This was a competition, also run by colleagues at Taree TAFE. A booklet and CD were provided, aimed at stage 5, year 10 students and aligned with syllabus outcomes. We focussed on an important aspect of the sheep industry, Artificial Insemination, and outlined a research scenario where students were asked to establish whether a sperm additive, “Go Sperm”, actually enhanced the longevity and motility of sperm in vitro. Students were asked to define terms, construct a hypothesis, count live and dead sperm from images, fill in missing data, draw graphs and draw conclusions. The CD contained a copy of the competition plus additional information including details of careers in Agriculture. Microscope slides of sheep sperm were also provided as a class resource with a practical exercise to follow. Teachers said they will adopt the competition as an ongoing class exercise. Thirty three students participated, which was encouraging considering the short time frame and other competing school activities. Questionnaires indicated that the competition increased awareness of the High Tech. aspects of the Sheep Industry with some students keen to know more.
Powerpoint Summary of the Project
Sheep and Science Competition
Questionnaire Responses
CSI Sperm Images
Sleepy Sheep Game
Cool Sheep Investigation CD
Note: the Cool Sheep Investigation is a compressed archive. Expand the archive into a folder and open the file menu.html to explore the contents of the CD. The Genstock video has been digitally resized to reduce the size of the archive. If the large version is required contact Woolwise Administration.