It’s important, in anything, to check that you’re doing a good job. When we’re running I’m a Scientist, we think we’re doing a good job and that the event is fun and exciting, and that students (and scientists!) learn things. But we aren’t the most impartial people to check!
We’re spending lots of money on this project (given to us by a charity called the Wellcome Trust), and we’re also taking up lots of lesson time at hundreds of schools around the country. So it’s important we check that the event is doing what it’s supposed to.
So a researcher called Kate Pontin has been checking for us. She visited some schools when the event was happening (maybe she came to your school?). She watched lessons and talked to students. She also talked to some of the scientists and teachers. And she looked at the surveys some of you filled in at the end.
What she found out was:-
Facts and figures for 2010
- Two events – March and June
- 7,459 questions asked
- 125 scientists were involved, in 25 zones
- 94,909 visits to the site
- 6397 students took part
- 648,563 page views
Students
- Enjoyed taking part
- Got better at asking good questions
- Got more confident talking about science
- Found it interesting to talk to real scientists and learn about real science
- Learnt that scientists weren’t like the stereotypes
Teachers
- Found it helped them try out new ways of teaching
- Helped them teach How Science Works
- Helped them teach students about science and scientists
- Liked the classroom resources
- Thought the I’m a Scientist team were helpful (*beams*)
Scientists
- Got better at explaining their work
- Some of them found it made them more into their work and remember why they liked it.
She suggested we should make some improvements for next year though
- Add more classroom resources for teachers
- Make it easier for teachers to use the ones we’ve got already – like make them more obvious
- Explain more to scientists what level GCSE students are at, so they’ve got a better idea what to expect in some of the questions.
If you want to take part next year (and you aren’t already signed up) then use these links
Teachers – to find out more about taking part, and sign up
Scientists – to find out more about taking part, and sign up
