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Final Report for Teaching Development Project
Cheryl Anderson, Department of Materials Engineering
University of Wales Swansea

Contents:

1. Synopsis
2. Introduction
3. Methodology
   1. Establishing links with target schools
   2. Initial meetings
   3. Obtaining feedback
4. The Resource Pack
   1. Pack contents
   2. Feedback
5. Tailored Visits
   1. Visit format
   2. Feedback
6. Effective communication with teachers
7. Conclusions and Recommendations
8. References
   Figures
   Tables
   Appendix 1
   Appendix 2

1. Synopsis

The Materials content of GCSE and AS level Science and Technology syllabi has increased and it was believed that an important means of raising awareness of Materials as both a discipline and a career was to provide teachers with exciting resources to assist in the teaching of the relevant topics within their syllabi. Following detailed analysis of different examining boards' syllabi for Chemistry, Physics and Design and Technology a pack of resources and a series of tailored visits were designed. Feedback from both teachers and pupils has allowed some general guidelines, for the development of future resources and the optimisation of those already available, to be developed.

2. Introduction

The well documented fact that the number of applicants for engineering degrees is declining is particularly relevant to Materials Science and Engineering departments. A report by the Materials Panel¹, part of Foresight, recognised this fact and made several recommendations covering the establishment of Materials as a subject in it's own right within the school curriculum. However, the number of students applying for Materials courses is still falling and it was decided to carry out a small scale study into the way materials related topics are being taught in schools. The overall aim was to improve pupil awareness of the materials link with the principles that they are learning as part of their Science and Technology courses. This was facilitated by assisting teachers, of Chemistry, Physics and Design and Technology GCSE and AS level subjects, with the teaching of the materials related topics covered by their chosen examining boards. In particular it was thought that by assisting teachers with the identification of exciting teaching resources, the Materials content of their courses could be more strongly identified with Materials as a discipline.

3. Methodology

3.1 Establishing links with the target schools
Full details of the approach used in the initial stages of the project can be found in the interim report published by the UKCME². Initially six schools were contacted that had previously had contact with the Materials department. Their locations can be seen in figure 1. All schools responded positively. It was clear from an early stage that the Materials content of the different syllabi varied considerably. For example, for Physics AS level, the WJEC syllabi contained only a few notes on basic tensile properties whereas the OCR Advancing Physics syllabi contains two substantial topics covering issues such as microstructure - property relationships and material selection. A summary of the examining boards followed by the schools involved is given in table 1. Full detail of the Materials content identified is given elsewhere².

3.2 Initial meetings
Initial meetings were arranged at each of the target schools. The main aim was to determine the actual requirements of the teachers in terms of practical resources, that is, the type and amount of assistance that they required to highlight the application of the principles detailed in the syllabi. In particular, the nature of the resources already available to the schools, and awareness of and participation in schemes such as Young Foresight and Engineering Education Scheme needed to be established. A short presentation was given on the objectives of the project and the desired input from the teachers. The feedback given was very positive both on the objectives and also the more general issue of closer interaction between the schools and the Materials Department at Swansea. Some general points were raised by several schools at these meetings:

• A concern of many teachers was that involvement in the project should not take up a significant amount of time on their part. The meetings afforded a good opportunity to explain that the time commitment would be kept to a minimum and would mainly involve the review of selected resources.
• Some teachers considered the meetings organised for this project the first time that discussion had taken place between the different departments specifically on the issue of Materials and this was considered a very positive early outcome of the project. There were a number of incidences where good resources, that could be made available to other subject teachers, already existed within a department.
• Resources suitable for teaching earlier National Curriculum, Materials related topics were requested by a number of the target schools. A common view was that science and D&T needed to be exciting from an early stage. It is recommended that future work address this issue.
• An important consideration for many teachers was the format that it was available in. For example some schools had available data projectors and some networked computer suites. Other teachers felt that clearly presented overheads were the most useful format.

3.3 Obtaining feedback
A pack of practical resources was given to teachers at a second meeting. See section 4 for details of the contents. Demonstrations relevant to the courses being followed were arranged as part of a departmental visit for two schools. Feedback on the resources and visits was obtained in two ways:

• Verbal feedback
  This was taken from conversations with teachers during the second meetings, during the departmental visits and also in other correspondence following the hand-over meetings
• Written feedback
  An evaluation sheet was given to each teacher and they were asked for their comments on the resources in the pack. Specifically they were asked to comment on the format and cost of the resource; the level at which they thought it would be most useful; and any improvements that could be made. A column was provided to indicate if they would recommend the resource, at the current price, to colleagues teaching the same courses as themselves and, where they would not, they were asked for their reasons.

4. The resource pack

4.1 Pack contents
The full pack contents is listed in appendix 1. There were a variety of formats: CDROMs, books, posters, videos and booklets of worksheets. Each resource was provided with a specific subject, examining board and exam level in mind although teachers were asked to suggest areas where resources might be useful other than for those originally indicated.

4.1.1 Mechanical testing sample pack and CDROM
One area where it was determined there was a lack of resource support was mechanical testing, despite its high occurrence in current syllabi. In particular teachers were keen to obtain samples of different materials and to have property and processing data provided. A pack of metal, wood and polymer tensile samples was complied to address this shortage. Appendix 2 gives a full breakdown of the samples included. The samples were split into five sections:

• Polymer inspection samples
• Polymer hand test samples
• Polymer tensile test specimens
• Metal tensile test samples
• Impact test samples

Accompanying these samples was a CDROM, which contained:

• Videos of each of the tensile and impact tests, for the samples described above, taking place
• Photos of all of the untested and failed samples including close-ups of the fracture surfaces.
• Data files to allow students to plot stress strain curves in a spreadsheet package.

The two resources were designed to work together to provide a virtual testing environment that could be used by teacher with a range of facilities, such as projectors, available to them.

4.2 Feedback
This section provides details of the feedback received on the pack contents.

• Practical samples were well received by students.
  Positive comments were made about both the mechanical testing sample pack and the metal and ore samples provided in the Corus GCSE science pack. It was felt that the mechanical test samples enabled students to clearly see differences in the way the materials failed. Ore samples were liked because they gave students a practical handle on the equations that were studying in class.
• Combinations of formats were particularly effective at highlighting a topic. This approach was used in several of the resources. In particular the Corus steel resources tended to be a combination of a video, poster, booklet and teacher's guide with exercises. In the case of the Cambridge University / Technology Enhancement Programme (TEP) Materials Selection and Processing pack a CDROM was provided with a wall chart and booklet of case studies. Practical samples along with videos and photos made up the mechanical testing pack. All these resources received favourable comments from teachers. In particular it was noted that different formats can appeal to different students and a combination was often the best approach. A pack containing several formats also accommodates teachers with different classroom facilities.
• Well-structured question sheets or exercises greatly assist the delivery of a topic.
  Worksheets were included in most of the resources. In some, such as the TEP they were in the form of case studies whereas other providers had pages of exercises included such as those in the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) book 'Learning about Materials' and the Aluminium Federation (AlFed) schools CDROM.
• Videos and animations of processes are preferred over pictures.
  As one teacher put it 'Anything moving is good'. It was generally considered that the videos and CDROMs that contained videos and animations were the most useful at illustrating processes. One teacher commented that videos were actually better than factory visits because of the close ups of processes that can be seen on a video that it would not be possible to see in person. Teachers asked for more provisions of this type, in particular in the area of material processing. The Chemistry, D&T and Engineering teachers specifically asked for more polymers processing videos such as injection moulding.
• Examples of applications were considered important.
  All the teachers had positive comments regarding resources that emphasised the application of Materials science. Not only is this being more strongly emphasised in recent syllabi but pupils can also be engaged more if they can see the purpose and potential use of the principles they are studying in the classroom. Several science teachers commented that there tended to be a split in existing resources with those aimed at science courses focusing more on written theory and those intended for D&T teachers containing lots of practical examples. It was a common view that, whilst resources should be subject focused, a more balanced approach would be preferable for future resources.
• Ideas for classroom based demonstrations were requested.
  The IOM resource 'Teachers Pack on Experiments in Materials Science' was considered excellent for demonstrations, particularly in the area of materials testing. One comment was that it was difficult to carry out many Materials related demonstrations using commonly available equipment.

Overall, the pack of resources was well received. The feedback from the teachers indicated that the combination of resource formats proved useful for the courses targeted and highlighted some specific features that were of considered useful to most teachers.

5. Tailored visits

In addition to the packs of resources for use in the classroom, visits to the Materials Department at Swansea University were arranged for AS level students. Two of the six schools were involved.

5.1 Visit format
The visits combined a general tour of the Materials department with small group demonstrations of areas of materials science relevant to the topics that the teachers had recently covered.

For the students studying Engineering the sessions focussed on mechanical testing and structural characterisation. In addition to the demonstrations each group was given a pack containing the samples that they tested and the data from those tests. Other sessions included for the Chemistry, Physics and Design and Technology were a corrosion session which linked to the electrochemistry and a hands-on computer simulation session. Groups had either cameras or a camcorder to record the demonstrations.

5.2 Feedback
The feedback from the students was very positive. The opportunity to speak to the postgraduates who were involved afforded the opportunity to discuss careers not only from the point of view of promoting Materials, but also for understanding the different influences that the students were experiencing. The visits were also successful means of communicating the message about the range of qualifications that can be accepted for entry into Materials. For example, students were surprised to learn that they did not need to have a Maths A level to study Materials. Likewise, students following combinations of courses that would not be sufficient to enter the BEng degree scheme found out more about the foundation year options. Finally, exposure to some of the commercially sponsored research initiated many conversations with students about areas of interest to them, such as car design. It is important to note that the students appeared more interested when research was related to a company or product that they were familiar. This backs up suggestions made by teachers and other researchers that an emphasis on applications is important for appealing to students.

The teachers' feedback was extremely positive. They felt that the visits had benefited their students in three key ways:

• They had increased the students' technical knowledge of the topics demonstrated.
• They provided students with lots of real life applications to link to their class work.
• They had given the students some exposure to ideas about where science and technology can lead in terms of careers.

One comment was that it would be useful if such a visit could be arranged every year but clearly more extensive resources would be required to provide such an arrangement. This emphasises the point that teachers really need more sophisticated resources to teach Materials effectively within the classroom.

6. Effective communication with teachers

Along with the feedback on resource content and format and the demonstrations there was some important discussion with teachers relating to the way in which resources and courses are marketed to schools. Four main issues arose from the feedback on the way in which schools are approached by university departments:

• Advertising and marketing information should be sent directly to the right people.
  It was felt by several teachers that as subject teachers they were often in a better position than general careers advisors to pass on information to students regarding Materials courses and workshops. Further once a contact has been established it is important that the contact is maintained. Two specific complaints came from teachers who had been enthusiastic when initially asked to participate in other schemes but then had not received the resources or further details that they had expected. It should be emphasised that not all these schemes were solely Materials related but the experiences did highlight the importance of consistency in the contact made with teachers.
• Ensure that the course information is complete, and relevant to the teachers it is sent to.
  This comment relates specifically to information regarding entry requirements. As previously mentioned teachers were not all sure of the subjects and grades required to study Materials. Whilst it is certain that a combination of Chemistry, Physics and Maths may be ideal for some Materials courses, teachers also need to know how subjects such as D&T and Engineering will be viewed.
• Resources should explain what they think they will replace or improve in the classroom.
  A common feeling amongst the teachers involved in this project was that they get a lot of promotional material sent to them throughout the year but it was often not immediately obvious which area of the syllabus it relates to and also how it would improve the way in which the topic is currently being taught. Further, teachers also felt that it was often not clear which level or area of a syllabus a product was aimed at. This could potentially lead to many good resources not being adopted simply because the teachers do not have sufficient time to research their relevance. Some resources, such as the Corus and IOM packs, had specific references to different examining boards and subjects and this was considered particularly useful in deciding whether to use a particular resource.
• Resources should be co-ordinated at a central point to make it easy to find information.
  The main concern of teachers regarding resources, for any subject or topic, was that there were a large number of resources and schemes but there is no central point of reference to find out what is currently available. A database of products would also minimise duplication between resources because it would allow producers and organisers to easily find details of schemes and resources currently running. It was suggested that a web based catalogue would be the most effective and easily accessible means of storing such information with individual providers being responsible for ensuring that information is regularly updated. More consultation with scheme and resource providers is required to establish the best solution for all interested parties.
  

7. Conclusions and Recommendations

• The projects two main aims, of increasing awareness of Materials both as a subject and a career, and assisting teachers with the identification of exciting resources to help teach Materials related topics, have been met.
• Two areas where resource support was currently felt to be low were the provision of sample packs and practical / video / animation resources relating to mechanical testing. The pack produced by UOW Swansea for the project was well received but further work needs to be carried out to establish a commercially viable resource.
• Several important recommendations have been made as a result of the feedback obtained from the project covering the design and marketing of future resources and schemes. In particular it was felt that a central database explaining the current schemes and available resources would greatly help teachers to include more practical and exciting demonstrations when teaching Materials in the classroom.
  

8. References

1. Materials: Shaping our Society, Materials Panel, Foresight, 2000 (available online at www.foresight.gov.uk).
2. C. Anderson, Interim report for Teaching Development Project: Identification and Facilitation of Teaching Materials in the School Curriculum, UKCME, March 2002.
   

Figure 1. Location of target schools

School	Level	Physics	Chemistry	Design & Technology	Engineering
Bishop of LLanduff	GSCE	WJEC	WJEC	WJEC	---
	AS level	WJEC	WJEC	WJEC	---
Bishop Vaughan	GSCE	Edexcel	Edexcel	---	---
	Int. GNVQ	---	---	---	Edexcel
	AS level	Edexcel	OCR	Edexcel	---
Maridunum	GCSE	WJEC	WJEC	WJEC	---
	AS level	WJEC	WJEC	WJEC	---

Table 1 Syllabi selected by the target schools

 

Appendix 1 - Contents of resource pack

1. Corus GCSE Science Pack (Plastic Briefcase)
A comprehensive pack aimed at year 10 and 11 science. It covers many aspects of steelmaking and includes:

• Samples of different metals and ores used in the steelmaking process
• A teachers' handbook with twenty-two activities ranging from those looking at the elements used in steelmaking to more practical ideas such as typical uses of steel.
• 20 copies of the pupil resource booklet that has good pictures of iron and steelmaking processes and simple explanations of the process.
• A set of information sheets on different aspects of steelmaking including some activity cards.

2. The Steel Story (Comprising video, pupil booklet, activity pack)
A resource covering the whole steel cycle from iron making through to steel use. The video covers each area briefly and comes with a short set of notes. The pupil booklet gives examples of the different jobs that people do within the steel industry. The activity pack is called a GNVQ resource but many of the activities would be suitable for national curriculum and GCSE science as well. There are simple exercises such as plotting graphs of the change in composition of the steel through the production process whilst others are more involved such as determining which metal ions are present in a solution. Good worksheets are provided for these activities.

3. Making Steel (Comprising video, pupil booklet, teacher's notes, poster)
This pack covers in detail the first stage of steel production including the blast furnace, basic oxygen steel making (BOS) and continuous casting. The poster provides large schematics of the process. The video covers in more detail than The Steel Story, iron production and BOS. The pupil booklet outlines the process with clear pictures of all the main areas of plant that are involved. The teacher's notes contains a reference guide to where the pack fits in with national curriculum and some exercises for pupils such as a simple crossword using different aspects of the process for clues.

4. Shaping Metals (Comprising video, pupil booklet, teacher's notes, poster x 2)
Following on from Making Steel this pack considers all the different ways that metals can be shaped, for example, rolling or tube making. The video has footage of these processes in action and they are summarised in the pupil booklet and poster. The teacher's notes includes video observation questions and further exercises to reinforce the ideas presented.

5. Using Steel (Comprising video, pupil booklet, teacher's notes, poster)
This final pack in the Corus set covers the different uses of steel. The video gives examples and the pupil booklet has lots of glossy pictures to accompany this. The poster summarises some of the main uses and the teacher's notes cover exercises looking at how to choose the right material for a certain application.

6. Environment Report (Report and teacher's notes)
This report is the 2000 edition of Corus' annual report on meeting its environmental responsibilities. Accompanying it is a set of teacher's notes which suggest links to different examining boards' syllabi and a series of comprehension questions based on the information in the report.

7. Protecting the Environment (Colour booklet and teacher's notes)
This colour booklet covers some areas that need to be considered when producing steel such as how far the raw materials are travelling. The teacher's notes contain a glossary of terms and worksheets. There is also a guide to where the resource fits in with key stage 2 and above.

8. Hobsons 'Steel Making and Energy Management' (Booklet)
This booklet covers some aspects of iron and steel making and looks at some of the control aspects in more details such as the instrumentation used.

9. British Steel and the World of Energy (Poster)
This poster includes a schematic of all the different resources that are used in the production of steel.

10. Steel: Solutions in Technology (Booklet)
This booklet focuses on the application of steel in everyday life with lots of photos giving examples.

11. Coating Steel (Booklet and poster)
This booklet considers why steel needs coating (including issues such as the electropotential of different metals) and the different ways in which they can be coated.) The poster has several examples of coated steel in use.

12. Electric Arc Furnace Steelmaking (Booklet)
This booklet contains schematics of the electric arc process and lots of detail on the equations that govern the process. It includes terms such as Gibbs' Free Energy and introduces standard plots to be considered along with the electric arc process.

13. Aluminium in Product Development (Booklet)
This booklet contains printed material from a number of TALAT lectures (see the CD for more information on TALAT). It is geared towards the material selection process and has a number of case studies, which follow through from establishing the creiteria a product must meet to selecting the materials.

14. A Teaching Companion to Exploring the Nanoworld (Draft booklet)
This draft booklet covers three important materials areas: Light Emitting Diodes, X-Ray diffraction and Memory Metals. Several experiments are suggested with pupil sheets and teacher's notes included.

15. New Materials (Booklet)
This short booklet considers the materials that are used in spacecraft and racing cars.

16. Learning about Materials (Booklet)
This booklet covers three areas: The extraction of platinum group metals, Smart materials (such as memory metals and conducting polymers) and biodiesel. Each section contains background material which is written in two ways - one section for pre-16 pupils and one for post-16 pupils, a set of questions (with model answers provided) and teacher's notes.

17. Materials Selection and Processing (booklets and CDROM)
This pack uses the principle of property maps to look at the issue of materials selection. The maps are available in the large booklet and also on the CDROM. The CDROM also contains lots of information about processing routes for different materials with some good schematics of the processes. There is a set of teacher's notes to explain how the pack can be used and also a booklet of case studies where the maps have been used.

18. Sample pack (folder)
This sample pack contains samples of several common metals and polymers. There are five sections:

• samples of polymers for visual comparison
• samples of polymers for hand testing in class
• tensile specimens of polymers and wood (tested and untested)
• tensile specimens of metals (tested and untested)
• impact specimens of carbon steel tested at different temperatures.

19. Transition Metals (Video)
This video suggests practical uses for transition metals but mainly looks at the ion exchange experiments that are covered by the syllabus.

20. Materials Matter in Schools (CDROM)
This CDROM covers basic principles of materials such as the different states of matter and the different types of bonding.

21. Materials Science on CDROM (CDROM)
This CDROM covers more advanced materials concepts such as dislocations (in simple terms) and diffusion. It also covers the use of composites, polymers, and aluminium.

22. Training in Aluminium Fabrication Technologies (CDROM)
This CDROM covers some basic Aluminium processing information but is more focused towards practical considerations for using aluminium such as processing and the different means of joining aluminium components.

23. Training in Aluminium Application Technologies (CDROM)
This CDROM has a lot of material covering aluminium processing and application. Most of it falls outside the school curriculum but it could be useful for pupils undertaking research projects.

24. Materials Testing CDROM
This CDROM contains video footage of materials testing in progress, photos of samples before and after testing and data from actual tests, which can be plotted using EXCEL or another spreadsheet package.

25. Aluminium Federation CDROM for schools
This CDROM covers the basics of aluminium production and is aimed at secondary school pupils of all levels.

26. IOM / Clare Davis (University of Birmingham) Teachers' Pack on Experiments in Materials Science
This book contains a range of notes and experiment ideas to cover the major areas of materials science: Material types, microstructure, mechanical properties and processing.

27. IOM Fun with Magnets
This book contains notes and experiments covering a number of magnetic material issues such as how to observe a magnetic field and measuring magnetic strength.

Appendix 2 - Contents of mechanical testing sample pack

The pack contained the following samples of materials:

Samples of polymers for visual comparison
This included 5cm squares of common polymers along with a sheet covering their typical use:

• Polystyrene
• High Impact Polystyrene
• Polypropylene - Fast Cooled
• Polypropylene - Slow Cooled
• Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene ABS)
• Silicone rubber

Samples of polymers for hand testing in class
These were 10mm by 100mm samples of four polymers (taken from the list of inspection samples) that could be hand tested by pupils:

• Polystyrene
• High Impact Polystyrene
• Polypropylene - Fast Cooled
• Polypropylene - Slow Cooled

Tensile specimens of polymers and wood
Samples before and after testing were provided. The samples were of a standard size prior to testing and could be distinguished only by their colour but the deformation of the tested samples allowed differences between the various materials to be observed:

• Nylon 66 Unfilled
• Nylon 66 Glass Filled
• Toughened Polystyrene
• High Density Polyethylene
• Softwood
• Hardwood

Tensile specimens of metals (tested and untested)
As for the polymers, both tested and untested samples were included. Simple observations such as the extent of necking could be seen and the difference in weight between, for example the aluminium alloy and a carbon steel could be determined.

• 0.1% Carbon Steel
• 0.8% Carbon Steel
• Aluminium Alloy
• 60/40 Brass

Impact specimens of carbon steel tested at different temperatures.
In this section three 0.5% carbon steel Charpy impact samples were included. One was untested, another was fractured at room temperature and the third tested after a one minute soak in liquid nitrogen. The difference in impact energy was provided and the two tested samples showed clear differences in failure mode due to the temperature of testing.
- Room temperature test (impact energy 40J)
- 1 minute in liquid nitrogen - -196 °C (impact energy 40J)