- January 22nd, 2009
Pupils log on to Glow and work with leading scientists
- Lorna Arbuckle
- Comments: 3 Comments »Tags: , biology, Glow
On Wednesday 21st January, pupils across Scotland watched leading scientists perform a bird post-mortem beamed live into their classrooms from East Lothian through Glow.
Ecologists at the Scottish Seabird Centre in North Berwick carried out the post-mortem on the fulmar as part of their Save the North Sea project, which aims to raise awareness of the damage caused by 20,000 tons of litter dumped every year.
Dr Franeker is a senior scientist at the Institute for Marine Resources and Ecosystem studies in the Netherlands and he took pupils through the dissection and findings. Pupils and teachers who logged on were able to ask questions throughout the procedure.
Pupils studying Biology were able to see live on Glow how scientists are researching what is happening in the North Sea and how they are using the findings to protect sealife and cut the amount of marine litter. Pupils asked questions about the birds’ eating habits and enquired how many birds die of litter pollution each year. One school even asked Dr Franeker how old the bird was and if he is used to the smell when dissecting!
The event is just an example of how Glow is providing unique learning opportunities for pupils that could be difficult for schools to organise themselves. The seabird centre is doing fantastic work that provides a real opportunity for teachers to discuss science, biology, environmental change and citizenship in the context of real work that’s going on in Scotland.
This type of approach not only gets pupils enthusiastic about their learning but also helps them make connections across different subjects and instils a deeper knowledge and understanding.
Around 65 pupils from Cathkin High School joined in the Glow Meet. S4 pupil, Robin Meek, 15, said: “It was really interesting. I’ve never seen anything like it before so it was amazing to watch. It was much better being able to watch it live and ask questions directly to the scientist involved in the project as you remember it more and can understand how it all fits together. It wasn’t too gory.”
Categories Curriculum for Excellence, East Lothian, Events
Colleagues in Dundee who supported Morgan Academy’s entry to the Glow Meet tell me the pupils were engrossed in the procedure and appreciated the opportunity to take part so intimately in an event 2 hours travel away – having their questions taken seriously and answered by a research scientist as he worked on the investigative autopsy of the fulmar. The class teacher was clear that the session was totally relevant to H Biol studies.
I myself was impressed by how this event brought all the elements of LTS together to make it such a success. From the initial contact with the Scottish Seabird Centre at SLF08, through followup and the SSC’s offer to host a Glow Meet for this post mortem, on to the technical input to make it happen and the comms and publicity teams that alerted the press, and the Glow and CfE teams that promoted the session on Glow and through cascading contacts. A lesson in how teamwork pays off!
Participants are being encouraged to leave feedback either here or in the national Science Glow Group (https://portal.glowscotland.org.uk/establishments/nationalsite/science/default.aspx) – what was good, what could be improved and what other Glow Meets would be worthwhile for pupils’ learning?
[...] week, hundreds of pupils across Scotland watched leading scientists perform a bird post mortem beamed live into their classrooms from East Lothian. The procedure was shown on GLOW, [...]
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