Glimpses of Science: ‘Multimedia-assisted’ science activities for primary school teachers and their students

Abstract

Glimpses of Science aims to deliver science activities into the primary school classroom by a student-centred approach that utilises hands-on activities accompanied by instructional multimedia resources. The project is a work in progress funded by Australian School Innovation in Science, Technology and Mathematics (ASISTM) and represents a collaborative effort between the School of Physics at the University of New South Wales and a cluster of primary schools in the Sydney metropolitan region. Several modules are to be developed in conjunction with the teachers and will consist of a number of inexpensive hands-on activities accompanied by illustrative material in the form of teacher’s notes, film clips, animations and so forth. The multimedia resources are presented in a manner akin to an interactive slide show, 193 UniServe Science Teaching and Learning Research Proceedings whereby each slide acts as an instructional aid that is followed by class participation in the hands-on activity under investigation. The first module was on the topic of sound and can be viewed at http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/ASISTM/catalogue.html. Early verbal feedback from both teachers and students suggests that the activities are engaging and enjoyable. The next stage of development will involve designing a further four modules in conjunction with the school teachers through a series of workshops.