CH3PRE-BSc Chemistry Education Project

Module Provider: Chemistry
Number of credits: 40 [20 ECTS credits]
Level:6
Terms in which taught: Autumn / Spring / Summer module
Pre-requisites:
Non-modular pre-requisites:
Co-requisites:
Modules excluded:
Current from: 2019/0

Module Convenor: Dr Philippa Cranwell

Email: p.b.cranwell@reading.ac.uk

Type of module:

Summary module description:
To give students the experience of chemistry education through a mentoring scheme carried out with chemistry teachers in local schools.

Aims:

To give students the experience of chemistry education through a mentoring scheme carried out with chemistry teachers in local schools. To help students gain confidence in communicating their subject and to develop strong organisational skills. To enable students to understand how to address the learning needs of pupils and devise and develop suitable teaching aids to engage pupils at the relevant level. To inspire a new generation of prospective undergraduates by providing role models for school pupils. To help teachers by providing an assistant who can work with and support pupils at any point on the ability spectrum. Students should be able to search the literature and write a review on some aspect of educational research or practice. Only a limited number of places are available and interested students will be encouraged to apply by a standard procedure, will attend an interview and will be selected on the basis of their commitment and suitability for working in schools.

To give students an understanding of teaching in schools and the experience of completing an education-based research project.

Assessable learning outcomes:

Students will gain a broad understanding of many of the key practical aspects of teaching chemistry in schools. Students should be able to plan, resource and deliver a selected teaching activity. Students will have gained experience of explaining and answering questions on chemistry at all relevant levels and demonstrating certain aspects of practical chemistry in front of groups of pupils. Students will be expected to closely analyse a particular problem or learning issue, to carry out an in depth study, collect results and draw conclusions. As well as a daily log and lesson plans, students will be expected to produce a full report on the project, referring to the literature where appropriate and drawing conclusions. They should be able to present their results in a logical and legible form in their written report, to give an oral presentation of their work, be capable of discussing their project report in a viva and able to respond to questions on their presentation.

Additional outcomes:

Students will gain an understanding of the secondary education system and the key aspects of teaching science in schools. Students will further develop a range of transferable skills including, oral and written communication skills, public speaking and presentation skills, team working and interpersonal and organisational skills. In addition students should develop an understanding the needs of individuals, an appreciation of staff responsibilities and conduct and the ability to improvise. They will learn how to prioritise and negotiate and may have to practise handling difficult and potentially disruptive situations.

 

Library Skills (3 hours lectures)

An introduction to critical literature analysis for preparation for project work and literature review. A description of facilities.

 

Training Session (2 hours)

Preparation for working in schools, what to expect in the project, how to prepare, introductions to link teachers and first visit to school. 

 

Teaching scheduled for the Summer term will take place following the examination period of the Part 3 year.

 

Four group seminars will be held during the course of the year to share experiences, discuss progress and practise report giving.

Outline content:

Students will be assigned to work with a member of staff from the providing department and the school. Students will be given basic training in working in a school environment. Initial contact in the school will be in an observational role as a classroom assistant. Following this the teacher will assign the student specific teaching tasks. Students will carry out an individual project designed to demonstrate that the student can analyse a particular teaching and learning problem and devise and prepare appropriately targeted teaching materials. A full description of the module content, delivery and assessment is given in the Appendix to this module description.

Brief description of teaching and learning methods:

One hour lecture and one hour of seminar per week.

Contact hours:

	Autumn	Spring	Summer
Lectures			6
Seminars	2	2
Work-based learning	90	90
Guided independent study:
Wider reading (independent)			66
Essay preparation	72	72
Total hours by term	164	164	72
Total hours for module	400

Summative Assessment Methods:

Method	Percentage
Dissertation	75
Oral assessment and presentation	25

Summative assessment- Examinations:

Summative assessment- Coursework and in-class tests:

Relative percentage of coursework : 100 % Performance during the project (Teacher’s Assessment) 5% Log book/journal and coursework materials (Supervisor’s mark) 30% Special project report (First and second assessors’ mark) 40% Assessment of final oral presentation (Supervisor and Assessor) 25%

For submission dates see Project Handbook

Formative assessment methods:
An interim report is required at the start of the Spring term. Supervisors will give feedback on this report.

Penalties for late submission:
The Module Convener will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day[1] (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of five working days;

where the piece of work is submitted more than five working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: http://www.reading.ac.uk/web/FILES/qualitysupport/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf
You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Assessment requirements for a pass:

The student shall normally be required to achieve an overall weighted average of at least 40% for the module.

Reassessment arrangements:

It is not possible to retake this module in the same format. If a student fails the programme overall, reassessment will be by re-submission of the project report and an oral presentation in August.

Additional Costs (specified where applicable):

1. Printing and binding £20 (approx.)

2. Travel, accommodation and subsistence £50 (approx.)

Last updated: 30 July 2019