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 […]

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 […]

This TED Video is worth watching for any educator, parent or student. This is what technology can do to change our world!

Yesterday I had an opportunity to observe a secondary school science lesson in an ESL (English as a Second Language) classroom. Most of the students in that class speak Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean or Japanese as their first language. The majority arrived to Canada last year. A student-teacher I was observing was working with them to […]

Tomorrow my students and I will be discussing science field trips for elementary school students. I have been thinking of a field trip I would like to share with my students that would be something they might have not thought of. I think I found it – a Field Trip to Iona Island in Richmond. […]

For the past few month I have been a Faculty Adviser to Teacher-Candidates (pre-service secondary science teachers). As part of my responsibility I had to observe their teaching and provide them with useful feedback. It was my first time to do practicum supervision and being a new person to the system, I noticed a few […]

My students and I had a very interesting discussion in class today. As they are working on science unit planning, they are asked to submit an assignment where they focus on how they will assess student learning. We discuss three kinds of assessment with them – Assessment FOR Learning (formative assessment done by the teacher), […]