‌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].

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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.

 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 1^st 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.

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. 

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.

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.

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 2^nd and 3^rd 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.

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

 

 

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 4^th and 5^th 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.

From this feedback, I believed that we have successfully …

1.     Engaged students in a fun activity

2.     Increased their science capital

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. 

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. 

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/.