| School name: | The James Young High School |  |
|---|---|---|
| School/college address: | Quentin Rise
Livingston Lothian EH54 6NE Scotland | |
| School phone number: | 01506 414244 | |
| Number of pupils in school(s) - male: | 546 | |
| Number of pupils in school(s) - female: | 490 | |
| Number of staff in school(s): | 130 | |
| Name | Position (e.g. Headteacher, parent, etc.) | Organisation |
|---|---|---|
| Dr Pamela McGregor | Chemistry Teacher | The James Young High School |
| Mr Andrew Jones | Biology Teacher | The James Young High School |
| Dr Colin Pulham | Senior Lecturer | The University of Edinburgh |
| Mr John McCaskie | Lead Process Engineer | Jabil Electronics |
| Mr Gordon Paxton | Technician | The James Young High School |
The key skills, strengths and roles of each team member are: (200 words)
Dr Pamela McGregor
Award winning teacher, taught for a year in America and her innovative teaching style earned her the VIF cultural educator of the year accolade. She has extensive experience with computational chemistry and physics.
Andrew Jones
Qualified as a vet from the University of Edinburgh, having switched to teaching after 4 years experience in veterinary practice during which time he gained much experience in the use of ICT in biological settings. The two teachers will have the major role in implicating the lesson plans across the three disciplines in both their own lessons and staff training.
Dr Colin Pulham
RSC Science Communicator of the Year 2005 Dr. Colin Pulham of the School of Chemistry at the University of Edinburgh brings his extensive experience of public engagement with science, having an active role in implementation of the project.
Mr McCaskie
A parent of a pupil in S1 and also an engineer in a local electronics company. He will adopt an advisory role and also speak to other parents on our behalf.
Gordon Paxton
A science/ICT technician with ICT expertise. His role in the team is to help set up and maintain the equipment.
Topic area of proposal: Generic Issues - Using ICT
Briefly, the aim of our proposal is: (50 words)
The project we intend to implement will bring ICT to the forefront of our teaching. Pupils will learn how to use and collect data using electronic sensors across all areas of the science curriculum. They will then use the data collected when writing formal scientific reports that are word processed and include computer-based graphed data. The latter part will develop their scientific thinking and writing skills with each report including an aim, hypothesis, method, results in tabular form including graphs and conclusion. We intend that every pupil at The James Young High School will benefit from this project.
Pupil type to benefit: All
Age range to benefit from proposal: 11-16
Learning outcomes from our proposal: (50 words)
Our reasons for developing this particular proposal: (100 words)
The major reason for developing this proposal is to improve the ICT, scientific thinking and scientific writing skills of our pupils. Whilst teaching in America, Dr Pamela McGregor had the opportunity to develop lessons which successfully fulfilled these objectives and which delivered tangible benefits to pupils. We aim to develop lessons that will train pupils in the use of modern scientific methods of data manipulation and analysis, whilst maintaining rigorous scientific method. The future of Science and Technology relies heavily on people with appropriate ICT skills and so this project will develop pupils’ skills in this area.
Detailed description of our proposal: (300 words)
Many pupils in all science disciplines struggle with the problem-solving element of the science curriculum. We also feel that some pupils are unable to link the science they are learning with real life.
In addition, pupils with behavioural problems engage more readily when using ICT. The implementation of our innovative project will benefit a broad range of abilities and spark interest across all age groups. In terms of teaching in Scotland, this project would fulfill the four capacities of A Curriculum for Excellence in making our students responsible citizens, effective contributors, successful learners and confident individuals.
As the funding will be used to purchase ICT equipment, once the project is in place it is envisaged that pupils and staff at The James Young High School will benefit for the next decade.
21st century science involves automated systems and computer-linked manipulation of data. Most of our current school experiments involve more traditional methods such as measuring temperatures with thermometers and drawing graphs by hand. Our intention is not to replace these key skills, but to extend our students' capacities so that they also become competent users of ICT within the science curriculum.
The range of applications for the ICT equipment is varied - here we give an example for each science discipline on how we propose to implement its use in our curriculum.
Biology
Chemistry
Students will measure the pH of various solutions using a pH sensor and then use their data to classify those substances as acids, bases or neutral solutions.
Physics
Students will use a force sensor to discover the relationship between an object's weight and mass.
Outline of how our team would implement our proposal over a period of not more than 24 weeks: (300 words, bulleted lists accepted)
Week 1-3
Week 4
Week 5
Weeks 6-10
Week 11
Week 12-16
Week 17
Open Evening preparation: (PM/AJ)
Week 18-21
Week 22
Open Evening in lecture theatre:
Week 23-24
Preparation of final report (PM, AJ)
The monitoring procedures we will use during the project are: (200 words, bulleted lists accepted)
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)
Short-term analysis:
Long-term analysis:
Itemised costs of putting your proposal into practice within a maximum budget of £5,000 or equivalent in Euros:
| Budget Item | Cost (GBP) |
|---|---|
| PASPORT Data Studio Software | 314 |
| Delivery | 16 |
| PASPORT USB Link x 10 | 530 |
| PASPORT Motion Sensor x 5 | 355 |
| PASPORT Force Sensor x 5 | 485 |
| PASPORT Temperature Quad x 5 | 445 |
| PASPORT Temperature/Sound/Light Sensor x 5 | 400 |
| PASPORT Goniometer x 1 | 170 |
| PASPORT Chemistry Sensor Kit x 5 | 805 |
| PASPORT Carbon Dioxide Gas Sensor x 3 | 672 |
| PASPORT Balance x 2 | 458 |
| Budget for maintenance and repair | 350 |
| TOTAL | 5000 |