1. Taiwan ROCs 3 2013
National Taiwan Science Education Centre
2. Questions:
● How do the exhibits in the science centre appeal to the intellectual,
emotional and physical experience of the visitor?
● What are the types of outreach programmes found in the Science
Centre?
● How does the science centre work with other educational institutions in
promoting and educating scientific and technological literacy among its
citizens?
● The educational element found in the science centre is usually
informal, compared to a formal science curriculum found in schools.
How effective is this informal element compared to the formal
curriculum?
3. How do the exhibits in the science centre appeal to the
intellectual, emotional and physical experience of the
visitor?
-Some of the exhibits are interactive, meaning visitors can play with the
exhibits and see what takes place with different scenarios. The subject of the
exhibit is based on which floor and section they were in.
-People will be able to enjoy playing with the terminals and, also be able to
read the sign boards which explains the exhibit and what it is about.
-There are also laboratories where people can watch scientist carry out
experiments and sometimes even have a hand at carrying out the experiment
when they sign up for courses.
4. How do the exhibits in the science centre appeal to the
intellectual, emotional and physical experience of the
visitor?
-They will also be able to learn more through movies and videos
watched in the NTSEC theatres.
-Their theatres include the 3D theatre, the Earthquake theatre and
Turbo-ride 3D theatre.
-The turbo-ride 3D theatre will allow the audience to enjoy a stunning
sensory experience in the comfort of specially designed hydraulic chairs that
move in sync with the on-screen action.
-The earthquake theatre , with circular screen and hydraulic seats,
simulates the strong 921 Earthquake which measured 7.3 on the Richter
scale, reminding the audience of the havoc caused by earthquakes.
5. What are the types of outreach programmes found in the
Science Centre?
● Young scientist development program
- to discover and train junior high school students with scientific
research potential
- this program arouses students’ interest in scientific research and
guides them in the exploration of scientific research projects
- a talent and potential challenge, and advancement in scientific
abilities and disposition
- positively encourages them in the efforts they put in researching
6. What are the types of outreach programmes found in the
Science Centre?
● Laboratory workshops-Weekday & Weekend Courses
-Designed to make up for the insufficiency of science education in
elementary and junior
high schools.
-The weekday courses are based on manual experiments and correspond to the
Grades 1-9
Learning Areas and Competence Indicators.
-These courses provide more opportunities for students to do the experiments by
themselves, and they are an excellent supplement for both elementary and junior
high school
students.
>The weekend courses are for children who from kindergarten to grade nine and are
operated in coordination with the Grades 1-9 Learning Areas and Competence
Indicators.
>These courses are systematic, progressive and integral-scientific
7. How does the science centre work with other educational
institutions in promoting and educating scientific and
technological literacy among its citizens?
● National Primary and High School Science fair
-started in 1960
-a competition of many levels, with projects winning local
exhibitions before excellent works are selected to participate in the
nationals.
-encourage students and teachers to conduct research together
on curriculum material and deepen the scientific experience of daily
life while accumulating related topics of local Taiwan for teaching
materials.
-Through the initial curiosity of students, this will nurture a
general environment of observing and conducting research in science.
8. How does the science centre work with other educational
institutions in promoting and educating scientific and
technological literacy among its citizens?
● Outdoor Science Education Seminar
-The goal is to implement minority support, decrease the differences
between city and country and equal resource distribution policies.
-The implementation of this activity is hereby established to encourage
schools in remote areas and economically disadvantaged students to make
good use of the Science Center.
-There are a variety of nature observations and outdoor science
seminars in Yang Ming Su wu from the nine-year integrated curriculum.
9. The educational element found in the science centre is usually informal,
compared to a formal science curriculum found in schools. How effective is
this informal element compared to the formal curriculum?
-Unlike a formal lesson, such as in everyday school, the NTSEC provides
more informal classes , where students can usually carry out experiments,
and this can be more effective for various reasons:
1) With these lessons, students most of the time will be able to do
hands-on work, and experience and see for themselves what change is
taking place as they carry out their experiments. They would have a larger
interest in what they learning, and they would learn more enthusiastically,
allowing them to learn faster and more efficiently.
2) Being more interactive with the class, allows the teacher to have the
students attention when teaching, as they will be engaged in what he/she is
talking about. Hence they would listen closely, reducing the need for the
teacher to repeat his/herself, saving more time to be able to do other
things, hence their time is used efficiently.
10. The educational element found in the science centre is usually informal,
compared to a formal science curriculum found in schools. How effective is
this informal element compared to the formal curriculum?
3) As the students are able to carry out procedures and experiments on their
own, their experience would serve to teach them, and this way of learning is
better than how they could learn in class. They would be able to understand
concepts and theories more easily after seeing these take place in real life. Hence
this is more efficient in helping students to understand.
-However, :
1.such an informal element might also serve as a distraction for the students,
as they might be extremely engrossed in the experiment, and thus causing them
to not listen to the teachers present.
2.Also, allowing every student to carry out their own experiment might be
time wasting, especially if the students are unsure of how to carry out their
experiments, hence wastes time.
>But, since the cons are outweighed by the pros, and also the fact that the
cons are only limited to a few people, this informal element makes is effective to
a large extent.