A set of exciting science workshops will visit primary 4 to 6 classrooms and Dynamic Earth. The sessions will use unusual and exciting pictures and videos to give simple explanations of biology and will mention some of the topics pupils have covered in their Living things and the processes of life school work. There will also be activities such as games and demonstrations and class discussions within the sessions, and a website from which pupils can get more information before and after the session. Each pupil will take part throughout the session using remote control clickers, which they will use to vote on the answers to questions. Although no-one else will know which answer a pupil has chosen, the answers from the whole class will be seen and discussed. Using the voting questions and other activities, pupils will learn about, and be asked to think about, some of the biology which is often talked about on the radio and television. This will include things like cloning, genetic modification of foods, and designer babies. Many of the questions will need pupils to decide on what they think or how they feel about the science. These questions have no right answer. The workshops aim to let primary school pupils experience some of the excitement of todays biology but, more importantly, to encourage pupils to think about biology in our society, and to form their own opinions about it.
Watch a video of a cell lining up its chromosomes and then dividing by clicking here. Listen to a podcast about clickers by clicking here.
E-learning to love bioscience, Visit to King's Park Primary School, Dalkeith, June 2006.
