Students from Bayside Senior National School, Sutton, at the launch of AMBER's NanoWow lesson plans at the AMBER facilities at Trinity College Dublin
AMBER, the science research group based in Trinity College Dublin (TCD), has revealed its NanoWOW course for primary school teachers on how to teach children the wonders of nanoscience.
Running from 7-11 July, the course will take place at AMBER, in association with the School of Education.
The aim of NanoWOW is to help primary school teachers teach nano and materials science to fifth and sixth-class students over a variety of topics, including nature of science and science teaching pedagogy, developing creative science investigation in the primary classroom, enquiry based approaches to science teaching in primary classrooms, and ICT and pupil learning.
Teachers who take the course will be introduced to nano and materials science through a range of formats, including practical workshops, site visits, Q&A sessions, and lectures from leading researchers and science communicators.
Visits to the Royal College of Surgeons Ireland, the Advanced Microscopy Laboratory, the Materials Ireland research centre and Science Gallery’s Make Shop are also expected.
Speaking of the decision to open the course, Mary Colclough of AMBER said, “To date, we have created Nano in My Life for use in transition year and for primary teachers, we’ve distributed the NanoWOW resource pack. This new NanoWOW primary teachers’ course allows us to build on our work to date, to really engage teachers with nano and materials science and to help them encourage students to think like scientists.”
