MYSTIC STEP 1
STEP 1
Preparation for Mentoring
STEP 2
School Visit #1
STEP 3
School Visit #2
STEP 4
School Visit #3
STEP 5
Attend Science Fair
Goals for STEP 1
- Check that you are allocated to a school
- Check the DATES and TIMES for your three School Visits and the Science Fair
- CHECK the THEME of your allocated class
- Know and understand MySTic ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES
- Read INFORMATION ABOUT MYSCIENCE MENTORING
Scroll down for more information.
STEP 1 – Plan Ahead
- SCHOOL INFORMATION: check
- ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES: gain awareness
- WHAT MYSCIENCE MENTORING INVOLVES: gain awareness
STEP 1 is BEFORE School Visit #1
STEP 1 – Information
School Information
The school in which you will be volunteering as a MySTic will be in email contact with one of your Science Teachers to let you know the following information:
- school name and address,
- if/when there will be a ‘MySTic Orientation/Briefing Session’,
- dates and times for each of the three School Visits (usually 60-90 minutes duration), and the Science Fair,
- your allocated class and the CLASS THEME.
Class Theme Information
BEFORE you come to the school the class teacher will have completed the following activities with their students:
- Selected a class THEME, which will have been used to
- Conduct a class BRAINSTORM.
- A number of TOPICS will have arisen during the Brainstorm, from which, each STUDENT GROUP will have selected ONE TOPIC.
- Student groups will have begun to RESEARCH their Topic and to generate possible QUESTIONS to investigate.
When you come in for SCHOOL VISIT #1 your student group/s will be ready to work with you to narrow down their investigation to ONE TESTABLE QUESTION.
- Theme Ideas presents a list of TEACHING THEMES that are broad enough to accommodate a wide range of student interest areas and to address most school teaching programs. Successful themes that have been used in MyScience include: Change, Communication, Energy, Environment, Global Issues, the Human Body, Transport, Mythbusters and Weather.
- Mythbuster Theme is a video where a mentor and teacher speak about the benefits for having a theme.
MyScience Mentoring
As a MySTic, you bring valued science expertise as well as being closer in age to primary students than adult Mentors, which means that your primary students may feel quite comfortable relating to you.
- You need to be able to advise primary students about:
- setting up a ‘fair test’;
- how the scientific method relies on careful measurements that are repeated a number of times; and
- how to work as a team member.
- Information related to how these aspects of Working and Thinking Scientifically are done in MyScience Primary School Classrooms are available through the following Resource links:
- Thinking & Working Scientifically
- Measuring Accurately
- Measuring Reliably
- The way that you talk about, think about, and help students with their scientific investigations, is how they will learn what to do. They learn through INTERACTING and SHARING ideas with you.
- You will probably be working with THREE or FOUR primary students grouped as a threesome or in two pairs, whom you will visit in their classroom on THREE occasions each lasting 60-90 minutes.
- This means that you will be supporting ONE or TWO different investigations related to the CLASS THEME. GROUP MEMBERS works on the SAME question. The class teacher determines the theme.