UK Centre for Materials Education
Working with you to enhance the student experience
Working with you to enhance the student experience
This pilot project aimed to create a loan library of resources which could be accessed by local schools. A survey of the school curriculum revealed that after Key Stage 3, elements of Materials as a subject were chosen through the options offered at A-levels. Schools were therefore reluctant to invest in large, expensive pieces of equipment that would not be used very often, or would be used by only a relatively small number of students. A loan scheme based at the University of Birmingham would potentially solve the problem by providing such equipment to schools without any large expenses involved.
In the course of the principal investigator’s interaction with teachers in her role as UG Admissions Tutor, it became apparent that the problems faced by teachers in emphasising the ‘Materials’ aspect of the schools curriculum was not just lack of equipment but also a lack of interaction between departments, so that equipment and resources were not necessarily shared to the extent that they might have been. Further, many teachers, who were not necessarily from a Materials background, were not aware of the resources available, and lacked the confidence to use them to promote Materials as a subject to a school audience.
The target schools were identified as those who had initiated contact with the University of Birmingham, and through personal contacts. Teacher feedback was obtained through questionnaires as well as face-to-face contact, and was quite encouraging. The questionnaires targeted teacher groups as well as individual teachers wanting to make the most effective use of resources. Elements from an existing catalogue along with a few items of specialist equipment, were identified, and a survey was conducted regarding the use and desirability of these elements as resources. It was also felt that there was a particular need not just for effective dissemination of resources, but also to make teachers aware of the extent of resources already available for use.
Though this pilot project was received very well by participating schools, it could not be continued further due to lack of staff, and increasing logistical problems, particularly with respect to the lack of flexibility in course timetables in schools. This in turn led to a supply-demand problem, where the equipment for loan was needed at the same time by a large number of schools. Feedback from schools indicated that they would be willing to collect or return equipment from the university, but inflexible course timetables combined with the need for continuous funding for equipment maintenance and consumables proved to be barriers in the sustainability of a loan scheme.
