I was lucky enough to attend the Science in the Parliament event last Wednesday at Our Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh – both as a delegate interested in the proceedings of the day, and as an exhibitor, providing information about Glow to the other delegates as they visited our LTS stand.

Science and the Parliament is an annual event, co-sponsored by all the major parties in the Parliament, where scientists and decision makers in Scotland come together, with education usually being a hot topic. MSPs get the chance to hear the aspirations and concerns of scientists and also to respond to questions generated by those considering the implications of Curriculum for Excellence on science education. Around 300 delegates heard Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary, stress the importance of science for Scotland’s future and the need for our children to become problem solvers and imaginative thinkers, with teachers’ bringing back the wonder of science to the classroom in the implementation of Curriculum for Excellence. She acknowledged the need for quality CPD for science teachers and thanked the Royal Society of Chemistry (originators of this event) for their input to this. SSERC also got a particular mention as a prime provider of the sort of CPD required in this new climate of cooperative and collaborative learning.
One particularly dynamic speaker was Stuart Monro of Our Dynamic Earth. Stuart’s presentation reminded us how exciting science can be and how the study of the Earth’s history, and future, can bring together many science strands and capture the essence of Curriculum for Excellence.
Gill Robinson of LTS and John Coggins of Glasgow University led the breakout session on CfE in the afternoon, where the audience showed their focus to be on quality preparation, both in terms of CPD and resources, for the new syllabi and exam systems in current development.

Our LTS stand was set up for the evening reception, but some other science organisations were on hand earlier in the day so that I had the opportunity to introduce myself as a Glow Development Officer and discuss any resources or CPD they offer for science education. I’ve since made contact with several representatives and hope to be able to share their resources with teachers via the Science Glow Group in the National Site.
Allyson Dobson and Mark Hunter, current writers of the science outcomes and experiences were also on hand at the stand, as was Deirdre Cassidy from the social studies team. We were able to demonstrate Glow in action to many interested delegates and gave away many DVDs of good practice.

At the end of the evening, a great firework display (5th November) could be seen in the distance though the wonderful glass walls of Our Dynamic Earth, but the real Glow was inside the building!

Categories: Curriculum for Excellence, Events, Uncategorized
Tags: Dynamic Earth, Fiona Hyslop, parliament, science