Have you seen Stargazing?

Have you seen  BBC’s Stargazing Live?  

On Tuesday  much of the programme was devoted to the Curiosity Rover exploring Mars. Those primary school teachers watching can use the resource - Is there anyone out there?, developed by CIEC Promoting Science in collaboration with ESERO-UK - in the classroom to help their pupils to emulate space exploration and if they want further help delivering the resource attend the NSLC CPD course - Enriching the primary curriculum using space and astronomy - which takes place on February 11 and 12^th at York.

The resource contains many scientific enquiry activities for primary pupils. The course comes with an Enthuse bursary of £744 and so after paying for the course fee and expenses schools should have money left to be able to buy curriculum materials to support science teaching in the primary classroom. 

In support of Brian Cox and Dara O Briain excellent contributions to Stargazing were from Lucie Green and Lewis Dartnell both having delivered inspirational talks at ESERO-UK teacher conferences in the past. We have been very impressed with the topical space and astronomy items many of which promote space as an inspirational context to enrich the teaching and learning of STEM subjects.

CIEC Promoting Science at ASE Annual Conference, 2013

Michele and Gayle on the CIEC stand

CIEC were represented at the annual ASE conference in Reading by Gayle Pook and Michele Smale – and this year there were none of the usual worries about ice and snow!

Gayle delivered a talk entitled ‘How schools are using ambassadors to support KS3 Practical Science’ and Michele hosted a practical session on ‘Making Maths and Science Meaningful’ which explored opportunities to enhance science and maths through the use of real life contexts.

As the conference fell in the school holidays this year there seemed to be more teachers than usual who were able to attend. Michele and Gayle met numerous primary teachers during the 3 day event and were able to introduce many of them to the CIEC ethos of teaching science through real life, industrial contexts. And of course they met up with many old friends!

CCI school wins Environmental Project Award in the north east

Over the last 6 years, BOC - the UK’s largest supplier of industrial gases and engineering solutions, has donated £20,000 to science projects in local schools through its sponsorship of the BOC-NEPIC Industrial and School Environmental Awards. These are presented at the NEPIC Annual Awards Dinner in January each year.

This year, a wide range of excellent environmental projects were put forward by schools across the north east of England. The entries were judged by CCI Advisory Teacher Nicky Waller and representatives from BOC. The winner has just been announced as Kader Primary School in Middlesbrough who plan to develop large areas of their school grounds into a learning environment and wildlife area in order to provide curriculum enrichment for all children.

The project was developed by the children themselves, they built a model and they presented part of their application by video. It was clear that they were committed to using the £2,000 prize money to bring the garden into being.

Positive Feedback from CIEC visit to Nanjing

Below is some feedback from Professor Ye Zhaoning after the three day course that Joy Parvin and Gayle Pook delivered in Southeast University, Nanjing, in November.

Teachers participating gave positive feedback. 90% of the teachers felt much satisfied with the content, activities and training methods, and gained a lot. Context, on-going assessment and talking strategies were the most important ideas [that] teachers learned and would like to practice during their work in the future. Differences between the education systems of China and the UK were also interesting. Joy and Gayle’s comments on teachers’ lesson resources were particularly helpful. “Joy and Gayle are very professional. We’re much moved by their dedication.” Participants said, “Thank them and LBD project for giving us such a wonderful opportunity to learn about new teaching and learning strategies, and we hope to take part in this kind of workshops again.”

Professor Ye Zhaoning (left, pictured during her stay in York) hosted the three day course in Nanjing

CIEC Promoting Science visit a Nanjing Primary School

Being greeted at the school

Gayle Pook and Joy Parvin have recently returned from a visit to South East China University, Nanjing where they were delivering primary workshops to primary teachers and advisors.

The workshops included context based practical enquiry, classroom communication strategies and assessment for learning techniques which compliment the Handsbrain- doing to learn ethos being developed at the University. The teachers enthusiastically got down to work on the CIEC activities.  Although Joy and Gayle were there primarily to deliver professional development, one of the highlights of their stay was visiting a local primary school.

At the school they were greeted by some of the pupils giving a presentation (in English) about their school and its history and expertise in caligraphy. This was followed by observing a very active science lesson where the children were exploring conductors and insulators. There was also an opportunity to discuss education in China with the principle of the school.

Working together to find answers

Teachers in Nanjing participate in CIEC Promoting Science workshops

The teachers try making pencils - an activity from the CIEC resource Pencils, Poems and Princesses.

Joy Parvin and Gayle Pook delivered a series of workshops earlier this week during their visit to Southeast University, Nanjing. The workshops, for primary teachers, were based on CIEC resources used in the UK. 

Testing the fairings for wind resistance - an activity from the CIEC resource Feel the Force.

Co-Directors of CIEC Promoting Science are Delivering Workshops in Nanjing, China

Joy Parvin and Gayle Pook are visiting Nanjing to deliver workshops to primary school teachers. Using CIEC resources (which in the UK are used in the Children Challenging Industry project) the Nanjing teachers are finding out more about how CIEC use industrial contexts to deliver primary science which really engages the children.