http://www.aphyedu.org RSS Description 2008-09-18 http://www.aphyedu.org/index.php?id=38 2008-09-18 The award ceremony was held on 12 September 2008 at the Rajiv Gandhi Science Centre. The function was graced by Hon. D Gokhool. The winners of the first Physics Olympiad (Mauritius) are: 1st Prize: Miss Mohnisha Jawaheer - Queen Elizabeth College. She received a cash prize of Rs 15,000 + books (worth Rs 2,500)+ a security camera + gadgets. 2nd Prize: Miss Pooja Bhunjun - Queen Elizabeth College. She received a cash prize of Rs 10,000 + books (worth Rs 2,000)+ a security camera + gadgets. Runners up: (1) Miss Shelby Ramsamy - Dr Maurice Cure State College; (2) Mr Naidoo Moganadeven Ramasamy - Royal College Curepipe; (3) Mr Ghanshyam Gangasingh - Royal College Curepipe. They received book prizes worth Rs 1,500 + a security camera + gadgets. We thank the following institutions for financial and logistic supports: Mauritius Institute of Education Ministry of Education, Culture and Human Resources Mauritius Research Council Ragiv Gandhi Science Centre Formas Agency State Bank (Reduit Branch) For an overview of the questions set during phases 1 & 2, please refer to folder 'Phy_Olymp'. Send an email on 'y.ramma@intnet.mu' for the answers. Include the following in the email: Name & Surname, School, Address, Phone number. http://www.aphyedu.org/index.php?id=38 http://www.aphyedu.org/index.php?id=32 2008-08-05 22 students have been selected to participate in the final, scheduled for 9 September 2008. The competition will take place at the Mauritius Institute of Education as from 09:30 hours. The duration will be 4 hours (with a break of 30 minutes in-between). There will be two question - a practical and a theory question. The questions may come from any topic of the 'A' level syllabus. The prize giving ceremony is scheduled for 12 September 2008 at the Ragiv Gandhi Science Centre. http://www.aphyedu.org/index.php?id=32 http://www.aphyedu.org/index.php?id=29 2008-05-31 Three teachers participated in the Teachers Innovation Awards organised by Microsoft on 25-30 May 2008 in Accra, Ghana. The three teachers working on the NEPAD e-schools demonstration project were selected following submissions from all the six schools involved in the project. The teachers who participated in the Teachers Innovation Awards were: Mr A. Mungur(MEDCO Cassis), Mrs S. Ramlugun (Belle Rose SSS) and Mr A. Clair (Mont Lubin College, Rodrigues). Mrs S. Ramlugun took the second place in the category 'Content'. Congratulation to the Runner-up and the participants. It is expected that the teachers will share their experiences with their colleagues. The picture shows participants from the Indian Ocean Islands [Madagascar (Hortense Ramanijafy, Eleonore Raharimiadana & Mamy Rakotonanahary), Mauritius & Seychelles] http://www.aphyedu.org/index.php?id=29 http://www.aphyedu.org/index.php?id=28 2008-03-03 The Association of Physics Educator in collaboration with the Mauritius Institute of Education, the Ministry of Education and Human Resources, Rajiv Gandhi Science Centre and the Mauritius Research Council is organising the first Physics Olympiad amoung HSC students in the Republic of Mauritius. The Physics Olympiad is aimed at: 1. challenging students and lead them to broaden their minds. 2. bringing together various stakeholders in the Education field and create platforms for discussions on the state of science in the Mauritian society. The competition will be organised in two phases during which students will be required to solve two complex physics problems (a list of chapters is provided below). The final event will be organised at the MIE and may include elements of practical work in addition to questions on theory. Phase 1: Preliminary - 16 April 2008 The Preliminary event will take place in the following schools: Zone 1 - Lady Sushil Ramgoolam SSS (Triolet) Zone 2 - Marcel Cabon SSS (Beau Bassin) Zone 3 - Royal College Curepipe Zone 4 - Sodnac SSS 5 best physics students from each school are invited to participate. The names (with phone numbers and email addresses) have to be communicated through the Zone Directors/PSSA to Dr Y Ramma (MIE) by 4 April 2008. The Questions: There will be two questions; one theoretical and the other one with an element of application. The duration of the paper will be 4 hours with a break of 15 minutes. The competition will start at 09:30 hours in the respective zones. Members of the Association of Physics Educators will ensure the proper running of the competition. 5 best physics students per zone will be selected by a panel. Questions wil be from the following physics chapters: Measurement; Dynamics; Gravitation; Circular Motion; Energy, Work, Power; Thermal Physics; Simple harmonic Motion; Electrostatics; Current Electricity and DC Circuits. Final 20 students will take part in the final at the Mauritius Institute of Education and Rajiv Gandhi Science Center. For more information, please contact Dr Y Ramma, y.ramma@intnet.mu http://www.aphyedu.org/index.php?id=28 http://www.aphyedu.org/index.php?id=27 2007-06-24 A team of Academics from the MIE dessiminated their findings following research project entitled 'Investigating the common core constructs in students’ acquisition of logico-mathematical concepts in physics at HSC level' on 31 May 2007. Mr V K P Parmessur and Dr Y Ramma made an elaborate expose on various aspects of the research. Executive Summary Project Title: Investigating the common core constructs in students’ acquisition of logico-mathematical concepts in physics at HSC level. Aim: This research study aimed at: (i) Determining the state of physics teaching with respect to conceptual difficulty in understanding of abstract concepts, (ii) Investigating the degree of awareness of logico-mathematical concepts in physics from the teachers’ and students’ perspectives, (iii) Investigating and addressing students’ logical problem solving skills. Methodology: The approach adopted was that of action research which involved the teaching of physics concepts using an interactive pedagogy, incorporating core-constructs. Prior to adopting the new pedagogy, developed by the research team, it was necessary to investigate to what extent interactions were taking place in the classroom and the type of strategies that were being used by the teachers in ten pilot schools. The groundwork has been set by the following methodological approaches: (i) an in-depth analysis of the mathematics and physics curricula with a view to identifying the common core constructs and the degree of interdependence, (ii) observation of physics classes to determine whether the teaching takes account of core constructs and the degree of usage, (iii) five structured individual interviews of physics teachers, (iv) six unstructured group interviews of 100 students, (v) administering of questionnaires to five teachers and 300 students, (vi) conducting physics classes in 5 schools using core constructs, (vii) evaluation of lessons. Brief Introduction: It is a common fact that mathematics forms the basis of physics and it is also a known fact that physics is considered as one of the most difficult subjects in the school curriculum. A number of research studies carried out in the local or international contexts do confirm that many students are not able to bridge the gap between mathematics concepts and physics . The construction of purposeful knowledge becomes difficult and meaningful learning is hampered. Teachers have a very important role to play in enabling students to link mathematics with physics in a systematic process whereby students’ pre-conceptions of concepts are logically examined. It is imperative that the teaching of physics does not concentrate on the body of knowledge but on development of process skills. This research examines the process of teaching and learning and the development of cognitive skills of learners using an innovative strategy which incorporates core-constructs and cognitive dissonance. The Findings:  The teaching of physics is ‘dry’. The teaching of physics has not changed at all; it is carried out in a stereotyped manner with emphasis on the transmission of knowledge rather on the development of process skills which requires students to be engaged in a state of cognitive dissonance.  Theory classes are not linked with practical work. The teaching of concepts is done in isolation of the practical aspect of that concept. Science is a practical subject and students should be give the opportunity to visualize a number of processes to be able to develop understanding of the concept. Otherwise, students will resort to rote memorization to learn.  Prior knowledge is merely tested at the beginning of a lesson. Any lesson should start by testing pre-existing ideas of students which are related to the concept. In this way, the teacher will be able to further guide students during the lesson development. Unfortunately, only ‘knowledge’ type questions are asked which will not determine to what extent students are prepared to develop understanding of the concept that would be taught.  There is almost no interaction between teachers and students. Since emphasis is on transmission of knowledge, students’ understanding of the concepts is not probed into through questioning. The very few questions that are asked are closed type questions which deal with ‘knowledge’ and ‘understanding’ of the Bloom’s Taxonomy. This ‘one way traffic’ type lesson promotes rote learning and jeopardizes the development of cognitive structures. Interaction between teachers and students is important for the students to develop conceptual understanding of the lessons.  Links between mathematics and physics are not developed in the physics lessons. The teaching of physics is carried out with the assumption that students have the mathematical pre-requisites to understand the associated physics concepts. Unfortunately, our research study has shown that this is not the case and students still experience difficulty to interpret the mathematical knowledge which is directly related with the physics. Teachers are expected to guide students to make the linkages between mathematics and physics with a view to facilitating the development of core-constructs. Teaching using core-constructs Core construct is a process of coherence and association related to the process of schematic learning. During the teaching of the lesson, it was at no time assumed that students will understand the mathematical relationship of concepts in physics. Students’ level of understanding was gradually tested using open questioning and through a systematic process which incorporates cognitive dissonance. Most of the time, students by themselves came up with the formulation of ideas through a series of prompts. Evaluation: The evaluation of each lesson was carried out by means of a questionnaire intentionally developed for that purpose. The setting up of the questionnaire was devised to determine the level of appreciation of the students after the lessons were taught. The students were very enthusiastic about the lessons and acknowledged their appreciation of the lessons. Conclusion: This research study has enabled the researchers to identify various problems in the teaching and learning processes, more specifically the types of problems students encounter during physics lessons. The traditional way of teaching physics is still persistent in many schools and this is encouraging rote memorization of lessons; deep learning does not seem to take place. The use of core-constructs in teaching and learning of physics takes into consideration the existing level of acquisition of mathematics and physics concepts by learners. The pedagogy adopted gradually challenges pre-existing knowledge of learners by inducing cognitive dissonance in their intellect. Learners can then construct purposeful knowledge. The findings clearly indicate that the effective teaching of physics would require teachers to create the relevant linkages with core mathematics concepts in the first instance and the core concepts in other disciplines as well. Students will thus be able to develop a holistic understanding of concepts and their interrelationships and use the knowledge acquired at school to solve complex problems in real life situations. http://www.aphyedu.org/index.php?id=27 http://www.aphyedu.org/index.php?id=24 2006-11-03 A team from the Mauritius Institute of Education and Ministry of Education and Human Resources is presently in Rodrigues for the training programme (30 Oct - 04 Nov 2006). Teachers have the opportunity to develop appropriate knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary for the successful implementation of the project. http://www.aphyedu.org/index.php?id=24 http://www.aphyedu.org/index.php?id=14 2006-09-11 The aim of this workshop: To enable teachers to consolidate already acquired pedagogical knowledge and skills with a view to successfully embed ICT in their lessons. This workshop was carried out by lecturers of the Mauritius Institute of Education and Officers of the Ministry of Education and Human Resources. Teachers had the opportunity to critically analyse their lessons and to make appropriate changes in conjuction with latest pedagogical trends. http://www.aphyedu.org/index.php?id=14 http://www.aphyedu.org/index.php?id=13 2006-09-11 The Gender And Science And Technology Association 12th International Conference was hosted by the University of Brighton on 03-08 September 2006. Delegates from 20 countries attended the Conference. Mrs Jaya Naugah who was the Convenor for GASAT 11 has again been elected GASAT Board Member. Dr Y Ramma participated in the Conference and presented a paper on ' Embedding values education into science education at primary level'. The theme of the paper is very much an issue of concern in our society nowadays. http://www.aphyedu.org/index.php?id=13 http://www.aphyedu.org/index.php?id=7 2006-09-11 A workshop was organised by Dr Y Ramma together with colleagues from the MIE and members of the Association of Physics Educators on 02-05 August 2006 for Secondary Science (biology, chemistry, physics) teachers on 'Activity-based teaching and learning of science at secondary level'. Colleagues from AoPE were very helpful in the initiation phase of this workshop. Hans Persson from the Institute of Education, Stolkholm, Sweden participated in the workshop. He introduced practical issues related to conceptual understanding of science. Check Hans on http://www.hanper.hanper.se and some pictures on http://hanper.se/hanper_English/Mauritius06_eng/index.htm http://www.aphyedu.org/index.php?id=7