Three researchers from the Walid and Helen Kattan Science Education Project participated in the 10th International Conference on Hands-on Science, which was held from 1- 5 July at the University of Pavol Jozef Šafárik, Slovakia.
The conference was organised by the Hand-on Science Network, an international not-for-profit association registered in Portugal. The Network aims to promote the development of science education and scientific literacy globally. This year’s conference addressed issues related to lifelong science learning in formal and informal settings, with a focus on the interactive teaching methods which are shared by science practitioners from around the world.
Project Senior Researcher Samar Kirresh presented a paper at the conference entitled: “Drama Mantle of the Expert: Creating Contexts for Integrative Inquiry Based Elementary Science Instruction.” In this paper, Kirresh shared the outcomes of the Mantle of the Expert training courses that were held for Jericho primary school science teachers.
Kirresh’s paper highlighted the impact of the course and the effect of the Drama Mantle of the Expert approach on teachers’ understanding of scientific inquiry, and how it enables them to embrace an integrated approach into their lesson plans, thus allowing for scientific exploration. The paper also answers several questions related to the changing role of the teacher in the educational process, and the opportunities that this bring for students to be active agents of change for issues related to science in a social and ethical context.
Project Researchers Bisan Battrawi and Rami Muhtaseb presented a joint paper entitled: “Assessing the Role of Social Networks in Increasing Interest in Science and Science Literacy among a Sample of Facebook Users.” The paper examines ways of using social networking tools for building an interest in science within Palestinian and Arab communities. The paper represents one of many studies that the Kattan Project has supported regarding the use of social communication as a tool for building an interest in science and science culture within an informal learning context.
The Kattan Science Project encourages teachers and students to engage in research and reflective writing about their personal, professional, and academic development, as well as helping them to publish in specialist magazines and present at conferences. For example, Kareema Awaddalah, a secondary science teacher from Silwad Public School near Ramallah, participated in the Hands-on Science conference last year, and presented a paper about her experience with her students engaging in hands-on astronomy.
By participating in such conferences, the Kattan Science Project aims to build a network of support, where researchers and teachers can share the results of their work, learn about recent approaches to teaching and learning science, as well as encouraging opportunities for future joint projects.