Merry Christmas from the Science Learning Centres

Welcome to the last of our resource and activity gifts for Christmas.

A huge thank you to all of our delegates who have participated at one of the Science Learning Centres across the country this year.

Here are the last of our resources for you to share, use or take inspiration from.

Primary

(Please scroll down for Secondary)
In this video, Zoe Crompton provides winter and snow related ideas and activities for primary school children.

Winter Primary Science Activities

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Here are the primary CPD courses coming up in the New Year.

Secondary

This video shows Simon Quinnell demonstrating a range of experiments which can be performed at the Christmas dinner table.

Science Activities for the Christmas Dinner Table

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Here are the  secondary CPD courses coming up next term.

If you like the ideas behind Simon and Zoe’s videos and would like to learn more demonstrations then you should consider attending our practical demonstration courses:

Technicians as Demonstrators:  The Practical Demonstrator in the Classroom

or one of our regional demonstration courses.

A big thank you to everyone who has supported the network of Science Learning Centres over the past year.  In particular to the major funders of our awards and bursaries.

The Wellcome Trust		Department for Education
AstraZeneca		AstraZeneca Science Teaching Trust
BAE Systems		BP
General Electric Foundation		GlaxoSmithKline
Rolls-Royce		Vodafone
Vodafone Group Foundation

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and prosperous New Year from the Science Learning Centres and the National STEM Centre, we look forward to welcoming you back in 2012.

Life in the Labs – Data Loggers

by Helen Rose

In this, the first of my video blogs, I am introducing  data loggers; what they are, how they can be used and what to consider when buying data loggers for your school.  In later video blogs I’ll be showing you what data loggers are available in the market and some of their individual features and benefits.

Life in the Lab -Data loggers 1

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Technicians Accredited Co-Leaders in Science course (STACS)

By Simon Quinnell

We recently finished the final residential period of our newly developed Senior Technicians Accredited Co-Leaders in Science course (STACS), which is run at the National Science Learning Centre. The course was piloted this year with 10 participants.

STACs participants 2011

The course combined 10 days face to face training with additional online elements.

The participants who successfully pass all modules of the course will receive the “Science Education and Leadership (Science Technician)” qualification (which is equivalent to 60 credit University qualification at NQF Level 4(FHEQ Level C) and is the first qualification for senior technicians since the demised Techcen project.

The final residential period of the course focused on laboratory management and organisation which included sessions on organisation, health and safety, practical research, meetings and interviews.  Participants were required to do a presentation at the end of the course which covered their time at the centre, what they have learnt, the changes and the impact it has had on their professional practice.  Other topics such as leadership and management, communication and training of others were covered in the previous residential periods.

Feedback from the participants has already confirmed that the course has changed their perceptions, practices and has had a major impact on how they work.  A course participant commented:

  “(I) met some amazingly dedicated & talented technicians whilst doing STACS & feel privileged to have been involved in the pilot…hard work, but rewarding”.

The STACS course is our first (first of many) to offer a range of qualifications for technicians and in some ways is what we have been striving for the last 5 years in our continuing development of technicians CPD.

Our next steps are to develop accreditation for our new technician’s course and working in conjunction with the NESLC to develop their accreditation project with Northumbria University.

Our 2013 STACS programme is now available to book.

If you were on the course I’d love to hear any other comments you may have, here on the blog.

ASE/NSLC National Technicians Conference 2011 round up

By Simon Quinnell

On the 7th and 8th of July 2011 we ran the ASE/NSLC National Technicians Conference here at the NSLC in York. It was the second joint conference and the 15th ASE National Technicians Conference.

The two days were extremely busy with over 300+ technicians from across the UK attending, from as far away as the Channel Islands, Shetland and Northern Ireland.

The conference set up started on the Wednesday afternoon with the exhibitors setting up in the Atrium. We had over 20 suppliers this year and I think next year we’ll have to look at hiring a marquee to accommodate all our exhibitors.

The Wednesday evening participants who arrived early and stayed over were invited to join the deliverers and the ASE technicians committee for dinner and a drink down in Hesligtion village.  It was a great opportunity to get to know everyone a bit better.

Following introductions by myself and Michelle Mcgaughey, the Thursday morning conference started with a vengeance . The first keynote lecture was by Annette Smith CEO of ASE who spoke about her own experience and the possibility of registered technician status.

After a quick break participants had a selection of workshops to go to including:

• SAPS plant science
• Physics ideas
•  Handling dangerous chemicals
•  Working in the classroom
•  Health and safety
• Senior technicians leadership
• Forensics

The workshops were repeated on both days, followed by an afternoon of exciting demos which nearly brought the house done in more ways than one!

A big thank you to our evening quiz sponsors Timstar who looked after the entertainment in the evening again for those staying over.

Gratnells Technician of the Year winner with Kathy Sykes at NSLCS

Our Friday keynote speaker was Kathy Sykes; Kathy is Professor of Sciences and Society at Bristol University and has appeared regularly on radio and television, including the Open University, the  BBC’s Rough Science and Alternative Therapies series. We were very excited to have Kathy present and this was one of the highlights of the conference. She spoke about her own science story and the importance of science education. Kathy also presented the Gratnells science technician of the year award.  This was won by Sandra Wollerton from Danum School Technology College in Doncaster.  Congratulations Sandra!

The conference is a massive operation to put on, but it was great to see so many technicians at an event that extols their virtues.  I can’t wait until next year’s!  Keep an eye on our website for next year’s technicians conference.

Simon.

P.S if you’ve got any photos or video or comments from the conference, we’d love to see them and publish them to this post.

Ice Melting Blocks Demonstration

In this video Simon Quinnell presents the ice melting blocks demonstration. This is a great demonstration to get students thinking about the heat conductivity of different materials.

The Science Learning Centres run a number of courses to help you diffuse thinking skills into your teaching. Click on the links below for more information:

Developing Thinking Developing Learning

Promoting Thinking and Talking in Science

Ice Melting Blocks Demonstration

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Please ensure you undertake a full risk assessment before performing this demonstration and that it meets your institutions health and safety requirements. We also recommend you consult CLEAPSS or SERC.

The Changing Role of Science Technicians

Science technicians are increasingly supporting teachers and pupils directly with practical work. In this video Richard Needham, ASE Chair, discusses this emerging trend and the positive impact it is having in schools and colleges.

The Changing Role of Science Technicians

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Support for science technicians

The Science Learning Centres offer a number of courses to help technicians build the skills and confidence to support teachers and pupils directly with practical work:

Courses at your regional Science Learning Centre

Technicians: Supporting Practical Work in the Classroom
Science Demonstrations Effective and Safe

Courses at the National Science Learning Centre

Technicians as Demonstrators: The Practical Expert in the Classroom
Experienced Technicians Programme: Technicians Improving Practical Work

Cannon Fire Demonstration

The fourth in our series of demonstration videos is the ‘Cannon Fire’ experiment which can be used to demonstrate oxidation.

This impressive demonstration produces loud, crackling bursts of flame which resemble the sound of cannon fire.

CannonFire

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Please ensure you undertake a full risk assessment before performing this demonstration and that it meets your institutions health and safety requirements. We also recommend you consult CLEAPSS or SERC.

The following Science Learning Centre courses are filled with spectacular demonstrations that can help inspire your students:

Science Demonstrations: Effective and Safe

Technicians as Demonstrators: The Practical Expert in the Classroom

Whoosh Bottle Demonstration

If you are here to read about the practical survey, click here

The third in our series of demonstration videos is the classic ‘Whoosh Bottle experiment’ which can be used to demonstrate the combustion process.

Whoosh Bottle Demonstration

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Please ensure you undertake a full risk assessment before performing this demonstration and that it meets your institutions health and safety requirements. We also recommend you consult CLEAPSS or SERC.

The following Science learning Centre courses are filled with spectacular demonstrations that can help inspire your students:

Teachers and Technicians as Demonstrators: The practical expert in the classroom

Science Demonstrations: Effective and Safe

Methane Bubbles Experiment

This is the second in our series of demonstration videos developed to get your students Enthused about science.

Methane Bubbles Experiment

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Please ensure you undertake a full risk assessment before performing this demonstration and that it meets your institutions health and safety requirements. We also recommend you consult CLEAPSS or SERC.

The following Science learning Centre courses are filled with spectacular demonstrations that can help inspire your students:

Technicians as Demonstrators: The Practical Expert in the Classroom

Science Demonstrations: Effective and Safe

Coffee Whitener Flames Demonstration

Watch Simon Quinnell demonstrate the Coffee Whitener Flames experiment. This experiment can be demonstrated using cheap and readily available materials and is relevant to chemistry, physics and biology.

Coffee-whitener-flames-experiment

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Please ensure you undertake a full risk assessment before performing this demonstration and that it meets your institutions health and safety requirements. We also recommend you consult CLEAPSS or SERC.

The following Science learning Centre courses are filled with spectacular demonstrations that can help inspire your students:

Success in Teaching 11-16 Chemistry

Technicians as Demonstrators: The Practical Expert in the Classroom

The Experienced Technicians Programme