Junior Climatologists Required! “How can we avoid global climate change? – Reflexions on Air Pollution, Tornados and Global Climate Change”
In the PARSEL module “Junior climatologists required! - How can we avoid global climate change?– Reflections on air pollution, tornados and global climate change” the young students will have theopportunity to obtain information which will help to explain complex processes using simple and reliablyworking scientific experiments. One central aim of this module is that the children experience the fact thatscientific work does not only include conducting experiments but also includes looking for informationand working with sources. A further substantial part of scientific work is being amazed by and marvellingat things. This, in turn, calls for questions to be raised and assumptions to be formulated as well as forcreative planning of possible experimental setups. We want to achieve a sensitisation for climate-relatedquestions in the students, thereby offering them the opportunity to partake in decision-making process asan active member of society. To be able to act responsibly and to have an influence on something requiresjudgment of situations, data and facts. In our workshop we want to show the young students that scientificknowledge and competencies lay the valuable and essential groundwork for judging appropriately andacting effectively.
KieWi&Co.: Substances in Everyday Life “Where do the fizzy bubbles ‘in’ the fizzy tablets come from?”
In this PARSEL module, young students will have the opportunity to examine a phenomenon that theywill know from everyday life and which they may have asked themselves about before - “Where do thefizzy bubbles ‘in’ the fizzy tablets come from?” Systematically, the students will examine thecomponents of fizzy tablets. Judging from experience, the students will most likely suggest examiningeach of the ingredients separately and dissolving it in water. In doing so the students will realise thatseparate solution of the ingredients does not produce fizzy bubbles. This primarily “frustrating result” isdeliberate since the students are meant to learn that experiments do not necessarily lead to the expected ordesired result. It is only when adding two of the ingredients to water (citric acid and sodium hydrogencarbonate) that the desired result is achieved – fizzy bubbles are produced. By proceeding in this way, thestudents learn how scientific research works and that set-backs are to be expected. Only a systematicanalysis of the variables will deliver successful results and solutions to problems. Further experiments,such as how many bubbles are created and how this can be quantitatively measured as well as whetherdifferent fizzy tablets produce the same amount of bubbles, round up the module.
Science in a Class of Its Own: Renewable Energy Sources “How Can Expert Reports Lead Astray?”
In the PARSEL module “Renewable energy sources: How can expert reports lead astray?” the youngstudents deal intensively with the opinions, ideals and judgments of other people on the topic ofrenewable energy, namely bioenergy. With the help of detailed instructions, the students should be able tocompare and evaluate the two fuel types, for example biodiesel and diesel, in a systematic manner. Byfollowing the recommondations of this module, the students learn how experts come to their conclusionsand to scientific reports. The students will also find out why different experts’ reports can come todifferent scientific results and why even experts’ reports can lead astray.
Science in a Class of Its Own: Renewable Energy Sources “My iPod Works with Energy from Bull Shit”
The PARSEL module “Renewable energy sources: My iPod works with energy from bull shit”focuses on the question of how biogas is produced and in how far the production of biogas can be used asan alternative to conventional energy production (e.g. fossil fuels). Working together in groups, thestudents will synthesize biogas. Afterwards, still in groups, the heating value of the biogas will bedetermined through experiments, and the explosiveness of air-biogas-mixtures will be systematicallyanalyzed. Optionally, the combustion products formed through burning biogas can be qualitatively and/orquantitatively measured. The results of the heating value determination as well as the qualitative and/orquantitative analyses which the students carried out by themselves will be compared to the heating valuesand analysis results of other sources of energy. These comparisons may be important in finding an answerto the above mentioned question.
KieWi&Co.: Ways into the Microscopic World “What happens to the ice cubes in my soft drink?”
Current curricula for science subjects call for the use of “simple” particle models in order to explain thestructure of matter in lessons for students new to science. Surveys in the area of science education cometo the conclusion that only few pupils develop an appropriate picture of the particle structure of matterduring their entire school life. The PARSEL module “What happens to the ice cubes in my softdrink?” opens up “Ways into the (sub-)microscopic world” for young students in grades 5 to 7. It wasdeveloped for students who are just beginning to learn science (especially chemistry). Furthermore, thismodule shows students how to, through their own scientific inquiries, gain insights into scientificexplanations and that apparently straightforward conclusions can often lead astray.
Chemistry in a Class of its own: Building Blocks of Life “To become fit and strong eat eggs all day long” – The Truth about Proteins in my Body
Everything we eat lived once or comes from a living organism – animals or plants – and everything that livesis made up of the same basic biochemical building blocks. These are mainly carbohydrates, fats, proteins andnucleic acids. Hence, it seems to be essential to know more about these bio-molecules, which are, in all theirdifferent designs, a part of our nutrition and which belong to our menu. In the PARSEL module “Thebuilding blocks of life: “To become fit and strong eat eggs all day long” – The truth about proteins inmy body” students will have the possibility to experiment with the “building blocks of life” to get to thebottom of important questions such as “How does the chicken protein get into my muscles?” The studentsinvestigate the digestion of protein in the human body: Diluted chicken egg white will be placed into adialysis tube and an enzyme which decomposes the protein (protease) will be added. The amino acids whichwill be split off the polymer will be small enough to pass through the pores of the dialysis tube and so reachthe outer medium. The amino acids will then be detectable using UV spectroscopy. Afterwards, theexperimental setup will be used for and the results will be applied to the processes in the human body.
SIXTH FRAMEWORK PROGRAMME SCIENCE AND SOCIETY PRIORITY Science education and careers 2005 COORDINATION ACTION Contract no 042922