Trust Projects
Family Science Activities - Cams Hill Science Consortium (Innovative Project)
Creating Family Science Activities
This innovative KS3 project will engage secondary teachers working collaboratively with primary colleagues. Working together they will sequence the key concepts and vocabulary of the KS2 and KS3 Science National Curriculum into a format suitable for sharing with parents and pupils. They will also be engaged in planning, delivering and evaluating the impact of Family Science Activities and Events upon the learning and engagement of KS2 and KS3 pupils.
Overview
At Cams Hill School it is our view that parents play a vital role and have, for the past three years, been running family Science, Maths and English activities offering Year 9 pupils and their families the opportunity to attend after school workshops to raise the profile of these subject areas and to support KS3 pupils’ study skills. In Science Cams Hill have developed a range of “Kitchen Sink Science” activities and resources as well as some games and puzzles with a view to improving motivation and engagement and improving revision skills. These family workshops have become very popular here, however staff are aware that this kind of family engagement is rare and so only very few schools are involved in such activities.
It is our view that the role of parents in supporting KS3 pupils is vital to encourage motivation and engagement in science and so help to address the aims of the SIIF. This project will focus on informing and supporting parents/carers.
Outcomes
The intention of Creating Family Science Activities is to lead to the publication of an innovative new online resource to motivate and engage more young people to study science. Innovative key stage 3/lower secondary project.
Evaluation
Prior to each event, a specific target group of pupils will be determined via analysis of individual pupil performance data (individual teacher assessment, Fischer Family Trust data, SATs and/or Cognitive Ability Tests) as well as pupil and teacher surveys and interviews.
During the pilot of each event a member of The Cams Hill Science Consortium will act as as a ‘Teacher Researcher’ who will interview a selection of the pupils and their family members to gather their opinions and feedback during and after the event. Surveys/questionnaires will be distributed to all the pupils, parents and teachers involved. The data gathered will be analysed to refine the materials and resources before publication.
Success criteria for the training:
- Positive feedback from the pupils and parents who have attended to Family Science Events held in both primary and secondary schools
- Package of resources to support teacher CPD and enable them to run similar events and support parental involvement in the learning of Science for the children at their schools.
Success criteria for the website:
- Production of online teacher packs and resources, as detailed abovePositive feedback from pupils and their parents attending the Family Science Events held at primary and secondary schools outside the CHSC.
- Presentations to the ASE and SSAT Annual Conferences sharing our key findings with audiences of teachers, Local Authorities and academics and advertising the new website resource.
Additional
Dissemination
By the end of this project, following evaluation of the impact upon pupils and parents, it is proposed to publish a new website with two main areas:
- A section for parents and pupils to help them engage with ‘Family Science’ at home. This will contain a range of ‘Kitchen Sink Science’ activities as well as curriculum support and key ideas prompts along with links and resources to support revision for SATs at KS2 and KS3
- A section for teachers with resource packs to enable them to manage and run ‘Family Science Events’ in their own schools
This pack will be of particular interest to Science Specialist Schools and the Science Learning Centres as it will support them to design and deliver their own Family Science Activities and Events. It will also be of interest to Scout and Guide groups supporting them with information to run activities to gain Science Investigator Badges and awards.
Contact
Matthew Newberry
The Cams Hill Science Consortium
Cams Hill School, Shearwater Avenue, Fareham, Hampshire PO16 8AH
Matthew Newberry: m.newberry@btinternet.com