The Event

What is the event?

I’m a Scientist, Get me out of Here! is an online event where students get to meet and interact with real scientists. It’s an X Factor-style competition between the scientists, where your students are the judges. Students submit questions which the scientists will try to answer by the next day. Students then have live online Facebook-style chats with the scientists, where they ask questions, learn more about the scientists, and let scientists know their opinions. It takes place online over a two week period.

It’s completely free for UK schools to take part.

Students can:

ASK questions . .

CHAT to scientists online .

Then VOTE for the one they think deserves the prize

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How does the event work?

What’s involved?: Your students interact with real scientists online and learn about HSW with targeted resources (and by talking to real scientists!). It engages students who aren’t usually interested in science because it’s real and they get a say over something.

Target audience: Year 9s to post-16 (differentiated resources supplied).

Time involved: The event is very flexible, but we recommend a minimum of three 1 hour lessons spent on I’m a Scientist. Most teachers spend 4-6 lessons. If you use everything there is enough material for about 12 lessons. The event itself lasts for two weeks, but the site will be online for two weeks beforehand so that you can do background work.

Dates for 2012

12th – 23rd March
June

March is a small, warm up event, with 6 zones (i.e. 30 scientists and 120 classes). June is the big event, with 20 zones (i.e. 100 scientists and 400 classes).

We find that teachers are able to make much more of the event when taking part for the second time, as they have a better idea what to expect and how students will react. Therefore, we recommend taking part the first time with one or two classes. If you want to take part with many classes (e.g. a whole year group) we recommend doing that in June (when there are more spaces available). If you have not taken part before, then apply for one or two test classes for March.

We will happily give lots of spaces in June to schools who have successfully taken part before. However, for March we will limit it to a couple of classes per school. This is so more schools get a chance to try it out, ready to take part bigger scale in June.

Open to all schools, or other educational settings, in the UK or Republic of Ireland. The event has been successfully used in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland: in mainstream schools, sixth form colleges, special schools, pupil referral units and other non-mainstream educational settings. It may sound like we are claiming it’s the magic event that can do everything, but the activity is very flexible because so much of the activity is pupil-led (e.g. they ask the questions they want to). This means different age groups, ability levels, and backgrounds all get something out of it.

How does the event support the curriculum?

I’m a Scientist is designed to help teachers deliver the How Science Works (HSW) curriculum and bring real science to life for your students.

Develops discussion and critical thinking skills.
Covers key concepts in HSW.
Gets students engaged with science.
Gets students enthusiastic about their science lessons!
Supported by lesson plans, info sheets, and resources for different ages and ability levels, between Years 9–13.

As one teacher told us, “They worked really hard during this event, but they didn’t seem to think of it as work.” You can read more about what teachers, students and scientists thought about the event in our evaluation reports on the pilot or the event in 2010. Here is an article written for a school newspaper by a teenager, about the experience of taking part in I’m a Scientist.

Want to know more?

Hurry – register your interest for events, go to http://imascientist.org.uk/teacher-registration/

FAQ

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