Teachers in science do a wonderful job at integrating technology into their lessons, which really helps students to engage with the subject.
Alongside a new bank of laptops installed during the summer break – which can be used for research and report writing, amongst other things – staff use a variety of software and equipment to add a point of difference to their classwork.
Two good examples of this come from Mr Johansson and Mrs Cook.
Recently, Year 9 students experienced a live stream of an interview with Professor Brian Cox, who was promoting science as a career option and discussing what he predicted would be the major future developments in science.
This was an excellent opportunity for students, not just at Malet Lambert but across the country, because the class were also able to ask him questions LIVE via Twitter.
Mr Johansson said, “Although none of our questions were read out live, it did again lead to some fantastic discussion amongst the students, including why there is a lack of women in engineering roles, theories of the universe and the future potential of nuclear fusion as a completely clean energy resource.
“This gave students first-hand experience of new technology in webcasts and how this can potentially promote learning.
“The subject matter was extremely stimulating and really extended the students’ understanding of science and what a career in science could look like. It was a fantastic opportunity which the students greatly benefitted from.”
Another leader in classroom technology is Mrs Cook, who led a teacher discussion group earlier in the year about the success she has had with incorporating Plickers software into her class work.
Plickers is a free app that can be used to collect test data in class. The app is downloaded to a teacher’s mobile or tablet device and each student is given a barcode that is connected to their name in the register.
The teacher can then test students’ knowledge of recently studied topics using a multiple choice quiz shown on the board. Students hold up their barcode, turning it around to indicate which answer they are choosing.
Using the phone, the teacher scans the classroom and the app records the answer given by each student using the barcodes.
When using this, Mrs Cook has immediate access to the data collected so she can see how many (and which) pupils in the class chose the correct answer and how they have improved from previous tests.
Students also value this way of working. Year 9 student Elise said, “These tests are really quick and we all have a barcodes on the back of our workbooks for easy access. I think it’s a more interesting and interactive way of testing our knowledge. I also get feedback on how I’ve done from my teacher straight away.”