DAY 68 – DAS NEWS – Just a click away to Explore Science

June 13, 2020

DAY 68 – Just a click away to Explore Science #CircuitBreaker #EmbraceDyslexia

Science Explorers Short-Term Programmes were launched by DAS in Term 3, 2018. The Science Programmes are designed to provide support for our Primary 3 & 4 students with dyslexia who face challenges with their Science literacy, understanding of the Science processes, Science vocabulary and application of the knowledge and skills to answer Science exam questions.

Since the launch, we have had more than 100 students join the Science Short-Term Programmes and our Science Workshops too. Our Science lessons at DAS are always fun and interactive as we discover and investigate Science concepts and create Science experiments together.

DURING COVID-19

Our Science Explorers team didn’t know what to expect when the virus hit. It wasn’t the ‘Big Bang Theory’ but it definitely was a Big Bang of COVID-19 virus outbreak that has affected our lives across the globe! As DAS made the official announcement that DAS Learning Centres would temporarily close and we all had to work from home, the Science team busily made plans on how we were going to continue to provide support for all our students via online lessons.

Could we teach Science Online? What about conducting Science experiments? Will it still be fun yet interactive Science lesson?

Those were some of the nagging questions the Science team worried about. Well, we took up the challenge in our usual positive stride, ready to face the COVID-19 war in our botanist gear, armed with our science resources and our laptops!

Yes, we got this! Indeed!

SUCCESS AT THE END OF TERM 2

We have finally arrived at the end of Term 2 and reflecting our online Science Lessons, we are pleased that is was a great learning experience for us and our students too.

Did we lose the war? No, not at all. Our Online Science Lessons were conducted with minimal changes compared to the Science Lessons taught in the DAS classrooms. We continue to apply the inquiry-based learning approach (IBL) where students are able to engage, explore, explain, extend and evaluate on Science concepts as an Experiential Learning in their daily lives, society and the environment by using online tools.

Furthermore, although we couldn’t conduct Science experiments online unlike in we do in the DAS classrooms, we were still able to share amazing videos on Science experiments that can be conducted in the privacy of the students’ homes with parental supervision and one such experiment was the Celery Experiment. Students learned about the transport system in plants which can be demonstrated based on this fun experiment.

Last but not least, we created Weekly Science Activity Packs for our students which provided additional supplementary support for their ongoing Science-related topics. Science Fun-Facts, videos, pictures, worksheets and exam questions were included in these packs and our students looked forward to receiving them every week.

We definitely made it happen by guiding our students to Explore Science and Enrich Their Minds with our Online Science Lessons and Science Activity Packs.

Learn more about our Science Explorers Programme

Specialised Educational Services (SES) is a division of the Dyslexia Association of Singapore. SES programmes are tailored to fit the learning needs of students with a learning difference.

By Kavitha Tiruchelvam
Lead Educational Therapist and Science Explorers Programme Manager
Specialised Educational Services

Read the article here