Enhancing the Value of Science Education Activities in Primary

Schools Through Interdisciplinary and Intercollege Collaboration

Dr Vanessa Murphy & Dr Claire McDonnell,School of Chemical & Pharmaceutical Sciences,

Dublin Institute of Technology ViCEPhEC, 26th August 2016

@vanessamurphdit @clairemcdonndit

Community Based Learning in DIT▪ Part of year 2 ‘Professional Development’ module

▪ Students undertake a real world project within the community

− Meet a genuine community need

▪ Academic credit for learning & reflection*

▪ Since 2007, 171 students have participated in these year 2 CBL projects

(549 in chemistry in DIT in total)

(*Further Information: Introductory guide to community based learning, Campus Engage;http://www.campusengage.ie/userfiles/files/Community-Based%20Learning%20WEB.pdf )

Community Based Learning in DIT▪ Community Partners

− Schools and after-school clubs in underserved communities

▪Existing CBL activity− Students plan and implement interactive hands-on

sessions to support primary school children’s learning

Developing Interdisciplinarity

Project implemented by Prof. T. Overton & Dr. D. Overton at University of Hull -chemistry & teacher education depts.

Subsequent article in Education in Chemistry, Nov. 2015;http://www.rsc.org/eic/2015/11/collaboration-chemistry-teaching-primary-school-outreach Image sources:https://www.monash.edu/science/schools/chemistry/our-people/staff/professor-tina-overton http://www2.hull.ac.uk/scarborough/campus_departments/sse/staff/dave_overton.aspxhttps://uwaterloo.ca/chemed2013/events/icce-2014

Objectives of Our Project

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1. Facilitate collaboration between chemistry

students and primary school education students in

two institutions through “microteaching” session

− Develop suitable hands-on activities for 9 to 12 year

olds on the topics of light and heat

−Enhance their pedagogical and scientific knowledge

Image source: http://cice.ie/

Objectives of Our Project

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2 Determine the chemistry students’ perceptions of

the project impact on their professional skills and

knowledge

3 Determine the perceptions of the education students

and their lecturer of impact on their own

professional skills and knowledge

Image source: http://cice.ie/

Data Collection – 7 Chemistry Students

Pre- and post-project surveys

-21 Likert Scale Questions on development of key professional skills-Free writing questions

Data Collection – 18 CICE Students & Lecturer

▪Written feedback on “microteaching” session and activity lesson plans

− Lesson structure, learning outcomes, engagement etc.− Strengths, Areas for improvement

▪ Post-session open response questionnaire exploring whether:

− They applied their knowledge of effective teaching− They learned anything themselves− The activity should be repeated next year

▪ Interview with CICE lecturer

Practice Session with CICE - Structure

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10 min

• Introduction• Education students split into groups of 4-5• Assigned to 1 Chemistry student (Student 1) 

15 min

• Education students review Student 1’s lesson plan• Chemistry students set up activities (topic is light or heat)

15 min

• Chemistry student implements their hands on activity.• Participation of education students as “audience” of primary

school children (5th class / Key stage 2;10-11 years old)

15 min

• Education students complete feedback form on session for Student 1 (5 minutes)

• Oral feedback on session and further discussion/ questions/ suggestions

Repeated with Student 2, then education students completed survey

Chemistry Student Surveys

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Chemistry Student Surveys

I enjoyed doing the experiments with the primary school pupils as I found that they were easily fascinated &

wanted to know more

I enjoyed working in groups and sharing

different ideasI would like a bit more time to organise the group project overall

Now, I am able to listen to others and

then express my opinion

Next time I hope to have the group meet up regularly to discuss people’s progress

I am a lot more confident talking/

presenting

Primary Education Student Surveys

It was fun and interesting to interact with other students and get some ideas

I was able to give some tips about lesson planning and classroom

management

I think that it is a worthwhile and beneficial session for the students

of both colleges

I would be interested in using these

experiments in teaching practice

I suggested ideas on how they could explain tricky subject-

related vocabulary

....... Analyse the lesson plans, considering mistakes that I have already made, my experience in

the classroom and general guidelines considered to be

important whilst teaching

Primary Education Lecturer Interview

The students got some good ideas for their own practice and they really

enjoyed it too

There were good conversations going in both directions and CICE students were giving good feedback

CICE students gave great advice on structuring the

lesson plan

When experiments weren’t working there was excellent peer collaboration

to try and solve the problem.Both sides were thinking scientifically and collaboratively to achieve a “fix”.

Primary Education Lecturer Interview

Idea for Consideration

Would be good to have a feedback session at the end with everybody back in the room, allowing:• Time for questions to be asked

• Both sets of students to think about what everybody else was doing during the session e.g. full range of activities offered

• Both CICE and DIT students to discuss and reflect on what they learned

Feedback from Primary School Teachers

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Primary School Teachers rated DIT students as excellent in all categories

Students were super with the kids

It was very informative and fun for the children

Conclusions

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▪ Interdisciplinary model implemented in the University of Hull was successfully applied within a community-based learning framework in DIT

▪ Project was extended to cover an inter-institutional scope

▪ Data collected shows the value of the practice microteaching session− Both cohorts learned from the experience and were able to

apply and share their prior knowledge

Conclusions

▪ Responses indicate the potential for long term viability of the inter-institutional collaboration

▪Chemistry students reported that project led to:− Improvements in communication and organisational skills

− Greater confidence in working in a team-based environment

− Increased opportunities to discuss working as a team in interview situations

Further Information-Poster on Chemical Sciences in the Community Nov 2015 Students Learning with Communities DIT, V. Murphy & C.McDonnell;https://www.dit.ie/media/ace/slwc/Claire%20McDonnell%20&%20V%20Murphy%20chemistry%20CBL%202015.pdf

-C. McDonnell, P. Ennis, L. Shoemaker, (2011) "Now for the science bit: implementing community-based learning in chemistry", Education + Training, 53 (2/3), 218 – 236. http://arrow.dit.ie/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1033&context=scschcpsart

Introductory guide to community based learning, Campus Engage;http://www.campusengage.ie/userfiles/files/Community-Based%20Learning%20WEB.pdf

- C. McDonnell (2015) Innovative Community-Engaged Learning Projects: From Chemical Reactions to Community Interactions, chapter in Chemistry Education : Best Practices, Opportunities and Trends, J. García-Martínez and E. Serrano-Torregrosa (Eds), Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co.

Acknowledgments

▪ Students of BSc in Medicinal Chemistry & Pharmaceutical Sciences (DT261/2)

▪ Staff & students of CICE, in particular Orla Kelly and Janet McKennedy

▪ Staff & pupils of Presentation Primary School, Warrenmount

▪ Seed funding for this project was gratefully received from Students Learning with Communities (SLWC) in DIT

Image source: dit.ie/ace/studentslearningwithcommunities/

Image source: planwallpaper.com