ASE Conference 2014

By Maggie Morrissey on January 16, 2014 in Science

Well this was my first visit in many years to the annual ASE conference which was held this year in Birmingham. I always enjoy visiting Birmingham either to visit friends, or run courses and other CPD events such as school INSET. I find everyone I meet in the city extremely helpful and friendly.

I only attended the Friday and Saturday session as this was their specific days for primary schools and I must admit the Friday sessions were pretty packed which was rather frustrating. When I arrived at one workshop to find it packed I decided to walk around the exhibitors marquee instead, this proved to be an extremely good move as I bumped into a member of the open university promoting iSpot. http://www.ispotnature.org/

I am not going to write a big review as I will do this later but if you are covering any topic this term on nature then give this site a go. It is a website aimed at helping anyone identify anything in nature, you can add your own observations and join in discussions. Unable to identify a particular creature? Then use their identification keys.

The site is part of the OpenScience Laboratory which is an initiative run by the Open University and The Wolfson Foundation. A fantastic looking resource and free which is always a bonus.

I shall be adding more interesting finds from my trip over the next few days.

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I am currently not attached to a classroom but from my previous experience with Investigative Science, it showed me that it is a process which enables all students to see Science as an area of learning, which they are able to participate in, as it involves observation and experimentation to describe and explain natural phenomena which they are often naturally inquisitive about. I was challenged to redefine my approach when teaching Science. I gained understanding of how Investigative Science lends itself to all aspects of the Science curriculum and the need to take small steps in order to achieve the desired learning outcomes . I also understood how Investigative Science was able to differentiate and involve all students in the classroom thus enabling all students to become thinkers and involved in the scientific process. I would highly recommend this PD to other schools who are grappling with Investigative Science or would like to introduce this concept of learning to all teachers, whether experienced or not. The presenter was well spoken, engaged her audience with practical activities and listened to all the questions asked, responding with answers which clearly displayed her knowledge and understanding. A very passionate and motivated speaker.

Course leader was outstanding – providing practical strategies and creative ideas."

Input from the consultant was pitched at the right level to engage all learners. Children were motivated and excited by their learning. Staff now feel confident to embed the good practice demonstrated by the consultant. The quality of teaching was excellent. The consultant provided advice about structuring follow up activities. This is the third time I have worked with the consultant and I would recommend her input.

The course was good for providing creative and practical strategies and is very helpful in defining and evaluating the role of an ICT coordinator."

This course opened pathways into science that I never realised were there. One activity on the course involved fruit. We had to make a list of adjectives on what we could see, not touch or taste. This was a perfect example of how to begin an investigation in the classroom; start with the visual aspect and then move onto other senses/experiences to build on, evaluate and cement our first thoughts/findings. I have applied this approach in the classroom (reception class) while teaching about minibeasts: we started by reading a book about spiders; described the spider in the book; looked at and discussed a picture of a real spider; talked about what spiders can do and how they do it; went outside to try and capture a spider discussing where they might live; finally caught one and the children intuitively went to find food and made a habitat for it in the container; took the spider into the classroom and are now studying his behaviour and appearance first-hand. This in depth investigative process took little time to prepare and deliver. It also helped the children to overcome their fear of spiders and helped adjust their preconceptions. The course definitely challenged my thinking about science and has made it a much more enjoyable experience for the children I teach and for me. For them it's fun, informative and hands-on, they cant believe that it's actually a lesson. The outcomes and observations produced are outstanding. I can't believe the amount of information they could absorb in such a little amount of time.

ASE Conference 2014

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