachers need to make explicit the â€Å"why† of teaching process skills (Haigh et al, 2005). The deliberate infusion of relevant Science applications in the curriculum of each module has succeeded in enhancing students’ awareness of the usefulness of Science in everyday life. Personal and social relevance dominated students’ ideas of the relevance of Science, though exposure to related industries and appropriate working environments could further promote an awareness of professional relevance. CONCLUSION Going forward, the Science ALIVE! programme would be refined in the next cycle to enhance students’ acquisition of Science process skills. Successful strategies such as the use of reflection journals, activity-based learning, group collaboration and contextualised learning will continue to be used. There would be more emphasis on the explicit teaching of process skills. In addition, more opportunities would be provided for the application of process skills in the core curriculum. RECOMMENDATION Further research on the Science ALIVE! programme could focus on the process skills which students found more difficult to master. With explicit teaching of these skills in the core curriculum prior to Science ALIVE!, the impact could be investigated. The usefulness of Science process skills acquired through the programme could be studied in terms of its impact on Upper Secondary Science, for example, the sustainability of student motivation in Upper Secondary Science. The findings in these research areas will help to inform the effectiveness of future Science ALIVE! programmes. REFERENCES Beaumont-Walters, Y. (2001). An analysis of high school students’ performance on five integrated Science process skills. Research in Science Technological Education, 19(2), 133-145. Bennett, J. (2001). Science with attitude: the perennial issue of pupils’ responses to Science. School Science Review, 82(300), 59-67. Berry, A., Mulhall, P., Gunstone, R., Loughran, J. (1999). Helping students learn from laboratory work. Australian Science Teachers’ Journal, 45(1), 27-31. Campbell, B., Lubben, F., Dlamini, Z. (2000). Learning Science through contexts: helping pupils make sense of everyday situations. International Journal of Science Education, 22(3), 239-252. Haigh, M., France, B., Forret, M. (2005). Is ‘doing Science’ in New Zealand classrooms an expression of scientific inquiry? International Journal of Science Education, 27(2), 215-226. Hofstein, A., Shore, R., Kipnis, M. (2004). Providing high school chemistry students with opportunities to deve lop learning skills in an inquiry-type laboratory: a Case Study. International Journal of Science Education, 26(1), 47-62. Ministry of Education (2005). A toolkit for engaged teaching and learning. Curriculum Planning and Development Division, Ministry of Education, Singapore. Nelson, T.H. (2004). Helping students make connections. The Science Teacher, 71(3), 32-35. Padilla, M.J. (1990). The Science process skills. Research Matters – to the Science Teacher, No. 9004. Retrieved December 1, 2006 from http://www.narst.org/publications/ research/skill.htm Tomkins, S.P., Tunnicliffe, S.D. (2001). Looking for ideas: observation, interpretation and hypothesis making by 12-year-old pupils undertaking Science investigations. International Journal of Science Education, 23(8), 791-813. Van Aalsvoort, J. (2004a). Logical positivism as a tool to analyse the problem of Chemistry’s lack of relevance in secondary school chemical education. International Journal of Science Education, 26(9), 1151-1168. Van Aalsvoort, J. (2004b). Activity theory as a tool to address the problem of Chemistry’s lack of relevance in secondary school chemical education. International Journal of Science Education, 26(13), 1635-1651. Young, R. M. (1995). Hands-on Science. Westminster, CA: Teacher Created Materials, Inc.

Research PaperSancho Panza

Research PaperSancho Panza Research PaperSancho Panza: Sidekick and Skeptic The character Sancho Panza in Miguel de Cervantes Don Quixote de La Mancha is both a sidekick and a skeptic. Don Quixote de La Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra is acclaimed as one of the best novels ever written. Miguel de Unamuno once wrote there scarcely exists a person of even average education who does not have some idea of Don Quixote and Sancho. Contrary to what one might think, there is a character who is just as important to the success of this novel as is Don Quixote himself: Sancho Panza. Without him, Don Quixote would be a two-dimensional character with hardly any appeal. But with the aid of Sanchos interactions, Quixote takes depth and form as a character. The reader is able to judge Quixote through the thoughts and actions of his companion because Sancho is both a supportive sidekick and a nagging skeptic. Sancho Panzas duality shows both the good and bad in Don Quixote, which reveals many sides to Quixote that would not have been shown otherwise. Despite being physically hurt on multiple occasions and faced with perpetual humiliation, Sancho Panza continues to follow Don Quixote on his insane adventures. Sancho does not share his masters extreme belief in chivalrous virtues, however he often lives in and adores [Quixotes madness], sometimes getting caught up in [it] entirely(Sparknotes). Sanchos support of Don Quixote shows that Quixote is prominently good and lets the reader know that he is an admirable person with at least enough sanity to maintain a good friendship. Sancho Panza fulfills the role of a sidekick by being absolutely faithful (Dramatica) and having an unswerving belief and support of the Protagonist (Phillips). Sancho demonstrates his loyalty even on his first day as aAs Don Quixotes squire, Sancho follows his master into countless situations where the outcomes are unfavorable to say the least. On his first day as a squire, Sancho accompanies Quixote as hewhen he accompanies Quixote as they approaches a coach that the knight errant believes to contain an imprisoned princess. Don Quixote attacks one of the monks in front of the coach and knocks him off of his horse. Sancho scrambles to collect the monks garb as a battle spoil for his master, but the servants that are standing by see him and they attacked Sancho and knocked him downleaving no hair in his beard unscathed, they kicked him breathless and senseless and left him lying on the ground (Cervantes 62, 63). Even after a brutal beating to start off his career, Sancho rides off with Quixote after the battle and is more worried about his masters wounds than his own. The squire maintains his loyalty like a true sidekick, but more importantl y, he allows the reader to feel pity for Quixote through his own concern for the mans wellbeing. Later on in the book, Sancho and Quixote stay at an inn to heal their wounds from a previous beating. The innkeeper expects to receive payment when the two try to leave, but Don Quixote refuses to pay him anything. Quixote then rides off a fair distance from the inn, not realizing that he has left his squire behind. The innkeeper turns to Sancho and demands payment. When Sancho does not pay, a few men throw him into a blanket and [begin] to toss him and make merry with him as if he were a dog at a Carnival (Cervantes 122). Not only does this good squire show loyalty, but also support and belief in Don Quixote. Sancho is hesitant at first when Quixote wants to rescue his horse Rocinante from a group of angry Yanguesans. He exclaims, What the devil kind of revenge are we supposed to take when there are more than twenty of them and only two of us, or maybe only one and a half? Quixote replies that he himself is worth a hundred and charges the crowd of men. Sancho then becomes incited and moved by his masters example, [and so] he [does] the same (Cervantes 103). Sanchos faith in his master during times of imminent disaster shows that Don Quixote must have good leadership qualities as well as the ability to inspire and motivate through sheer confidence. Despite being physically hurt on multiple occasions and faced with perpetual humiliation, Sancho Panza continues to follow Don Quixote on his insane adventures. Sancho does not share his masters extreme belief in chivalrous virtues, however he often lives in and adores [Quixotes madness], sometimes getting caught up in [it] entirely(Sparknotes). Sancho Panza therefore fulfills the requirements for being a sidekick by being absolutely faithful (Dramatica) and having an unswerving belief and support of the Protagonist (Phillips). Sancho Panza also demonstrates the attributes of a skeptic and allows Quixote to be criticized as well as praised. A skeptic doubts everything, thinks every plan is unworkable, and that success is unlikely (Phillips). Sancho does not always agree with his master and often times Quixotes heightened, insane conception of the world is brought crashing to earth by Sanchos sly pragmatism (Thornton) and. hHe frequently berates Don Quixote for his reliance on fantasy (Sparknotes). One such example of Sanchos skepticism and probably one of the most famous events in the novel is when the two encounter a field of windmills. To Don Quixote, the windmills are giants that against which he must wage battle against. Sancho is skeptical of this notion, does not agree. He warned [Quixote] that, beyond any doubt, those things he was about to attack were windmills and not giants. But Quixote does not heed Sanchos pleas and ends up being tossed off Rocinante when his lance gets stuck in one of the vanes. Sancho rushes to his masters aid and says, Didnt I tell your grace to watch what you were doing, that these were nothing but windmills, and only somebody whose head was full of them wouldnt know that? (Cervantes 58-59). In instances such as these, Sancho shows that Quixote does not have the best judgement and is certainly not of sound mind. Sancho Panza is a complex character that demonstrates the qualities of both a sidekick and a skeptic. These two opposite archetypes fused within one person allows for a perception of Don Quixote that gives him life. If Sancho was not present in the novel, the readers would not get as much enjoyment out of the book and Don Quixote would not be as popular as it has been for the past centuries.

Performance Enhancing Steroids in Major League Baseball Essay -- pros

Performance Enhancing Steroids in Major League Baseball The issue that our group is tackling is the use of illegal performance enhancing steroids in Major League Baseball. Major League Baseball is big business in the U.S., with 30 franchises valued at over 8.8 billion dollars. Player salaries range from the league minimum salary of three hundred twenty five thousand per year to ten million or more per year, and are based on the market value of each player when his current contract expires. It is in this hyper-competitive environment that a growing specter of foul play has erupted – the use of steroids. Anabolic steroids and other similar performance enhancing substances allow muscles to recover at a much faster rate than normal. This rapid recovery permits athletes to train harder, for longer periods of time, and with greater frequency. This unnaturally intensified training leads to the development of greater muscle mass and strength, which has a causal effect on physical performance. Another effect of steroids is that game-to-gam e muscle recovery is more rapid, which allows the player to be more fully recovered on an every-day basis, which is a huge advantage in a season where 162 games are packed into 6 months. Many issues surround the use of such performance enhancing substances. One issue is the removal of a level playing field. In a business where competition is the business, any such illegal advantage can injure the integrity and legitimacy of the enterprise. ...

Bridge to Terabithia :: essays research papers

This takes place in a small town in the 1970's. It is based on a boy named Jesse Aarons but he is called Jess. He cannot wait until fifth grade starts because he will be the fastets runner, he even practiced all summer. He has two older sisters and two younger sisters. His older sisters never seem to do anything and are always ridiculing him. His younger sisters look up to him, mostly May Belle though. Jess's dad works in Washington ans so he is gone during the day a lot. It is up to Jess to milk their cow Miss Bessie everyday. His dad isn't affectionate to him and seems only to be nice to the girls, the same goes for his mom. They try to treat him too much like a man. One day, a new family moves into the old Perkin's farmhouse. There are usually families moving in and out of it all the time. There ends up being a girl named Leslie Burke who is the only child and Jess's age. She walks over to his house and says hi, but he ignores her. On the first day of school she is in his class. She hangs around him during recess and is the first girl to race and beat all the boys. This hurts Jess because he had practiced all summer. They end up becoming real good friends though and hang around each other everyday. They help May Belle get the school bully Janice Avery back after she stole May Belle's twinkie. They did it by writing Janice a fake love letter from Willard Hughes saying that he liked her and for her to walk home from school with him. So, Janice ended up walking all alone back home from school. Jess and Leslie create a secret place together in between their woods called Terabithia where Jess is the king and Leslie the queen. They built a small fort and try to talk like royalty does. In order to get to Terabithia they swing on a rope over a small creek. When Christmas comes around Leslie got Jess a new paint set since he loves to paint and his family is sort of poor. Leslie's family is rich but doesn't show it because she wears raggedy clothes and doesn't have a tv. Both her parents are authors trying to live the country lifestyle after moving from the scity.

Essay --

Amanda Korah P.1/Gwizdala February 26th, 2013 A Long Way Gone In Class Essay A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah is a memoir of a young, emotionally distraught child soldier who takes his audience through his mental and physical journey to his eventual escape of the Civil War in Sierra Leone. For the past few days, our World Literature class have been trying to figure out/argue what category A Long Way Gone falls under. In Tim O'Brien's book, The Things They Carried, he distinguishes between two types of stories: (1) stories that need to be real and (2) stories that rely on the emotional truth. To me, A Long Way Gone is a novel that relies on the emotional truth and should be read as such; it relies on the emotions of human beings for the story to be understood as it was written by a boy like one of us. Initially I was not sure what the emotional truth was, so I googled the definition and got that, â€Å"an emotional truth is writing in such a way that readers not only learn the facts of an event, but can feel the joy, sorrow, anger, envy, love, hate, poigna ncy that the participant feels.† And I believe that a story that relies on the emotional truth is not any less significant than stories that strictly state the truth. A story told using emotional truth/validity is a story that, in my opinion, offers more of the real picture than that of a story that doesn’t tug on the emotions of a reader and just blatantly state the true happenings of an event. I’ve come to terms that there is a possibility of a stretch in truth in A Long Way Gone. Listening to the arguments made throughout the discussion, there is evidence out there to counter some of the statements made by Ishmael Beah in his memoir (i.e. Being a child soldier in 1995 ... ...ay because we are emotionally vulnerable beings who respond more to emotions rather than the real situation. We believe everything is ok when someone expresses happiness, and we think things are going bad if someone expresses sorrow. We acknowledge situations, and we react to the emotions felt about a particular situations, which is why Ishmael Beah’s A Long Way Gone is categorized as a story of emotional truth, it relies on our emotions to bring awareness to not only his life experiences but problems that went on in the world, and problems that still may be going on in the world. We must view this emotional truth story as valid as one that tells us a straight up truth, the reason why this book was made an emotional truth is so that we have a better understanding (and we understand better) about our surroundings, in a way that we would understand to the fullest.

Managing Individual Performance

It’s crucial for the manager to make right decisions about the members of his team. The organization can be very successful only in the case of well-balanced personnel, and it’s the manager’s responsibility to employ the right people for the positions. Even when all the technical resources in the company are at the highest level, the skills of employees appear to be the most important key to the organization’s success. It’s a well-known fact that â€Å"†¦everyone wants to feel that they are on a winning team, that the company is moving ahead, and that they are an integral part of the group.† (3)Therefore, it’s necessary for the manager to take employment of personnel very seriously. First of all, the manager needs to make sure he knows all the major objectives which the company sets in front of itself. Without the deep understanding of the organization’s goals, it’s impossible to employ people to achieve those goals. As soon as the goals are determined, it’s necessary for the manager to do his best to find people whose education, general background, and personality will fit the best into the positions available. There is no general criterion for choosing the members of the team because the decision of the manager depends on the goals which he sets for his team.The manager has to analyze the profiles of the potential employees very carefully in order to get a full idea about them. The major criterion is ensuring that every employee in the team will have a position which answers both his expectations and expectations of the company. The goals of the organization will be achieved only in the case when the manager makes right decisions about the choice of employees and the responsibilities which each of them can fulfill the best. However, the task gets more complicated because â€Å"building the winning team requires more than just hiring a bunch of talented people.It means hiring people wh o will work well together. It means developing a shared vision and commitment. It means physically bringing people together in formal group meetings for open discussion of broad-based issues. It means encouraging positive, informal interactions between group members. It means instilling a â€Å"winning† attitude throughout the organization. It means watching for and quickly trying to reverse team-building problems such as jealousy, cynicism, and defensive behavior.† (3)In the simulation I chose the following employees into the team: Tony Wu for the position of building case files; Lisa Stafford to moderate self-help groups, Nicola Minelli for performing follow-ups, and finally Daniel Nichols to supervise confrontation sessions. Out of all the employees whom I selected Daniel Nichols has the most experience, he also has an MBA which puts him one step ahead of everybody else who only have bachelor’s degrees.That is why he gets a very complicated task of supervising confrontation sessions. In order to keep Daniel Nichols motivated, he needs to have an important position, so I chose one for him with the most responsibility. Tony Wu is a good professional, and he cannot fulfill the functions on a very important position just yet because he has never worked as a manager. He is not very ambitious as the profile shows, so he is much better on the position when he has to exercise duties like building case files. Tony Wu has a very important feature of character- accuracy, and this feature is very useful in the position which I have offered to him. For Tony Wu, it’s better to work with documents and build case files because when he has to make important decisions, he might fail them due to his mild character.Lisa Stafford necessarily has to be on my team due to her success-orientation. She is not the type of employee who will sit in the shadow of somebody else during her whole life. She wants to fight for success, and she is very ambitious. He r future is pre-destined by her character, and she will be in the manager’s chair shortly. For the moment, she doesn’t have enough experience to be a manager or supervisor, so the best suitable position for her is moderating self-help groups.However, I as a manager realize that it’s very important to motivate Liza in every possible way because she expects to have the most important chores, and wants to show herself from the best possible side. Out of the last 3 potential employees I have chosen Nichola Minelli. She had almost equal chances with other 2 candidates but I preferred her to them for a couple of reasons. The position which remains vacant is performing follow-ups. I had 3 alternatives for the position: Nicola Minelli, John Connor, and Michelle Levy.The negative side of Michelle Levy is that she is a pessimist. This quality is absolutely inapplicable for the team which we are forming, considering the goals of our organization. John Connor is a very expe rienced worker but I prefer to include younger members in the team who have a high potential. They have a much better performance due to their expectations of future promotion. Nicola Minelli possesses a very important quality which makes her a perfect candidate for the position is that she has good analytical skills.In order to manage the created team effectively, I had to consider many factors. First of all, the ways to motivate every one in the team. Every employee has his own interests and needs, and in order to choose the right strategy of motivation, I needed to study their profiles carefully. Whenever I felt that one member of the team was growing uninterested towards the functions which he was fulfilling, I had to apply different forms of motivation for him. I also needed to check all the time what new responsibilities I can give to the members of the team if I saw they were ready for that.I as well had to consider the way the members of the team interact with each other bec ause a team works successfully only in case when the communication among members is on the highest level. An individual’s personality plays a crucial role in the success of my team as I have discovered. Every person in the team is a part of it. The system can work efficiently only in the case when every part of it works efficiently. If I employ a person for some position whose personality doesn’t answer the responsibilities which he will have to bear, he will not be able to fulfill his duties at the required level.If one of the members stops performing at his required level, it immediately has a deep effect on the work of the whole system because every member is dependent on each other. Another influence on the member’s personality is communication with other members of the team. Individuals employed in one team need to be as compatible as possible by their characters in order to bring success to the organization.â€Å"The 126 item Myers-Briggs Type Indicator ( MBTI), Form G, provides data on four sets of preferences. These preferences result in 16 learning styles, or types. A type is the combination of the four preferences.† (8) E (extroversion) versus I (introversion) tells about how people â€Å"change their batteries†. Extroverts find all of the support in the outside world, as well as see the outside world as the reason of their failures, if they occur. Such employees are better on important positions because they are very action-oriented.Introverts are more concerned about their inner world of ideas, so they are better at exercising tasks given to them by other people. N (intuition) versus S (sensing) tells about a person’s preference in relying on and making decisions. Some people prefer to rely on their intuition, others on sensing. For my team, I chose 2 members who have intuition preference (men) and 2 members who have sensing preference (women). This creates a good balance. T (thinking) versus F (feeling) tel ls whether a person trusts to his mind more, or to his feelings. People who prefer feeling make decisions according to what their heart says to them.Others are guided by their rational mind. I have also used the same proportion of team members with this preference because this proportion can help employees have right decisions. P (perception) versus J (judgement) describes the way people act in their lives. Perceptive people make spontaneous decisions, and can do things at once when they think of them. Judging people weight their actions first, and provide the analysis of the situation. Perceptive people are more preferable for positions in teams because they make decisions very quickly.Maslow’s hierarchy of needs can be described as the following:1) Physiological: hunger, thirst, bodily comforts, etc.;2) Safety/security: out of danger;3) Belonginess and Love: affiliate with others, be accepted; and4) Esteem: to achieve, be competent, gain approval and recognition. (7)The hie rarchy of needs effects motivation in such a way that every employee has his needs. One employee only needs his 2 basic needs to be satisfied (psychological and safety). Others will not be satisfied unless they are accepted by others and gain recognition. In order to motivate every employee, you need to know about his needs.You as a manger need to focus on his need satisfaction as the key to motivating him. It’s important to select such team members whose needs are relatively high because they will perform at a very high level in order to achieve the goals which they set for themselves. In the team which I selected, Lisa Stafford and Daniel Nichols are the most competitive, and their needs are definitely on the highest level- of esteem.In order to motivate them, I have to give them the most challenging tasks which will let them show how smart they are and be recognized by everybody. Tony Wu and Nicola Minelli don’t have such high ambitions, and their needs stop at the level of belonginess and love. In order to motivate them, I don’t need to give them high responsibilities for them to be recognized by management. They need to have tasks which from their point of view will bring use to the society and the company.My team selections worked perfectly, exactly like I expected. At the end, I got 100% of performance which is the highest result. I chose all the members of the team in the most efficient way, and placed them on the right positions, and motivated their activity during years in such a way that they performed at their maximum of abilities. The factors which I selected for motivating my team include:reminding them about the importance of the mission for which they are working. Whenever employees felt pessimistic about their work (for example Tony Wu and Nicola Minelli), I made sure he realized how important his work was for the society.giving them an opportunity to show their skills. It was important for Daniel Nichols and Lisa Stafford to show their intellect through difficult assignments they had.giving high responsibilities to the team members who are very ambitious. I needed to motivate Daniel Nichols and Lisa Stafford to keep high interest in the work they were doing.giving recognition to the members who are performing the best. Every member of the team needed recognition for the important work he was doing.promising possibilities of promotion to members who work the hardest. Lisa Stafford and Daniel Nichols need to be promoted soon in order to keep the level of their performance equally high, so I needed to talk about future opportunities with them.Since I chose the best possible team during the first run of the simulation and got 100% performance at the end, all of my later runs of the program didn’t make the result better because my first choice was completely accurate. This lesson learned in the workplace is very useful because it helps us to develop our skills as future managers. When managing rea l teams at companies, we’ll be able to apply everything learned in practice and achieve equally high results which will lead to the success in the organization.Bibliography. Franken, R. (2001). Human motivation (5th ed.).. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole. Managing People: Motivation Building the Winning Team // www.businesstown.com Maslow, A. (1943). A theory of human motivation. Psychological Review, 50, 370-396. Maslow, A. (1954). Motivation and personality. New York: Harper Nohria, N., Lawrence, P., & Wilson, E. (2001). Driven: How human nature shapes our choices. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. William G. Huitt. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. February 2004. www.gsu.edu

Federalism in the Philippines Essay

A pleasant morning to everyone, I am, AB Political Science. I am here in front of you to discuss about the value and importance of education. First of all, what is education? As far as I am concern, education is the delivery of knowledge, skills and information from teachers to students, inadequate to capture what is really important about being and becoming educated. The proper definition is basically the process of becoming an educated person, but that begs the question of what counts as an educated person. Being an educated person means you have access to optimal states of mind regardless of the situation you are in. You are able to perceive accurately, think clearly and act effectively to achieve self-selected goals and aspirations. Therefore, education is the process of mapping your experiences and finding a variety of reliable routes to optimal states of mind when you find yourself in non-optimal states. But, what was the problem behind in regards of education in our country? The first thing that comes up in my mind was the mentality that we Filipinos posses and also the corruption as well in our country. First, let me give you my short perspective about the corruption in country. As a senior Political Science student here in Adamson University, I was able to know about how our government runs and also the process and purposes on each and every department in our country. In our country there are three main branches of the government such as the Executive Department, Legislative Department, and the Judiciary Department. In every department in our government there are their own agencies, organizations, departments, or bureaus that help to execute and implement the rules and regulations that our government possesses. This agencies or organizations are known as the Quasi-department or also known as the four department of our government. As far as I know each department of our government was their own way of corruption. The biggest budget that our government has is the Department of Education but sad to say that this department is also the one of the agencies or organizations that has severe corruption in our country. The best evidence that I can tell you is the Public Schools that our country has, look at the public school in our country especially in the urban areas and you will see the evidence lack of chairs for the young students, low salaries for the teachers, and very old equipments for teaching and this all caused to poor standards of teaching and learning. In this connection, I am strongly believe that we should not all blame this failure to our government. The duty of our government is to protect us, maintain our economic progress, and give us due process of law that I think our government failed to implement and execute. But, like I said earlier we Filipinos has also our own mistakes and wrong mentality the â€Å"Bahalana mentality† that one of the reason why many of our country men did not prosper in their life. People should think twice or much better more than twice, before they acts or decide things. The problem of our generation today is that, some of the students did not really know the real value and importance of education. Some of them adopt the â€Å"Bahalana mentality† they rather choose to destroy their life instead of going to school and have a better future. Some of the students now a day did not really knew the real obligation of a true student. Some of them tend to go to the computer shops and play online games or worst going to bar and get drunk and waste the money that their parents gave them. I am not speaking in front of you all as representative of the conservative people but rather a victim of this tremendous crime. So, I am strongly encouraging all of the students to change their bad hobbies into a responsible students and also a responsible citizen of our country. Thank you.