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1,500 of you have had the first, IVF, debate kit and you’ve been giving us great feedback on them. We are now gearing up to produce the second kit and we’d like your help choosing the topic, because who better than teachers to tell us what teachers want? The suggested topics so far are:- Stem cells Creationism Homeopathy MMR Cannabis (legalisation and/or medical use) Have you got any other bright ideas? Topics must be biomedical as we are being funded by the lovely Wellcome Trust. Are there topics you’d really like debating resources on but can’t find anything suitable? Then let us know in the comments section! We’ll collect suggestions over the next week or so, and then let everybody vote on the shortlist. Timetable:- 3rd – 11th Sept Gathering suggestions 14th Sept Put up topic shortlist for voting 21st Sept Topic chosen 21st Sept-19th Oct Researching, developing, testing and … Continue reading →

I’m surprised, as so many teachers have suggested stem cells to me over the last few months, whenever I’ve talked to them about the debate kits. I was sure that was going to come out top. But ‘Are we too clean?’ snuck in at the last minute, and wiped the floor with all comers, if you’ll pardon a very weak pun. I was once at a gig where a member of the audience shouted out the name of an obscure, early hit, as a request. The singer laughed into his microphone and said, ‘It’s all very well for you, you’ve only got to remember the title, I’ve got to remember the chords and all the words to the ******* thing!’ I feel a bit like that – it’s all very well for you lot, you just have to vote, now I have to research and write the damn thing! The … Continue reading →

We launched our I’m a Scientist debate kits on 18th June and have now distributed all 1,500 we printed. We’ve been really pleased by the response from teachers. The next kit will be coming out in the Autumn. We’ve written a report on this first phase of the project and we thought a summary of that may of interest to others, so here you go:- Project: I’m a Scientist Debate Kits A Wellcome Trust funded project to distribute structured debate kits to science teachers Key milestones 18/06/09    Promoted kit by email to our contacts and on twitter 22/06/09    Mailers arrived in 5,000 UK secondary schools 23/06/09    Posted on psci-comm 26/06/09    Featured in Planet Science 01/07/09    1st kits arrived in schools 06/07/09    Posted on TES messageboards 27/08/09    Final kits posted out Other marketing Complimentary kits sent to the 323 specialist science colleges and 177 largest secondary schools plus various IAS contacts … Continue reading →

Well, not exactly sold out, as they are free, but they’ve all gone. We’ve sent out all the 1,500 debate kits we printed, in the space of a month. Which I think is pretty good going. I told you teachers really wanted resources like this. They’ve practically been biting our hands off! You can still:- Download a kit The next kit will be produced in the Autumn term and will be ready to send out round about 19th October.

Well it’s been pretty hectic here but the debate kits are now go! Thank you to the Wellcome Trust for funding us, and believing in getting people talking about science issues. To find out more details about the debate kits To order a kit To download a kit The kits are designed to develop pupils’ discussion skills, giving them a structure to work from, and getting them to consider other points of view. They’ve got great feedback from teachers who’ve used them in the I’m a Scientist event. Teachers told us there is a real lack of simple-to-use, but effective resources like this for getting discussions going. So we made some. The first kits are being printed as we speak and will be sent out towards the end of next week. We haven’t even seen one yet, just lots of mock-ups we’ve been printing out and stapling at our desks. … Continue reading →

We’ve been really pleased with the response to the debate kits. We’ve had loads of orders, have sent out two batches of kits and have now only got about 200 kits left! So order quickly if you want one:-) It just goes to show that the teachers we’ve worked with were right and this is a resource that’s really needed. Although I hope we’ve all thought this through? The kits are supposed to get kids debating and ‘asking why a lot more’. Maybe one day, faced with an argumentative generation of critical thinkers, we’ll wish we’d kept our mouths shut. I know my Mum certainly does…;-) You can still:- find out more details about the debate kits order a kit download a kit And remember, there will be new kits developed every term next academic year.  If you want to be consulted about what topics we should do, then pick … Continue reading →

Easy-to-use kits to get science debates going in your classroom. Help students learn how to structure a debate, back up their opinions with facts and consider other points of view. *Fanfare* We have now got the go ahead from those lovely people at the Wellcome Trust to bring I’m a Scientist debate kits to the nation! Some of you will remember the IVF debate kits we produced as part of the teaching resources for I’m a Scientist. Well teachers really loved them. They said things like:- “They were still arguing about the IVF debate when they left the room…They hadn’t done anything like that before but were all on task.” “I thought the IVF cards were brilliant for debating…I would really like to see some other cards like this on different topics.” As you know, teachers’ wishes are my command*. So, with the help of the Wellcome Trust, we are … Continue reading →

Just a quick note to let you all know, we’ve put in a bid to the Wellcome Trust for a new project. IAS debate kits. Many of the teachers who took part in the pilot told us they really loved the IVF debate cards and that they’d like to run more debates like that. “I thought the IVF cards were brilliant for debating. It made the debate run smoothly and showed them clearly how different people have different points of view. By giving more info gradually, the pupils started to think about each situation and change their opinion with justification. I would really like to see some other cards like this on different topics.” – Danielle Fox, Winterhill School, Rotherham We like to do our best to listen to our teachers here at IAS. As a child of teachers I am well-versed in the fact that no-one listens to teachers … Continue reading →

So much so, we suggest you have other people’s say too! Or, to put it another way, the government are running a consultation on how to increase the engagement between science and society, and you can join in.