Developing the partnership between out of school educational agencies

and initial teacher education. John McCullagh Stranmillis University College Belfast

James Stewart W5 Discovery Centre BelfastFergal Corscadden Stranmillis University College Belfast

15th May 2009

Learning beyond the classroom and lecture theatre!

W5 is an award-winning, interactive discovery centre with over 160 exhibits in four dynamic areas & offers a great day out for visitors of all ages.

W5

Who Where What When Why ?

What did we do ?Interim report on ESCalate website at (Insert URL)

•24 final year student teachers ( 6 teams of four students, 3 KS1 classes, 3 KS2 classes)•Theory on: informal/formal education, role of external agencies, management of school trips•Co-plan, co-teach, co-evaluate•Lessons before and after trip to W5•Produce video and videopaper

Why?Revised Curriculum for N.Ireland promotes topic integration and skills development- Implications for ITE

Science no longer a core subject- Where does Science fit?

Look for opportunities to ‘connect science’.

Why?•Pedagogical context Develop professional competence (practice, reflection, collaboration) beyond annual ‘teaching practice’.

Why?Develop schools’ practice w.r.t visting a centre• 45 % of teachers surveyed do not teach lessons in preparation of a

visit

• 23% of teachers do not teach any follow up lessons.

• 35% teach only one follow up lesson

• “ Too heavy and the fun is lost”

• “W5 visit was for consolidation of the topic”

(Haffey,G (2008) ‘Does a trip to W5 influence classroom teaching?A survey of teachers’practice.’Unpublished Final year dissertation SUC)

Where and When did you learn?-Evaluation

• Questionnaires before and after, focus group interviews

• Videopapers

Biggest changes in

‘Potential for W5 to support other (than science) areas of curriculum’

Confidence in teaching science (from 57% to 100%)

Confidence in linking science to other areas (14% to 100%) Greater awareness of merits of using W5 than before project

•

What was useful?Co-planning: greater pool of ideas-subject specialistsPeer observation and evaluation: Pick up tips, strategies, enhance discussion on shared experienceTeam approach: Felt supported, take risks and extend practice. Enjoying and learning!Video: A literally new perspective on self-evaluation, observe connected learning from W5 to classroom

Teachers’ Comments

“ The project cemented in my mind the importance of good preparation”“I see now the benefits of visiting the centre before the trip.”“I tended not to do much follow up work. I was amazed at how keen the children were to talk about the experience and they wanted to investigate more.”