Organised Chaos - inspiring the next generation of scientists and engineers by working scientifically with experts
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Manchester
Department Name: Physics and Astronomy
Abstract
Using the context of contemporary science research 'Organised Chaos' will focus primary pupils attention on how real science takes place. Working scientifically is an area of the primary science National Curriculum (NC) that has had fresh light thrown upon it with the revised NC 2013, and teachers are actively exploring what this looks like, sounds like and feels like in a primary classroom, both indoors and outdoors. Similarly, the big ideas around Evolution has been introduced which builds on what children have learned about fossils in their topic on Rocks at an early age. Together these two aspects of work have inspired us to explore the work of palaeontologists and archaeologists at the University of Manchester (UoM) and at Diamond to provide children with a window into the worlds of contemporary science research in this area.
There is so much learning about what it means to work scientifically that can be discovered when school teacher collaborate with STEM researchers and it only takes the effort to make and support those collaborations for real learning to flourish. Through talk these professionals deconstruct the processes that they explore in their work with research and children and intrinsically talk through the topics they are working on. It will challenge the clinical look and feel of science that often is limited to standard fair test investigations and illustrate the fluid and sometimes chaotic nature of science endeavour whilst contrasting that with the precision and attention to detail that then must unfold. It shall explore the habits of minds that scientists and engineers use and develop to sustain work in their field.
The beauty of this project will be its focus on Diamond Light Source Technologies (LST) a resource that is unheard of in the world of most of the public. It is through the interrelationship of the UoM's Science Education Research & Innovation Hub (www.manchester.ac.uk/fascinate) who have long standing experience in school liaison, CPD and curriculum development, with key faculty centres such as the Interdisciplinary Centre for ancient Life (ICAL) at the University of Manchester (www.ical.manchester.ac.uk) who bring a wealth of experience and expertise in the fossil excavation and there integral work with Diamond LST that we are confident we can develop ideas to intrigue and inspire children into this area of learning. What it is Diamond LST? What it is used for? Who works with it and why? Through this project we can be expose and showcase how it is applied into the work of leading palaeontologists work to intrigue and fascinate children, their teachers and their families about real world science and engineering innovations.
The involvement of the Ideas Foundation (IF) adds further uniqueness to creating this narrative and telling this story in a novel way. Their experience in the use of digital media as a means by which to engage learning will mean that there is a creative edge to the sharing of learning from this project. IF will support the project in the coordination of a pupil designed and made animation to showcase the practice of science and engineers.
There is so much learning about what it means to work scientifically that can be discovered when school teacher collaborate with STEM researchers and it only takes the effort to make and support those collaborations for real learning to flourish. Through talk these professionals deconstruct the processes that they explore in their work with research and children and intrinsically talk through the topics they are working on. It will challenge the clinical look and feel of science that often is limited to standard fair test investigations and illustrate the fluid and sometimes chaotic nature of science endeavour whilst contrasting that with the precision and attention to detail that then must unfold. It shall explore the habits of minds that scientists and engineers use and develop to sustain work in their field.
The beauty of this project will be its focus on Diamond Light Source Technologies (LST) a resource that is unheard of in the world of most of the public. It is through the interrelationship of the UoM's Science Education Research & Innovation Hub (www.manchester.ac.uk/fascinate) who have long standing experience in school liaison, CPD and curriculum development, with key faculty centres such as the Interdisciplinary Centre for ancient Life (ICAL) at the University of Manchester (www.ical.manchester.ac.uk) who bring a wealth of experience and expertise in the fossil excavation and there integral work with Diamond LST that we are confident we can develop ideas to intrigue and inspire children into this area of learning. What it is Diamond LST? What it is used for? Who works with it and why? Through this project we can be expose and showcase how it is applied into the work of leading palaeontologists work to intrigue and fascinate children, their teachers and their families about real world science and engineering innovations.
The involvement of the Ideas Foundation (IF) adds further uniqueness to creating this narrative and telling this story in a novel way. Their experience in the use of digital media as a means by which to engage learning will mean that there is a creative edge to the sharing of learning from this project. IF will support the project in the coordination of a pupil designed and made animation to showcase the practice of science and engineers.
Planned Impact
The resource will be designed in pdf. downloadable format and distributed on appropriate websites such as http://www.ical.manchester.ac.uk/engagement/, http://www.manchester.ac.uk/fascinate and will be willingly shared with Diamond, The Manchester Children's University, Primary Science Teaching Trust etc.
Hard copies will be printed and distributed at core teacher events.
Use of the Times Educational Supplement resource site will also allow teachers to download resources globally (www.tes.co.uk/resources) and also http://www.primaryresources.co.uk
The pack/resources will be integrated into a series of outreach/dissemination events - 2 teacher and public engagement staff CPD events, co-delivered by the teams in association with the Manchester Museum and the University of Manchester Interdisciplinary Centre for Ancient Life (ICAL).
The pack and associated events will be marketed using social media, word of mouth and via the networks associated with the project partners.
Hard copies will be printed and distributed at core teacher events.
Use of the Times Educational Supplement resource site will also allow teachers to download resources globally (www.tes.co.uk/resources) and also http://www.primaryresources.co.uk
The pack/resources will be integrated into a series of outreach/dissemination events - 2 teacher and public engagement staff CPD events, co-delivered by the teams in association with the Manchester Museum and the University of Manchester Interdisciplinary Centre for Ancient Life (ICAL).
The pack and associated events will be marketed using social media, word of mouth and via the networks associated with the project partners.
People |
ORCID iD |
| Lynne Bianchi (Principal Investigator) |
| Title | Organised Chaos Documentary film |
| Description | The film documents the scientist-teacher collaborative STEM Study visit to the Diamond Light Source Facility in Oxfordshire. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2016 |
| Impact | 1. The bringing together of professionals from different disciplines to discuss scientific investigation roles and processes 2. The bridging of science across primary and secondary school sectors 3. The review and analysis of the processes of working scientifically in school and in the workplace 4. A transferable and contemporary communication method |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E17OmiNMHko |
| Title | School resources |
| Description | As part of the portfolio of work the team produced a series of school curriculum linked resources that profiled the work of the project and the processes for working scientifically discovered within Diamond. |
| Type Of Art | Creative Writing |
| Year Produced | 2016 |
| Impact | 1. The detailed review and reflection of scientific processes by contemporary scientists 2. The detailed exploration of the research facility, leading to increased awareness and interest in its activity 3. An 'off-the-shelf' set of contemporary, well-designed, resources for primary and secondary teachers to develop children's understandings of what it is like to work at a research facility like Diamond 4. Heightened teacher awareness and interest in the range of research activity undertaken by Diamond and its collaborators, e.g. University of Manchester |
| Description | This project offered teachers and scientists the opportunity to discuss the parallels between their practices related to working scientifically or teaching such skills to pupils at primary and secondary school. It discovered a strong interest from teachers in the contemporary scientific processes that take place at the Diamond Light Source facility, that they felt would be useful stimulus for teaching in the classroom/curriculum. The bringing together of primary and secondary teachers along with research scientists from the University of Manchester and the Diamond Light Source facility found that there is a strong alignment with desirable outcomes for working scientifically however a disconnect between the teaching of it in schools and contemporary science practice in the field. The model of the STEM Study visit has been used again since this project, enabling teachers and academics to collaborate and learn about each other's areas of expertise and skills set. The model is providing valuable in offering strong knowledge transfer opportunities, such as that can be seen in the UoM Across the Divide project. |
| Exploitation Route | The work has informed ongoing projects in the SEERIH portfolio of work, particularly in terms of its research into 'what it means to work scientifically' . The project will be used a range of school and public engagement events, whereby the context of Diamond and the work of STFC can be described to pupils and teachers via the curriculum based resources. Other legacy from this project is: - relationships developed between the project group (primary-secondary teachers) - the association/links formed between SEERIH and Diamond - collaboration between SEERIH and the Manchester Diamond Collaboration Team and ICAL |
| Sectors | Education |
| Description | The project would most likely be classed as 'non-academic' in that it produced products and outputs that targeted schools, pupils and the whole school community. In this way the impact has been on: - improved teacher awareness and interest in the practices of contemporary scientists - enhanced understanding of the technical processes that are undertaken at the Diamond Light Source Facility - developed relationships between school, industry and academic partners - enhanced understanding by scientists and industry partners of the school curriculum and the teaching of science in primary and secondary school - improved links to local schools and education networks |
| First Year Of Impact | 2016 |
| Sector | Education |
| Impact Types | Cultural |
| Description | SEERIH - University of Manchester Diamond Collaboration |
| Organisation | Diamond Light Source |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | The SEERIH team undertook a range of roles: - project development/management by Dr Lynne Bianchi - brokerage of links with schools - access to SEERIH database for the selection/recruitment of teachers - administrative support |
| Collaborator Contribution | Intellectual stimulus - creation and offering of STEM study visit content Dialogue and involvement in resource development Workshop development for the design of curriculum materials Creative advice and direction Rooms/facilities |
| Impact | The STEM Study visit structure and content The Documentary Video School creative resources |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | SEERIH - University of Manchester Diamond Collaboration |
| Organisation | The Ideas Foundation |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | The SEERIH team undertook a range of roles: - project development/management by Dr Lynne Bianchi - brokerage of links with schools - access to SEERIH database for the selection/recruitment of teachers - administrative support |
| Collaborator Contribution | Intellectual stimulus - creation and offering of STEM study visit content Dialogue and involvement in resource development Workshop development for the design of curriculum materials Creative advice and direction Rooms/facilities |
| Impact | The STEM Study visit structure and content The Documentary Video School creative resources |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | SEERIH - University of Manchester Diamond Collaboration |
| Organisation | University of Manchester |
| Department | Manchester Museum |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The SEERIH team undertook a range of roles: - project development/management by Dr Lynne Bianchi - brokerage of links with schools - access to SEERIH database for the selection/recruitment of teachers - administrative support |
| Collaborator Contribution | Intellectual stimulus - creation and offering of STEM study visit content Dialogue and involvement in resource development Workshop development for the design of curriculum materials Creative advice and direction Rooms/facilities |
| Impact | The STEM Study visit structure and content The Documentary Video School creative resources |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | SEERIH - University of Manchester Diamond Collaboration |
| Organisation | University of Manchester |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The SEERIH team undertook a range of roles: - project development/management by Dr Lynne Bianchi - brokerage of links with schools - access to SEERIH database for the selection/recruitment of teachers - administrative support |
| Collaborator Contribution | Intellectual stimulus - creation and offering of STEM study visit content Dialogue and involvement in resource development Workshop development for the design of curriculum materials Creative advice and direction Rooms/facilities |
| Impact | The STEM Study visit structure and content The Documentary Video School creative resources |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | Association for Science Education Conference 2016 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | 9 people attended the conference presentation which allowed them to engage in debate and discussion around the topic area. The video and classroom resources were the focus of the session, copies of which were distributed and reviewed within the session. The participants reported interest in the subject area, commented on the new and novel approach to the aspect of working scientifically. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | School Visits/Workshops |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Each school involved in the project were provided with a teacher training workshop based on the creative outputs produced in this project. Each teacher then used the resources to disseminate the work to their colleagues through a staff meeting and cluster meeting activity. The teachers reported increased awareness and understanding of the Diamond facility and increased understanding of the range of carers, roles and practices towards working scientifically that they could disseminate to their students. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |