Report: Science Learning and Teaching Conference 2007
19-20 June 2007, Keele University
The second Science Learning and Teaching Conference, held at Keele University, once again brought together delegates and presenters from the biological, physical and materials sciences to share practice and experience, hear about developments and network with colleagues across the disciplines.
We were delighted at the response to the call for presentations and workshops and also to reach full capacity at the Conference. Feedback was very positive, with many enjoying the cross-disciplinary nature and informal nature of the conference, with time for networking as well as the wide variety of sessions and workshops on offer.
“One of the best and I do not usually say that! Very good to meet 'other subject disciplines' and talk about common areas”
“Inspiring new ideas and initiatives on HE L&T”
“Wonderful opportunity to connect with others concerned about science education and "development”
“I really enjoyed this conference... the content of the sessions was just right - covering a range of topics and was not too long. It inspired me to try and improve my teaching so thank you!”
The proceedings of the Science Learning and Teaching Conference 2007 are available to download. The proceedings contain the papers submitted by authors for keynotes, oral presentations, workshops and poster presentations.
Download the conference proceedings ( 
PDF format, 13Mb )
The report below brings together presentations and their accompanying proceedings paper from the Conference (both in pdf format).
K = Keynote presentation; O = Oral Presentation; W = Workshop; P = Poster
Day 1
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Day 2
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Welcome and introduction to the Conference Tina welcomed everyone to the Conference and looked back at some of the developments in areas discussed during the 2005 Science Learning and Teaching Conference. |
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Keynote: Post-secondary science education and the scholarship of teaching and learning: three key cases from the US experience Craig gave an excellent introduction to the Conference and a number of themes in teaching and learning. |
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Posters
Posters were on display throughout the Conference, click on the title to view the paper of the poster from the proceedings. Please note, only the first two authors of each poster are given below, all authors are credited in full on the paper.
P1 The use of 'webquests' to enhance blended learning environments
S.I.Anderson, and C.A. Brown
P2 Piloting forum activities into a nutrition and fitness module to support and enhance learning
S J Astley, and E A O'Gara
Dick Bacon
P4 Multimedia tools and their accessibility
Jo Badge and Alan Cann
P5 Can you repeat that last bit, please? : using talking books to support student learning in science
Paul Barrow and Nick Musgrove
P6 Maintaining quality feedback in the face of increasing student numbers
Simon Bedford
P7 Examining possible links between student perceptions, expectations and their final grades
Rena Boothe
P8 Student-centred problem-based group exercises in molecular biology
Annette Cashmore and David Hawkridge
P9 A learning package to develop and assess employability of bioscience students taking work placements
J. Cunningham and J. Harland
P10 Development and implementation of a policy for delivering effective feedback to students
Maureen Dawson and Joyce Overfield
P11 Using problem-based learning to enhance the student experience in sports and exercise biomechanics
Michael Duncan and Mark Lyons
P13 Implementation of new teaching materials for an introductory chemistry course in a Further Education College
Nancy El-Farargy
P14 From principles of science to publishing: a new interactive resource for undergraduates
Gillian Fraser and Anne Crook
P16 Feedback (feedforward) on exams: are specimen questions from previous cohorts useful?
John Green
P17 Learning Styles: is what students say what they do?
C. Greenall and P. Bonner
P18 Exploring the concepts of challenging and straightforward in undergraduate research
Janice Harland and Venetia Saunders
P19 NHS funded hospital-based clinical teaching sessions: pharmacy students' perceptions of their educational value and impact on career choice
Alan Hindle and Michelle Haddock
P20 Student learning redefined: facilitating student learning 'a la carte'
Henry Keil
P21 A national journal for undergraduate research in biosciences
C. Knight and S. Bonwick
P22 Embedding ethics into the undergraduate and postgraduate curricula in biological sciences
David Lewis and Celia Knight
P23 Establishing an undergraduate research journal: staff perceptions and pitfalls
Martin Luck and Alan Waterfall
P24 Creating a departmental web-based resource centre to support the teaching and learning of numerical technique
Jacqui McCary and Dawn Hawkins
P25 Supporting online learning using assistive software: an evaluation of ScreenRuler
Rebecca McCready
P26 In-course assessment using 'seen' class tests: evaluation of their feedback role and their influence on study patterns
David J McGarvey
P27 The e-volution of teaching in the modern world (paper not submitted)
Maria Neonaki and Chris Branford-White
P28 Flexible delivery with CeLLs - Collaborative e-learning in Life Sciences
W. Nightingale and M.R. Ward
P29 Evaluation of a blended learning approach to embed ethics teaching
Joyce Overfield and Carol Ainley
P30 The 'Animal Diversity CD-ROM': developing a multimedia learning resource to support a self-taught undergraduate zoology module
Nicholas Paling and Amanda Callaghan
P31 Fieldwork and PDAs: a pilot study on green energy from the Lake District
Clive Roberts
P32 Threshold Concepts, troublesome knowledge and knowledge gaps
Anne Rockcliffe and Clare Greenal
P33 Observed Structured Clinical Exams (OSCEs): uptake and usage in schools of pharmacy
Paul Rutter
P34 Integration of virtual reality technology into the curriculum of forensic science courses using crime scene investigations
Raul Sutton and Matthew Hammerton
P35 Fungi Online: A new learning resource for undergraduates
Vicki Tariq
P36 Biomathtutor: students' and tutors' verdicts
Victoria Jackson and Vicki Tariq
P37 'Kit in a Kase': versatile science activities for all
Georgina Westbrook
P38 Development of entry-level formative assessment packages for MSc students
Michael Whitehead and Paul Hooley
P39 As seen on TV: using video clips in science teaching
Chris Willmott
Keynote biographies
Professor Craig Nelson
Post-Secondary Science Education and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: Three key cases from the US experience
CRAIG E. NELSON is Professor Emeritus of Biology at Indiana University (IU) and a Carnegie Scholar (awarded in 2000 by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching). His biological research (60+ articles) has been on evolution and ecology, most recently on sex-determination in turtles (where about half of the species have their gender determined by incubation conditions, especially temperature). He has taught several courses in biology as well as intensive freshman seminars, Western Civilization and other honours courses, and several collaboratively taught interdisciplinary courses (mostly in environmental studies). He regularly taught a graduate course on Alternative Approaches to Teaching College Biology. His teaching papers address critical thinking and mature valuing, diversity, active learning, teaching evolution and the scholarship of teaching and learning. He has presented invited workshops on these and related topics at numerous national meetings and at many individual institutions (in 37 states, Puerto Rico, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Iceland, Ireland, England, and South Africa). He has served on the editorial boards of the Journal for Excellence In College Teaching, JoSoTL (an electronic journal for Scholarship of Teaching and Learning), and the Journal of Cooperation and Collaboration in College Teaching. Craig has served on the editorial panel of College Teaching and on teaching grant review panels for the National Science Foundation and other national programs in the US. He was founding Director of Environmental Programs in IU's School of Public and Environmental Affairs, was instrumental in the development of IU's award winning Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SOTL) program (www.indiana.edu/~sotl/) and was the first President of the International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (www.issotl.org/). He received several awards for distinguished teaching from IU and nationally competitive awards from Vanderbilt University and Northwestern University. Craig is a Carnegie Scholar (since 2000), and was named the 'Outstanding Research And Doctoral University Professor Of The Year 2000' by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). He received the President's Medal for Excellence, "the highest honour bestowed by Indiana University," in 2001.
A list of Craig's papers on biology and teaching (with urls) is available to download (pdf format)
Professor Tina Overton
Teaching undergraduates to think: from parrots to professionals
There is a need in chemical education to provide students with open ended, creative problem solving activities. Critical thinking exercises and problem solving case studies have being developed in order to provide students with a ‘real’ context to extend their knowledge of chemistry, to develop intellectual or ‘thinking’ skills and to practice a range of transferable skills. The nature of the activities involved ensures that, in order to complete the case study, students must use a variety of subject specific and transferable skills.
Tina Overton is Professor of Chemical Education and teaches inorganic chemistry at the University of Hull. After starting her career in research in heterogeneous catalysis she became increasingly interested in chemical education research. She has published on the topics of critical thinking, context and problem based learning and their role in developing conceptual understanding, cognitive skills and the development of problem solving skills. She has published learning resources which have been adopted in many institutions. Tina is Director of the Higher Education Academy Physical Sciences Centre and a National Teaching Fellow.
Dr Dominic Dickson
Dr Dickson's Magic Box
Dr Dominic Dickson is a Reader in Physics at the University of Liverpool. Following thirty years of experimental physics research in magnetism, including work on biological, medical, earth science and applied systems, Dominic now works in science communication and he established the Science Communication Unit in the University of Liverpool in 2000. His main current interests are in using approaches from the performing and creative arts to communicate science to the full range of audiences from primary school children to undergraduates and the general public, which has led to the exploration of fundamental issues in science/arts crossover. One of Dominic's recent projects has been the science-based musical "BIG BANG!" see www.liv.ac.uk/physics/bigbang.