4

Teacher Scientist Network (TSN)

Telephone +44(0)1603 450304, Fax +44(0)1603 450045, Email ts.network@bbsrc.ac.uk, www.tsn.org.ukCoordinator: Dr. Phil Smith, MBE Chairman: Prof. Keith Roberts, OBE

TSN is a company limited by guarantee. Registered in England No. 4556366. Registered charity no. 1096208Registered office: John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Colney, Norwich, NR4 7UH

Newsletter of the Teacher Scientist Network No. 31 Autumn 2011

TSNews

Dates for your diary ....

30thNovember-CarolleavingTSN 7thFeb.2012-Health&LifeScienceY10Convention,JIC 13thMar.2012-WestminsterEducationForum 24thMar.2012-ScienceinNorwichDay,TheForum 18thMay2012-FascinationofPlantsDay

KIT CLUB NEWS !

InformationaboutALLTSNkitsatwww.tsn.org.uk,underKitClub,orcontacttsn.kits@bbsrc.ac.uk-

emailisourpreferredmethodofkitbooking.AlternativelytelephoneCarolHinceon01603450619,

(Thursday-Fridayinc.)

Carol is leaving! We need your help ... New Biodiversity kit available now

Talking Tortoise for Hire

TheKitClubisworkingthroughaperiodofupheavelandwewouldappreciateyourhelp and patience during this challenging time. In August our long-term volunteerPaulinediedandnowCarol,whohasruntheKitClubsoenthusiasticallyandeffectivelysinceherappointment5yearsago,isleavingtoembarkonanewlifeinSomerset.Thiswillmeanseveralmonthswhenourabilitytoturn-aroundkitrequestssoquicklywillbereducedandwewould,morethanever,askyoutobeon-timereturningyourkitsinawell-checkedcondition.Thankyou.

Carol’sfinalnewaddition toour stableof resources is aBiodiversityKitbaseduponthehugelypopular‘OPAL’resources.ThiskitisatimelyextensionforKeyStage2or3 (or older) work on habitats following the International Year of Biodiversity whichhashighlightedsomeofthechallengestopreserveourpreciousanddiverseecosytemsand the biodiversity they support. See http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/natural/biodiversity/foraveryrecentreportbyDEFRAonEngland’sbiodiversityandwhatcanbedonetopreventitsdecline.HereyouwillalsofinddetailsoftheBIGwildlifegardencompettionrunninguntilMay2012-perhapsthekitwillhelpkick-startyouractivities?Finally,wehaveavailableforloana‘talkingtortoise’withinteractivepanels.HisnameisShelleyandhastouredtheUKwiththeRCUKDarwinexhibit,heisbeingretiredouttograssinNorfolk.Heisquitelarge(butfriendly!)andprovideslinkstoadaptationsandevolution.

RegularvisitorstoTSNonThursdayandFridayafternoonswillnodoubthavemetourdiligentandloyalvolunteer,Ms.PaulineBurton(picturedbelow)whotooksuchprideandworkedsohardmaintain-ingour(her!?)kits.

Paulinepassedawayinthesummerandshewillbemissedbymany.Knowledge-ableandenthusiastic,Paulinesupportedmanyteachersandscientistswhosoughtideasabouthowbesttousethekits,basedonmanyyearsteachingexperienceandaloveofnaturalhistoryanddesperatedesiretoseeElectricitytaughtwell!

In Memoriam - Pauline

TSN was represented at this years Royal Norfolk Show thanks to colleagues from the JIC Entomol-ogy team. Our poster generated significant interest, HRH Princess Anne being one of the many visitors to the Centre for Contemporary Agriculuture’s tent.

Our Master Class in June explored recent devel-opments in Reproductive Technologies and was enjoyed by over 30 teachers.

Eminent green chemist, Prof. James Clark from the Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence at the Univer-sity of York gave our keynote address, enjoyed by many, at the 2011 TSN Annual Meeting.

TSN provided both written and oral evidence to the government’s Science & Technology Committee as part of their inquiry into “Practical experiments in school science lessons and science field trips.” We were pleased that one of their key conclusions recognised that teachers’ knowledge and practical skills must be main-tained and developed in order for high-quality science education to be delivered: exactly what TSN does!

In this issue ..Partnership Activities 2 For partners to aim towards ... 2 CarboSchools & Climate resources 3 GIFT 2012 & Olympics 2012 3

Free resources - OPAL and RSPCA 3Kit Club news 4In memoriam 4New Members 4Diary Dates 4

Postcards from TSN’s Summer

New Members - WelcomeTeachers

Mrs. Janette Eyles,Admiral’sJuniorSchool,ThetfordMs. Rosie Niescie,CityCollege,NorwichMr. Neil Shuttlewood,CliffParkHighSchoolMrs. Anne-Marie Steward,SurlinghamPrimarySch.Ms. Sara McDade,St.ThomasMorePrimarySchoolMrs. Sarah Nhamo,LongStrattonHighSchoolMr. Gary Hurd,EastNorfolkVIthformCollegeMr. Julian de Best,ThetfordAcademyMr. Neil Taylor,StowuplandHighSchool,St’marketMrs. Sue Little,BroadlandHighSchoolMrs. Alexander Knight,AngelRd.JuniorSchoolMrs. Carolyn Johnson,SS.Peter&PaulPrimarySchMrs. Sue McNeice,HollyMeadowsSchool,K/LynnMr. James Lowden,DenesHighSchool,LowestoftMrs. Amy Wood,WoodlandPrimary,Gt.Yarmouth Scientists

Miss Joyita Deb,JohnInnesCentreMiss Carly Turnbull,UniversityofEastAngliaMrs. Susan Duncan,JohnInnesCentreMr. Hadrien Peyret,JohnInnesCentreMr. Martin Sams,LondonPharma,NorwichMrs. Helen Brown,InstituteofFoodResearch

2 3

WearedelightedtoreportthatdataonatmosphericCO2levelsaroundMartham,Norfolkarenowavailableasaneducationalresourceforalltouse.ThedataareobtainedfromaVaisalaCarbocapprobelocatedontheroofofFleggHighschoolandsentdailytotheSchoolCO2webpages.Notesonhowtointerpetandusethesedatawithyourpupilsisalsoavailableonthewebsite(http://www.carboeurope.org/education/schoolsweb.php).Thedatashowsday/night(darkareasongraph)andseasonalfluxesinCO2levelsandisauniqueopportunityforpupilstoworkwithrealclimatedataandcomparewithotherinstitutionsaroundEurope.

Partnership Activity: A first time for everything - again! Gary Wortley (IFR) and Emma Court (St. Augustine’s Primary School)

Climate Science resourcesGaryadmitshewasscared.Hewasreturn-ingtoTSNmorethantenyearsafterhislaststint,butitwasn’tjust‘simplestagefright;’no,thereweretworeasonsforthisfear.First,becausehehadstoppedactivelydoingscience(heisnowalabmanagerattheInstituteofFoodResearch)andsec-ond,becauseatthefrontoftheclassthereweregoingtobeapairofeyeslookingupathisdad!

Bycontrast,EmmawasnewtoTSNandrelativelynewtoteaching,infactlastyearwasherNQTyear.AcolleaguehadorderedEmmaaresoursebox,andsoshewenttopickitup.EmmarecallsthisfirsttriptoTSN,“whilstIwasthereIwasof-feredthechanceofhaving‘myveryownscientist.’Iwasn’tsurewhatitmeant,butIwasn’tgoingtoturndownextrahelp!”Amonthorsolater,attheInductionmeeting,Philstressedthatthis‘extrahelp’was“notjustanotherpairofhands”andthefirstconversationsaboutthenewpartnershipbegan.“OnceI’dfoundoutmoreandwassetupwith‘myscientist,’wearrangedforGarytomeetthechildren,althoughhealreadyknewoneratherwell!”GaryandEmma’spartnershipwastobemainlybasedwithYear3atSt.Augustine’sPrimarySchoolinCostessey.“Insomewaysbeingnewtoteaching,meantthatIhadnopreconceivedideasabouthowthepartnershipshouldrun.”Andsotheyplannedtostarttheballrollingwithaget-to-knowtheclass/sci-entisttalkandsomemini-experimentalinterludesunderthegeneraltopicof‘whatisascientist.’Garysoonrealisedthiswastoomuchfree-reinashespenttoomanyeveningsagonisingoverwhattodo!

GIFT 2012 - WATER!TSNisonceagainpromotingtheGIFTworkshopforsecond-aryschoolteachersaroundtheUK.Thispan-EuropeaneventtakesplaceinparalleltotheEuropeanGeosciencesUnionGeneralAssemblyinViennanextAprilbetween22ndand25th.Itis2.5daysofsubjectknowledgecpddeliveredbyleadingscientists.Thetopicfor2012isWaterandtheworkshopwillcovereverythingfromdroughtandflooding,tovirtualwaterandwaterforlife.Furtherdetailsabouttheworkshopandtheshortapplicationprocedureatwww.tsn.org.uk/GIFT.htm

‘In the Zone’istheWellcomeTrust’smajorinitiativelinkedtotheLondon2012OlympicandParalympicGames.‘In the Zone’willengagethepublicwiththescienceofhowtheirbodyworksduringsport,activity,movementandrest.

Themajorelementsof‘In the Zone’are:•Kitsforschools–aphysiology-relatedexperimentforeveryUKchild,supportedbyscientificequipmentandteachingresources•Touringexhibition–ahigh-quality,interactiveandfunscienceengagementexperienceforover200,000people.

Thefreekitswillprovideexperimentalequipment,teachingmaterialsandre-sourcestoensureyouhaveeverythingyouneedtobringthescienceofthehumanbodytolifeinyourclassroom.Eachactiv-ityhasbeentailoredtomeetcurriculumrequirementsforScienceandPEforages4-19years.

Sign-upfortheresourcesathttp://www.wellcome.ac.uk/Education-resources/Teach-ing-and-education/In-the-zone

Flegg High School

Olympics - 2012

FearturnedtofunthoughasGaryrememberedthatkeepingitsimpleisoneofthegoldenrules.“Iturnedthefirstses-sionintoa‘learnaboutthescienceIhaddone,andwhatascientistis,”saidGary,“toemphasisethataskingquestionsisthemostimportantpartofscience.”Emmaremembersfondlyhowwellthechildrenresponded“WhenGarycameinforthefirsttimethechildrenlovedit,theyweresoexcitedabouthavingascientistcomein,thatitalmostdidn’tmatterwhathedid.Garymadeeachvisitveryinterest-ingandinteractiveforthechildrenandeachtimeheapproachedthetopicfromadifferentperspective,sothechildren’s

learningwasalwaysbeingextendedratherthanrepeated.Theyalwayslookedforwardtoseeingtheirscientistandtobedoingmanyhands-onexperiments.”EmmahasfoundhavingtheTSNboxesandascientistahugehelpforherfirstyearofteaching,“it’samazingtofindthesereadymadepackages,filledtothebrimwithtriedandtestedobjects,andideastosupporttheteachingofscienceatthelevelthat’sneeded.That’slikehavingcakeandeatingit.Andthentodiscoverthecakescomewithicingtoo!IamtremendouslygratefulforthemandIlookforwardtokeepingmyrelationshipwiththeTSNformanyyearstocome.”

GaryquicklydecidedthatY3werenotscaryatall;infacttousehisownwords“awonderfulclasswho,importantly,haveproventobeexpertquestionaskers.Everysinglechild,ineveryvisitI’vemadesince,hasaskedgoodquestions.SowhatisitlikereturningtotheTSNafteradecadeaway?“IstoppedbeinganactiveTSN-scientistpurelybecauseImovedawayfromtheUKforawhile;itwassomethingImissedthough.Despitemyinitialfears,it’sbeengreatoncemoreseeingthelookonthechildren’sfaceswhentheyunderstandsomething,thejoyatanswering(andbeingabletoask)ques-tionsandofcourseseeingthemhappilygetmessyforthecauseofscience.”

For partners to aim towards ...AscientistworkingwithBlacklawtonPri-marySchoolinDevonhashelpedprimaryschoolchildrendevelopanovelinvestiga-tionabouthowbeesperceivecolour.

ThechildrenworkedwithDr.BeauLotto,aWellcomeTrustfundedneuroscientist,andhavebecomethefirstintheworldtoplan,performandpublishtheirownscien-tificexperimentinapeer-reviewedjournal.

Thepaperiswrittenin‘kidspeak’andhasbeenpublishedintheRoyalSociety’spublication,Biology Letters. Thepapercanbeviewedatwww.tsn.org.uk/news.htm

This probe is now gathering data about atmospheric CO2 levels - here’s the first weeks’ data from Flegg High School ..

BUGS CountDoyouknowwhatbugsarelivingnearyou?TakepartinBugsCountanddiscovertheincrediblevarietyofinver-tebratesthatmaketheirhomearoundus.

FindasmanybugsasyoucaninourtimedchallengesandkeepaspecialeyeoutforthesixSpeciesQuestbugs.Yourfindingswillhelpscientistslearnmoreaboutthedistributionofinverte-bratesacrossthecountryandhowtheurbanenvironmentmaybeaffectingthem.Crawliesaren’tcreepy!

Bugs,orinvertebrates,areavitalpartofourenvironment.Theycanpollinateplants,recyclenutrients,andtheypro-videanimportantfoodsourceforbirdsandmammals.

TojoininthebugscountorreportyourresultsvisitOPAL’swebsiteat

http://www.opalexplorenature.org/bugscount

And,ifyoufindabugandyoudon’tknowwhatitis,getintouchwithanexpertbysendingaphototoiSpot-www.ispot.org.uk

IfyouareateacherorgroupleaderandwouldlikehelpwiththeBugsCountsurvey-getintouchwithyourregionalOPALrepresentative,RobColeman(r.coleman@open.ac.uk)

DidyouknowtheRSPCAoffersfree-to-ac-cessresourcesforteachersacrossallkeystagestodemonstratehowanimal welfarecanbeusedasacontextorfocusfordeliveringthenationalcurriculum?

Theyofferlessonplans,interactiveresources,andanimagelibrary.Withineachlessonideasanimalwelfareisakeyaspect,buttheresourcesaretrulycross-curricular.Formoreinformationsee,http://www.rspca.org.uk/education/teachers

RSPCA Resources

Insupportoftheirrecentlyopened‘atmos-phere gallery’theScienceMuseumnowhaveafullrangeofresourcesontheirweb-sitetosupporttheteachingofclimatescienceinyourclassroomeitherasdiscretelessonsoraspartofacollapsedtimetableday.ThisincludestheveryinteractiveCarbonCycleCaperactivity(withacollectionof

plasticballsthatrepresentcarbonatomsandteamsofstudentsrepresentingthedifferentprocessesbywhichcarbonmovesaroundthecycle),a3minuteanimatedfilmdescribestheactivity.Allresourcescanbefoundat,http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/educators/classroom_and_homework_resources/ks3/climate_science.aspx