Summary
I’m a Scientist Debate Kits is a project to help get more debate and discussion in the UK’s science classrooms. It was a Gallomanor project funded by the Wellcome Trust
- Over the last 18 months we have produced and distributed four kits, on different biomedical topics.
- Altogether roughly 4,500 printed copies, on three biomedical topics, have been printed and distributed, plus a further 4,000 copies downloaded.
- They have proved extremely popular with teachers, apparently meeting a teaching need for high-quality, simple-to-use resources to stimulate debate and discussion in the science classroom.
- Teachers judged them to be very effective.
- The kits got students seeing different sides to an argument, expressing their opinions and backing them up with facts, and developing their confidence and discussing science issues.
- They also increased teachers’ confidence and skills at running debates and saved teachers time in lesson preparation.
- Teachers told us they also supplied far more in-depth coverage of each topic than they would have had time to provide.
Key findings
Total kits distributed (print and electronic): 8,521.
98% of teachers would recommend the kits to a colleague.
The kits
- Were effective at prompting in-depth discussion.
- Engaged young people.
- Were easy to use and saved teachers’ time.
Download the full evaluation report (pdf)
Download the report’s appendices (pdf)
For more info please email
debatekits@imascientist.org.uk
