I wanted to put a short comment on the presentation by Dr. Hunter Close from the Seattle Pacific University that I just listened to. Hunter spoke on how they use the idea of kinestetic representation to help middle school teachers to understand the concept of energy. It is part of the Seattle Pacific University Energy […]

I feel very fortunate to be able to attend the Foundations and Frontiers of Physics Education Research Regional Conference organized by our colleagues from the Washington State. The conference has 40 participants from Washington, BC, Oregon, Colorado and Idaho. The goal is to exchange ideas and to see where we can collaborate. Since the number […]

I have been planning my last science teaching lesson for tomorrow and decided to use Geiger Counter from Vernier as a model of data collection. it also has a very relevant link to our students today as we all are thinking of the catastrophe in Japan.  Although few people might use it in the elementary […]

I know I am a few days late, as the Women’s Day was on March 8, yet it is an interesting link from NSERC… Click here. A recent study by the UBC Faculty Association shows that the issue has not been resolved yet and it is far from being resolved… Lots of problems are still […]

Like many of us, I am trying to follow up on what is happening in Japan. I am so sorry for the people in Japan. What a disaster! It is amazing how well Japan is prepared for it, yet, the forces of nature are unbelievably strong. I have never seen anything as powerful as this […]

Today we had a very interesting discussion in my elementary science methods class. We discussed how conceptual multiple choice questions can be used in an elementary classroom (K-8).  Initially, the students were vehemently opposed to multiple choice questions. Most of them cited the idea that multiple choice questions do not allow students to be creative […]

On Saturday, March 11, two UBC departments in two different Faculties: Physics and Astronomy (Faculty of Science) and Curriculum and Pedagogy (Faculty of Education) collaborated to host the 33rd UBC Physics Olympics. More than 350 students from 55 schools all across British Columbia took part in the event – some of them came by ferry, […]

As a devastating earthquake hit Japan (8.9 on the Richter scale), I would like to express my heartfelt sorrow and concern for the people in affected regions. Many students in Vancouver and all over the world will be affected by it either directly or indirectly. As much as this event is extremely scary (and many […]

It is an interesting video clip and it is relevant to our elementary teachers too. Notice how one person can make a difference for her students and for the new teachers in her school. Notice, how she describes how poorly the new teachers are prepared and how she helps new teachers with the content, pedagogy […]

Today I happened to stumble across a very interesting new book by the authors of TIMSS Study (Third International Mathematics an Science Study):  Teacher Education Matters A Study of Middle School Mathematics Teacher Preparation in Six Countries by William H. Schmidt, Sigrid Blömeke, and Maria Teresa Tatto, Pub Date: January 2011, 352 pages. In their […]