5 th ESCalate ITE conference SCIENCE John Mc

5 th ESCalate ITE conference SCIENCE John Mc. Cullagh A report on an ESCalate funded project CETL Fergal Corscadden W 5 James Stewart 15 th May 2009

SCIENCE Dr. John Mc. Cullagh, Senior Lecturer, Stranmillis University College, Belfast. What did we do? – Interim Report here Look for opportunities to ‘connect science’. • 24 final year student teachers ( 6 teams of four students, 3 KS 1 classes, 3 KS 2 classes) • Theory on: informal/formal education, role of external agencies, management of school trips • Co-plan, co-teach, co-evaluate • Lessons before and after trip to W 5 • Produce video and Video. Paper Why? • Revised Curriculum for N. Ireland promotes topic integration and skills development- Implications for ITE • Science no longer a core subject- Where does Science fit? 15 th May 2009

SCIENCE Dr. John Mc. Cullagh, Senior Lecturer, Stranmillis University College, Belfast. Why…cont? Pedagogical context: • Develop professional competence (practice, reflection, collaboration) beyond annual ‘teaching practice’. Develop schools’ practice w. r. t visting a centre: • 45 % of teachers surveyed do not teach lessons in preparation of a visit • 23% of teachers do not teach any follow up lessons. • 35% teach only one follow up lesson • “ Too heavy and the fun is lost” • “W 5 visit was for consolidation of the topic” (Haffey, G (2008) ‘Does a trip to W 5 influence classroom teaching? A survey of teachers’ practice. ’ Unpublished Final year dissertation SUC) 15 th May 2009

SCIENCE Dr. John Mc. Cullagh, Senior Lecturer, Stranmillis University College, Belfast. Where and When did you learn? -Evaluation • Questionnaires before and after, focus group interviews • Video. Papers Biggest changes in…? • Potential for W 5 to support other (than science) areas of curriculum • Confidence in teaching science (from 57% to 100%) • Confidence in linking science to other areas (14% to 100%) • Greater awareness of merits of using W 5 than before project 15 th May 2009

SCIENCE Dr. John Mc. Cullagh, Senior Lecturer, Stranmillis University College, Belfast. What was useful? • Co-planning: greater pool of ideas-subject specialists • Peer observation and evaluation: Pick up tips, strategies, enhance discussion on shared experience • Team approach: Felt supported, take risks and extend practice. Enjoying and learning • Video: A literally new perspective on self-evaluation, observe connected learning from W 5 to classroom 15 th May 2009

SCIENCE Dr. John Mc. Cullagh, Senior Lecturer, Stranmillis University College, Belfast. Teachers’ Comments • “ The project cemented in my mind the importance of good preparation” • “I see now the benefits of visiting the centre before the trip. ” • “I tended not to do much follow up work. I was amazed at how keen the children were to talk about the experience and they wanted to investigate more. ” Students evaluation video 15 th May 2009

W 5 James Stewart, Senior Educator with W 5, Odyssey Arena, Belfast W 5 is an award-winning, interactive discovery centre with over 160 exhibits in four dynamic areas & offers great day out for visitors of all ages. 15 th May 2009

W 5 James Stewart, Senior Educator with W 5, Odyssey Arena, Belfast Who Where What When Why 15 th May 2009

W 5 James Stewart, Senior Educator with W 5, Odyssey Arena, Belfast Outcomes for W 5 is Embedded in Schemes of Work Distinct Learning Outcomes Enhanced Engagement of Learners Quality Indicators Access to Focus Group 15 th May 2009

CETL Fergal Corscadden, Co-ordinator & Educational Developer, Stranmillis University College

CETL Fergal Corscadden, Co-ordinator & Educational Developer, Stranmillis University College Social learning theory (Bandura, 1977) Motivation (Blumenfeld et al, 2006) Learner-centred approach (Mayer, 2005) Reflection (Collins, 2006) Authenticity (Leung, 2003) Multimedia learning (Jonassen et al, 2005) Zone of proximal development (Vygotsky, 1978) Constructionism (Papert, 1993) Feedback (Matusov et al, 2007)

CETL Fergal Corscadden, Co-ordinator & Educational Developer, Stranmillis University College Your text Text here Main video Insert play button E. G VP Video. Paper Builder 3 is a multimedia creation tool for users of any level of technology skills. The java-based software is cross-platform and runs natively in OSX or on Windows machines. VPB 3 imports text, image, and video files, and assists the user in synchronizing these files as a single user-navigated multimedia web document. Video. Paper Builder 3 generates HTML, video captioning, menus, links, framesets and slide shows, and organizes the imported files as an HTML coded document viewable in a web browser. Videopapers can be published on CD-ROM or uploaded to the Internet.

CETL Fergal Corscadden, Co-ordinator & Educational Developer, Stranmillis University College Add multiple topics Add audio & transcripts Here for each person Experts/students/other here Main video here