Great science share for schools

 

The Great Science Share for Schools

This year was the third year of involvement for myself and our school and have found our Great Science Share for Schools (GSSfS) journey to be incredibly valuable: so I thought it was a good idea to share some details with you including the GSSfS Special Edition, ‘Primary Science Journal’ and the recent Association of Science Education (ASE) Conference session.




GSSfS is such a great annual event to engage children in science and to develop science knowledge and understanding as well as other key transferable skills. I was so happy that Dr Lynne Bianchi, GSSfS creator, asked me to take part in her GSSfS session at the recent online ASE Conference. It was brilliant to hear what had been happening across the country, plans going forward and to see GSS Champions online including Angharad Pass and Dr Jo Montgomery. I was proud to share our GSSfS journey as our school gathers science momentum and confidence.

 In previous years---

2018

We had just completed the Primary Science Quality Mark (PSQM) where we discovered a very male orientated view of scientists and engrained gender stereotyping amongst pupils at our school. We worked hard to address this. During GSSfS the children themselves chose to research scientists of their choice- both male and female. They learned about the need for STEM employees, both male and female. Bonnie Posselt- RAF Doctor- was an inspirational figure at school. I contacted her via Twitter and she kindly sent a message to our pupils and lots of information about her STEM journey and career.  

2019

The children wanted to learn more about Environmental issues- they were and are concerned. Children worked with our STEM Enthuse partnership partner school, Hilderthorpe Primary School, and attended an Environmental summit. They created Flying birds from recyclable materials and won the STEM competition. They were so proud to take part in the summit, meeting other participants across the country via the internet whilst meeting with Bridlington partner schools at Hilderthorpe. In addition, my Year 6 class wrote letters to Donald Trump, the Prime Minister and to local supermarkets regarding environmental worries- they sadly did not receive replies. They undertook litter picking and planting trees in Bridlington also. They researched recycling and took part in beach cleaning and litter in our area. They were inspired and feel so strongly about this issue.







2020

Last year I wanted to develop a GSSfS legacy and decided to try to expand links across our local community and schools in a collaborative, child-focused and non-competitive way. There are 36,000 residents in Bridlington but seemingly little collaboration between most of the schools. There are 8 primary schools- including Hilderthorpe, one of our STEM Enthuse Partners. In addition, there are 2 secondary schools- Brid Secondary and Headlands. Absolutely great resources are available (which can be utilised for lockdown activities) on the GSSfS website/padlet. Children were sharing via Class Dojo, Twitter and the GSSfS showcase which they loved. Explorify resources were also used and a great compliment to GSSfS. The ASE Coronavirus Hub resources are excellent and a massive help to teachers and parents alike so they were brilliant to use in conjunction with GSSfS. All teachers were encouraged to get outside with their class bubbles over lockdown which was wonderful- it meant GSSfS really came into its own.

 

In 2020, Weekly themes were introduced which were fantastic for parents and schools- they really supported teachers during difficult lockdown times. They supported development of:

–  Community and transferable skills

–  Outdoor learning

–  Collaboration, resilience, determination

–  Enhancement of social and cultural mobility- vital in progression to future selves

 These themes included-

Bird Song, Royal Astronomical Society, World Oceans Day, World Environment Day, Waste Warrior Week, Scavenger Hunt

Themes increased engagement in nature, cookery, exercise and mindfulness- a lovely thing to witness.

Farmer Tom’s slot-

This was very exciting for our Burlington pupils. We had been asked to watch Tom’s clips in advice. They loved hearing the answers to their questions from Farmer Tom live on the day. It really made them feel like they were part of something bigger- which they were!

 Twitter- a brilliant way to engage.

Sharing in a wider way meant that pupils at home or in school could have their work, ideas, activities or investigations shared; others could comment and retweet, therefore sharing again-in a wider way. The SpaceX launch enthused many pupils to engage with Science.

 The GSSfS Showcase

A brilliant way of engaging schools and families online, ‘Spotlight’ schools from our area on the website included Hilderthorpe, Burlington, Martongate and Brandesburton Primary. The showcase was an excellent way to access Science from all participants and the pupils loved seeing themselves and their schools being featured. The range of work and innovative way it was presented was encouraging, interesting and engaging.



 In Summary

During a time of huge uncertainty and a new way of working in schools, the innovating way that GSSfS adapted was great. #Community was developed across Bridlington with links made between most primary schools, and with individuals further afield- some will develop more in the future. We are looking forward to GSSfS 6! This will enhance science for our pupils- developing their investigative and collaborative skills as well as their thoughtfulness, science interest, knowledge and community.

 To read more about the Great Science Share for Schools, including my article, follow the link-

https://www.ase.org.uk/resources/primary-science/issue-1650

I am so looking forward to GSSfS 2021 and have just signed up our school for June 15 2021.

 Thanks for reading.

Kate



Links

ASE Coronavirus Hub: Primary Remote Learning Resources | www.ase.org.uk

Explorify (wellcome.ac.uk)


Farmer Time | LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming) (leafuk.org)

ClassDojo

 SpaceX

ENTHUSE Partnerships | STEM

The Great Science Share for Schools

Twitter. It’s what’s happening / Twitter

 

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