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SATURDAY, MAY 13, 1978
BIOLOGY TEACHERS URGED TO STIMULATE THINKING
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THE DEPUTY CHIEF INSPECTOR OF SCHOOLS, MRS. LOUISE MOK, TODAY ENCOURAGED BIOLOGY TEACHERS TO ASK QUESTIONS BEGINNING WITH +WHY+ AND +HOW+ TO STIMULATE CRITICAL THINKING.
MRS. MOK WAS SPEAKING AT A SEMINAR AND WORKSHOP ON THE NEW FORM 4 TO 5 BIOLOGY SYLLABUS HELD AT NORTHCOTE COLLEGE OF EDUCATION.
+ IF PUPILS ONLY ACQUIRE THEIR KNOWLEDGE FROM BOOKS WITHOUT ACTUAL OBSERVATION, EXPERIMENTATION AND CRITICAL THINKING, THEY WILL NOT BE ABLE TO ANSWER QUESTIONS BEGINNING WITH "WHY" AND 'HOW',+ MRS. MOK SAID.
+ IN ADDITION TO THE PROVISION OF BIOLOGY CONCEPTS FOR OUR PUPILS, BIOLOGY TEACHERS TODAY HAVE TO MAKE THEIR PUPILS UNDERSTAND THE STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS OF LIVING ORGANISMS AND THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LIFE AND THE ENVIRONMENT.
+TEACHERS ALSO MUST HELP PUPILS UNDERSTAND THE APPLICATION OF BIOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE OUTSIDE THE SCHOOL AND IN THIS CHANGING SOCIETY.
+BIOLOGY EDUCATION HAS TO NURTURE PUPILS' ABILITY TO MAKE ACCURATE OBSERVATION, TO THINK CRITICALLY AND SOLVE PROBLEMS IN A SCIENTIFIC WAY.
+TO ACHIEVE THESE AIMS, BIOLOGY TEACHERS SHOULD USE THE ENQUIRY APPROACH IN THEIR TEACHING AND PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR PUPILS TO DO EXPERIMENTS, TO MAKE ACCURATE OBSERVATIONS, TO DISCUSS THEIR EXPERIMENTS AND TO DRAW THEIR OWN CONCLUSIONS.+
MRS. MOK ALSO EMPHASISED THE IMPORTANCE OF MAKING USE OF LOCAL HABITAT AND SITES FOR THE TEACHING OF BIOLOGY.
+OCEAN PARK, THE BOTANICAL AND ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS, COUNTRY PARKS AND NATURE TRAILS ARE VERY SUITABLE SITES FOR FIELD STUDIES, + SHE SAID.
+FIELD TRIPS WERE ALSO IMPORTANT IN DEVELOPING IN PUPILS
A CORRECT ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE CONSERVATION OF OUR NATURAL
ENVIRONMENT.+
THE SEMINAR AND WORKSHOP WAS ATTENDED BY 200 BIOLOGY TEACHERS.
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