YES I Can! Science Project is unique in Canada

By Mary Ann Horgan

Improving science education across the country is the goal of the coordinators of a computer resource database now located at York University.

The YES I Can! Science Project moved to York in September 1998 from its former home at the Simcoe County District School Board. It is being hailed as the only educational science resource database in the country. The project is being described as a phenomenal tool that can be used by teachers of science from Corner Brook, Nfld., to Victoria, B.C.

"It's an enormous coup for York University to have this project's headquarters here on campus," said David Logan, associate dean of the Faculty of Pure and Applied Science. "There are many other universities that would love to host this operation, but the project consultant is a York graduate, and so we got the chance to receive it."

"This project is the pre-eminent teaching resource in Canada for teachers of science from kindergarten to Grade 12," Logan said. "York will become known all across the country as the home of this incredible resource."

The Internet-based teaching and learning resource can be found at: www.yesican.yorku.ca. The project is being targeted to teachers in elementary and secondary school levels. In order to use the database, a teacher must first select and "click on" the grade level they are teaching, and then "click on" the science topic they are teaching, such as "rocks and minerals", "flight" or "heat."

Then voila! The teacher gains access - through the database - to a host of teaching tools, including labs, demonstrations, classroom activities, lesson plans, background information and tests.

"This is an unbelievable opportunity for York to move to the front of the pack in terms of our national profile in science education," said Logan. "It makes York University the resource centre for all of Canada in this."

The operation is based out of Room 307 Bethune College. The YES I Can! project, (formerly know as the Pan-Canadian Science Curriculum Project), is based on the national framework document called the Pan-Canadian Framework of Science Learning Outcomes, K-12, produced by the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC). This is the only national curriculum framework currently available in Canada.

The main coordinators of the database are Tom and Susan Stiff. Tom Stiff (MSc '76, PhD '85) is a former teacher and the project consultant. His wife, Susan Stiff, is the project manager. The Stiffs have been working on the design and development of the database program for two years, since the final version of the framework document was released to school boards in 1997.

"We don't want science to be perceived as a cold, sterile subject," said Tom Stiff. "We want to convey that science is fun and exciting. We believe it's really important that teachers have the resources they need to build positive, enthusiastic attitudes about science, especially among girls and young women. Studies show that females don't tend to pursue science, but we argue that, with the right material, anyone can do science and love it."

The name YES I Can! was chosen deliberately to suggest a positive attitude to both students (especially girls) and teachers with little training in science and in the new science and technology curriculum. "Many people believe science is difficult, and they are intimidated by it," said Susan Stiff. "They don't realize that science is really interesting." The word YES is also an acronym for York Educational ScienceNet.

One of the key issues with science education today is the lack of time and budget required for in-service teacher training in areas of the curriculum where teachers may not have expertise, according to the project coordinators. "The real challenge is that many teachers may not be well trained in science," said Tom Stiff. "Many teachers confess that they actually learned science best after they had to teach it. So our goal was to give teachers amazing resources for the classroom and make them more comfortable, literate, and enthusiastic about teaching science. In turn, teachers will pass on that excitement about science. We hope the project will raise scientific literacy among Canadian teachers and students, and eventually the public at large."

The Web site can be reached at: www.yesican.yorku.ca. The content on the database has been contributed by thousands of sources, including: Canadian Geographic Magazine; the book publisher ITP Nelson Canada; an Internet database called CBC4Kids; and various businesses. Individuals - including university students in education and science - are also invited to submit projects and lessons or teaching plans they have developed, in order to continue to add to the database.

Unlike many Web sites, it does not have JAVA, frames or "hot links" that direct the user to other web sites, and that is deliberate, the coordinators say. "This is not a web site with links in it, and that is not an oversight," said Tom Stiff. "This is a resource database that helps you teach well. It's a teacher tool, and we've often found that, although the Internet leads you to more and more sites, it becomes impossible to find the content you want. I often feel that when you're surfing the net, you think the next 'click' will be the motherlode. And often it's not. It's a link to another site."

"That's not what this project is about. Surfing the net to look for nifty stuff to keep kids busy is not education," said Tom Stiff. "With our resource database, you must know the grade level you're teaching, and the topic, and then you can search for resources to help you teach that particular subject at that particular grade level. We are aiming to provide resources for teachers of every grade, on every strand or cluster (theme or topic) in the science curriculum. Students can use our database, but it's really geared to teachers."

The latest, most powerful computer is not required to access this program. The coordinators' goal is to make this resource available to every teacher, everywhere in Canada. "We are not all blessed with the latest in computer equipment, and a teacher working on a slow, five-year-old telephone modem needs to have the same ability to access the resource as does a teacher with last week's computer model," said Susan Stiff.

Both Tom and Susan Stiff have worked with teachers for many years. Tom Stiff has 30 years of teaching experience, and Susan has worked for 15 years alongside of teachers and curriculum officers in multimedia and computing projects.

"We know teachers, and we know what teachers are looking for, what tools they will use," said Susan Stiff. "This is an incredibly useful and valuable resource that is free and available across Canada. It contains good, solid curriculum resource material and information that teachers really need."

The project coordinators have received several positive responses from teachers via e-mail. One comment from a teacher in the Ottawa area was, "This is my second time visiting your web site...I have looked through the material for Grade 7 - Heat - and was surprised at the resources provided. Having overhead sheets is an excellent idea, and I will use them."

Another teacher's e-mail note said, "Thank you for providing some excellent lessons and ideas. I will be visiting your site often." (The name and location of the teacher were not included in the note.)

Having this database at York will enhance York's national and international profile related to science education, the organizers say. "We know this database is unique in the world," said Susan Stiff. "We spend a lot of time every day checking out what else is out there. There's nothing else like this anywhere."

The YES I Can! project was one of four York projects aimed at developing curriculum and enhancing science education and teaching practices which have been funded by a $1 million grant to York University from The Imperial Oil Charitable Foundation. The organizers of the YES I Can! project are seeking additional funding to put research teams together from across Canada to expand the material and topics available on the database.

"Our project has had an incredibly enthusiastic response from teachers," said Tom Stiff. "We want to continue to renew the project and to diversify and increase the number of lessons plans and resources. What we're hearing is that teachers love it and are using it."

Anyone with comments or questions can send an e-mail note to: science@yesican.yorku.ca or call (416) 736-2100 ext. 55628 or ext. 22023 or visit the Web site: www.yesican.yorku.ca.