UK Centre for Materials Education: Supporting teaching and the Curriculum

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UK Centre for Materials EducationSupporting
teaching and the Curriculum

• Presented by Chris Taylor
• 
  c.taylor_at_liv.ac.uk
• Johanna
  Kehusmaa
• 
  j.kehusmaa_at_liv.ac.uk
• www.materials.ac.uk
• www.whystudymaterials.ac.uk

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UKCME Our Mission

• UK Centre for Materials Education supports high
  quality student learning in Materials Science and
  related disciplines.
• We promote, encourage and co-ordinate the
  development and adoption of effective practices
  in learning, teaching, assessment.

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UKCME What we do

• Help support the change of practice in learning
  teaching through educational development
  activities

• Offer an information and advice resource for all
  staff and students involved in Materials education

• Work with HEIs to increase the quality quantity
  of students applying to study Materials
  disciplines

• Disseminate good / effective practice and
  innovation in learning teaching, principally
  across UK

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UKCME How we can help
UKCME Project Funding (e.g.
Teaching Development Grants, and Materials
Awareness Grants)

• Example Activities
• Recruitment booklet
• Taster Courses
• Public Understanding

Awareness-Raising Events (e.g.
Workshops, Conferences, Courses)
Departmental Support (e.g.
Supported Change Programme, Visits)

• Example Activities
• Database of Resources
• Materials Interactive
• Why Study Materials

UKCME Information Resources (e.g.
Website, Database, Publications)
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Our Rationale

• Materials Science is a strategically important
  yet vulnerable subject
• Our primary role is to support those teaching in
  Higher Education
• However, unless the problem of dwindling student
  numbers is addressed, and reversed, there wont
  be anyone to teach
• Therefore, assisting with Outreach has become a
  core activity of our centre

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UKCME Involvement with Outreach
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Activities

• Guide to attracting Materials students
• Materials Interactive CD-ROM
• Why Study Materials website
• Supporting the Curriculum
• How you can help

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Guide to Attracting Materials students

• Part of a set of 12 guides for lecturers
• Contains information on
• Resources
• Workshops
• Open days
• Careers
• Who you should target
• Available to order from our website
• www.materials.ac.uk

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UK Centre for Materials Education
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Materials Interactive CD-ROM
A set of resources designed and created to help
increase the awareness of Materials Science and
Engineering, both as a discipline and a degree
option. Includes several interactive
simulations, rolling movies and PowerPoint
presentations, which demonstrate the diversity
and importance of materials in everyday use and
the careers available. CD is freely
available. Over 5,000 copies of the CD have now
been distributed worldwide.
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www.WhyStudyMaterials.ac.uk

• Based on content from Materials Interactive
  CD-ROM
• Created to increase awareness and understanding
  of the discipline, targeted at 14-19
• Designed to be used as a teaching aid, partly
  due to increasing requests over the last 2 years
  from teachers

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www. Why Study Materials .ac.uk
Students pages

• Careers information
• Courses
• Competitions
• Fun Stuff
• Videos
• News
• Ask a Question
• Quizzes

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Ask a Question

• You can help!

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www. Why Study Materials .ac.uk
Teachers pages

• Database of Resources
• School Packs
• Open days
• News
• Ask a Question

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Student Summer Project

• The centre employed 2 students to produce videos
  for the website
• Recruitment Advert by email to UoL 2nd and
  final year students. Interviewed all interested
  candidates
• Students trained to use the camera equipment and
  editing software by the Universitys media dept
• Filming in Tower of London, Silverstone (formula
  competition), Cambridge (student interviews)

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Student Summer Project

• 3 complete videos, each approx.
  3minshttp//www.whystudymaterials.ac.uk/video/in
  dex.asp
• Summer 2008 new project
• Employing another 2 students to produce
  interactive (Flash) content for the website

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User Testing

• Testing the design and content on the website
• One 15-year old boy on work placement
• Four 14-year old girls from local school
  (Archbishop Blanch)
• Reward - 10 Amazon vouchers

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User Testing

• Likes
• That featured up-to-date objects (football boots
  etc)
• Exploring things (i.e. camera)
• Easy to go around the site
• the way you can ask questions
• Areas for improvement
• More quizzes, for different levels (ages)
• More interactive stuff
• The text (voice) could be more child friendly

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Curriculum Resources for Teachers
Exploiting Materials Science project
Overview

• Joint initiative between Oxford Materials, IOM3
  and UKCME
• Developing relevant and up-to-date resources in
  Materials Science for teachers and pupils
• Mapping resources to the revised 14-19
  Curriculum in schools
• Involving teachers in both resource development
  and resource testing in the classroom

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Curriculum Resources for Teachers
Exploiting Materials Science project Demand

• From discussions with teachers, the following
  resources identified
• Properties of Materials Mechanical Properties
• Properties of Materials Mechanical Testing
• Nanotechnology
• Biomedical and Biomimetic Materials
• Intelligent Packaging
• Smart Materials
• Materials Used in Sporting Contexts

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Curriculum Resources for Teachers
Exploiting Materials Science project Outputs

• PowerPoint presentations for classroom lecturers
• (Complementary) Experiment and teacher info pack
  
• The Next Stage of development
• Converting resources into a storyboard
  interactive format
• Extending the outputs into electronic games for
  pupils

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New Content

• Materials Timeline
• Smart Materials game
• Games/activities developed from forth-coming
  Curriculum-based resources
• New articles/features and news items

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How you can help

• AaQ volunteers
• Article contributions to the website
• Suggestions for news items
• Storyboards for games/activities

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www.materials.ac.uk
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UK Centre for Materials EducationSupporting
teaching and the Curriculum

• Presented by Chris Taylor
• 
  c.taylor_at_liv.ac.uk
• Johanna
  Kehusmaa
• 
  j.kehusmaa_at_liv.ac.uk
• www.materials.ac.uk
• www.whystudymaterials.ac.uk