# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Eltham Hill School Curriculum for Year 8 students

# data[].attributes.body
2 March
As part of the Bioengineering Outreach Team, Maryam and I were given the opportunity to run our teaching activity at Eltham Hill School [1].

Even before this opportunity arised, we discussed about what topic in Bioengineering we wanted to teach on. I felt that it was important to find a topic we are passionate about. In my experience as a student, the best teachers and lectures carried a certain passion and energy in what they do.

Our teaching activity will be held in Eltham Hill School [1] as part of the Year 8 Career's Fair. Upon doing some research, I was pleased to find out that they have completed classes in waves and basic Python Programming [5] which aligned to the idea Maryam and I were developing which involves building a heart rate monitor with Arduino[4]. This project will require some understanding of medical physics of PPG [2] and ECG [3] and programming.

Work Cited
1. www.elthamhill.com. (n.d.). Welcome Eltham Hill School. [online] Available at: https://www.elthamhill.com/ [Accessed 28 Apr. 2023].
2. Wikipedia Contributors (2019). Photoplethysmogram. [online] Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photoplethysmogram.

‌3.  Mayo Clinic (2019). Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG) - Mayo Clinic. [online] Mayoclinic.org. Available at: https://www.mayoclinic.org/test s-procedures/ekg/about/pac-20384983.
4.‌www.javatpoint.com. (n.d.). Arduino UNO - JavaTpoint. [online] Available at: https://www.javatpoint.com/arduino-uno.

5.www.elthamhill.com. (n.d.). KS3 Curriculum - Eltham Hill School. [online] Available at: https://www.elthamhill.com/110/ks3-curriculum [Accessed 28 Apr. 2023].

‌

25 April
Thinking back it would have been helpful to directly reference some of the textbooks the students might have used for their class on Waves. However, it was difficult for Maryam and I to do more research given the time we had.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
The 5 main learning outcomes we designed.

# data[].attributes.headline
Learning Outcomes and Objectives for the Career's Fair

# data[].attributes.subject
Learning Outcomes and Objectives for the Career's Fair

# data[].attributes.body
Although I would have wished we could only just run the activity, we felt that it was also necessary to briefly explain the field of Bioengineering and communicate what Bioengineers do, given that this was their Career's Fair.

# data[].attributes.headline
Design Criteria,Learning Theories and Contemporary Issues 

# data[].attributes.subject
Design Criteria,Learning Theories and Contemporary Issues 

# data[].attributes.body
Through the different theories and ideas that I have encountered with Maryam, these are the key ones that informed and inspired this activity.

1. Tinkering for Learning and Engineering Habits of Mind (EHoM)[1]
This was a fascinating framework I encountered when reading the report by the Royal Academy of Engineering on "Tinkering for Learning".[1] It highlights a more holistic approach to tackle how the UK is able to produce more engineers, in an effort to curb the engineering skills shortage[1] in the UK.

The EHoM framework[1] describes the defining set of habits, skills and behaviors that are characteristic of effective engineers. These EHoMs when taken together, describe the ways engineers think and act. I found this framework very useful to inform Maryam and I on the key defining characteristics and skills of engineers, to teach the students.

The “Tinkering for Learning” [1] report highlights how ‘tinkering’ is a powerful way to learn engineering. Tinkering is exploring through fiddling, toying, and dabbling with the system of interest. It is a form of productive and creative exploration. I can personally relate very well to this form of learning through practicals. I have always particularly enjoyed doing practicals and building projects during my undergraduate.

2. Cognitivism [2]
Naturally with understanding engineering principles, it is important that students are mentally processing the information they are receiving and constructing them in a logical and methodical thought process. This is the bread-and-butter of every engineering student in Imperial and professional engineers too. The use of cognitivism [2] is key in every part of this learning activity.

3.Constructivism [3]

This is a learning theory that I naturally gravitated towards using and implementing in my own design. I have always enjoyed when a teacher or lecturer drew connections of the current topic they are teaching with previous classes I have taken. It usually get a few “Ahah” moments in the process.

We facilitated a guided discussion with the students with the use of the posters we designed to deliver the first three of our learning outcomes. For instance, for the 1st learning outcome, we tried to gauge what students already know of Biomedical Engineering by asking them to name whatever elements they have seen in the posters. After that, we continued our explanation of the job and role of Bioengineers based on what they answered.

There are some downsides to using the constructivism [3] learning theory the way we did. This method although effective in helping students learn better takes more time than directly explaining the scientific concept. Therefore, this shouldn’t always be used. Perhaps, we should have used these methods only for more complex learning outcomes any be more cautious of how much time we are taking to do so.

Works Cited
1.Learning to Teach Engineering in the Primary and KS3 Classroom. 2018. https://raeng.org.uk/media/cb3jy2ok/t4l_report_mar19-reprint.pdf?locale=en-us

2.Main, Paul. “Cognitivism Learning Theories: A Teachers Guide.” Www.structural-Learning.com, www.structural-learning.com/post/cognitivism-learning-theories.

3. Golder, Joydip. “CONSTRUCTIVISM: A PARADIGM for TEACHING and LEARNING.” IJRAR1903214 International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews, vol. 5, no. 3, 2018, ijrar.org/papers/IJRAR1903214.pdf.

# data[].attributes.body
I enjoyed the delivery of this activity which also gave me a well needed break from my other modules.

# data[].attributes.body
Authenticity is an important element in modes of assessment. Authentic assessment [1]can be described as a type of assessment requiring students to apply the same competencies in the same criterion situation in real-life setting.Therefore, the assessment task itself was designed to resemble a real-life engineering application, designing a PPG heart rate monitor. The limited amount of time at the career booth to tinker with the heart rate monitor resembles the actual physical constraints in engineering projects. The constant interaction between students and us demonstrators is meant to resemble working in an engineering team. A greater resemblance of the assessment to the real- life setting, allow students to better demonstrate their knowledge, and encourage deeper and self-directed learning.

Given the short duration we had to interact with the students, it was challenging to give them enough time to assemble the electronics. Unfortunately, this has likely compromised their learning experience through tinkering. In future workshops, a larger fraction of the available time should be reserved for the assembly process.

1.TIVOLA DRAKE. “Authentic Assessment Video.” YouTube, 11 Oct. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-85QM_DYBY.

# data[].attributes.body
Taking a step back and reflecting on all the my experiences at Eltham Hill School, I am amazed and surprised on how work and thought could be given in designing an effective learning activity. I thought about some personal key principles on how to design an effective learning activity, I am taking away from this module.

1. Design the activity for the specific group of learner
It is important to understand the context of the learner, which includes their past, present and future.

2. Understand and respond based on what students already know.
This is very related to the Science Capital Teaching approach[1] that was covered in the lectures. It is key to leverage what students might already know and build an activity that 'starts' at where they are.

3. Investigate if there are any students that have SEND[1] in your class.
This is a step I should have taken as a key consideration prior to designing this activity. It is important that learning activities will include this group of students.

Works Cited
1.“What Is SEND? - Eltham Hill School.” Www.elthamhill.com, www.elthamhill.com/236/what-is-send. Accessed 26 Apr. 2023.

# data[].attributes.body
4. Science Capital Teaching approach [1]

This teaching approach is closely link to constructivism in the way we used it. Here, we personalize content and value and link different inputs during the discussions for the first three of our learning outcomes.

For instance, for the 2nd and 3rd learning outcome, we first asked the students the questions as shown in the poster. The downside of using this method is that the time it might take as compared to directly explaining a concept. This shouldn’t always be used. Perhaps, we should have used these methods only for more complex learning outcomes any be more cautious of how much time we are taking to do so.

6.Froeblian Approach to Play [2]
This is personally my favourite theory. This approach suggests that every student has a built-in ability to learn, called play [2]. Friedrich Freöbel, a German pedagogue believed that all play is beneficial, but unrestricted play, over a length of time is full of learning [2]. If students can learn and play at the same time, it would make learning and teaching much more enjoyable for both teacher and student.

7.     Constructive alignment [3]

8.     Zone of Proximal Development [4]

With this activity, I hope that we would also stretch students intellectually with learning a few engineering concepts beyond their Year 8 syllabus.

Works Cited
1.THE SCIENCE CAPITAL TEACHING APPROACH Engaging Students with Science, Promoting Social Justice. https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10080166/1/the-science-capital-teaching-approach-pack-for-teachers.pdf?locale=en-us

2.Tovey, Helen. A FROEBELIAN APPROACH: Froebel’s Principles and Practice Today. Froebel Trust, 2017.

3.Biggs, John. “Constructive Alignment.” John Biggs, 2011, www.johnbiggs.com.au/academic/constructive-alignment/.

4.Gauvain, Mary. “Zone of Proximal Development - an Overview | ScienceDirect Topics.” Www.sciencedirect.com, 2020, www.sciencedirect.com/topics/psychology/zone-of-proximal-development#:~:text=The%20zone%20of%20proximal%20development%20(ZPD%20or%20Zoped)%20is%20defined.

# data[].attributes.body
To evaluate if we have delivered the learning objectives as designed, we implemented three forms of evaluation using a mix of using qualitative methods like self-reflection and feedback and quantitative methods like a Google form quiz.

By utilizing the Gibbs Reflective Cycle [1], to give structure to my self-reflection of this activity, I made a few key conclusions. During the hands-on activity, the heart rate traces produced were inconsistent due to an unreliable setup. As compared to the same setup which I did at home before the activity, the heart rate graphs were consistent and stable. This suggests that the inconsistent heart rate traces on the day of the outreach, was likely due to the presence of noise in the surroundings. The addition of a bandpass filter to remove unwanted frequency bands should have helped stabilize the heart rate traces [2].Additionally, two setups could have been made during the event. One setup without a bandpass filter and another with a bandpass filter, to allow students to understand the function of the filter by comparing the outputs of these two setups.

Furthermore, during the activity, some students showed low engagement and interest, likely due to the fast-paced nature of the activity. As one of the demonstrators, I could have made a more active effort to interact with these students and timed our delivery better to give more time on more advanced learning outcomes like 4th and 5th learning outcomes.

Furthermore, we had initially planned for the students to build parts of the circuit themselves in order to get hands on experience with a basic breadboard circuit, allowing them to work through the problem using their own reasoning with the guidance we provided them with. But unfortunately, due to the number of students at the booth and the lack of time.  we improvised the setup on the day to turn it into more of a demonstration.

works cited
1.The University of Edinburgh. “Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle.” The University of Edinburgh, 11 Nov. 2020, www.ed.ac.uk/reflection/reflectors-toolkit/reflecting-on-experience/gibbs-reflective-cycle#:~:text=One%20of%20the%20most%20famous.

2.“Band-Pass Filter.” Wikipedia, 19 Mar. 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Band-pass_filter#:~:text=In%20a%20receiver%2C%20a%20bandpass.

# data[].attributes.headline
SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities)

# data[].attributes.subject
SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities)

# data[].attributes.body
In the process of designing our activity, we inadvertently failed to consider the needs of students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) [1] and we were given no additional information of the need to design an activity for students with SEND [1] in mind.

It is likely that there were students with SEND, in this event given that special arrangements and policies were in place for students with SEND on the school's website[1]. Therefore, it can be very helpful to read and understand these policies when designing a learning activity.

Here are a few of my own general guidelines when it comes to designing an engineering practical like this one for students with SEND.

1. Understand the type of special needs that the student(s) have

2.Accessibility: Every part of the activity needs to be accessible to students including those with visual, auditory, or cognitive impairments. Research beforehand. For instance, for students with some visual Depending on their level of cognitive impariment, maybe avoid using complex programming languages. Instead, opt for simpler and more visual programming languages like Scratch[2] or Blockly[3]. They include a beautiful and intuitive User Interface that allows the use of drag-and-drop blocks instead of text-based coding.

3. Be sure to always be emphathetic and patient

Works Cited

1. “What Is SEND? - Eltham Hill School.” Www.elthamhill.com, www.elthamhill.com/236/what-is-send. Accessed 26 Apr. 2023.

2.Wikipedia Contributors. “Scratch (Programming Language).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 24 Oct. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scratch_(programming_language).

3.“Blockly  |  Google Developers.” Google Developers, 2019, developers.google.com/blockly.

# data[].attributes.body
Another form of qualitative feedback came from observers of our activity. Julie Hoang, our module leader for the Communicating Biomedical Science and Engineering module and chaperone for this outreach activity, gave us her feedback at the end of the activity. According to Julie, the activity was well thought out and well-resourced with various teaching media. The use of visual prompts in the posters we designed allowed students of all levels to engage and share their knowledge in an inclusive way. The demonstrators adapted their delivery to different groups of students to accommodate for the limited time. The use of informal questioning throughout the activity was purposeful and the demonstrators showed professionalism and knowledge of their activity. Flyers could have been given out at the end of the activity to interested students to follow up on their interest. Overall, it was a fantastic activity to introduce students to creating their own heart rate monitor.  Additionally, Rosemary Osborne, the assistant headteacher of Eltham Hill School expressed that the students thoroughly enjoyed the activity.

From this feedback, I believed that we have successfully …

1.     Engaged students in a fun activity

2.     Increased their science capital

# data[].attributes.body
Feedback Directly from Julie (Copied from her email)

The activity presented was well thought out and resourced. It encompassed different teaching media such as printed visuals, video, computer-based visuals as well as an interactive element which the students seemed to be quite engaged by.
I was impressed by the use of the visual prompts that allowed students of all levels of understanding to share their prior knowledge, this was a great way to capture attention and engage students in further discussion in an inclusive way.
With each group the presenters were able to quickly adapt their approach to deliver in a more efficient manner - this included breaking the activity into two parts and cutting out certain parts of the activity that could not be accommodated by the limited time allocated.

The session was delivered in a way that was relaxed but directed, informal questioning was purposeful and was used throughout.
Presenters were friendly and approachable and were professional and knowledgeable in their delivery of the teaching.
Given the nature of the sessions (repeated 20 minute blocks) it may have been difficult to add more interactivity however allowing more students to interact at a time could have increased engagement levels. Printing on one side rather than two sides of the sheets could have also allowed a slightly smoother delivery.
On a final note it could be beneficial to have a leaflet or flyer to hand out at the end so that interested students could follow up on their interest but all in all a fantastic activity to introduce students to creating their own pulse monitor.

# data[].attributes.body
The quantitative assessment here took the form of a short quiz, in the form of a Google Form[1]. The use of constructive alignment[2] is extremely important here in designing our quiz to ensure the assessment aligns both with the learning objective and learning activity.

Unfortunately, we inadvertently didn't design this quiz and shared it on the day of the activity and it was only shared a few days after. Therefore, we only got a single response from an anonymized student.

Ideally, I would have hoped we can conduct  a more comprehensive numerical assessment of the success or failure of our learning activity from the quiz, showing key metrics like the overall mean and median score of the quiz. Furthermore,for every question, the distribution of the score can be visualized and the mean calculated to identify the performance of the class for that learning outcome. This could have suggested and identified the parts of the teaching activity that need more time and explanation.

However, it can also be argued that this form of assessment is too formal for such an activity, in a Year 8 Career’s fair, although a quiz of this nature will allow a critical evaluation of the extent to which our teaching activity has met each intended learning objectives. For future events, it may be recommended to offer this quiz as an optional, formative [3]assessment, while withholding the display of any grades to reduce the formality of the assessment.

Works Cited
1.“Eltham Hill School Careers Day - Student Evaluation.” Google Docs, docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf81rMBqTTIK1Bf9StS2RyXtKBqO8ce48G8Wsm4hIj2BgJdFg/viewform. Accessed 30 Apr. 2023.

2.Biggs, John. “Constructive Alignment.” John Biggs, 2011, www.johnbiggs.com.au/academic/constructive-alignment/.

3.“Formative Assessment - Google Search.” Www.google.com, www.google.com/search?q=formative+assessment&oq=formative+asse&aqs=chrome.0.0i355i433i512i543j46i340i433i512j0i433i512j69i57j0i512l2j0i20i263i512j0i512j0i20i263i512j0i512.3639j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8. Accessed 30 Apr. 2023.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Respond recorded for the 1st question in our Google Form [1]

# data[].attributes.headline
Quantitative Assessment: Learing Outcome 1

# data[].attributes.subject
Quantitative Assessment: Learing Outcome 1

# data[].attributes.body
Learning Outcome 1: Understand the different applications of bioengineering.

Despite only recording a single response, it provided insightful comments to our activity, it seemed to suggest that might have left out key pieces of information in our learning activity. For instance, in the first question, the student left out the answer, “Developing medical devices”. It is possible that some parts of the poster were taught superficially, without providing sufficient explanation. There is variability to our teaching with each group at our booth, given that we facilitated our discussion based on their interests and response.

Works Cited
1.“Eltham Hill School Careers Day - Student Evaluation.” Google Docs, docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf81rMBqTTIK1Bf9StS2RyXtKBqO8ce48G8Wsm4hIj2BgJdFg/viewform. Accessed 30 Apr. 2023.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Respond recorded for the 2nd question in our Google Form

# data[].attributes.headline
Quantitative Assessment: Learing Outcome 2

# data[].attributes.subject
Quantitative Assessment: Learing Outcome 2

# data[].attributes.body
Learning Outcome 2: Understand the basic use of ECG machines in hospitals [1]

The second objective shows that the student understood the second learning objective.

Works Cited
1.“Eltham Hill School Careers Day - Student Evaluation.” Google Docs, docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf81rMBqTTIK1Bf9StS2RyXtKBqO8ce48G8Wsm4hIj2BgJdFg/viewform. Accessed 30 Apr. 2023.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Respond recorded for the 3rd question in our Google Form [1]

# data[].attributes.headline
Quatitative Assessment: Learing Outcome 3

# data[].attributes.subject
Quatitative Assessment: Learing Outcome 3

# data[].attributes.body
Learning Outcome 3: Understand and differentiate between the 2 different methods of heart rate measurement (electrical (ECG) and optical(PPG).

The student’s answer here indicates a partial understanding of the types of signals used in PPG and EEG.

Works Cited
1.“Eltham Hill School Careers Day - Student Evaluation.” Google Docs, docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf81rMBqTTIK1Bf9StS2RyXtKBqO8ce48G8Wsm4hIj2BgJdFg/viewform. Accessed 30 Apr. 2023.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Respond recorded for the 4th question in our Google Form [1]

# data[].attributes.headline
Quatitative Assessment: Learing Outcome 3

# data[].attributes.subject
Quatitative Assessment: Learing Outcome 3

# data[].attributes.body
Learning Outcome 3: Understand and differentiate between the 2 different methods of heart rate measurement (electrical (ECG) and optical(PPG).

The student’s answer here indicates a wrong understanding in the type of signal a smartwatch used to detect heart rate.

Works Cited
1.“Eltham Hill School Careers Day - Student Evaluation.” Google Docs, docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf81rMBqTTIK1Bf9StS2RyXtKBqO8ce48G8Wsm4hIj2BgJdFg/viewform. Accessed 30 Apr. 2023.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Respond recorded for the 5th question in our Google Form [1]

# data[].attributes.headline
Quatitative Assessment: Learing Outcome 4

# data[].attributes.subject
Quatitative Assessment: Learing Outcome 4

# data[].attributes.body
Learning Outcome 4: Understand how wearables such as smart watches use PPG to detect heart rate.

Given that this question was relatively challenging, it is commendable that the student understood this.

Works Cited
1.“Eltham Hill School Careers Day - Student Evaluation.” Google Docs, docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf81rMBqTTIK1Bf9StS2RyXtKBqO8ce48G8Wsm4hIj2BgJdFg/viewform. Accessed 30 Apr. 2023.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Respond recorded for the 6th question in our Google Form [1]

# data[].attributes.headline
Quatitative Assessment: Learing Outcome 5

# data[].attributes.subject
Quatitative Assessment: Learing Outcome 5

# data[].attributes.body
Learning Outcome 5: Understand the use of the Arduino/microprocessor and Pulse Sensor in the circuit.

The student’s incorrect response, suggests that we might have not explained the name of the device used.

Works Cited
1.“Eltham Hill School Careers Day - Student Evaluation.” Google Docs, docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf81rMBqTTIK1Bf9StS2RyXtKBqO8ce48G8Wsm4hIj2BgJdFg/viewform. Accessed 30 Apr. 2023.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Respond recorded for the 7th question in our Google Form [1]

# data[].attributes.body
Here, the student suggest that she didn't seem to have a strong understanding of Biomedical Engineering at the end of the activity.

However, it is important to note that it is difficult to draw strong conclusions from a single response that is indicative of the overall comprehension of the class on our activity.

Works Cited
1.“Eltham Hill School Careers Day - Student Evaluation.” Google Docs, docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf81rMBqTTIK1Bf9StS2RyXtKBqO8ce48G8Wsm4hIj2BgJdFg/viewform. Accessed 30 Apr. 2023.

# data[].attributes.body
Here are more suggested, future improvements of this activity is written with different stakeholders in mind.

1. Demonstrators
a.Practising the delivery more beforehand
Timed, practice deliveries will help to ensure the event runs better.

2. School/Organising Committee
To help ensure the event runs smoothly, the organising committee can group students into teams beforehand and schedule teams to come in at scheduled time slots.

For instance, 3-5 students are assingned to a group for a 15 minute session.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Risk Assessment for the Arduino Heart Rate monitor Activity

# data[].attributes.body
As part of the preparation for this activity, Maryam and I jointly completed a Risk Assessment. Every student in this module were required to be familiar with Imperial's SafeGuarding policy[2] and complete a quiz to ensure we were well-equipped for our outreach activities.

It is also important to note that any activity done with young children might require a DBS[1] check.

Works Cited

1.Government Digital Service. “Check Someone’s Criminal Record as an Employer.” GOV.UK, 4 Sept. 2017, www.gov.uk/dbs-check-applicant-criminal-record/get-a-standard-or-enhanced-dbs-check-for-an-employee.

2.“Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy.” Imperial College London, www.imperial.ac.uk/be-inspired/schools-outreach/about-outreach-team/safeguarding-child-protection-policy/.

# data[].attributes.headline
Reflections on some Current Issues in Science Communication 

# data[].attributes.subject
Reflections on some Current Issues in Science Communication 

# data[].attributes.body
1. Digital Divide
It is important to remember that unfortunately not all students have the same access to technology needed for online learning activities. This can exacerbate existing educational inequalities.

2. Racism in Education in the UK
https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CDP-2023-0049/CDP-2023-0049.pdf