Our reporter Xu Qimin
Every Wednesday, Zhu Kaidi, a doctoral student at the Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, will bring a large pack of experimental equipment to Jianxiang Primary School, and use the after-school service hours from 3:30 to 4:30 in the afternoon to refresh the second-grade children’s Awareness of "sugar".
This semester, his organic science popularization team has undertaken the organic chemistry popularization courses of four primary and secondary schools in Xuhui District to enrich the children's after-school time.
At the same time, under the organization of the "Pudong New Area Future Science Star Training Program" sponsored by the Shanghai Institute of Advanced Research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Pudong New Area Education Bureau, and the Pudong New Area Science and Technology Association, scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Shanghai Ocean Frontline scientists from different scientific research institutions such as universities and Shanghai Meteorological Administration entered the classrooms of primary and secondary schools with 30 popular science courses in nine fields, including artificial intelligence, wireless communications, and biomedicine.
With the implementation of the "double reduction" policy, primary and secondary schools have released a stronger demand for high-quality popular science education.
Recently, reporters followed Shanghai scientists into the classrooms of primary and middle schools and found that these "amateur teachers" are quite popular.
They not only bring novel and interesting frontier knowledge to children, but also send scientific thinking and scientific spirit to the next generation.
The after-class time that does not need to be immersed in the problems and the high-quality science courses collide with unexpected gains.
Bring the "mysterious profession" to the children's eyes
On Friday afternoon, Li Mingqi, a researcher at the Shanghai Institute for Advanced Study of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, rushed to the junior high school of Wu Xun Middle School in Nanhui. The radio is complete.
Near the end of get out of class, the children heard the familiar sound of "FM105.7 Shanghai Traffic Radio, Follow All the Way" from the radio assembled by themselves, and the classroom was full of joy.
At first, Li Mingqi taught the children to let them understand what "communication engineering" is all about.
Because "most students do not know the major they will learn in the future when they apply for the college entrance examination."
He hopes to use his little effort to bring the "mysterious profession" to the children and give them some scientific research enlightenment and guidance.
With similar ideas, the science popularization team of the Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences collected curriculum ideas from various research groups in the institute through "crowdfunding", and developed a series of courses suitable for high schools, junior high schools and elementary schools, and sent them to campus classrooms.
What makes the team gratified is that some students didn't like chemistry at first. After they gained a systematic understanding of this subject through their popular science classes, they decided to take chemistry in the college entrance examination.
“Through the lively narration and teaching discussions of frontline scientists, students’ interest in science was stimulated, and at the same time, they opened up their horizons and saw more scenery.” said Lou Weiyi, vice president of the Second Attached Middle School of China Normal University. Scientists enter the classroom. It is very helpful for middle school students to have a clear understanding of their interests and ambitions and future career plans.
Experiments that do not deduct test sites stimulate interest and curiosity
"In the beginning, the'Future Science Stars' project only gave us 10 places, and the students were not enough. This semester finally won 20 places." At Dongchang Middle School affiliated to East China Normal University, the science classes customized by scientists are particularly popular. .
The principal Xue Zhiming hopes to open the "switch" of students' scientific and technological literacy: "Basic education is a process of continuous seeding. Maybe students will not necessarily eat this bowl of rice in the future, but this experience will arouse long-term interest and curiosity."
In Li Mingqi's view, doing something by hand will allow children to learn things that can't be learned in books.
Take assembling a radio as an example. The ammeters, voltmeters, terminals, capacitors, etc. used in the experiment can only be known by hands before knowing what these components look like and which models are available.
"The schematic looks very simple. Once it's your turn to assemble, you will encounter many practical problems-for example, how to clearly explain to the merchant when you buy a part." He believes that the experience that these textbooks can't learn will give you Students bring a sense of accomplishment and make learning more motivated.
Children's interest in exploring the unknown, and the abilities inspired by it, should never be underestimated.
Last semester, Zhu Kaidi and the science and technology teacher Chai Lingli of Jianxiang Elementary School jointly designed the popular science project "Rescue the Polar Bear". The popular science courses of the University integrate small experiments, painting, and picture book reading.
Chai Lingli told reporters that through simulation experiments to present the greenhouse effect and simulate ocean acidification, the children were guided to think about the living conditions of polar bears. The children made their own science panels and walked into the first-grade classrooms to give lectures.
Many teachers and parents have feedback that they have never thought that children in the second grade can complete an inquiry task in such a systematic and expressive manner.
Make up for the shortcomings of middle school teachers' "teaching and scientific research" ability
Entering Shanghai Fifteenth Middle School, Antarctic Taishan Station with the same solar photovoltaic system and plant factory, in-situ efficient food waste treatment and resource utilization system, zebrafish incubation and growth laboratory, and constructed wetland have become a unique landscape on the campus. .
And these "high-level" campus landscapes are all campus immersive research experience courses designed by experts and professors from the School of Environmental Science and Engineering of Tongji University and school teachers.
Xu Xiang, the principal of No. 15 Middle School, told reporters that when the school deliberately designed ecological courses with the theme of "man and nature", many teachers found that it was difficult to make satisfactory courses by themselves. Tongji expert "foreign aid" joined Make the course advancement greatly speed up.
Together with the backbone young teachers of the Fifteenth Middle School, they organized a curriculum development team. Through complementary advantages, they made the immersive experience curriculum take into account the knowledge points of junior high school teaching. In the continuous feedback of experts, teachers, and student organizations, they quickly completed the curriculum system. optimization.
During the interview, the reporter found that middle school teachers generally have shortcomings in "teaching and scientific research".
Jing Yi, the initiator of the "Future Science Star" project and a senior engineer at the Chinese Academy of Sciences Shanghai Institute of Advanced Research, believes that universities and scientific research institutions should assume corresponding responsibilities and establish a training mechanism with middle schools.
In fact, many universities and research institutions have found that some freshmen have insufficient independent thinking and practical skills.
At the same time, scientific research also needs to be practical and conscientious, and to endure loneliness.
They hope that through the penetration of science popularization by scientists into elementary and middle school education, this shortcoming of students' scientific literacy can be made up to a certain extent.