Constructing a spectroscope

Constructing a spectroscope

On Thursday the 30th of April 2009, we were back at St. Augutine's Primary School to teach the students science. This week's experiment was on "Constructing a spectroscope".
The students showed some understanding of what light energy is through a class discussion. They were able to work well amonst theremselves and as a group. As part of Professor Science show and as a student teacher, i found that some students don't read the instructions and depend on teachers to do their work for them. I appoached this issue by sitting down with the student(s) and went through the instructions step by step at a time. As a result, the students were able to read the instructions and build the experiment themself.
The experiment of the explosion using liquid nitrogen was a great experience for the students and teachers. Judging from the facial reactions and from the amount of loud noises the students were making, i'd say they had a terrific time.
I have learnt that it is important to explain the intructions specifically and question the students to test their understanding.