Public school teachers get exposure to simplified science experiments

Aug 21, 2015 News

Teachers within the public education system are expected to be in a better position to amplify the fun side of Science to their students when the new school year begins. This is in light of the fact that they, for the past two days, have been exposed to interactive sessions aimed at improving their delivery of science education.
Through the Ministry of Education’s collaboration with Pueblo Science, a Toronto, Canada-based not-for-profit organization, the training sessions for teachers held at the St. Stanislaus College, were made possible. The sessions are slated to come to an end today with teachers being presented with certificates of participation.
Among the facilitators from Pueblo Science, this publication was able to solicit an interview yesterday with Leo Mui. He disclosed that the visit represents the organisation’s first to Guyana and in fact the South American Hemisphere.
“What we are doing here is different (science) topics. We are teaching them how to make batteries from potatoes and aluminum foil and how to use a nine-volt battery to break water down into hydrogen gas and oxygen gas, and then we are testing foods for nutrients. We are building circuits…we are trying to do an all-round physics, chemistry, biology combination,” Leo explained.
He pointed out that the particular focus of the Pueblo Science is to utilize basic materials that are easily found around the house, around the school or in hardware and/or grocery stores. “We want teachers to be able to do these experiments without it costing them too much,” Leo asserted, even as he pointed out the need for emphasis to be placed on the fact that science is very relevant to everyday life.

Leo Mui (leaning on table) demonstrates to some curious teachers how to make batteries from potatoes. Looking on is Ms Petal Punalall-Jetoo.

“We don’t need people to be scientists, because everybody can’t be scientists,” said Leo as he noted that the ultimate intent is to make people more rounded individuals.
Among the visiting five-member Pueblo Science team are persons who have taught or are teaching Science-related subjects who were yesterday only too eager to show the local teachers how simple some science experiments can be.
“Most of these experiments we developed them ourselves and we have tested them in the classroom,” Leo disclosed. He said too that the organization has in the recent past travelled to several countries to share their simplified way of teaching science.
Although it was established in Canada the organization was the brainchild of May Rose Salvador who was born and raised in rural Philippines.
Understandably the group has already visited the Philippines with their experiments that are aimed at helping to address the specific needs of the territory visited. Other areas that have been graced by Pueblo Science are: Thailand, Bolivia and India.
According to National Science Coordinator, Ms Petal Punalall-Jetoo, the collaboration with the organisation is in fact a new one which was initiated through the St. Stanislaus Canadian Alumni. She disclosed too that Chairman of the Board of the St. Stanislaus College, Christopher Fernandes, had in fact heard about the science collaboration and was keen on having it immediately to help improve the science programme at that secondary level school.
But according to Punalall-Jetoo when the possible opportunities that the collaboration could yield were discussed “we thought that an extended collaboration with the Ministry of Education, to bring on board other schools, would benefit the entire science programme for Guyana.”
Because of a financial constraint, only teachers from within Georgetown, Regions Three, Nine and 10, amounting to about 80 teachers, were selected to participate. It is expected that they in turn will share what they have learnt with other teachers.
The vision is to link the programme to schools that are now resuscitating their science clubs, according to Punalall-Jetoo.
“Some of these experiments, while the teachers use them in the schools as part of the curriculum, we can also have the students involved in club activities do these, whereby the older students in the school can help younger students to understand complicated science concepts using small amounts of resources and inexpensive resources,” said the Science Coordinator.
It is her belief that this could see the public school system “moving further away from our traditional ‘chalk and talk’ methodology to one that brings active learning into the classroom in an efficient way.”