The final report from the Welsh UNAWE project, Universe in the Classroom is now available online and summarises the project which ran from January 2014 through to March 2015.
Over the fourteen months of the project, Universe in the Classroom worked with 99 schools, 131 teachers, 34 undergraduate and postgraduate role models and indirectly reached 6877 children between the ages of 8 and 11.
The full report discusses the details and evaluation of the Universe in a Classroom project including its implementation and impact. It also provides recommendations for future Welsh government projects working with primary schools.
Universe in the Classroom is designed to bring the unique inspirational aspects of astronomy to Welsh primary schools to improve STEM education (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), raise primary school teachers’ participation in STEM activities all over Wales and introduce challenging learning opportunities for students. Particular emphasis was placed on raising social mobility, engagement and STEM skills in unengaged and under-served communities. The project also facilitated engagement between Welsh-based scientists and local communities by building a diverse team of scientists to run workshops through an undergraduate role model scheme.
Key findings highlighted in the report include:
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89% of participating primary teachers spent less than the minimum recommended 2 hours per week on science in their classrooms
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94% of teachers used UitC resources in their classroom within 6 weeks of the training and 55% shared them with other teachers in their school
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97% of teachers felt more confident teaching stem after UitC training/workshop events
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There was a demonstrably large increase in the complexity of children’s vocabulary and perception of space concepts after attending UitC workshops.
Financial support was given to Universe in the Classroom by the National Science Academy of the Welsh government and the project was developed in partnership with Cardiff University, non-profit organisation Las Cumbras Observatory Global Telescope Network and Universe Awareness.
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