SecondaryScience

Once again, England have underperformed in a major championship.  The only time I’ve felt genuine euphoria about an England performance is when I flew back from South Africa after a fabulous holiday to be greeted with the headlines ‘Germany 1 – England 5′  upon landing in Amsterdam.  I once had the misfortune of following the England team in an overseas adventure watching them lose every match in the 1988 European Championships in Germany.  It’s strange how vividly you can remember things when you were actually there.  I hope the fans who have spent large amounts of money travelling to South Africa will bring back beautiful memories of the country (like we did) rather than the awful football they have watched the England team produce on the pitch.

As somebody who loves Africa, I am getting increasingly worried about the impact of climate change on East Africa.  In particular, the seasonal rains upon which many countries in East Africa depend are becoming much less reliable and we are once again seeing another drought in countries such as Ethiopia, Kenya and parts of Uganda.  Whilst increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere may be contributing to global warming, the main contributary factor to climate change in East Africa must be due to deforestation.  In Kenya large number of settlershave moved into the Mau forest complex.  This is a valuable ‘water tower’ that acts as a water source for millions of people in Southern Kenya and also feeds the Mara River (which flows through the Maasai Mara game reserve) and Lake Victoria – the source of the Nile.  The scale of deforestation can be seen in the pictures below.

Deforestation in the Maasai Mau

A report out today by ‘Ofqual’ has indicated that standards in Science exams have fallen.  The report looked at the General Science and Physics GCSEs.  There is now a large disparity between the schemes of work offered by the various examination boards and this is making comparisons difficult.  Once again QCA are reviewing Science GCSE syllabuses, with a view to introducing new specifications for teaching in 2011.  This will be just five years after the introduction of the previous specifications meaning schools will have to invest in new books and other materials.

Ofqual has ordered immediate changes for 2009 with tighter marking criteria for the forthcoming summer 2009 exams. 

A news story about this itme can be accessed from the BBC’s website.

It was great to see the amount of money raised by Comic Relief this year.  I spend a lot of time in Africa and much of the money is very well spent on projects that benefit local communities.  I’m looking forward to returning to Africa this year – I will be visiting Uganda which is a major beneficiary of the money raised through Comic Relief.

Each year more and more people climb Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and the Comic Relief film reminded me of the fabulous time I had climbing the mountain ten years ago.  I still remember standing on Uhuru peak just after sunrise and looking down upon the clouds that covered the plains below.  It was magical to see the mountain again when we visited Amboseli National Park in Kenya a few years ago.  It now costs around US$110 per day in fees to climb the mountain to which must also be added the wages for porters, cooks and guides.  The money raised is essential for the maintenance of other National Parks in Tanzania.

Photographs of me on the mountain are posted below.

It was interesting to see the article in today’s Sunday Times about students at Monkseaton Community High School, studying for degrees whilst still at school.  There are many benefits of studying for a degree with the OU and the ability to study at your own pace is one of them.  However, the costs given in the article were huge underestimates.  It will cost around £3700 to complete a degree with the OU plus the cost of attending summer schools at around £440 per week, giving a total cost of around £6000 for a Science degree which would normally be spread over 6 years.  OU studies also include all of the materials required for completing the course.  This compares very favourably with the cost of attending a ‘traditional’ University where tuition fees are at least £3000 per year plus the cost of lodgings, books, etc.

I think there is a lot of benefit from school students studying OU modules whilst in the sixth form, in particular learning the study skills necessary to undertake a degree course.  However, I feel this should not be at the expense of students studying for A Levels or experiencing full time University Study.

I have found the Open University a great way to develop my own subject knowledge and I have been studying Physics for the past couple of years with them.  I have now gained the Diploma in Physical Science and in the course of my studies I became more interested in the OU as an institution.  I am now an Associate Lecturer on the the general science course, S104, for the Open University and I believe this course gives an excellent general introduction to the study of science at degree level.  The materials provided for the students are all exceptionally well produced.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/education/article5907465.ece

Welcome to my new blog, which I intend to use for comments on science in the news and to update my students on homeworks and lesson activities.