Page 10 - SASTA Journal 2017

8 SASTA Journal Number 02 / 2017
The third and nal lesson for today and the trip was my lesson. I ran a lesson on classi cation of animals. I introduced myself and my town. Being in a town of 130-140 people, with only 7 students at the school amazed the students, as did the distances to the nearest Woolworths (75 km) and McDonalds (180 km). They also seemed impressed that we get wild Kangaroos and Emus in our school grounds.
My lesson was broken into two key activities, the rst being a treasure hunt where I hid photos around the classroom of different animals which students have to nd and decide if the animals t into a grouping I’ve given them (e.g. Cute, eats meat, big, etc.).
The second activity was where they created their own groupings and cut out and sort animals into groupings of their own choosing. In between the two activities I gave a brief talk on what makes a good grouping. Students worked individually for the treasure hunt and in pairs for the grouping task. Normally when running this sort of lesson we would have lots of discussion time about groupings as well, however we ran out of time for extended discussion.
I gifted the students their own kangaroo or koala clip and the Head of the Science Department with a drawing of Stuart Desert Peas by Woomeras’ local Artist Colleen Hodgson (Serendipity Art). Both gifts were received with much enthusiasm.
We ate a delightful lunch of rice, miso, sh and vegetables with a bottle of milk. This is the school lunch that all students and teachers receive. We found out that the Principal gets the rst serve for the day to make sure that the meal is suitable. The crispy skin sh was delicious.
After lunch we had a teacher forum where we discussed each of the lessons we observed (and ran). It was very enlightening to nd out how the Japanese teachers could use and modify our lessons as well noting the similarities and differences between science teaching in Australia and Japan.
The afternoon was a relaxing tour of the Sony Private Showroom. So much
new technology, I know what I will be keeping an eye for in the future. We got
to see original costumes used in the Spiderman Movies as well as handle some of the props. We were not allowed to take photos but we had fun.
Tonight we attended the Sony Education Foundation Of cial Dinner, which was a lot of fun.
It’s been an invaluable learning experience for me. Thank you to ASTA and Latitude Group Travel for making this trip possible!
Day 7: Should Australia adopt Japan’s Research Project for Year 11 students? - by Paula Taylor
I have had the pleasure of hosting Sony Science teachers in the past when they visited my classroom in Canberra a few years ago. What I saw was an inquiry-based lesson where the Japanese host teachers had my students engaged in a STEM activity that allowed for them to change variables and make judgments based on their observations. The lesson was so carefully constructed to incorporate the 5E’s that I still use it today with my own students. So being selected to come to Japan with the ASTA/Latitude Group Travel Science Teachers Delegation was my chance to grow professionally once again.
One stark difference between Japanese and Australian schools is how they operate and organize their daily routines. In general, Japanese schools are highly structured and organised. There is a place to store your outside shoes, your wet umbrella, your bicycle helmet and your personal cleaning cloth.
But once the bell rings, the science class becomes an unstructured theatre, where a performance of wonder and awe is about to begin, being carefully orchestrated by their very quali ed and inspiring teacher.
Our rst classroom experience was at Kotehashidai Jr. High School in Chiba where we had the pleasure of observing a Science 9 Astronomy lesson. I was introduced to “Mikata”, an impressive free software program developed by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ).
The teacher had a captive audience (including me) as we navigated the solar system and then beyond our galaxy using this interactive simulator. Developing a sense of wonder and excitement with your students can only be achieved once you have forged a strong and positive relationship with your students. This highly accomplished teacher, who has only recently won a Sony Prize, certainly had the affection of her students. Upon re ection, it is easy to see that teaching science is an art form and this teacher was an artist.
Our second classroom experience took us to Ichikawa Super Science High School, which is a selective school for over 2,300 senior high school students. This school had a long history of academic success, particularly in the Sciences.
It was interesting to learn that students major in all 3 science subjects, which would ensure that there are no gaps in their learning from year to year.