Trust Projects

Science News and Views

This  project was allocated funding in the innovative category.

On any given day, we can pick up any newspaper or look at online news sites and find a multitude of science-based stories. They might be about a new “super food”; psychological detail of a footballer’s injury; a new technology; or claims of a “gene for.” On the same given day, school children may be learning about Mendel’s peas, Newton’s apple falling to the ground or some other historical science story. To children, science may seem a study of grey dead men.
Via development and employment of new-style audio-video clips, in which pupils interview research scientists, this project will encourage young people and their teachers in a dynamic scientific community, and encourage discussion of current topics in science. They will learn how science works and will feel it to be a natural and important part of their life rather than something done in labs by alien people in white coats. They will experience the satisfaction of making a contribution to a scientific debate, for example on the ethical issues associated with genetic disease research.
At this time primary school teachers require support for the science component of Scotland’s new Curriculum for Excellence. This project will support this by providing teachers of science with the appropriate continuing professional development.
It is also acknowledged that during the first two years of secondary education, Scotland’s pupils become less interested in science. The project intends to provide a means by which pupils remain engaged with science.
 

Aims

Break the boundaries between academic curricula, research communities and wider life:

• Use news- style media to lend vibrancy to science teaching and link everyday experience to scientific endeavour.
• Via relaxed interviews and on-line chats, develop a realistic view of scientists and insight into their personal perspectives, daily work and motivations.
• Provide for teachers a dynamic online set of resources available long term, and with rolling supplementation
• Via structured discussion materials foster self confidence and team work.
• Employ new web-based technologies to facilitate effective and time-efficient communication, thus generating a sustainable interacting learning community.

Develop skills in critical analysis and empowered debate:

• Provide well-structured trigger materials to question aims, objectives and ethics of research and researchers.
• Provide well-structured trigger materials to stimulate discussion and debate critical to developing awareness and understanding of contemporary science.
• Illustrate the media through which science is published and develop understanding of source reliability.

Equip science teachers with knowledge of current developments and provide professional development in the use of news style media as a learning-and-teaching tool.

• Develop competencies and creativity in the use of modern computer/web technology as a medium for research, learning and communication.
• Via development of news-style learning resources relevant to Scotland’s new Curriculum for Excellence, establish collaboration/interdisciplinary links, and highlight the benefits of effective communication in both science and education.
• Develop a tool box for teachers to promote professional development opportunities employing the media as a teaching instrument.

Programme

The project will supply resources which promote discussion and deeper understanding of areas within the “Curriculum for “Excellence”, particularly for strand: Keeping my body healthy; cells; Biotechnology; Genetics; Using my senses; Communications systems; Light and Sound. Vitally the project contributes to the new curriculum’s aim to develop an understanding of how science works, including competencies and confidence in finding resources; critical analysis and debate.

Pupils will participate in the development of resources for their peers and will be engaged in science as a dynamic enterprise, one in which they realise a joint enquiry, debate and analysis. They will develop increased awareness of the practice of science as an investigative enterprise and the impact it has on their daily lives.

Secondary school teachers will work in partnership with those from some of their feeder primary schools, thereby facilitating the stronger transition between school stages. Teachers will be provided with opportunities to acquire fresh and/or deeper understanding of specific areas of contemporary scientific research and strategies by which news-style resources can promote learning. Training may aid their creativity in use of new technologies for learning.

Evaluation

The evaluation instruments reflect the project’s use of news-style media and web-based technologies.

At the commencement of the project, a sample of pupils in participating schools will be interviewed in a relatively informal fashion and then repeated mid way through the project.
Interim evaluation will focus upon teacher’s opinions of project management; communication effectiveness within the project; and efficiency and quality of resource production. Final evaluation by teachers will be via online review facilities such as those used by Amazon.co.uk. For individual resources, teachers will be able to give “star” ratings on a five-point scale and leave on line comments to explain their evaluation.
 

Additional

Dissemination:
Initial dissemination will be via the St Andrew’s “Teachers Together” conference followed by wider dissemination at conferences across the UK.
The outcomes of the project will be written into articles to be published in science education journals. 

Contact

Lorna Sibbett  contact email: Lrs2@st-andrews.ac.uk