staying in touch with teachers to support the transition' dr david read director of...
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'Staying in touch with teachers to support the transition'
Dr David ReadDirector of Undergraduate
Admissions and School Teacher Fellow
Background2000-2004:▪ Number of A-level entries each year was
continuing to fall.▪ Applications to chemistry degrees were
falling.▪ A number of chemistry depts were closed
down.
What was ‘Chemistry for our Future’?
Success! 2 year pilot with 4 strands▪ £3.6m awarded for pilot starting 06/07.
What was ‘Chemistry for our Future’?
▪Strand 1: Outreach (C:TNG).
▪Strand 2: Teacher fellowships.
▪Strand 3: HE Curriculum development.
▪Strand 4: Smarter use of existing laboratory space.
▪ Successful bid for funding under strand 3.1 (‘From Registration to Graduation’ ).
▪ £45k over 2 years (~ 0.5 FTE).▪ SoC matched the funding to appoint a full-
time STF for 2 years.▪ Two roles - support outreach activities
- develop support for 1st yrs▪ Took up the post at end of May 2007.▪ CFOF pilot was extended for a further year –
finished July 31st 2009.
My original role at Southampton
Outreach at Southampton
• Some of our activities
▪Talks in Schools/Colleges(demonstrations & topic-based)
▪Practical workshops in Schools(also in-house)
▪Practical sessions in our labs(Y10 and Y12)
▪Spectroscopy Tours(including problem-solving)
Supporting students in making the transition to university
• Creation of ‘Welcome Website’ for access in August (after A-levels).
• Contents:• Course overview.• ‘Week in the Life’.• Virtual tour of dept.• Online survey.• A-level revision
resources.
Other developments
Zappers (electronic voting systems) have been widely used in UG teaching and outreach
Pre-lab resources help students to prepare for the lab.
Other developments
Recorded lectures are very popular with students (but are they used ‘correctly’?).
Novel approaches to self-assessment have impacted positively on learning
▪ Outreach▪ CPD courses for teachers (SLCSE)▪ Hants Post-16 Teachers Group▪ Annual Post-16 teachers’ study day▪ Informal visits▪ Invited talks at meetings and conferences.
Staying in touch with schools
http://www.edshare.soton.ac.uk/5853/
http://www.edshare.soton.ac.uk/5853/
http://www.edshare.soton.ac.uk/5853/