Figure 1.--This introductory sciebnce class are involved in a small group assessment od insects. Notice how the children on their own divide in to groups of boys and girls and do not mix.
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Figure 1.--This introductory sciebnce class are involved in a small group assessment od insects. Notice how the children on their own divide in to groups of boys and girls and do not mix. |
The authors have found a strange dichotomy about teaching science. Few sublects are potentially more exciting. Some subjects are difficult to make interesting to young people. It takes considerable imagination, for example, to make grammar interesting exciting. But science should be an inherently interesting topic. It is surprising to find that many children rate science as one of their least favorite subjects. This is true in America and is also true of many New Zealand students we spoke with. I am not sure why this is. Perhaps science teachers have focused on the subject matter and not on teaching methods. Perhaps the rigor of scientific disciplines and the attention to detail needed does not appealing to young people.
The year began with promotional changes in management for the
Department. Mr Adcock took on the role of acting HOD following Mr
Olsen‘s move to Senior Management and then Mr Scott - formerly of Girls‘
High - continued that role on his arrival at the start of term 2.
Mr Nigel Ford also joined the department at the start of the year teaching
science, senior physics and electronics.
Mr Maw took on the role of Moderator in Agriculture and together with Mr
Ferguson have been responsible for the teaching and development of our
vocational courses in Agriculture and Horticulture.
One other notable change in 1997 was the move to embrace new ways of
assessing and awarding grades in senior science subjects. To this end, staff
was given training in the management and development of Unit Standards.
We also began limited assessment in Unit Standards with Year 12 Chemistry
and Physics classes and look forward to providing more opportunities for full
Unit Standard awards in 1998.
In keeping with the promotion and development of research skills in all year
levels of science, a number of students were entered in various science
activities and competitions. The most notable being the Australian Schools‘
Science Competition where Craig Rayner and Michael Burborough both
achieved High Distinctions in their respective year levels and many others
received Distinctions and Credit awards. Later in the year Craig was to
receive further honors with another High Distinction in the Australian National
Senior Chemistry Quiz as well as his National success in Mathematics.
The school also participated with pleasing success in both the Regional Science Fair (North Otago) and the Central South Island Science Fair where the top award for the Engineering section went to Bevan Newlands for his project. It is clear that both staff and students alike were taking on the new challenges in the field of science with a pleasant degree of success. Consequently, we in Waitaki can be very proud of the standing that our science students have in National Science awards. However that success can only come through
student hard work and from careful guidance and encouragement by staff.
We will continue to nurture this valuable partnership and look forward to
1998 and the opportunity to further our progress in both academic and
investigative skills as we approach the end of the twentieth century.
Hank Scott, The Waitakian, 1997.
The Australian Science competition is an event wgich Francis Douglas Memorial College enters annually. This year a record 425,000 students entered the Competition which is held throughout Australia, New Zealand and the Asia-Pascific Region.
"The Competition provides participants with the opportunity to assess their performance on a range of skills and pricesses related to aspects of Science, like problem-solving, reasoning and critical thinking in Science. It also gives the most able students the chance to display their outstanding talents and simultaneously provides all partiipants with valuable informationreharding their potential strengths and weaknesses in Science." (Prof. Jim Tognolini, Director Educational Testing Centre UNSW).
Francis Douglas Memorial College delected student entries on merit from each form in the College. Tghe students acquitted themselves well. Quinten Werder in particular earned a High Distinction Award, placeing him in the top 1 % of students in New Zealand. 21 of our students earned Distinction Awards (next 10 % of the country) and a further 21 earned Credit Awards (next 20 % of the country). All form one and two entrants who did not earn one of the above awards received a Partiipation Award.
Francis Douglas Memorial College, 1996.
John put his hand down the bottom of the lolly jar, picking out the last marshmallow, which happened to be Maurice, and shoving him into his mouth. Maurice was thrown about, crushed by John's teeth and mixed with saliva to break down his starch to maltose. Then he was rolled into a ballbefore going down John's oesophagus. He was squeezed along John's gut by muscles. While Maurice was being pushed down, he was being mixed with digestive juices which broke him up into smaller pieces. He was pushed along until he arrived in John's stomach, where he was churned until he had changed into a soupymixture different nutrients. When Maurice was completely broken up he passed through a ring of muscles at the bottom of the stomach into John's small intestines. In the first part of the small intestines (the duodenum) Maurice was mixed with bile, which broke up his pieces of fat into tiny droplets. Maurice was almost completely digested now, and bits of him were absorbed through the wall of the intestine into John's bloodstream. Those parts of Maurice that was were indigestable were passed into John's large intestine, where the water was absorbed and re-used by John's body. Maurice's waste was collected in the rectum, and the next time John went to the toilet, the remains of Maurice were passed out.
Louise Adams, Lymphad (Cashmere High School), 1993
