Rolls-Royce

Entrant's address and contact details

School name:	Greenleas Primary School
School/college address:	Green Lane Wallasey Wirral Merseyside CH45 8LZ England

School phone number:	0151 6391225
Lead school:	Greenleas Primary School
Partner schools:	Weatherhead High School, Mosslands Technology College.
Number of pupils in school(s) - male:	1576
Number of pupils in school(s) - female:	1658
Number of staff in school(s):	366

Our team leader and our team

Name	Position (e.g. Headteacher, parent, etc.)	Organisation
Mr Neil Jones	Science Leader	Greenleas Primary School
Mr Martyn Kinder	Advisor	British Astronomical Association (BAA)
Mr Dave Burns	Maths and Astronomy teacher	Mosslands Technology College
Mr Phil Logan	Science teacher and Astronomy Club manager	Weatherhead High School
Dr Andy Newsam	Director of the National Schools' Observatory	Astrophysics Research Institute

The key skills, strengths and roles of each team member are: (200 words)

Neil Jones
Member of Radio Society of Great Britain, ASE and the BAA. Primary Science Advisor 2003-5. Developing new approaches in science teaching encouraging young children to consider scientific careers. Experience and ability to organise and manage science projects with schools/institutions.

Martyn Kinder
Founder member of BAA Radio Astronomy Group and UK Radio Astronomy Association. IT specialist, trained electronics engineer with British Airways. Amateur astronomer with specific interest in solar astronomy - will network the Starbase systems.

Dave Burns
Member of the Society for Popular Astronomy. Worked in chemical industry for 20 years before teaching maths, astronomy and ICT at Mosslands Technology College (8 years). Established a popular astronomy GCSE course. Keen on primary/secondary collaboration and to enhance learning environments.

Phil Logan
Keen amateur astronomer with a strong interest in physics. Teacher at Weatherhead High School (17 years). Runs their well attended Astronomy Club.

Andy Newsam
Professional astronomer and Reader in Astronomy Education. Member of Royal Astronomical Society Education Committee, his work on innovative education (e.g. the NSO) was an important component of the Queen's Anniversary Prize to Liverpool John Moore's University in 2005. Research covers all areas of astronomical data analysis.

Our proposal

Topic area of proposal: Physical Processes - Earth and Space

Briefly, the aim of our proposal is: (50 words)

To increase children's knowledge of the influence of elements of the solar system upon our planet and its environment.

Provide opportunities to understand the boundaries within the Earth's atmosphere, the effect of the magnetosphere and how it protects us from potentially harmful external influences.

Develop team work between primary/secondary schools to motivate pupils, increasing their awareness of potential careers in science and technology.

Pupil type to benefit: All

Age range to benefit from proposal: 3-11

Learning outcomes from our proposal: (50 words)

Collaboratively, take part in investigations contributing original, scientific research materials to a central scientific data resource for the benefit of others.
Increase scientific key skills such as predict, monitor, and record original data so that patterns can be ascertained and confirmed.
Create a joint School Astronomy website.

Our reasons for developing this particular proposal: (100 words)

We want to engage children in primary and secondary education to work together to produce scientific resources for the interest and benefit of others, using newly developed technology by the BAA in the exciting Starbase project.
International Heliophysical Year runs to February 2009, also the International Year of Astronomy.
We can contribute to the European Capital of Culture events by our involvement in original research in astronomy in our own modest way, following on in the footsteps of the local astronomer Jeremiah Horrocks.
Identifying the attraction of astronomy/space to children, we aim to increase their appreciation of STEM subjects through involvement in this proposal.

Detailed description of our proposal: (300 words)

Our proposal actively involves students in various ongoing scientific investigations:

They will set up/use equipment to learn about Sun observation (visible light and hydrogen-alpha), identifying features that may be responsible for some of the changes in observed solar radiation. (A new solar cycle has just started - a good time to begin monitoring). Causes of these effects (sunspots, coronal mass ejections, magnetic reversals, active and passive Sun) will be studied.
We will monitor space weather radio signals by indirect detection using Very Low Frequency (VLF) receivers to detect Sudden Ionospheric Disturbances (SID). Changes in Earth's magnetic field (due to Sun's emissions) will be monitored and the impact of solar activity on satellites/ astronauts considered.
A radio receiver will be used to detect meteor showers, comparing findings with worldwide observatories.
A visit to Jodrell Bank is planned to appreciate its heritage and importance to British and World Astronomy including their involvement in Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN) and global headquarters for the 1.5 Billion Euro Square Kilometre Array project.
Pupils will be taught the importance of maintaining a record of their observations, the importance of verifying their results and how to share these results with the wider scientific community via a project website. Tuition and lectures by visiting astronomers from the Astrophysics Research Institute are planned.

2009 is the International Year of Astronomy and its goals include:

Increase scientific awareness, promoting widespread
access to new knowledge and observing experiences.
Facilitate new networks and strengthen existing ones.
Show that science is interesting and useful at all levels and in particular promote greater involvement by women.
This project will help cement the ideals of the IYA 2009, generating interest in science where children will contribute and gain valuable insights into science-based education.

Putting our proposal into practice

Outline of how our team would implement our proposal over a period of not more than 24 weeks: (300 words, bulleted lists accepted)

Week 1

Purchase all equipment.
Announcement/presentation in assemblies about project.

Week 2

Identify, check components, network connectivity checked, computers set up and software installed.
Participating pupils meet to find out about the project, meet with team members from external institutions.
Objectives outlined for pupils, personal project booklets given out.

Week 3

Equipment installed, tested.
Sun's radiation and its effects introduced.
Website team chosen.

Week 4

Logging started at one site, reporting system proved.
Log analysis method documented.
Web team commences.

Week 5

Discuss progress of VLF SID and logging in all 3 schools.
Talk by visiting lecturer.

Week 6

Logging in all schools, reporting system checked.
Pupils start to analyse their recorded data.
Starbase software introduced.

Week 7

Magnetometer demonstrated with various magnets.
SID demonstrated by detuning the receiver.

Week 8

Magnetometers activated for logging in all three schools.
Pupils start to analysis all data recorded in schools.

Week 9

Pupil visit to Jodrell Bank.
Talk about Jodrell Bank's role in MERLIN and its detection system, using forward scatter at 48.25 MHz.

Week 10

Test meteor scatter detection system to be used, at all locations to find the most suitable.

Weeks 11-22

Pupils examine data recorded for patterns confirming them with partner schools.
Data compared to that from other radio astronomers.

Weeks 12-22

Data comparison with Sun's activity as recorded by SOHO.
Introduce links and resources from the NSSDC at NASA.
Visiting lecturers, as available until week 22.

Week 13

Use Coronado and Sunspotter to monitor Sun activity, relate to schools' data.

Weeks 22-24

Assess project and prepare for joint presentation at schools.
Project evaluation and report produced.
Future developments discussed.
Questionnaires completed.

Week 23-24

Presentation of project to schools.

Monitoring and evaluation

The monitoring procedures we will use during the project are: (200 words, bulleted lists accepted)

Health and safety - daily check to ensure safety of external aerials and all equipment.
Project progress booklets issued to participating pupils to be monitored by peers and school team teachers.
Weekly link-up between the three schools via existing Click to Meet video-conferencing facility.
Fortnightly meeting between key members of the three schools.
urrent progress to be relayed to team members of external institutions.
Set objectives checked and assessed against timescale.
Evaluation of website by external institution team members.

The evaluation procedures we will use at the end of the 25 weeks to check the effectiveness of our project are: (200 words, bulleted lists accepted)

Assessment of impact of project on the Astronomy Club attendance in the two secondary schools and development of a new Astronomy Club in the primary school.
Use of videoconferencing facility between the three schools for astronomy purposes.
Report by John Cook (British Astronomy Association Radio Astronomy Group Solar data manager).
Hit rate on Astronomy website checked and overall
evaluation made of the site by the team.
Adoption of predictive techniques by amateur radio club
members to choose bands to use in radio communications (according to atmospheric conditions).
Questionnaire completion by participants to assess level of achievement of the learning objectives.

Long term:

Monitor data produced be the three schools fed into national/international database.

Note Astronomy Clubs interest in acquiring new ways to detect radiation and its effects.
Assess pupils' scientific enquiry key skills attainment through achievement in science subjects.
Note uptake into science subjects by pupils in KS 4 and 5.
Note membership/involvement of pupils in local and national Astronomy Societies.

Budget

Itemised costs of putting your proposal into practice within a maximum budget of £5,000 or equivalent in Euros: