Development of the School Science Club at Cardiff University

Challenges faced by schools include how to make science interesting, relevant and engaging for their pupils. This can perhaps be made more difficult by staff members not having direct experience in many areas of the science they are tasked to teach, and therefore lacking the confidence to teach in these areas (Murphy et al., 2007). Within the higher education sector, there is demand for researchers to actively engage with the local community (Linder and Spear, 2003; Wynne, 2006). Working with eight schools, we co-developed a programme that both highlights academic research and complements the Key Stage 2 national curriculum with the aims of improving science aspirations, knowledge and confidence in Key Stage 2 (Year 6) children, supporting teachers in the delivery of areas of the curriculum identified as challenging, and increasing science communication and engagement within the university. We delivered two separate sessions with all eight primary schools, interacting with approximately three hundred and fifty pupils. Overall, the project had a positive impact on teachers, children and academic staff. Key findings indicated that 92.9 per cent of 348 children surveyed felt that they had learned something new, while 85.7 per cent surveyed felt they were more interested in science, and 14.3 per cent reported no change in their feelings towards science. The School Science Club represents a collaborative engagement project which highlights the requirement of accurate co-development and outcome settings from both the university and school in order to have a positive impact on all those involved. Findings suggested improvements in planning and delivery for future such endeavours.

Galinheiro Pedagógico: um espaço de alfabetização científica no Clube de Ciências

This article aimed to verify if the activities developed in the Science Club based on the reality of the students contributed to a significant learning of the students of the 3rd, 4th and 5th years of a school in the countryside. In order to carry out this research, eight activities were carried out in two months, which involved the construction of a chicken coop, the evolution of the land and a study on the hens. To collect the data, a book with the studied contents was built. In the analysis of the data it was used the Discursive Textual Analysis where it was concluded that the Science Education in the school of/in the countryside, starting from the reality of the students through the Science Club, potentiated a significant learning.

Cáster River (Ovar, Portugal): Evaluate to Recover

The Cáster is the largest river in the Municipality of Ovar, flowing into the northern arm of the Ria de Aveiro (a coastal Haff-Delta). It constitutes a threatened ecosystem that has suffered a marked degradation of water quality, a decrease in biodiversity, an increase in human pressure on the margins, and several problems in the regularity of the flow itself. In this project we intend to evaluate, through physical-chemical and biological methods, the quality of the water, monitor fluctuations in flow rates, identify polluting sources, and, based on the data collected, develop intervention proposals, in support of local entities. In partnership with the Science Club, some devices (Arduino and Raspeberry enabled) are being developed for continuous remote monitoring of different areas of the river.

Science Club Activities

<p>Mukta Kulkarni.</p><p>Saraswati Vishwa-Vidyalaya National School Gat Number169, Ganeshnagar,Talawade Rd , Pimpri-Chinchwad Pune, Maharashtra, India.411062</p><p>The science club I lead in the school includes various hands on activities for students of grade  VIII and IX where we do projects such as  model makings, art integration for global issues in the form of role play, poster making, thumb painting activities to sensitize the students to keep our planet safe for the living organisms . The issues we focused on were conservation of biodiversity, plastic pollution and its adverse effects on the water bodies. Along with this project we celebrated science week in the school to develop interest in science where we keep sessions like understanding of superstitions, magic with science, competitions such as debates, quizes, making colorful diagrams and field visits. We also ran the hub of learning programs where we shared our knowledge with other schools assembled under exchange programs. These activities helped students to understand the science concepts beyond the classroom. Learning by doing helped sthudents to understand the concepts very easily.</p><p> </p>

Clube de Ciências na Escola: Um guia para professores, gestores e pesquisadores

This book is based on a research that was carried out over two years in the Graduate Program of Educational Sciences Projects of the “Escola de Engenharia de Lorena” of the University of São Paulo; the product of the master thesis entitled “Implementation of a Science Club in the Public Network for Education of São José dos Campos: Stages, Actors and the Scientific literacy”. Nowadays, the role of Science is being devalued, poorly understood and even questioned by several political figures and societal members, many people fail to differentiate facts from fake news. In 2018, the PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) demonstrated that, in Brazil, 55% of students are below level 2 in Science, a level established as necessary to young people to be able exercising their citizenship. In order to offer a contribution to improve the currently scenario, this book offers an implementation guide for those whom are interested in setting up a Science Club. Another fact to consider is that this guide aims to develop an investigative approach focus on Scientific literacy using inquisitive activities that lead to an easy way for the basic students (elementary to middle school) to transpose their acquaintance and scientific learning to their lifestyle as responsible and knowledgeable citizens. The following thesis shows strategies to elaborate, monitor, and evaluate the project of implementation, authorization templates, and forms such it can be adapted to the context of each school. We hope that this book is going to be an important resource for you as a school manager, teacher or researcher who wants to implement a Science Club in a school. Also, in a long term, the actions reported in this context can be a reference for the elaboration of a public policy to support Scientific Education in Basic School.