Want to engage your class in the nature of science, encourage their curiosity and develop their observation skills? We have the webinar for you! Join Greta Dromgool and guest Giselle Clarkson in a session which will introduce the practice of observology.
Giselle Clarkson is a New Zealand author and illustrator, her work featuring in children’s books, Connected journals, New Zealand Geographic and more. Her book, The Observologist encourages readers to notice details in the world around them by providing interesting facts, handy tips and plenty of humour.
Give away
During the webinar we will be giving away three free copies of The Observologist. Simply register, attend the live webinar and comment in the chat box to be in to win. We'll be randomly selecting the winners from the attendee list at the end of the session. (Please note we are only able to post to prize winners in Aotearoa New Zealand).
In our webinar we will show how observology – a term invented to describe the study of looking –can bring science learning alive in your classroom. Synergies with other curriculum areas and links to relevant digital resources and activities will be showcased so you can get your class of observologists exploring straight away. This session will be most valuable for educators from early years through to junior secondary.
I hope it will encourage children to see that a fascinating, lively, natural world is more than just big animals in faraway places – it’s all around us.
Giselle Clarkson
During the webinar we'll be live tweeting summarised points with the hashtags #SLH_webinar and #SLH_PLD on our X (previously Twitter) feed.
Joining the webinar
Follow these simple steps to join our webinar:
- Join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android by clicking on the link https://waikato.zoom.us/j/84864548709 and following the instructions. You can also access Zoom on your phone, just follow the prompts.
- Find the chat box located in the toolbar at the bottom of your screen. You may need to access this by clicking on ‘More’.
- Using the chat box, introduce yourself, where you teach and, if you are in a group, how many people are there.
- Set up your screen for optimal viewing. If you’re using a mobile device, you may wish to view in landscape. We recommend selecting a thumbnail view of the presenters – this way you can easily see what is being shared on the screen.
Then you can:
- watch, listen and respond via chat to the presentation and discussion
- ask questions using the chat box at any time
The Science Learning Hub team will be there to support you and answer questions.
If you have any questions, please email us.
Activity ideas
The following activities support students to develop observation skills, essential for the young observologist:
- Observation: learning to see
- Developing observation skills in younger students
- Titiro – observing my environment
Professional learning development
Take a look at these webinar recordings to learn more about Developing an eagle eye and Making sense of what we see.
Collection
See Observology for the classroom – a curation of resources based on this webinar.
Useful links
Giselle Clarkson’s website can be found here.
The Observologist, published by Gecko Press, can be purchased at many excellent bookstores.
