I'm a Project Network

Well, of course, I’m going to say YES to that question. What’s This? Here is the evaluation report on the first half of the debate kits project, comprising the first two kits (from Summer and Autumn 2009). Obviously I was supposed to publish this MONTHS ago, but it’s fallen by the wayside, until now. Why now? We have just brought out the third IAS debate kit, on Stem Cells. We posted out 1,500 stem cells debate kits earlier this week.  I got an email from a teacher this morning saying ‘Just got the Stem cell pack…fantastic!’ so I’m hopeful they’ll be as popular as previous kits:-) What are the debate kits? The debate kits are designed to get students in their science lessons debating and discussing science issues, seeing things from different points of view and learning to back up their opinions with evidence. Each kit is developed in consultation … Continue reading →

… But you can download copies from here. Sorry for the terrible pun. Again we’ve been amazed by the response. We had so many orders within the first week that since then we’ve restricted it to one copy per teacher. But really, you only need one copy to run the activity with a class, so no-one should be too inconvenienced. You may want to laminate the cards for durability in teenage hands. Thanks to everyone who’s ordered one. And all who’ve given us fantastic feedback on them. It does give me a warm glow to know that so many teachers and colleagues in the field see what we are trying to do with them, and think they really work! A quick note on how this kit differs from the last one Teachers gave us some great feedback on the first kit (thanks everyone!), but when we asked if there was … Continue reading →

You all gave us lots of great suggestions of topics for the next kit. Thanks! Here’s the list of topics – I think nearly all of them would make fascinating debates and raise lots of interesting issues. Now YOU decide which one we use for the next kit. Please vote in our poll below. [poll closed] I’ve put the topics in alphabetical order, rather than popularity of the suggestion, so it’s a bit fairer. There were several more great topics suggested but the list was just too unwieldy with all of them.

It’s gone to the printers. It’s on it’s way. The second, ever, I’m a Scientist Debate Kit is GO! The topic is ‘Are we too clean?’ which was suggested by a teacher called Laura, on this blog, on September 9th. You then voted and picked ‘Are we too clean?’ as the most wanted topic. Your wish is our command, so now we’ve developed the kit for you and sent it to the printers. The first batch will be ready to ship on 19th October. You can pre-order a kit here, but don’t do that if you are already on our list! We’ve sent you an email and you can confirm or change your order with a click. Now we’ve made the kit I want to find out who Laura is, and send her the first ceremonial copy. If you are Laura, or know who she is, then please get in … Continue reading →

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 →