Education
Interning with the education policy team at the RSB
The recent wave of Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) schemes have paved new ground for the enrichment of doctoral learning through extended transferable skills programmes. Through this scheme, I was introduced to the Royal Society of Biology, to work alongside their education policy team. As a BBSRC-funded PhD candidate, I am part of the Midlands Integrative … Continue reading
Engaging the Silent Majority
How can you ensure all students in a teaching session have the opportunity to engage, be involved and interact? This is the question that I wanted to address when I set out to understand why students choose to sit in a given location within the lecture theatre.
‘To believe is to be able’
A study of developing self-efficacy in undergraduate biologists at the University of Hull by the HE Bioscience Teacher of the Year, Dominic Henri. I strongly believe that the process of Higher Education should provide the opportunity for students to overcome a wide range of barriers, which can then be drawn upon to bolster self-belief in … Continue reading
Is my grade 9 an A*? Making sense of science qualification reforms
Over the last few years teachers and students in England have seen significant changes to A Levels and GCSEs in the sciences as reformed qualifications have been phased in. The cohort receiving GCSE awards on Thursday 23rd will be the first to have studied the new biology and combined science GCSEs, graded on a 9 … Continue reading
Engaging young people with science: a science capital approach
For our last Policy Lunchbox, we were joined by Professor Louise Archer, the Karl Mannheim Professor of Sociology of Education at the UCL Institute of Education. Louise’s talk focused on the Aspires2 longitudinal study and the Enterprising Science research and development project. Both projects seek to understand what shapes aspirations, engagement and participation in young … Continue reading
Bringing pantomime into the biology lecture theatre
Dr. Ian Turner, our 2017 HE Bioscience Teacher of the Year, is a National Teaching Fellow based at the University of Derby. He is currently Head of Forensic Science but his main teaching areas are genetics and science communication. Nominations for the 2018 HE Bioscience Teacher of the Year award are now open. PROLOGUE Pantomime … Continue reading
Policy Lunchbox: unlocking teaching development
At the last Policy Lunchbox we welcomed David Weston, Chief Executive of the Teacher Development Trust, to explore professional development in teaching and how we can better support teachers. Professional development is key for teachers to carry out their role. Good quality and continuous professional development can help support and develop great teachers and current … Continue reading
How will environmental policy change post-Brexit?
“To protect nature, we need targets, investment and accountability, not grand promises with zero detail,” said activist lawyer and ClientEarth chief executive James Thornton to BBC News last week. He expressed his disappointment with yet another delay of the publication of a 25 year plan for England’s nature, a draft of which has been seen … Continue reading
Plant Science at Christmas
Guest author Ian Street looks at the two occasions when the Royal Institution’s Christmas Lectures focused on plant science Inspiring future generations through science has been a key component of the Royal Institution and its annual Christmas Lectures – started by Michael Faraday in 1825. There have been two plant science Christmas lectures: one given by … Continue reading
TEF vs. REF: are teaching and research now adversaries?
By Henry Lovett, policy & public affairs officer, The Physiological Society At the recent Labour, Conservative and SNP party conferences, The Physiological Society asked policy makers to consider an important question: ‘TEF vs. REF: Are Teaching and Research Now Adversaries?’ The successful fringe events discussed how the Government’s development of a Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) … Continue reading