ESEU
Encyclopedia
The Earth Science Education Unit (ESEU) is based at Keele University
. ESEU develops and provides continuous professional development (CPD) workshops and resources for teachers and trainee teachers in Earth science
Education across the UK .
s 2, 3 and 4, and for the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence
, to teachers and to trainee teachers. Workshop fees are not paid for by the school or university but by ESEU. A team of 46 facilitators are spread across the UK and travel to schools to give workshops, taking rock samples and other equipment with them.
Practical, hands on activities are used in the workshops, which use simple, easily available and cheap materials, such as party poppers, Potty Putty and Slinky springs.
As well as activities for use in the classroom, ESEU also encourages teachers to make the most of the outdoor environment as a teaching resource, using a gradual approach, starting by using the view from a classroom window, then the school grounds, a local graveyard or building stones in the local town and finally any local quarry or outcrop.
ESEU workshops were found to have a long term impact on those involved, even though the workshops only last for 90 minutes. This may be due to the practical and interactive activities which are used as the main part of the workshops.
Keele University
Keele University is a campus university near Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. Founded in 1949 as an experimental college dedicated to a broad curriculum and interdisciplinary study, Keele is most notable for pioneering the dual honours degree in Britain...
. ESEU develops and provides continuous professional development (CPD) workshops and resources for teachers and trainee teachers in Earth science
Earth science
Earth science is an all-embracing term for the sciences related to the planet Earth. It is arguably a special case in planetary science, the Earth being the only known life-bearing planet. There are both reductionist and holistic approaches to Earth sciences...
Education across the UK .
History
ESEU was first set up in 2002 with funding from the UK Offshore Operators Association (UKOOA), initially providing workshops in England and Scotland for secondary teachers. In January 2003, ESEU launched workshops in Wales . A second lot of funding from Oil and Gas UK, the umbrella organisation for the Oil and Gas industry in the UK, through OPITO, the Oil and Gas Academy, was secured in 2007 enabling ESEU to develop primary workshops in England and Wales at Key Stage 2 in 2009 and to launch new workshops in Scotland, written specially for the Curriculum for Excellence in 2010.Workshops
ESEU provides workshops at Key StageKey Stage
A Key Stage is a stage of the state education system in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the British Territory of Gibraltar setting the educational knowledge expected of students at various ages...
s 2, 3 and 4, and for the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence
Curriculum for Excellence
Curriculum for Excellence is the national curriculum for Scottish Schools for learners from age 3 to 18. It was developed out of a 2002 consultation exercise – the 'National Debate on Education' – undertaken by the Scottish Executive on the state of school education...
, to teachers and to trainee teachers. Workshop fees are not paid for by the school or university but by ESEU. A team of 46 facilitators are spread across the UK and travel to schools to give workshops, taking rock samples and other equipment with them.
Practical, hands on activities are used in the workshops, which use simple, easily available and cheap materials, such as party poppers, Potty Putty and Slinky springs.
As well as activities for use in the classroom, ESEU also encourages teachers to make the most of the outdoor environment as a teaching resource, using a gradual approach, starting by using the view from a classroom window, then the school grounds, a local graveyard or building stones in the local town and finally any local quarry or outcrop.
ESEU workshops were found to have a long term impact on those involved, even though the workshops only last for 90 minutes. This may be due to the practical and interactive activities which are used as the main part of the workshops.