Tag Archives: Science

Interdisciplinary learning, Literacy, Self-Reflection, Skills, Teaching Pedagogy

SSERC Chemistry Residential

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At a recent SSERC course I was able to take part in a range of innovative practical activities that I hope to be able to integrate into our science and chemistry courses at St Margaret’s.

Practical activities included:

  • a novel method for carrying out chromatography that can be used in biology (separating compounds found in plants) in chemistry (chemical analysis in the new National 5 course)
  • etching zinc plates as a new way to demonstrate displacement reactions  – this allows a possibility of creating cross-curricular links with art (using the plates for printing) or CDT (shaping the plate to make a product).
  • ethanol rockets as a way of comparing energy from different fuels (this can be run in conjunction with physics to allow calculation of acceleration, velocity and average speed.)
  • making and analysing a shampoo from herbs and natural oils
  • extracting limonene and pectin from oranges and using the pith as an absorbent
  • looking at the properties of hydrogels
  • making ceramics
  • making liquid crystal displays

Continue reading SSERC Chemistry Residential →

Skills, Uncategorized

Science Cluster CPD – Working Together to Better Science Learning Part 2

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Laura Watson, Collette MacAllister, Scott Wood, Louise McAdam, Catherine Kerr and Keith Varty – Science Department

On Friday 20th September members of the St Margaret’s Academy Science department ran a workshop which provided our primary colleagues with a variety of practical experiments which they could take back and introduce into some of their science work. There were three different practical stations set up during the workshop one for Chemistry, Biology and Physics. These stations lasted for approximately 20 minutes and provided ideas for work that could be used to cover 3 of the 2nd level science E’s and O’s. These stations also showed how the pupils develop in this area when they carry out their 3rd level work at St Margaret’s Academy. Continue reading Science Cluster CPD – Working Together to Better Science Learning Part 2 →

Self-Reflection, Skills, Teaching Pedagogy, Uncategorized, Vision and Leadership

Action Enquiry in Science – Talking to Learn

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Ann McLean – Biology/Science Teacher

In 2009, I completed my masters at Stirling University. Three years hard slog to obtain the status of Chartered Teacher but the benefits have been invaluable. The course introduced experienced teachers to ‘Action Enquiry’ and guided us towards being researchers in our own classrooms.

We carried out two research projects. The first was a classroom based enquiry and involved only one teacher as researcher. The second was a collaborative project, involving two or more teachers.

My first project was inspired by a ‘difficult’ second year science class I had inherited (2V).  Most students were poorly motivated, badly behaved, had a fairly negative view of Science and failed to engage with and participate in lessons. A nightmare class you might say!

The class had a large number of less able students who were struggling  and a couple had significant behaviour  problems.   The only way I could get them through any work was to resort to rigid ‘ lock step’, teacher led lessons. I couldn’t trust them to do practical work so I demonstrated it and any notes they had to make were copied from the board. I became increasing  unhappy  with this ‘reception’ style  teaching where my passive learners were  receiving facts from me and expected to learn them. Although I tried to encourage and motivate my students, I didn’t see much improvement. They continued to be reluctant Scientists with very low self esteem. They performed poorly in assessments which triggered the whole cycle again. Continue reading Action Enquiry in Science – Talking to Learn →

Skills, Teaching Pedagogy, Uncategorized

Skills for Work: Laboratory Science

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Laura Watson – Biology/Science Teacher

St Margaret’s Academy Science Department, this year, introduced a new course available for S5/6 pupils called Skills for Work: Laboratory Science. This is set at Intermediate 2 level and has been a huge success since introduced in June.

Skills for Work: Laboratory Science is designed to equip students with the necessary knowledge and skills which are required for employment in laboratory science

Throughout the course the students explore a variety and range of industries and services, and the career opportunities in science laboratories, in a local, national, and global setting. At this point in the course the students attended a work based placement at one of the local scientific companies which helped support the material they have been learning in the class and provided them with the opportunity to speak to people who work in a laboratory setting.

Continue reading Skills for Work: Laboratory Science →

Interdisciplinary learning, Responsibility of All, Self-Reflection, Skills, Vision and Leadership

Stirling, CERN, SQA and RRSA CPD Activities

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My recent CPD activities have included completing the West Lothian Leadership course and have now started an MSc course in Educational Leadership at Stirling University. I have also undertaken marking for the SQA of both Standard Grade and Advanced Higher scripts. I have been leading the Rights Respecting Schools initiative within my school and have recently been appointed the Business Links development post holder within the school. Over the past year, I have also been trying to implement more use of technology in my teaching, by using facilities such as the PS3 and XBOX to enhance the learning of pupils. In addition I have recently been looking to use Edmodo with my classes such that more online resources have been available to them. I have also lead a recent foreign trip to CERN in Geneva, and undertaken the arrangement of the end of term shows within the school. Continue reading Stirling, CERN, SQA and RRSA CPD Activities →

Self-Reflection, Skills, Teaching Pedagogy, Vision and Leadership

Planning a school trip abroad – CERN Geneva

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Gerry Burns, Physics/Science Department

My recent CPD activities included taking 18 pupils to the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland. The purpose of this trip was to allow pupils to investigate particle physics at the biggest experiment on the planet. As I hadn’t taken pupils on a trip abroad before, there was great value in understanding how to organise the event in a way that the pupils got the maximum benefit while ensuring all the health and safety needs of the group were met.

Continue reading Planning a school trip abroad – CERN Geneva →

Self-Reflection, Teaching Pedagogy, Vision and Leadership

Working Together for Better Science Learning – a Cluster Approach to CPD

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St Margaret’s Academy Science department has been approached by SSERC to develop the transition process in science. The rationale and outline of this programme: “Working Together for Better Science Learning – a Cluster Approach to CPD programme” can be downloaded here. Myself and colleague Keith Varty along with one of our primary colleagues Jennifer Currie were invited along to the first workshop of the Armadale cluster to see how this works and if it is something that we would be interested in leading across our cluster. Each cluster primary school had sent at least two representatives to this event and Armadale Academy also had members of the science department there to help support their primary colleagues in the science tasks carried out during the workshop.

Continue reading Working Together for Better Science Learning – a Cluster Approach to CPD →

Teaching Pedagogy, Uncategorized

Active Learning using Tarsia cards in Science

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Mr Varty’s S2 Science class have recently been learning about plastics as part of the Chemistry Compounds unit that they have been completing.  One of the learning intentions from this lesson was that pupils should be able to identify the name of  a plastic when provided with the name of the monomer.  Pupils were formatively assessed using Tarsia cards that required pupils to work collaboratively with their peers to match the correct monomer to the polymer that it could form.  If successful each side of every triangle would have a correct match.  The following video shows two groups working on this activity.

Here is an example of one groups cards that were about to be formatively assessed.

Tarsia cards for any subject or activity can be made using the software from the following website that can be accessed by clicking here.