FEd students organize Science Olympics for local school

Two hundred students from Kindergarten to Grade 8 at Mary Street Community School recently enjoyed a variety of fun-filled activities during the Science Olympics organized by four Primary/Junior teacher candidates in the University of Ontario Institute of Technology’s (UOIT) Bachelor of Education program.

Based on the recent Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia, the Science Olympics featured eight events that investigated the science behind sports. Dr. Wendy Barber, Director, Bachelor of Education program and Cliff Moon, Clinical Assistant Professor /Instructor, Science Education, supervised teacher candidates Shannon Lebel, Catharine Sells, Emily Verriet and Rebecca Williams, who came up with the idea as their final assignment for the Science Curriculum Methods course Moon teaches. The team also received help from volunteer teacher candidates.

The event was designed to encourage students to think science, live science and have fun doing it. “The day was a huge success and we are proud of our teacher candidates and volunteers for supervising the events,” said Moon.

According to Dr. Barber, the Science Olympics is also part of a significant research partnership between FEd and the Durham District School Board. “We are looking at a long-term partnership to use our Digital Literacies Lab, our technological skills and knowledge, and the participation of our teacher candidates to help improve Education Quality and Accountability Office test scores in high-needs schools,” she said. “The project also aims to encourage community collaborations between the schools and UOIT.” Dr. Barber and Dr. Janette Hughes, Associate Professor, are both partners on the project with Dr. Suzanne de Castell, Dean, FEd, who takes the role of principal investigator.