Jointly by:
Isabel Goh Ern Zi (Sr21ScB)
Tan Qing Lin (Sr1ScB)
On the 21st of June, 2019, students of Senior One Science were introduced to a talk by Dr Lee Yee Ying and Ms Amirah, lecturers from the prestigious Monash University Malaysia Campus over at Kuen Cheng High School to organise a workshop for our students in conjunction with the Science Week 2019.
Our Principal, Dr Chua Lee Lee extended a warm welcome and presented a gift to our special guests as a token of appreciation. They were accompanied by our Biology Teacher, Mr Ooi Hun Huang.
Dr Lee is currently doing lecture on Food Science and Technology in Monash University, after having completed both her Bachelor of Science degree and PhD degree in Biotechnology and FST (Food Science and Technology). With years of academic experience and commitment in science, Dr Lee generously guided our students through the two hour workshop.
Dr Lee first gave our students a brief explanation on her career background, followed by an introduction to the Malaysian Campus of Monash University and the courses offered. The well-integrated Campus is situated in the easily accessible Bandar Sunway. Although the campus is relatively small in size than a regular university campus, the Monash University Campus is readily equipped with the newest technologies as well as state-of-the-art facilities. These included systematic science labs, a resourceful library, and a spacious foyer. Monash’s goal of Active Learning resonated with a lot of our students as our school had always insisted on giving our students the best equipment and facilities to promote hands on learning.
Soon came the experiment segment of the workshop, also the one most anticipated by the students. First, 5 ml of hot gelatin was added to a 5ml sample of fresh pineapple juice and 5ml of canned pineapple juice, respectively. The samples were then put to rest in an ice bath to speed up the gelling of gelatin in the juices. After ten minutes, the canned pineapple juice has gelled whereas the fresh pineapple juice remained a liquid form.
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After making their observations and hypotheses, Dr Lee discussed the results in a fun and easy demeanor which helped our students grasp the topic better. To encourage students to take initiatives in studying, Dr Lee held a small quiz session, and later awarded the active participants with a small gift. Handouts with a crossword puzzle revolving around the topic had also been given out to students which effectively increased an interesting aspect of science.
The workshop came to an end after the discussion, as it was almost time for all students to go home. A group photo was taken with our privileged guests, Dr Lee and Ms Aminah, together with Mr. Ooi Han Huang and the students that we have all made this workshop a reality. And, it was a great success despite its rather small scale. In general, students were able to understand the subject better and acquire new skills of doing an experiment in a science lab.
