Think Universe! Fundamental Science master classes for school teachers at KS2 and KS3
Lead Research Organisation:
University College London
Department Name: Physics and Astronomy
Abstract
Think Universe masterclasses aim at training KS2 and KS3 teachers in a novel and simplified approach to fundamental views about the Universe (described in the case for support attached).
The Think Universe educational project has proven its value in a couple of pilot schemes at primary schools in North London, under Royal Society Partnership awards.
Now it is time to escalate the project to a higher and wider level, where its impact will start to be significant. Is it time to train the teachers who will deliver it in the classrooms of partner schools and this is the main aim of this application.
Along the 15 months requested, there would be around 20 masterclass series to a total audience of around 300 teachers, and around 400 pupils will benefit in some way from part of this training as the masterclasses come to their classrooms.
The training includes the proper operation of delicate scientific equipment like microscopes, telescopes and hand-held spectroscopes, that are used in the classroom by the pupils (see case for support).
The equipment required for these demonstrations will be supplied by the applicant.
In the same way, the applicant will supply camera for stills and video recording of the events and interviews for evaluation. There is only a request for a few hundred pounds for digital storage and other minor components.
The Think Universe educational project has proven its value in a couple of pilot schemes at primary schools in North London, under Royal Society Partnership awards.
Now it is time to escalate the project to a higher and wider level, where its impact will start to be significant. Is it time to train the teachers who will deliver it in the classrooms of partner schools and this is the main aim of this application.
Along the 15 months requested, there would be around 20 masterclass series to a total audience of around 300 teachers, and around 400 pupils will benefit in some way from part of this training as the masterclasses come to their classrooms.
The training includes the proper operation of delicate scientific equipment like microscopes, telescopes and hand-held spectroscopes, that are used in the classroom by the pupils (see case for support).
The equipment required for these demonstrations will be supplied by the applicant.
In the same way, the applicant will supply camera for stills and video recording of the events and interviews for evaluation. There is only a request for a few hundred pounds for digital storage and other minor components.
Planned Impact
- By publications on the Think Universe website and on specialised journals at the UCL Institute of Education, Institute of Physics and the ASE. all of which have wide coverage nationwide.
- At the end of this grant, the updated Think Universe website would have detailed lesson plans, list of resources and downloadable presentations and video materials for teachers.
- By email to partner schools and educational federations, consortia, trusts, etc some of which are already mentioned in this application.
- At the end of this grant, the updated Think Universe website would have detailed lesson plans, list of resources and downloadable presentations and video materials for teachers.
- By email to partner schools and educational federations, consortia, trusts, etc some of which are already mentioned in this application.
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
| Francisco Diego (Principal Investigator) |
| Title | Project website development |
| Description | Not sure if this is the right place for this, but the project website is essential for promoting the project and for distributing relevant teaching materials to registered participants. Developing the website has been a major task which still needs more work and constant updating. Here is the current version: www.ucl.ac.uk/think-universe |
| Type Of Technology | Webtool/Application |
| Year Produced | 2016 |
| Impact | The website has succeed in promoting the project. There have been comments from users, which are being incorporated. Following this, the website has an exclusive page for registered participants, for example. The topics at the end of the project, related to environmental and humanitarian issues have been expanded. |
| URL | http://www.ucl.ac.uk/think-universe |
| Description | Association for Science Education annual conference, Birmingham |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | The ASE conference is a great event to liaise with teachers. This time there was a lot of interest in our project. Indeed, our teacher workshop series at the Northwood College for Girls came out of this ASE event There were teachers visiting from Europe too. This is a recurrent situation. The awardee took Think Universe! (a very preliminary version) to the Netherlands a few years ago after one of the ASE conferences. There is a lot of interest that we will exploit in the next phase, as described in the Conclusive Remarks section. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Executive presentation of Think Universe! to the STEM team in central London |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | The meeting/presentation was a consequence of our teacher workshop that took place at the UCL Observatory, described elsewhere in this section of the report. It was attended by Ajay Sharman, Regional Network Lead London & South East, Natalie Clerke Ambassador Coordinator and Emma Greening, Activities Assistant - STEM Learning UK . The executive summary was well received and directed this project to the STEM headquarters in York for follow up. It is likely that Think Universe! will provide teacher ambassadors to the STEM programme. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Invited Think Universe! lecture/discussion at INSET primary schools event, Harringey, London |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | This was a promotional workshop on Think Universe! to teachers of 10 schools in the Crouch End area of north London. There was a lot of interest and from this, we had our first teacher training session a few weeks later, as described in an earlier entry to this section of the report. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Major lecture at the Annual Science Guest Night event/dinner at Oakham School, Rutland |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | This was a major lecture/debate with secondary school pupils and their families. There were many questions. It is likely that this school and others in the area may become partners of Think Universe! After this event, Think Universe! was in good shape to develop a more complete set of lesson plans and specially the content of the teacher masterclasses. Private schools have the advantage of more flexibility in timing, curriculum and openness to new ideas and this is a road that Think Universe! will explore in its next stage, as outlined in the chapter of conclusive remarks at the end of this section. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Northwood College, part of the Girls' Day School Trust, North London |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | This trust is very keen in the project. They have both primary and secondary girls. We face the same problems described for St Gildas in one of these entries. Hopefully we can still have 2 hour slots for primary and modify our lesson plans to one hour slots for secondary level. We ran 5 workshop sessions, but failed in establish proper confidence and independence attitude in the attending teachers. It will need more time and perhaps a slight change in strategy. There is an update on this, where we are moving to a scheme of teacher ambassadors, who will be very keen, enthusiastic and motivated teachers, specially trained by Think Universe! to train teachers in a wider way. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | http://www.ucl.ac.uk/think-universe |
| Description | Promotional lecture/meeting to explain Think Universe! to members of the National STEM Learning Centre in York |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | This session was very successful in promoting Think Universe! nationwide. It was recognised that the content is unique and very challenging specially to teachers, but at the same time, the fact that it would lay important foundations for the learning of curricular science made it very attractive. The meeting was hosed by Karen Brunyee, Professional Development Leader in Primary STEM. Think Universe! ethos and content were well received, to the point of considering a taster session at the next STEM National Primary Conference in the summer of 2018. This is now in the programme, as described elsewhere in this section. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Science education and culture. Westminster speech at the March for science |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | My speech at the March for Science summarised the philosophy behind Think Universe! The audience was over 12,000. It was an account of the major contributions of science to modern culture and why they should be a prominent component of education from elementary levels, as Think Universe! is doing. There are a few references on line that quote highlights of this speech. I didn't find the place to include them, so here they are: ------- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBhexUFTciA ----------- https://www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2017/04/24/anna-aslanyan/on-the-march-for-science/ --------- https://www.timeshighereducation.com/blog/voices-march-science-grab-em-data ----------------------- http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/04/live-updates-global-march-science ------- This march coincided with Earth's Day and was very inspiring to enhance the curricular content of the last lesson plans for Think Universe! which deal with the origin and relevance (or irrelevance) of humanity and the environment. By the way, the following question about outcome has restricted answers. It should be free text. I chose the closest one. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBhexUFTciA |
| Description | St Guildas-Harringey school teachers group, London |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | This was our first teacher training experiment. Five twilight sessions of 3 hours each. It proved to be insufficient. Teachers were engaged, but we were restricted by their time availabilities. Implementation in the classroom became an issue as our project prefers 2 hour sessions with the pupils, but schools are already in 1 hour slots. Primary schools would be more flexible on this, as proven in our pilot sessions that preceded this grant. For secondary schools, we are re-structuring the lesson plans. These workshops were very useful for this. We are confident that this group of 6 schools will become a partner of the project in due course. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | http://www.ucl.ac.uk/think-universe |
| Description | Teacher workshop/masterclass at the ASE national conference 2018, Liverpool, UK |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | The ASE is the largest UK organisation for school science education, primary and secondary levels. The annual conference attracts thousands of science teachers nationwide. Think Universe! workshop succeeded in promoting the science content and methodology of the classroom delivery and also of the teacher masterclasses. There was extremely useful and meaningful feedback from teachers and also from colleagues doing specialised school performances. One of them is becoming a partner/advisor to this project. Detailed feedback is described in the section of Other Outputs of this report. In addition, this event will result in a couple of publications already requested by the ASE for its journals School Science Education, Primary Science and perhaps Science Teacher Education. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://aseannualconference2018.sched.com/event/C54d/think-universe-s27 |
| Description | Teacher workshop/masterclass at the UCL Observatory |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | This workshop/masterclass was designed to promote Think Universe! to selected teachers and science leaders from the London area. The impact and feedback from this workshop were pivotal for the future of the project. This was the start of a new scheme of ambassador teachers as a new strategy to teacher training. In addition, this was the start of a promising interaction with the STEM National Centre in York, as described in the general note included in the Outreach section of this report. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | The Education Show NEC Birmingham |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | The Education Show is very big, similar to BETT in London. A wide opportunity to promote educational ideas and materials. The project was well received and some links may come to fruition. However the open plan format for the delivery is noisy and distracting and does not encourage audience participation and engagement. We should continue with this collaboration as it gives good exposure, but the delivery strategy needs to align with the unusual conditions. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | http://www.education-show.com/Content/The-best-of-2016-Show-Highlights/ |
| Description | Think Universe! Science as Culture at the Brighton Science Festival 2018 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This was a promotional lecture/discussion as part of the 2018 Brighton Science Festival. There was a large mixed audience very interested in the development of the Universe and the conflict between the religious approach and the fact-based science. Some of the feedback was very detailed with deep personal thoughts. A selection has been included in the section Other Outcomes of this report. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | http://www.brightonscience.com/events/think-universe-cafe-scientifique-brighton-astro/ |
| Description | Think Universe! The relevance of science in modern culture, as part of the Think Space Lecturea at the Peter Harrison Planetarium in Greenwich, London |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | This Lecture took place in the Peter Harrison Planetarium in Greenwich. The audience was general public, families and specially school groups, late primary and early secondary. The event was preceded by a couple of recorded interviews, one on video and one on audio. They can be found here: ------- https://www.facebook.com/royalmuseumsgreenwich/videos/1625696584147829/ ------------------ The feedback was very important as it enhanced fundamental concepts about mythology, ancestral wisdom on humanity and the environment. This is included in the Other Outputs section of this report. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.rmg.co.uk/plan-your-visit/schools/sessions/think-space-lectures |
| Description | Think Universe! at the BETT UK show Excel, STEAM village, London |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | BETT shows are huge. Open plan presentations to an audience mainly teachers but also general public and teaching industry. It is a good place to promote the project, but as in the case of the Education show, the open plan format does not work for a proper engagement. Our delivery strategy at these events needs to change accordingly. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | http://www.ucl.ac.uk/think-universe |
| Description | Think Universe! at the Flamsteed Astronomy Society, Greenwich, London |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This was a promotional presentation to amateur astronomers and educators. There was excellent feedback and their website below shows a good set of pictures. the ROG may be a good partner of Think Universe! given its wide range of public and school activities. This is an avenue worth exploring. (Indeed, the Flamsteed Astronomy Society was founded after a series of public astronomy courses given by the awardee at the ROG in the late 1990's). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | http://flamsteed.info/2016/02/origins-think-universe-the-importance-of-science-in-modern-culture/ |
| Description | Think Universe! at the UCL interdisciplinary studies of evidence, London |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | This is an annual event with a very interactive audience coming from many UCL departments. A good occasion to promote the basic ideas of this project and to liaise with potential collaborators in other disciplines. However, no firm links were established this time. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Think Universe! promotional lecture Weston Park Primary School, London |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | These early school visits have the double purpose of introducing the pupils (usually years 10 and 11) to Think Universe! and also to promote the project among teachers, who are also in the audience. There are usually many questions on deep subjects, such as the nature of space and what was before the big bang. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Think Universe! promotional lecture for children, Telferscot Primary school, London |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | A very good visit. Large group of year 5 and 6 pupils and teachers. Think Universe! was given as an interactive session with many hands-on demonstrations on particles, atoms and molecules. At this stage, the topics of humanity and environment had just been added to the content. This was an excellent opportunity to receive feedback on these difficult but essential topics. A comment by one of the teachers is included in the Other Outcomes section of this report. This school is already sending a teacher to become Think universe! ambassador. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Think Universe! taster session at the STEM Primary Conference, York, 26th June 2018 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | This event came as a consequence of our teacher workshop at the UCL Observatory. It will be a major step towards a national programme of teacher training on Think Universe! It will come after the publication of promotional articles on ASE journals in preparation (described in the conclusive remarks item included in the Outcomes section of this report). The URL for this event has not been released yet by STEM. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Tuukul Universo! Multi-event invitation to the X Congreso Internacional Didacticas de las Ciencias to take place in La Habana, Cuba on April 2-6, 2018 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | This is a major international event that attracts science teachers from all the American continent, mainly Latin America. The name Think Universe! has been translated to Tuukul Universo! a kind of Spanish-Mayan mixture, where Tuukul is the Mayan word for to think, to develop ideas. Tuukul Universo! will be presented in the following three different formats: a) a pre-congress workshop for a large (100+) general audience (teachers and policy makers); b) Teacher specialised workshop (group c.40) as a taster of the project and c) Major plenary session to the international cohort of delegates (c.300) where Tuukul Universe! will be promoted. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | http://www.didadcien.com/es/pre-congress-courses |
| Description | UCL Academy London, BIG BANG Fair |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | This workshop was part of the Big Bang Fair, hosted by the UCL Academy. Think Universe! was given as a promotional lecture/discussion to several groups of primary and secondary school children coming from a variety of schools. Big Bang Fair is a very popular festival with many events running in parallel. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | http://www.ucl.ac.uk/think-universe |
| Description | Visit to Epsom College, Surrey |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | A keynote lecture to very keen group of secondary students. The discussion at the end went for nearly an hour. There were topics related to science and religion, expected when we deal with the origin of the Universe and humanity. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://www.ucl.ac.uk/think-universe |
| Description | Your Universe festival, UCL, London |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The project was presented as a public lecture to a general audience attending the UCL festival of Astronomy and Particle Physics. There were a few teachers in the audience, which showed interest in participating. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | http://www.ucl.ac.uk/think-universe |