Exploring socially relevant, real world issues is one way to engage learners. Using simple, fun hands-on activities is another. Our latest pānui features both.
As the school year winds down, it can be a challenge keeping students engaged and interested in learning. Research shows that using socio-scientific issues increases student interest and motivation, and helps to develop both higher-order thinking skills and an understanding of the nature of science. Our new media-rich content looks at issues of interest to Aotearoa New Zealand.
Issues and solutions for food production
Honey bees play a significant role in pollinating food crops and other flowering plants. Discover how dogs can sniff out bee disease. What else might dogs be trained to identify?
Forage and pasture species may be impacted by climate change. Aotearoa New Zealand’s seed banks protect biodiversity for grassland plants, cereals and a selection of threatened native plant species. Which plant species should get priority?
Spirulina is rich in iron, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals – it provides 200 times more protein per hectare than beef. Is this fast-growing ‘superfood’ the answer to diversifying food exports of Aotearoa?
New content coming soon: Flowering in plants is controlled by factors including seasonal cues and genetics. With climate change, night temperatures may get too warm for some plants to flower and bear fruit. Are new gene editing techniques the way to meet this challenge?
The Ethics thinking toolkit and the Futures thinking guide and toolkit may be helpful when navigating this type of exploratory learning with your ākonga.
Engaging learners through exploration and fun – free webinars
Bring science alive with digital tools – join our free webinar on 3 November to learn how your students can engage with the science capabilities using digital tools such as Arduino Science Journal (free) and micro:bit to record and present data and have fun doing it!
We are also collaborating with Science in a Van for Hive Mind – Fun science on 17 November. Emily and Alan will share lots of engaging science demos and experiments! We’ve curated a collection of easy and fun Hub resources to support this event.
Check out our latest recorded webinars:
- Understanding science through drama – drama offers so many possibilities, pick and choose what tools you will experiment with.
- Aotearoa in space – discover a vast collection of resources designed to engage students in learning about space.
More than water play
Floating and sinking may appear to be simple but the science concepts that underpin them are quite complex – experiences with physical phenomena/forces feature in NZC levels 1–5!
We’ve created a suite of resources to support Building Science Concepts: Floating and sinking including the activities:
- Investigating floating and sinking
- Floating and sinking – exploring forces
- Will this float or sink? uses the Will this float or sink? – graphic organiser – ideal for formative assessment.
Follow us
We offer added value through our social media. Contact us about creating collections or boards tailored to your needs. We can help foster connections between the education and science communities.
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/nzsciencelearn
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/NZScienceLearn
- Pinterest: nz.pinterest.com/nzsciencelearn
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/sciencelearninghubnz
Your feedback
We hope you enjoy using the Science Learning Hub – Pokapū Akoranga Pūtaiao in your teaching and would love to hear from you. Your comments, ideas and feedback can be emailed to enquiries@sciencelearn.org.nz.
Noho ora mai
Science Learning Hub – Pokapū Akoranga Pūtaiao
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