| CODE | MSS3009 | ||||||||
| TITLE | Science in the Community 3 | ||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 03 - Years 2, 3, 4 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 6 | ||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 4 | ||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Mathematics and Science Education | ||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | Activities should be well thought out to include the audience's interests and needs, but still preserving the enjoyment factor. Educational activities need to be age appropriate, address expectations, possibly involve all the senses and generate curiosity. Better learning occurs when the visitor is well prepared prior to the visit and arrives with a level of knowledge related to the activity being planned. Some form of follow up after the activity is required to help student/visitor to progress and consolidate scientific concepts and allow new ones gained by in the informal education center to come into being. The following 3 basic, complementary components constitute the whole activity: a) Objectives, b) learning activities and c) evaluation. In this study-unit, students will think of an activity, plan it in all the required detail, carry it out at a selected informal learning site and evaluate the outcome with suggestions for improvement. The tutor will assist and guide the students in the process. Therefore the study-unit includes a field experience during which the planned activity would be carried out. Study-Unit Aims: - To show how to develop effective science activities. - To provide students with the tools to be able to select an appropriate site and plan a relevant activity. - To provide examples of good practice and effective learning programmes. - To carry out the planned activity and evaluate its effectiveness. - To explore possibilities that the created activity be used by educators visiting the selected site. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - identify possible informal learning sites to carry out an activity; - review examples of good practice and use these as a model; and - discuss ideas for activities with the other students in groups. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - analyze the suitability of the site to carry out the selected activity; - plan, design, create and implement the activity at the selected site; and - evaluate and appraise the effectiveness of the activity created. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Text: Patricia G. Patrick (Ed),(2017) Preparing Informal Science Educators: perspectives from science communication and education. Springer International Publishing. Supplementary Reading: Simon Beames, Peter Higgins & Robbie Nicol (2012). Learning Outside the Classroom. London: Routledge. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture and Placement | ||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Edward Mifsud |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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