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- Projects of some recent award winners
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- Mrs Parmathi Sivakumaran & student team
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- Martina Hoareau, Pady King, Yahya Zubedi, Ginnie Laurencien & Yves
Athanasius
- Under the guidance of Mrs Pamathi Sivakumaran
- ABSTRACT
- The purpose of this project was to find out suitable methods of
controlling whiteflies invasion in our school garden. The experiments
involved various controlling methods. This was done by counting the
approximate number of whiteflies present in a whole plant before and
after the control methods were applied.
- The observations were made at five-day intervals. The research work was
started on 19 May 2004 and was completed on 1'3 June 2004.
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- The results confirmed our hypothesis that different control methods
could be applied to keep whiteflies in control.
- From our findings, we concluded that small gardens can be prevented from
whiteflies infestation by using cheap methods such as sticky traps,
exposing sunlight underneath the leaf, spraying insecticide and
introducing biological enemies e.g. ladybird beetles.
- We found that spraying insecticide is more effective on controlling
whiteflies rapidly than others. Using sticky traps and reflecting
sunlight underneath the leaves can be use to reduce the population to
some extent. The biological control is slow and takes a longer time.
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- Abstract
- Mendeleev’s Periodic Table forms the basis of understanding chemical
reactions & physical properties of materials. A textbook chart of the long form of
the Periodic Table is used widely for explaining the properties of
elements. Teaching this is difficult for teachers and the perception of
atomic structures goes beyond the imagination at student level. The difficulty levels for both
students and teachers are different.
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- The two dimensional chart or any such two dimensional model does not
give an exact idea of distribution of electrons in various shells or
orbits. K, L, M, N …. shells contain 2, 8, 18, 32 …. electrons remains a
matter of learning it by heart, without understanding. The understanding would be more clear
and easy to remember if a three dimensional model of each element can be
put in front of the students.
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- In preparing the model, care was taken to see that different orbits can
be freely rotated to show that they can have different orientations in
space while completing various groups and periods. Care was taken to see
that orbit size goes on decreasing as one moves through the period and
increases as one moves through the group from top to bottom. Further,
different coloured beads were used to represent some of the properties.
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- After completing models of 105 elements, a frame on which all these
elements can be mounted easily and which gives exact idea of the long
form of periodic table was developed.
The model was developed to be easy to carry in the classroom.
- In addition to the complete model of long form of the periodic table,
additional tiny models are also prepared for some representative
elements like Sodium, Chlorine, Oxygen, Magnesium etc. Using these
models, actual transfer of one electron from one element say Na and
transferring it to Cl to form NaCl electrovalent compound in a chemical
reaction can be well explained in a classroom. It also goes very easy to
explain how 2 Na atoms are needed for O atom to complete its octet in
Na2O.
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- In general, the explanation of electrovalent covalent etc. bonding to
form various compounds becomes easy and gives interactive joyful
experience to the students in learning Chemistry. Also, the concepts of element,
compound and mixture become easy when 3D models of atoms are in front of
the students. Just as alphabets
form the basis of learning words and languages on similar lines 3D
models of atoms of 105 elements in periodic table form the basis of
learning Chemistry in more interactive, easy to remember and makes
inquisitive process for the students at various levels.
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- The model was taken to school for explaining various chemical properties
and reactions. The students are allowed to handle each element and
actually count the electrons and learn the details of electron
distribution. The model got
overwhelming response from the students, teachers and experts from the
field. It is an effective
educational tool not only for school students but also for higher class
students. The model can form a point of curiosity, interaction and
attraction along with a very good teaching aid. It can be displayed in
various departments and science museums.
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- This scheme plans to develop agroforestry as a way to involve students
with learning disabilities in developing skills which they can use for
the benefit of their local community, for the improvement of the local
environment, and which give them a way of earning income for themselves
and for the school, thus increasing their self-sufficiency.
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- John Cole and Amanda Robinson
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- The Idea
- Farming is a major contributor to Western Australia’s cultural, business
and social identity. As cuisine
from Western Australia is identified as amongst the world’s finest; as
the state continues to count receipts from food and fibre as major
contributors to annual income; and as the state and the nation continues
to look to rural imagery to define itself – farming is central to the
Australian personality.
- The idea of teaching a farming unit at Kinross College was to examine
this identity and its application to WA society. The unit covered 10 teaching weeks of
science, society and environment and technology to a year 6/7
class. Students would examine
farming practices and issues in practical, relevant situations. The idea of farming at Kinross College
was to see how this vast and diverse industry applied to each student.
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- Students examined production systems, marketing and processing pathways,
food science and public health, environmental responsibilities and rural
sociology. Issues were integrated
and presented with direct relevance to the life of every student – to
relate science, technology and social issues to the food on their
family’s table.
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- There were several reasons to present this unit to students. It provided an analysis of one of the
major industries in Western Australia – an industry that delivers a
major part of the state’s identity and wealth. Farming and farm products allowed
students to actively participate in each stage of the learning process –
hand-on activities were central to the design of the unit. Resources for the presentation of the
unit, both from within the college and outside, were readily (and
cheaply) available. The unit was
presented to students as an option – allowing students to choose and
design their own progress pathway.
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- The program also provided an integrated approach to science issues and
their direct and indirect impact on society. It examined issues of land clearing
and salinity, the social effect of production decisions by farmers and
the impact of new food technology.
The idea was to demonstrate how farming science was real science
– science that impacted on the life of every Western Australian, every
day.
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- The final idea behind the unit was to continue to build a community at
Kinross College. The metaphor of
the food supply chain was applied to the College – that no sector can
prosper without the support of other sectors. Farming proved to be an ideal
demonstration that working together can provide great results. At this level, farming provided
opportunities to develop social and personal relationships and
responsibilities in purposeful settings.
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- What is Numeroscope™?
- Numeroscope™ is a device
comprising
- A wooden frame. This frame has six parts; two square blocks serve as a
base, two vertical bars serve as supporters and two horizontal beams,
each with four holders, serve as hangers for the groups of beads
- Two thousand plastic beads
- Many flexible steel wires; each to hold up to ten beads
- A number of small rings each with a hook. Each ring will hold ten steel
wires, each wire having ten beads i.e. 100 beads.
- A number of big rings each with a hook. Each big ring will hold ten
small rings. Each of these small rings will have ten groups of ten
wires, and each wire will have ten beads. i.e. 1000 beads
- A linear spring with hooks at both the ends
- A set of flash cards with ( a) numerals from 0 to 9 (b) names of place
values: thousands, hundreds, tens and units (c) numbers from 1 to 9 in
multiples of ten, hundred, and thousand (d) numeral-names from zero to
nine.
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- Need for a New Device for Teaching & Learning Mathematics
- Many researchers have argued that to promote learning of mathematics
with understanding, mathematics educators must consider the tasks,
problem-solving situations, and tools used to represent mathematical
ideas. (Dienes: 1960; Bruner: 1961; Fennema: 1972 & 1973; Sowell:
1989; Suydam: 1984).
- In every decade since 1940, the National Council of Teachers of
Mathematics (NCTM) has encouraged the use of concrete materials at all
grade levels. It has been found that concrete materials help relieve
boredom in students. They offer a change from the textbook (abstract)
method of learning, allowing students to explore and use their
imagination. Learning tools can also provide concrete models of abstract
ideas, or when dealing with complex problems, they can enable students
to manipulate and think about ideas, thereby making mathematics
accessible and more deeply understood (Battista, 2003).
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- I expected that the new device to be developed for teaching mathematics
should help students learn:
- to relate real world situations to mathematics symbolism
- to work together cooperatively in solving problems
- to discuss mathematical ideas and concepts
- to verbalize their mathematical thinking
- to help them imagine numbers in their mind
- to make presentation in front of a large group
- that there are many different ways to solve problems
- that mathematics problems can be symbolized in many different ways
- that they can solve mathematics problems without just following
teacher's instructions
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- Making of the New Mathematical Device
- A sequence of following actions evolved into this new mathematical
device, the Numeroscope™.
- Selecting Objects Selected objects should be easily available,
attractive, familiar to children from varied socioeconomic backgrounds,
and very light in weight to make representation of even a larger number
easy. Another important attribute required was that the contour of the
selected objects should help their counting even from a distance. Beads
were selected since they were found to fulfil all the expectations.
- Fixing the Maximum Number of Beads Allowing larger number of beads for
use means increasing the number and sizes of the accessories. This would
make handling of the device difficult. Allowing too restricted number of
beads would reduce the scope of the utility of the device making it suitable
only for one or two grades. The number of beads then should be fixed
with a view to provide enough experience and practice in learning many
concepts spread across many grades. Also, if children get opportunity to
work on the device continuously for many grades they pass through, their
learning pace will increase. With this thought the number of beads was
fixed to two thousand.
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Notes
