Lessons in learning

Science Box ). Working together—one of us is a scientist and the other is a science communicator—we focused on designing a set of educational modules with an emphasis on interactivity, experiments, games and discussion to actively engage students in the topic. In addition, we pursued a longer-term outreach strategy to disseminate the information and material as widely as possible internationally. Table 1. Content of each of the three lessons for 12- to 14-year-olds Lesson Title 1. Discover Stem Cells 2. CSI: Cell Science Investigators 3. Stem Cell Treatments and Ethics Aim To answer the question: ‘What are stem cells?’ To know what stem cells can and may be used for and to introduce the scientific method To support discussion of ethical questions on the application of stem cells for new treatments Learning Objectives Know that a stem cell is a cell that can both self- renew and differentiate Know that there are different types of stem cells and be aware of where they are found Know why stem cells are important in the body Know how stem cells may be useful in medicine and research Know an example of a disease that stem cell research may one day help Know why controls are needed to make a scientific experiment a fair test Discuss societal/ethical considerations relating to new stem cell therapies Enable pupils to express and explain their opinions and consider other people's opinions about use of new and experimental therapies Develop discussion and scientific literacy skills Interactive Elements Stem cell decision-makers Blood stem cell movie Cell families card game Make a nerve activity Use real images to identify what goes wrong with cells in MS Drug testing experiment General dilemma and decision discussion activity Stem cell ethics scenario and opinion activity Link http://bit.ly/1svcTNY http://bit.ly/1iWtJEy http://bit.ly/QLWXKQ The idea of engaging early-stage high school students came from a throwaway remark that Ian made during a seminar at the University of Manchester, in which he recalled a memorable open day visit he had made to the university with his school when he was 13. During that childhood visit, he had been thrilled to see a complex chemical mixture separated into its constituents a few minutes after injection into a gas chromatograph; this experience, along with lessons from an inspiring high school chemistry teacher, marked the point at which he first became drawn to science. A few weeks after the seminar, the Head Teacher of The Derby School—Ian's old high school—invited Ian to give a talk to her students about stem cell science. In preparing for the visit, Ian teamed up with Emma to maximise the potential benefit of the visit. This in turn started the development of the three stem cell lessons that are the subject of this article. As a science communicator for EuroStemCell, Emma was aware that educational material for 12- to 14-year-olds had not begun to focus seriously on the core scientific concepts involved in stem cell research. She also knew that many stem cell researchers were enthusiastic about outreach, but were hesitant to try educating school children due to a lack of time to prepare lessons and/or a lack of confidence in their ability to engage younger students. The visit to The Derby School and the subsequent project represented an opportunity to address this resource gap and provide support to researchers wanting to engage high school students. …our motivation was to reach those who would not choose science as their career. Engaging these people is essential to enhance the general level of scientific literacy in society The last piece of the puzzle was the demand for such lessons. In England and Scotland, stem cell science has recently been added to school curricula (http://tinyurl.com/qbg5clt; http://tinyurl.com/n4covw4), and the topic is new and potentially daunting for many teachers. In discussion with teachers, it became clear that engaging, scientifically accurate, clear and easy-to-use lessons would meet an educational need, not only in cell biology, but also in the area of the scientific process and the role of science in society. Our initial engagement with The Derby School eventually culminated in three lessons about the basics of stem cell biology, applications for regenerative medicine/biotechnology and the ethical implications of developing stem cell treatments (Table 1; Box ). Each lesson covers a one-hour school period with approximately 50 minutes of learning, and each can be used individually. The lessons all share a core structure consisting of three 10- to 15-minute interactive modules connected by five-minute facilitator-led sections and book-ended by 5–10 minutes at the start and end of the lesson for introductions and settling down, and for summarising key concepts and collecting feedback. Facilitators use PowerPoint slides, posters or film to support discussion and reflection on group interactive activities. We optimised this format through extensive piloting, both by ourselves and by colleagues delivering lessons at remote sites. Each round of piloting informed further development and fine-tuning of the content and materials. This iterative, collaborative development process was a key to ensuring the effectiveness of the final lessons and allowed us to identify a Goldilocks principle for achieving the right balance between delivering didactic information and enabling learning through interaction, discussion and, most importantly, fun. The process relied on a three-way collaboration between scientist, science communicator and teacher. As we progressed through the lessons and the formula for success became clearer, we were able to design and optimise materials with fewer rounds of discussion and piloting. An important advantage of this modular approach is that the individual segments can be readily substituted to increase flexibility. These lessons can thus meet the needs of researchers visiting schools in different contexts, or demands from teachers for interactive stem cell teaching aids. Activity-centred modules supported by simple graphics-based literature also constitute a format that is easily translated and updated. Our modules have, to date, been used by more than 240 colleagues throughout Europe and beyond. In developing our school lessons, we found that setting curriculum-relevant goals is a critical factor in obtaining support from teaching staff. To prepare for our first visit to The Derby School, we asked the host teacher what the curriculum objectives were in the early years of high school in England. We then cross-referenced our list of stem cell biology essentials with these educational priorities to create a programme that would give students a full and curriculum-relevant picture of the field. Upon arriving in school, we quickly discovered that our aims were too ambitious and eventually unrealistic and unachievable. The teacher and, to a certain extent, the curriculum had placed particular emphasis on the need for ethical discussion. We felt strongly that such a discussion must be based on a solid understanding of the science if it is to be meaningful. As a result, we tried to achieve too much in one lesson. An introduction to the concept of a stem cell, the potential applications of stem cell biology and the ethical issues it raises might have been possible had we simply delivered a talk from the front of the class. However, students’ interest and enthusiasm must be engaged for effective learning and this would not have allowed enough time to deliver all our intended messages and to give students the time they needed to think, discuss, and to become actively involved in tasks. Our modules have, to date, been used by more than 240 colleagues throughout Europe and beyond We also underestimated some of the practical constraints of the school day. It takes time to get students settled in a classroom, while the bell at the end of the lesson is inflexible. The day of the week and time of day can affect both energy levels and how promptly lessons begin. In particular, Monday mornings tend to throw up unexpected issues such as staff absences. Concentration levels also dip after lunchtime and towards the end of the week. For these reasons, we subsequently determined that a Tuesday morning is often the best time to visit a school. At this point, the first readjustments after the weekend's freedoms have been made, but neither post-lunch drowsiness nor end-of-week restlessness has set in. The dual challenges of defining curriculum-relevant, scientifically informed goals and making these goals realistic and achievable within the practical constraints of the school day make successful lesson design a nontrivial task. We needed to break down our original one-lesson workshop into a series of three closely related but independent one-hour lessons that would each contain an achievable set of learning objectives and, together, would convey our initially identified content. To do this, we initiated a partnership with a local teacher and evolved a collaborative process that took us from initial concepts through iterative piloting and redevelopment to dissemination of fully tested lesson materials (Table 2). Table 2. Several important points emerged while developing the lessons Recommendations for developing a schools programme Pay attention to the curriculum and set clear learning objectives Lessons must be curriculum relevant and objectives clear for researchers and teachers to use them and for learning outcomes to be achieved Balance didactic and interactive activities To maximise impact, embed plenty of fun by balancing didactic material with activities and discussion Use a modular format for flexibility and ease of translation A modular format enables each lesson to be tailored to the abilities of the pupils in the room and the time available and can be more readily translated, updated and replicated Collaborate to benefit from science and communication expertise A synergy between scientist and science communicator contributes positively to outcomes on several levels Build a relationship with a teacher/teachers Identify a supportive Head of School Science to allow access to classes and encourage input from teachers over an extended time and repeated visits Embed evaluation Plan your evaluation strategy as you plan your lesson because obtaining feedback after leaving school is extremely difficult (or impossible) Piloting by creators AND by others is essential Use ongoing interactive development by reiterative delivery and remote testing by colleagues to maximise value and uptake of materials Pilot lesson guidance as well as content Lesson guidance should balance detail with brevity to enable intuitive and creative delivery by future facilitators Use two facilitators to deliver the lesson A team of two facilitators improves overall delivery since change of voice and style is valuable for maintaining interest, while a dynamic interplay conveys enthusiasm and helps facilitators maintain concentration Timing is important Both the day of the week and the time of day affect energy levels and ease of engagement; plan a break between lessons during pilot school visits Our first step was always to define a core message for the lesson, broken down into short, achievable learning objectives. With these objectives agreed, we brainstormed ideas for a narrative and for interactive activities. The choice of examples and activities proved easier in some cases than others. We settled fairly quickly on the blood system as our example for Lesson 1, since blood cells are amongst those most likely to be familiar to 12- to 14-year-olds, and the role of stem cells in the body can be readily illustrated by considering the lifespan of a red blood cell and the number needed by the body throughout life. However, the choice of a disease to illustrate the application of stem cell research in Lesson 2 required considerably more thought. We wanted a disease that represents an active area of stem cell research, which has a relatively straightforward underlying cellular problem and that could be easily explained to illustrate the role of stem cells in understanding disease or developing drugs. It also needed to be relevant to 12- to 14-year-olds. Diabetes came first to mind, but the likelihood that a pupil might suffer from diabetes is not low and this could put an individual in an emotionally challenging situation. We eventually chose multiple sclerosis (MS) because it might be the that a of a is not have been with other MS is not as closely as a disease of the making it easier for pupils to to the of We also had the advantage that several research on enabling us to cell images for use in the lesson. our first Emma developed and activity which was by further rounds of discussion to and improve on the materials and to These us focus on the key concepts and or This approach that we had a clear understanding of each and the which was essential to pilot the lessons and quickly to in the It takes time to get students settled in a classroom, while the bell at the end of the lesson is We three or pilot lessons on the day to maximise the value of each visit, and we quickly that a break between lessons was important to give us to our plan based on from the class. Each lesson its creative and challenges, some of which only became during We often found ourselves making or who took for a or the time for a task. researchers and many science communicators in University are if in high school for a day. demands energy and are essential in maintaining energy We had a of valuable in the of in the is and effective if in. two facilitators in the lesson helps maintain energy It also improves overall delivery of the change of voice and style is valuable for maintaining interest, while a dynamic interplay conveys enthusiasm and helps facilitators maintain lesson it is to feedback from students and teachers to the level of success for after leaving the school is We feedback with both questions about of the lesson, and questions to see we had in teaching the key concepts in the objectives. In addition, we had asked our teacher in to help us feedback from her Although a teacher was always in the with us and was asked for time for discussion was often before the start of the lesson. It was therefore also to a in the staff room before we for the day to up on and get for We took all these with added our and 1. The stem cell enables pupils to the of stem cells through a group game PowerPoint 2. feedback on the lessons PowerPoint This process was repeated all feedback that the lesson was that the students were engaged the learning objectives had been achieved by all or the of the materials could readily be delivered by two facilitators in the time time for discussion. To this point, we asked colleagues to deliver the lesson from but by the materials and a set of intended to dissemination of the final lessons. Emma the first by colleagues and their feedback on what had been difficult or and what was clear or in the The and teacher feedback as in our pilot lessons were also Our extensive relied on the support of teachers, who often us that a curriculum and them with little flexibility for learning such as visits from these to the most teachers would such to improve their students’ learning engagement with scientists can also be valuable to teachers since it them the opportunity to about the of research in their field. In we teachers who had of our visit, from a interest in biology and enthusiasm for students’ in an that our visit would on their It was therefore important to feedback on our lessons from all teachers classes we to get an picture of their teachers would such to improve their students’ learning that teachers must time away from lesson to support a pilot lesson and in feedback during their it is to for access to pupils and In addition, many teachers are not available for most of the day. For an individual school visit, these challenges can be by some (Table For our we were to with a supportive school Head of who allowed repeated access to the students and new classes over years and who the other teachers to us the feedback and input we one school not provide an picture of how the lessons in the full of school and a further advantage of colleagues to remote of our lessons was that we were able to feedback from many different the end of the development the lessons had been delivered to approximately students by a of Table 3. for setting up a school visit with the teacher who be your on the day not on to set up your a on the day informed about the curriculum Identify the curriculum that to the school you to visit and you have a clear understanding of their what you have to your teacher to be for time to on the be clear and on what you to do and what it offers pupils clear about what you need to deliver your activity the teacher about in such as an system with about the pupils you know the and before your about ability levels and you be that may be for some pupils not to more than you can do well value for by delivering several lessons, but you need the school to your to and of the school an time that you time to set up may need to your after your first with the teacher a teacher be A teacher should always be in the with you for feedback in to from teachers and on this feedback teachers with useful can value to your visit by teachers with of materials they can use development and piloting of the lessons was it was essential to they could and would be An important factor in ensuring that others can easily use the materials is text on to a and or make it easier for both facilitators and students to quickly the of an both the and the of the text also it easier to it into other and to disseminate considerations early in the development process that all the is not the lesson is Although the lessons were for delivery by we also wanted to encourage use by teachers to maximise the value of the needs and skills from those of and some is to achieve of the lessons by both often material to their teaching style or the needs of their students. dissemination to teachers should this into by a format that The lesson plan and further guidance should be and to the This teachers to quickly how the materials can best be making it more likely that they some of the activities into their An important factor in ensuring that others can easily use the materials is text on to a and possible An motivation for the level of public engagement for some researchers likely be the from research for scientists to disseminate the of their research beyond and to engagement and discussion with the public Many scientists on this challenge with enthusiasm and some with However, many others a science communicator to this with and guidance from the Our collaboration was therefore an partnership with a by each of initiated by Ian of a real to to people the relevance of science to their The value of such an partnership and to more than a of expertise and Our and skills we optimised all of the lessons. We also from the process required for both of us to fully our aims and before the Our was to a approach to make it easier for researchers who are about in outreach to to two facilitators in the also it easier to students’ attention enables dynamic interplay and enables delivery of a Working also us to through not only what we were to but also how and why to do at a level of detail that we may not have individually. In our we each other about the science and the educational value of each This process placed us in a to provide guidance for other collaboration also has in the of skills development for science communicator and scientist Our lessons are available and have also been widely used in schools and in We achieved this dissemination with the support of EuroStemCell, which an already used by teachers and an extensive for lesson and for the lessons had from on of the first lesson in different have also been to and scientists throughout the UK and of all the lessons are and be available to for in and by In addition, the team has delivered public engagement our lesson materials to researchers from development for science teachers from the UK and have also place the lessons as an example In the teaching at the Centre the lesson materials for on the widely used Centre for teachers In The Teacher chose to the first lesson in its to cell which our materials as a useful resource for stem We that in the few many more colleagues and teachers a use for our material and on our to and deliver fun and effective lessons for school of the content of the three lessons Each lesson a of interactive modules and facilitator-led discussion. The first lesson, Discover stem cells aims to answer the are stem It with an interactive a Stem cell in which students in to the two defining of a stem and a cell on the students the of their of blood stem cells and, in the face of drawn choices between and to maintain their of stem The outcomes of the game are as a to understanding of what a stem cell Facilitators then this concept further by students through the interactive a how stem cells maintain our blood system throughout our A movie of cells as a of the concepts of and The interactive the Cell families card the different types of stem cells in our and the concept of It also a card that not the as the of the stem Facilitators use a the body and the in the card game to provide a structure for summarising the messages from the with the stem cell card the concept of and to the lesson. The lesson, CSI: Cell Science Investigators on possible of stem cells in research and the scientific method by multiple sclerosis (MS) as an It with a activity in which students a simple summarising the two key of a stem The first interactive MS in two the role of nerve cells is demonstrated a of students a message the and on by the final students real cell images in to which cells are by Facilitators then introduce how stem cell research might to the development of new The final activity is a testing experiment in which students which of several has activity in a test most of the other modules in the lessons, can readily be in and In this the can the concept of a experiment in simple or can allow students to plan their experiment in and more about the of controls in the scientific The lesson an opportunity to discuss the of research on stem cell The lesson, Stem cell treatments and ethics on ethical considerations of the application of stem cell research. The lesson with an activity and in which that on ethical that might face are used to set the are asked to discuss the and about the skills they need as a group to have a and to reach a The two activity modules in the lesson then introduce two different related to stem cell in to consider the of a number of and to and discuss their A discussion at the end of the lesson the of different and a list of the should be when a should be to We colleagues who ideas and the lessons. to the teachers of The Derby School, School, and and for her We are for support from the of the UK and the for research, development and through the project EuroStemCell, of interest The that they have of the by the article on by this