NSS ChemistryLearning & Teaching

Strategies

Active Reading and Writing Tasks

Objectives of the Workshops

1. To promote the use of active reading and writing tasks in the learning and teaching of chemistry

2. To share experiences in conducting reading and writing tasks in the chemistry lessons

3. To discuss on how to develop activities from different resource materials

4. To discuss on how to assess students' reading and writing tasks

1. Why promoting reading and writing in chemistry?

IMPORTANT?

Reading and Writing #1 Suggested Learning and Teaching Activities in

NSS:Topic II: Reading articles or writing essays on the

applications of materials such as graphite and aluminium in relation to their structures.

Topic V: Searching for information or reading articles about the discovery of polyethene and the development of addition polymers.

Topic VI: Reading articles on how Valence Shell Electron Pair Repulsion (VSEPR) theory can be used to predict the shapes of molecules.

Reading and Writing #2 Where in the curriculum? Topic VII:

Introduction: “Through searching for information and critically reading materials about electrochemical technology, students should appreciate the contribution of chemical knowledge to technological innovations, which in turn improve our quality of life”

Reading articles about the industrial processes involved in the production of aluminium from aluminium ore.

Reading articles about new developments in fuel cell technology and lithium cells.

Students do not like reading?

Students’ problems?Lack of interestLack of skills

Textbooks’ problems?Not fun / Not attractiveHard to readLots of digressionsLots of irrelevant information

Some opinions

Reading for information and enjoyment

Promotion of science learning alongside the

development of language ability

Copying notes from the board or from

worksheets does little to encourage language

skills (OFSTED, 1995, par. 26)

Dominance of “doing” over “reading and

thinking”? (Turner & Dimarco)

Nature of ScienceMore than practical skillsMore than information processing skillsChemists do need reading and writing

skills

Nature of Science科學科的性質

Doing science進行科學實驗

Organizing scientific information建構科學知識

Explaining events scientifically科學地解釋現象

Challenging science科學論辯探究

Veel, 1997

Some Learning Targets of NSS Chemistry CurriculaPractical skillsInformation handling skillsCommunication skills: oral, reading

and writingDo we have good support from language

subjects?Can students transfer their skills learnt in

language subjects to chemistry?

Themes for Reading

Curriculum bound?Curriculum linked?

For enhancing scientific literacy – values and attitudes, STSE connection

For enhancing interest in chemistry

Helping students to read

How to distinguish trivial details from important

generalizations?interesting information from

important information?How to facilitate students have not

master the reading skills to read?

Student 1:

I read through a section quickly. I try to figure out why it was put there and then I’ll go back and underline as few words as possible.

Student 2:

I underlined with the highlighters. I used two colors. I wanted to give one color more importance than the other. It would mean more to me later.

壹 略讀 – 對內容得出概略的認識

貳 細讀 – 找尋某一方面的資料

參 精讀 – 集中注意力以完成一預定的閱讀目標

肆 批判式閱讀 – 分析、評價及評估資料

Resources for Reading and Writing

Chem4Kids

Science News for Kids

Science Magazine

Catalyst http://www.philipallan.co.uk

Chemistry Review ChemMatters Chem 13 News, U of Waterloo,

Canadahttp://sciborg.uwaterloo.ca/chem13news/index.html

Education in Chemistry

AL Chemistry Exam Papers

如何運用報紙教學系列化學科專科語體中學會考化學科試題及考生答卷表現 http://www.cmi.hku.hk/index.htm

中國內地化學教育資源網

本地化學科教師網站李 SIR 好化學網URL: http://i.am/chemsir例 1 ：滅火器變飛彈工人斷臂事件例 2 ：致癌毒粉絲流入本港

致癌毒 *** 流入本港

Reference Book:

Wellington and Osborne. (2001).Language and Literacy in Science Education.Buckingham ; Phildelphia, Pa. : Open University Press.

Reading and writing tasks as NSS Chemistry SBA

tasks?

Examples of SBA Tasks1. critical reading, analysis and reporting on the

contribution of chemistry to the understanding of the material world

2. designing a poster or pamphlet aimed at persuading people to follow the principles of green chemistry

3. writing a report to present the scientific knowledge and concepts acquired after a visit to an industrial plant, and

4. developing a multimedia artefact to illustrate the synthesis of polymers.

Thank You!