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Tag: teaching

Soaring Cylinder

My four-year old daughter has recently mastered the art of throwing a paper airplane, and it can keep her occupied for ages. She’s not quite ready to fold her own airplanes, but she enjoys decorating the ones I make for her. I’m guessing most parents know how to make a basic paper airplane but this “soaring cylinder” is something that fewer people are familiar with. It’s incredibly easy to make but, as I point out in the video, it’s not straightforward to get it flying. It’s absolutely worth making the… Read more Soaring Cylinder

Balancing Bird

The “balancing bird” is a delightful toy you can buy, but it’s much more fun, cheaper, and better for the environment to make your own! If you like this, there are LOTS more toys you can make at home in my book Mr Shaha’s Marvellous Machines. TEACHERS This is a great activity to do to when teaching about moments and centre of gravity. EXTRAS: If you enjoyed making the balancing bird, you could try making other shapes that balance, like a butterfly or the spaceship designed by the brilliant Sai Pathmanathan in… Read more Balancing Bird

Mini Mangonel

Catapults are fun! This “mini mangonel” is a really simple, safe design that was invented by my friend Jonathan Sanderson as part of his work for the University of Northumbria’s engineering outreach team, NUSTEM. I was delighted they allowed me to use this for Mr Shaha’s Marvellous Machines because it perfectly fitted in with my aim of having “machines” in the book which were easy to make and left lots of room for children to “tinker“, and develop them into something better for themselves. TOP TIP: If you don’t have… Read more Mini Mangonel

A knotty problem

How does the length of a piece of string or rope vary with the number of knots tied in it? I came across this question a few months ago and decided to try it out as an investigative activity to help A-level Physics students revise some basic practical skills. I’ve since seen other Physics teachers, like Frank Noschese, tweet about using it in class. What’s the relationship between the number of knots and the length of the rope? Great #modphys graphing lab I learned from @hbarphysics! pic.twitter.com/jPlA1xdp1o — Frank Noschese… Read more A knotty problem

Why I returned to teaching

I know I will cry when I eventually leave the school where I’ve worked for the last decade or so. I won’t be able to help it – I’ve cried on my final day at every school I’ve ever belonged, as a student or teacher. The last time was when I left my second teaching job, in the belief that I was leaving the profession for good. I had been studying part-time for a masters in Science Communication and this had led to an offer of a job as a… Read more Why I returned to teaching

Looking more closely at the world

It’s been a while since The Young Atheist’s Handbook was published but I’ve continued writing about Atheism and Humanism in New Humanist magazine and elsewhere and I have become a trustee of the British Humanist Association. However, I’ve been focussing on my work in science education and am proud to announce that Demo: The Movie, a film about how and why we should use demonstrations in science teaching, is now available to view. It’s very much a film for science teachers and it looks at how we can get our… Read more Looking more closely at the world

The Use of Demonstrations in Science Teaching

A couple of weeks ago, I took part in a live recording of the Guardian’s Science Weekly podcast which was also filmed for the Royal Institution’s Ri Channel. My friend and former teacher Dr Michael de Podesta has written a kind of review of the podcast which prompted me to put up this blog post in which I want to share some notes I made on doing science demonstrations as part of my work as a Nuffield Education Fellow last year: Demonstrations, like whole class practicals, are an “activity which… Read more The Use of Demonstrations in Science Teaching