Below are some further comments submitted by teachers who participated in Who Stole the Minister's Malibu, an event developed by science communicator Ruben Meerman. The event organisers conducted an extensive evaluation, which was presented in December 2002 at the Australian Association for Research in Education Conference, Brisbane, Australia.
Data compiled by J. Stir, P. Renshaw and R. Meerman, Griffith University.
What teachers say:
"I noticed some of my 'quiet' students were a lot more vocal and confident while doing this unit. This confidence and enthusiasm has continued since the competition."
"Children wanted to stay in during break times to check their results and those of other groups. I had notes from parents saying how their children were talking at home about the science activities and the competition."
"A lot more interaction, students were arguing their point of view. They could also see the importance of repeating the experiments."
"The fact that I didn't know the answer and the kids knew it meant that we were all searching for the answer together this was a great way to learn. Their ideas came thick and fast - perhaps because they felt that we were on an equal footing and it was worth taking some risks with their ideas."
"More likely to do experiments in class."
"More motivated and confident to teach science. I discovered a new area of science that was interesting and beneficial to students."
"We had so much fun that I started to look for more real life examples of science that we tend to ignore in everyday life. I want my students to remember that they learnt about "such and such" in my class."
"It has reinforced my belief in cooperative learning"
"It was amazing. I cannot recall ANY other time in my teaching career where all students were so switched on. There was no talk of Eminem, lipgloss, etc. everyone was in the 'WStMM?' zone. There was no behaviour management issues. Thank you so much. What an excellent event! As a result of this, we have formed a 'Science Gurus' club."
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