In this video students at Ridley College in St. Catharines, Ontario demonstrate their Group 4 Projects using PASCO equipment.
PASCO designs and manufactures equipment specifically for use in IB schools, and supports teachers, lab staff, and students with a wealth of information and analysis.
- The Extended Essay: When students perform hands-on, self-directed research using PASCO sensors, they have a reliable and easy-to-to-use equipment they need to support their work.
- Group 4 Project: As students participate in this collaborative and interdisciplinary exercise, PASCO technologies give them the opportunity to explore scientific solutions to global questions.
21st Century Science Teaching in the Context of IB Approaches to Teaching and Learning
Inquiry is a central idea in IB approaches to teaching. Learning through inquiry involves building on students’ prior knowledge, with a reduced emphasis on the teacher being the transmitter of knowledge. By engaging in effective inquiry, students develop skills in research, self-management, collaborative learning, communication, and thinking, as well as problem solving.
The IB curriculum supports using datalogging equipment since it has many benefits in accurately and efficiently collecting large data sets over periods of time. PASCO’s wireless sensors have made data acquisition even more accessible by reducing costs and working seamlessly with any modern device. In the era of BYOD, a student’s computer, phone or tablet can serve as the datalogger, and data can be collected anytime and anywhere.
In today’s classrooms, not having sensors is like not having microscopes 50 years ago: there are still ways to address the content but students’ learning experience is highly compromised.
Scientific inquiry that uses appropriate technology gives students experience using the tools and practices of science, which prepares them to take their sciences beyond school.