Transcript Getting kids excited about science

Getting kids excited about
science
‘Your Planet Earth’ is a new
programme to take basic science
into schools, using major themes
in the earth sciences
Aims of YPE
• Tell kids about volcanoes, global change, dinosaurs…
• Use these themes to develop analytical skills
• Get them thinking seriously about studying scientific
subjects (especially Earth sciences) at University…
• And so maintain a flow of good students into sciencebased jobs
Background
• Your Planet Earth was launched in 2007-8 as a part of
the UNESCO International Year of Planet Earth (2008)
• It is a programme developed by the Geologists’
Association, in association with the Geological Society
of London, and the Earth Science Education Unit
• The initial work in 2007-8 has been sponsored by Shell
• The powerpoints were prepared by Dr Jess Trofimovs,
a volcanologist, with close involvement from Professor
Mike Benton, a dinosaurologist, both at the University
of Bristol
What’s next?
• We have prepared talks initially for the 14-15 age
group, but will soon make versions suitable also for
the 8-9 age group as well
• We will add another 5 or 6 topics
• We will seek additional funding to produce posters
and mail shots to schools throughout the UK
• We will extend the website provision with follow-up
information, and careers and university advice
• The website [http://www.earth4567.com] is easy to
remember: 4567 Myr is the age of the Earth (more or
less!)
How does it work?
• The YPE team have produced five ppt shows about
Dinosaurs, Global change, Interior of the Earth,
Geohazards, Volcanoes
• These are available from http://www.earth4567.com
The images are all in the public domain.
• Each talk has a commentary/script built in, so you
can use the talks with confidence
Why do volunteers need
training?
• Presenting science in schools can be huge fun, but it
has to be done right
• A badly prepared or badly presented session will do
great harm
• Some people are ‘naturals’, but a few practical tips
can avoid difficulties on the day
Long-term value for you
• Presenting science to kids is a great way to learn a
subject yourself
• Talking in schools is excellent preparation for all kinds
of presentations - and presentation skills are of key
importance in most graduate jobs
• Some students may find the experience useful in
deciding whether they want to go into teaching or
other educational work as a career
• Your institution/ department may decide to provide
credit points or certification of proficiency - in any
case, this kind of experience is good on your c.v.
It really isn’t so difficult…
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Kids are keen to learn…
How do kids learn science?
• Good ways to engage kids are to relate a scientific
idea to something familiar or to a joke
• For example, if you want to explain the concept of
safety factors in biology (small animals have
relatively higher safety factors than large animals), try
these:
– A flea can jump thirty times its body length… so, why can’t
an elephant do that?
– [In a thought experiment,] drop a cat and a cow from the roof
of the school - which one breaks its legs… and why?
– Why can’t elephants really gallop; and why could the
sauropod dinosaur Diplodocus only walk?
Engaging older kids
• You might think 14-and 15-year olds are quite scary
in large numbers
• But they can relate to a story well told: much of
science is like a detective story - you have clues,
you have a problem to solve, and you have to work
through the clues, and do some lateral thinking…
• Humour and gore can help [examples on last page]
• Career aspects are important - it’s worth talking
about yourself and your aspirations, and the kinds of
careers open to scientists [this is probably less
interesting to younger age groups]
How to do it
We’ll look at five aspects of presenting a successful
science show in a school:
1. Preparing the show
2. Preparing the school
3. Preparing yourself
4. Delivery
5. Follow-up
You’ll then be set an exercise and will accompany
someone experienced on your first school visits.
1. Preparing the show
• You may use an existing teaching module (such as
those available at http://www.earth4567.com)
• You may be asked to modify the material
• Check exactly what is to be presented, and make
sure you have any necessary additional materials kids love to handle real rocks, fossils and minerals, or
see experiments - but don’t plan anything too
elaborate - it will probably go wrong!
2. Preparing the school
• You may be given a contact and a time that has
already been arranged
• Call the teacher contact in the school and find out
what the class has already done in the topic area
• If there is time, see whether the kids can be sent
work sheets or some activity to carry out before you
arrive - if they have already done some reading,
worksheets, or model-making they will be keyed up
for your presentation
3. Preparing yourself I
• It is often said that you should spend ten times as
long in preparation as in delivery (i.e.10 hours before
a 1-hour presentation)
• If you use the prepared talks, this saves time, but you
must spend enough time (a few hours) reading
through and checking information so you are fluent
and in command of the topic
• Practice live if you possibly can, so you get timings
right - it’s very common to think you can cover five
hours of material in one hour
3. Preparing yourself II
• People usually spend too long worrying about how
they look and whether they will embarrass
themselves
• This is much, much less important than being
properly prepared and being on top of the subject
• It is far more constructive to think about the audience
before you start - how many will there be, what do
they know, what is likely to interest them?
3. Preparing yourself III
• Be prepared to talk in a conversational way, and
direct to the kids; look at them, and walk about
• Be prepared to pace the talk and allow plenty of time
for questions and extra explanations
• Don’t even think about reading your presentation
to the kids - sheets of paper or cards are an added
confusion for you, and a disaster for them. The story
is on the Ppt and the included script - just use those
• If you are too nervous to fly without cards, you should
think seriously about whether this is for you or not
3. Preparing yourself IV
• The best preparation is to attend two or three
sessions given by a colleague who is already
experienced
• Watch carefully how they engage the kids, and how
they pace the show
• You can practice by presenting a segment of the
show on your first and second outings
4. Delivery
• The key thing is to keep the kids engaged throughout
• If they are bored they will talk, fidget, walk about - this
must never happen
• If you see signs of boredom, don’t just soldier on
according to the script: switch pace, jump ahead, get
them to answer a question, and make sure they are
enthralled again
• It’s best to deliver the material in short bursts of five
minutes or so, and then pause to ask questions or set
an activity
5. Follow-up
• The teachers may have asked you to provide
worksheets or to leave specimens or other materials
• If they have not done this, ask if they’d like follow-up
activities
• Follow-up worksheets might refer the teachers and
kids to a recent article or website for further reading,
or you might have a problem sheet they can use problems can be simple numerical calculations or
debate questions
• Make sure they ask for another presentation on the
same topic, or a different topic
The practice session (1)
• Each trainee should present a 5-minute segment of a
science show
• You can work through one of the prepared talks, or
prepare something from scratch
• The instructor should organise a room where the
practice session runs - other students make up the
audience of ‘kids’
• This session can happen a few days after the
introduction, or it can follow right after, if students
have been given prior warning
The practice session (2)
• The course instructor should assess each trainee for
their ability, asking these kinds of questions:
–
–
–
–
Does the trainee presenter engage the audience?
Is the level and pace right?
Does the trainee lose the thread/ seem poorly prepared?
Does the trainee project themselves - relate topics to their
own experience?
– Does the trainee get good audience participation?
• The instructor will offer feedback (verbal or written) to
each trainee, and make a decision about any who
may not be suitable for approval to participate
What’s next?
• Once you have completed the training course, and
have passed the practical exam, you are ready to go
on the road
• You should be sent with an experienced presenter for
the first two or three sessions
• Make sure you are encouraged to participate and
take over some segments of the presentation
• Then you’re on your own as a trained presenter
• Your Department may give you some certification to
recognise the achievement - this is an achievement
that ought to go in your CV
Enjoy
Let’s hope this is how
your audience looks at
the end of the show…
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TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.