SPLATS

Students Presenting Learning And Teaching Science is a project designed to help sixth-formers develop confidence in presentation, communication, planning and organisational skills as well as consolidating their own scientific knowledge. It also helps them to consider teaching as a career.

The students receive a day's training in how to deliver science education workshops. These have been successfully used with schools for over several years, and equipment and logistical problems have been sufficiently honed that they can provide the target group with a successful practice.

Local KS2 pupils are then invited to participate in a day of these workshops as part of a science day in the students' school or as part of a larger science festival. All the workshops are delivered by the SPLATS students with support from Sphere Science personnel.

The students' school is able to consolidate its links with its partner and feeder primary schools. Each activity also generates resources for the primary school teachers for follow-up work.

This is intended as a local initiative for the benefit of the sixth-form students. They are trained in their own schools and deliver workshops to Year 5 and/or Year 6 pupils from local primary schools.

Variations are possible, for example:

  using KS1 activities for a younger target audience;

  having more than one event day;

  involving Year 10 students instead of sixth-formers;

  taking the workshops into local primary schools.

Successful SPLATS projects have been held in Coventry, Luton, Sutton and other places across the UK.

For 2008, the cost of one SPLATS Project (comprising one training day and one event day) is £1600 plus VAT. This assumes up to 180 primary pupils participating in KS2 workshops. Extra event days can be added in and costed according to the activities and numbers involved.

Schools that have signed up to the BA's Science Communicators award scheme, will find that their SPLATS students have achieved most of the bronze level award. More information can be found at www.the-ba/resourcesforlearning .

"An excellent project that both sets of students gained a lot from. The greatest improvement was in the students confidence in their own presentation and communication skills.

I would recommend it. It achieved all that I had hoped it would do but in a number of areas exceeded my expectations."

Head of Science, Luton

In a similar vein, we also deliver the CASCADE Project, on behalf of the Shell Education Service, working with Universities.

To contact us please email spherescience@yahoo.co.uk or click here to complete our online form...