UpSkilling in Practical Science
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Project Summary
Involving nine primary schools in a cluster in north Bristol, this project tackled the issue of primary age children often having little direct experience of doing practical work particularly in the physical sciences. Workshops were run in cluster schools including a series of demonstration assemblies. These engaged nearly 600 children and involved a number of practising research scientists and science ambassadors. Teachers worked with the project team to identify suitable areas of physical science in which to develop kits of equipment and resources which could be loaned to schools for use by teachers to run their own activities. A major aim of the project was to increase teacher confidence in teaching science by developing their skills and providing the necessary resources. The project developed a website to share ideas and materials as well as to report on the project’s progress.
Additional
The project has seen the delivery of 8 demonstration assemblies on Gases
in the Air engaging 1920 pupils, 20 hands-on chemistry workshops involving 598
pupils and 17 research chemists amongst the 9 partner schools. The science coordinators have identified the
areas of physical science to be tackled.
Work has begun on assembling the library of loanable equipment and other
resources.
Nine Bristol primary schools working with Bristol ChemLabS tackled the issue of primary children having little direct experience of science practicals. Workshops engaging 600 children and involving practising research scientists were held. Teachers worked to develop kits of equipment and resources (loanable library) to run their own activities. The teachers gained confidence in delivering engaging practical science lessons pupils’ interest and enthusiasm for science was noticeably increased.
July 2012 (final report)