SciFER PROGRAM FOR 2009

SEMINARS, 2009

Date Speaker/s Title

Tuesday October 13th

1.00-2.00pm

New Law Lecture Theatre 104
Prof Tony Croft
Loughborough University, UK The success of the Mathematics Education Centre which aims to support university science and engineering students.
Read more at http://mlsc.lboro.ac.uk

In 2005 the Centre achieved Centre of Excellence status. This award, won collaboratively with Coventry University, is worth $8m, $5m of which was used to improve the student learning experience at Loughborough. Key objectives included enhancing facilities and the environment for research into mathematical education.

Don't forget your SciFER grant application!! Submissions close 31 October, 2009

Thursday September 10th

1.00-2.00pm

Room 535 Carslaw
Recipients of the 2007 SciFER Education Research Grants Recipients of the three 2007 SciFER Education Research grants will be reporting on the progress of their projects.

Come and support your colleagues and be inspired to apply for this year's grant!

Wednesday July 22

1.00-2.00pm

Seminar Room 508 Education
Dr Bryan Berry
Director of the Science Learning Centre South West, UK
STEM initiatives in the UK.
The Science Learning Centres (SLCs) are a key aspect of the UK Government's STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) programme. The SLCs are a network for professional development in science teaching. The Centres support teachers in enhancing their professional skills by learning more about contemporary scientific ideas and in experimenting with effective teaching approaches and gaining experience of modern scientific techniques. The aim is to improve science teaching, raise morale in the teaching profession and to inspire pupils by providing them with a more exciting, intellectually stimulating and relevant science education, enabling them to gain the knowledge and the understanding they need - both as the citizens and as the scientists of the future.
There are nine regional Centres in England and one National Centre to serve the UK. Each of the Centres has a main base but is developing satellite Centres and online resources which can be accessed by teachers from across the country. The Centres offer courses in the latest scientific research and industry, as well as education initiatives across all key stages and Post-16, to science teachers, technicians, FE lecturers and teachers tackling the ethics of science in society e.g. citizenship teachers. Each of the Centres is equipped with new labs and ICT resources to provide advanced training. They are working with leading scientific organisations and businesses to ensure that the content delivered to the teachers is contemporary and relevant.

Powerpoint presentation (pdf 2MB)

Thursday May 21

1.00-2.00pm
Prof Jerry Touger,Curry College, in Milton, Massachusetts Getting the Picture: Improving Student Understanding in the Sciences with Imagery and Animations

Beginning science students have approaches to learning and expectations about the process of learning that differ substantially from those of practicing scientists. In particular, whereas scientists' understanding is dense and richly interconnected, beginning students tend to see the content of their science courses as discrete elements with few interconnections. Moreover, confronted with the density of information common to textbook prose and figures, they generally lack the wherewithal to bring coherence to it.
For many students, visualization within a coherent story line can be critical to understanding - the mortar that holds the conceptual edifice together. I will draw on electronic media examples for an introductory physics course to illustrate how imagery and animations can promote "getting the picture" and foster narrative coherence. I will show how in doing so, they can help combat some of the problems of overly dense or overly dispersed information that are inherent in the constraints of the printed page.

Some of the examples are available at the web site for my physics textbook.

Powerpoint presentation (656kB)

Background information

Jerold Touger is a Professor of Science and Mathematics at Curry College, in Milton, Massachusetts. He is an experienced teacher as well as an active researcher in cognitive aspects of physics teaching and learning. He has been actively involved in physics education research for over twenty years and has received NSF support. His work has been published in major national and international journals.

Jerry has served as a consultant for the development of high school physics curricula and for the development of courses at other colleges and universities, including Ohio State University and the University of New Hampshire. He received his own physics education at Cornell University (B.A., 1966) and the City University of New York (Ph.D., 1974).

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SEMINARS, 2009
Date	Speaker/s	Title
Tuesday October 13th 1.00-2.00pm New Law Lecture Theatre 104	Prof Tony Croft Loughborough University, UK	The success of the Mathematics Education Centre which aims to support university science and engineering students. Read more at http://mlsc.lboro.ac.uk In 2005 the Centre achieved Centre of Excellence status. This award, won collaboratively with Coventry University, is worth $8m, $5m of which was used to improve the student learning experience at Loughborough. Key objectives included enhancing facilities and the environment for research into mathematical education.
Don't forget your SciFER grant application!! Submissions close 31 October, 2009
Thursday September 10th 1.00-2.00pm Room 535 Carslaw	Recipients of the 2007 SciFER Education Research Grants	Recipients of the three 2007 SciFER Education Research grants will be reporting on the progress of their projects.
*Come and support your colleagues and be inspired to apply for this year's grant!*
Wednesday July 22 1.00-2.00pm Seminar Room 508 Education	Dr Bryan Berry Director of the Science Learning Centre South West, UK	STEM initiatives in the UK. The Science Learning Centres (SLCs) are a key aspect of the UK Government's STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) programme. The SLCs are a network for professional development in science teaching. The Centres support teachers in enhancing their professional skills by learning more about contemporary scientific ideas and in experimenting with effective teaching approaches and gaining experience of modern scientific techniques. The aim is to improve science teaching, raise morale in the teaching profession and to inspire pupils by providing them with a more exciting, intellectually stimulating and relevant science education, enabling them to gain the knowledge and the understanding they need - both as the citizens and as the scientists of the future. There are nine regional Centres in England and one National Centre to serve the UK. Each of the Centres has a main base but is developing satellite Centres and online resources which can be accessed by teachers from across the country. The Centres offer courses in the latest scientific research and industry, as well as education initiatives across all key stages and Post-16, to science teachers, technicians, FE lecturers and teachers tackling the ethics of science in society e.g. citizenship teachers. Each of the Centres is equipped with new labs and ICT resources to provide advanced training. They are working with leading scientific organisations and businesses to ensure that the content delivered to the teachers is contemporary and relevant.
Powerpoint presentation (pdf 2MB)
Thursday May 21 1.00-2.00pm	Prof Jerry Touger,Curry College, in Milton, Massachusetts	Getting the Picture: Improving Student Understanding in the Sciences with Imagery and Animations
Beginning science students have approaches to learning and expectations about the process of learning that differ substantially from those of practicing scientists. In particular, whereas scientists' understanding is dense and richly interconnected, beginning students tend to see the content of their science courses as discrete elements with few interconnections. Moreover, confronted with the density of information common to textbook prose and figures, they generally lack the wherewithal to bring coherence to it. For many students, visualization within a coherent story line can be critical to understanding - the mortar that holds the conceptual edifice together. I will draw on electronic media examples for an introductory physics course to illustrate how imagery and animations can promote "getting the picture" and foster narrative coherence. I will show how in doing so, they can help combat some of the problems of overly dense or overly dispersed information that are inherent in the constraints of the printed page. Some of the examples are available at the web site for my physics textbook. Powerpoint presentation (656kB) Background information Jerold Touger is a Professor of Science and Mathematics at Curry College, in Milton, Massachusetts. He is an experienced teacher as well as an active researcher in cognitive aspects of physics teaching and learning. He has been actively involved in physics education research for over twenty years and has received NSF support. His work has been published in major national and international journals. Jerry has served as a consultant for the development of high school physics curricula and for the development of courses at other colleges and universities, including Ohio State University and the University of New Hampshire. He received his own physics education at Cornell University (B.A., 1966) and the City University of New York (Ph.D., 1974).