Department of Physiology & Pharmacology UAS Project Handbook
DEPARTMENT OF PHYSIOLOGY AND PHARMACOLOGY
PHYSIOLOGICAL SCIENCES & NEUROSCIENCES PROGRAMMES
UNDERGRADUATE AMBASSADORS SCHEME (UAS)
Academic Session: 2009_10
Organiser: Dr. Phil Langton
UNDERGRADUATE AMBASSADORS SCHEME (UAS) 1
Overview – student perspective 2
Aims 2
Activities in School 2
Timetable and practical advice 3
Support 4
Academic 4
Financial 4
Pastoral 4
Selection 4
Police checks 4
Application form 5
Interview 5
Training 5
Assessment 5
Project Review Essay 6
Reflective Journal & Academic Report 6
Project Dissertation 6
Your Teaching Materials And Their Evaluation 6
Description And Evidence Of Ambassador Activities 7
Your Research Project Data 7
Summary Notes: 8
Teacher’s Report 8
Summary 8
Appendix A – The CRB Check Process 9
Top tips: 9
Current Address: 9
Previous addresses: 9
Identity Documents: 9
Position applied for: 9
Organisation name: 9
Organisation address: 9
Any queries, please refer to: 9
Application form for a UAS Project [specimen copy of form] 10
NOTE: Time is short. Interviews for UAS student placements must take place during week 0 (Registration week). If you are interested in a UAS project, you MUST read this Handbook to ensure that you are aware of the time scales and can prepare in good time.
Overview – student perspective
Background to the UAS scheme is available elsewhere (http://www.uas.ac.uk ). In the Physiological Sciences and Neurosciences programmes, UAS projects are being offered to final year students in place of a laboratory-based research project. The number of days that you will spend working on a UAS project is intended to be the same as for a lab-based project and the same proportion of final year marks are available.
You have been advised against a UAS project if there is even a small chance that you may wish to register for a further research degree (Ph.D. etc) or if you are considering a research-based career, for example in the pharmaceutical industry. This is because ‘laboratory experience’ is considered to be an important box to tick on any application for a further degree (Ph.D. in particular) and that by opting for a UAS project over a laboratory based project, you would be disadvantaged.
You will see in later sections that UAS projects are intended to benefit both students and schools.
You should dismiss any notion that a UAS project is an ‘easy option’. Everything we have learned from previous years suggests that UAS projects are challenging (although stimulating).
Aims
Broad aims of a UAS project are to provide you with the opportunity to:
q Have a stimulating and educationally valuable experience that will strengthen your understanding of physiology and related areas of life sciences;
q Research and develop an original physiology/biology teaching-based project;
q Develop your communication skills, particularly in relation to teaching physiology/biology to pupils with a wide range of abilities. The latter will challenge you to communicate physiology in a scientifically accurate way using language and strategies that are appropriate to the age and ability of the pupils.
q Act as an ambassador to university education in general and the University of Bristol in particular.
The scheme will additionally:
q Support science teaching in schools that are local to the University;
q Develop links between local schools and the Department/University
Activities in School
What you will do whilst in the school will vary from project to project, depending largely on what the school elects to focus on. There are, however, some themes that are likely to be common:
All placements will be expected to include:
q Hypothesis driven experimental design and data collection (as for lab-based projects);
q Developing, implementing and evaluating innovative physiology/biology teaching materials (e.g. new practical schedules, or a lecture presentation);
q Assisting in lessons & practicals;
q Assessing pupils’ interest/attitude/ability and adapting your approach to take account of these.
q Coaching/tutoring individual pupils outside the classroom (e.g. to support weaker pupils and to push/stimulate the more able pupils; or explain what universities are all about);
q Arranging events in which pupils visit the University to 1) undertake selected undergraduate physiology practicals, or 2) simply visit and experience the University.
Timetable and practical advice
The sequence of events that will lead from your interest in this document to the completion of a UAS project can be summarized by the tabular schedule below:
July - / Broad topics and/or specific projects provided by schoolsWeek 0
29th or 30th Sept / [Registration] Submit your preference list, pick up and fill in a UAS application form. Also, PICK UP CRB FORM and Guidance Notes.
1st Oct / Preliminary short-listing based on UAS application form
2nd Oct / Interviews – Timing and venues TBC [if you have commitments during the 2nd, please ensure that you notify Dr Langton with details (email please)]
Week 1 / Placements agreed between department and school teaching staff
6th Oct / Outcome of UAS placement process emailed out to all student attending interviews
7th Oct / 3pm - Deadline for receipt of completed CRB forms (see Application Form below)
Week 2 / First meeting may be possible between students and school teaching staff & Risk Assessment. Please note that only Thursday morning [except NS] is available for project related activity – see C&S timetable.
17th Oct / Training Day (2-5pm) Venue TBC
Week 3 / First opportunity for full day in school (potential for School Induction)
Week 4 / First progress review in school meeting between departmental academic adviser and school teaching staff
Week 5 / Review Essay draft due
Week 8 / Review Essay hand in deadline
Week 16 / Work in school should finish
27th Feb / One page plan of Research Dissertation due
19th March / Research Dissertation due in
NOTE: Filling in a UAS application at Registration does not commit you to a UAS project but failure to fill in and submit a UAS form at Registration is very likely to exclude you from a UAS project; such is the short timescale within which UAS interviews must be concluded.
You should refer to the main Research Project Handbook for:
q Risk Assessment Documentation (and the Risk Assessment Form)
q General advice on the ‘assessed components’ and ‘writing style’ and workload
q Guidance on what is expected of you and of your project supervisor
q Advice on working as a project pair.
And the Course Handbook for:
q Regulations (word limits, deadlines, plagiarism)
q Advice on the technical aspects of citing work from the literature
In common with laboratory-based projects, you will be expected to devote 2 days per week to project work. Initially, some of this time will be spent researching the relevant literature in preparation for the Review Essay and Project Talk. Advice on this phase is given in the Project Handbook.
Between weeks 8 and 16, it is recommended that each week you aim to spend one day in the school and one day in the University [NOTE: You will need to consider the impact of school breaks, inset days and assessment periods in planning your project timetable and overall workload]. We anticipate that around 10 days of your time will be spent in a classroom environment, but this will vary between schools.
Support
Academic
During the course of each week you will have a short meeting with the teacher who is coordinating your project. This should be used to discuss issues, ask specific questions, review progress and set new targets. Early in the project, this meeting could usefully be held by telephone. Also, during each week you will meet with your departmental academic supervisors (Dr. Phil Langton, Professor Stephen Lisney or Professor Max Headley). These meetings will be an opportunity to discuss plans and results, or address specific issues. They will facilitate the sharing of ideas and enable you to maximise the opportunity for peer- as well as academic support. Meetings in the department will be informal and may be short. It will be the students’ responsibility to arrange mutually convenient times for these meetings which need not be restricted to designated project days.
It is likely that UAS students and departmental academic supervisor will meet as a group on at least one occasion. The purpose of this meeting will be to discuss generic issues.
Financial
Reasonable travel expenses (e.g., travel, book purchase and photocopying) incurred in connection with your placement will be met, but receipts or equivalent proof of purchase will be required. Any books purchased will become the property of the University at the end of the project and should be submitted along with the final dissertation.
Pastoral
Each final year student has a pastoral tutor. The pastoral tutor will be advised that you have been accepted to do a UAS-based project. If you have concerns or worries, but don’t feel able to flag them to the academic supervisor, you should consider speaking to your pastoral tutor – this would be a legitimate use of the pastoral tutor scheme.
Selection
Selection will be a staged and competitive process that will involve departmental academic and school teaching staff. Read carefully the sections below and note the deadlines in each case. All correspondence should be addressed to:
Dr. P.D. Langton
Department of Physiology & Pharmacology
School of Medical Sciences
University Walk
Bristol University
BRISTOL BS8 1TD
Email:
Tel: 0117 3312296
Police checks
It is a legal requirement that all classroom assistants have been cleared by a police check. The relevant Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) form (and guidance booklet) is available at Registration. Contact Dr. Phil Langton with any queries. Please READ the Guidance Notes and ensure that you have the required documents of identity. There is additional information in Appendix A – The CRB Check Process. You will need to submit your completed CRB form (see table for deadline) and then produce your documents of identity (date to be confirmed) to a member of the Faculty Office who has authority to validate CRB forms.
Application form
You will have seen the listing of schools and broad project outlines. The application form is your opportunity to bid to be accepted onto a UAS project. Please use only the section set aside for you to explain why you wish to undertake a UAS project. You may also wish to target your application to one or more of the projects, but please bear in mind that we cannot guarantee to match you with your first choice of school or project. If you have a strong preference, you need to convince your assessors that you are the right person to be allocated to a particular project. Please ensure that your application specifies the project(s) and the school(s) that you wish to be considered for. Your application form should have been handed in to Dr P.D. Langton at Registration on Monday 29th September (Physiological Sciences) or to Dr Frankie McMillan on Tuesday 30th September (Neuroscience). The completed CRB form will need to be placed in the hand-in boxes on D floor before 3pm on 7th October.
Interview
The interview typically will involve one or two members of departmental academic staff. These will be short and relatively informal; their aim is expand upon any aspect of your application. A subordinate aim is to allow us to gauge how well your communication skills and general personality will serve you in a classroom environment. Please be advised that the interviews will take place in the first week of term, but the date and time remain to be finalized. You will be advised on the date at Registration although the time of your interview will be emailed to you so you need to check your email regularly.
Training
Successful completion of the training day is a legal requirement. Training will be provided by members of the department and also by Jocelyn Wishart, Senior Lecturer in Education (Science) in the Graduate School of Education, Bristol University. You will be provided with a UAS Training Manual which contains useful advice on many topics, some of which will not be covered explicitly in the training day. Topics to be covered on the day will include:
q A brief overview of the National Curriculum.
q Reality check – PGCE students, SAS students and others all require school placements. A brief insight into the reality of working in a secondary school.
q Data collection in an educational context – Issues and limitations.
q Resources for education research.
q Methods of data gathering in schools.
q Ethics and other things you need to consider.
q Assessment of your project – what do we expect of you?
In addition, you will take part in the school’s induction process that will familiarize you with the specific regulations, codes of conduct and health and safety considerations that the schools will expect you to adopt.
Assessment
All stage III research projects, including UAS projects, contribute the same proportion of your final degree. You should consult the Course Handbook for details. Whilst the assessed components are the same as for a laboratory-based project, some of the emphasis may differ and the rationale for this is outlined below. You will be expected to read the generic advice to be found in both the Course Handbook and in the Project Handbook and discuss the approach you propose with the departmental supervisor. However, some guiding principles are outlined below.
Project Review Essay
You will be expected to research ‘appropriately’. It should be clear that you can’t embark on your review essay until you have discussed and agreed a brief for your project with your school supervisor and obtained agreement from the departmental academic supervisor.
Depending on your research topic, there will be a variable balance between physiology content and education research. Regarding the latter, you would need to consider what is required by the National Curriculum and how this is interpreted by the school syllabus. It may be appropriate to research the learning & teaching options that are available. .
Reflective Journal & Academic Report
Think of the reflective journal as your project diary; it corresponds to a ‘laboratory notebook’ that ALL laboratory-based projects will require. You should carry with you and use your journal on every day you spend on your project. There will be no word limit on the reflective journal.