The enterprising science teacher going that extra mile ...
In November 2007 she was one of four teachers taking part in a daring and innovative project called ‘Teachers on Ice’, which saw them go to Antarctica for one month to carry out scientific research related to coping with environmental extremes and climate change. The project was designed to raise pupils’ interest in science and education and they will be able to ask the teachers questions during their quest via the internet.
Amy says, “The project was initiated by the Fuchs Foundation to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first Trans-Antarctic crossing. It was a really tough selection process which involved interviews, presentations and sleep deprivation exercises. I’ve been training really hard for this for the last eighteen months and can’t wait to get going now!”
Such ventures are not cheap to organise, and Amy has had to be enterprising to make this trip happen. She explains, “I need to raise £10,000 and am nearly there now. Most of the money has come from corporate sponsorship, educational grants and various fundraising events.
I’ve had to think quite creatively to try and raise the funds that I needed. As part of my fundraising I set up a successful enterprise activity at my school giving pupils an opportunity to form small businesses to raise money for the expedition. It worked really well and the pupils involved really enjoyed having the opportunity to run a small business. As well as giving them an opportunity to lead their own project”
When they return, Amy and her fellow teachers will work with scientists from the Scott Polar Research Institute and the University of Nottingham to develop interactive teaching resources that can be used at schools.
Fore more inspiring stories from Make your Mark please visit http://www.makeyourmark.org.uk/inspiring_stories .
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Comments
Added: Tuesday, 25 August 2009, 16:10
Wow that sounds amazing, does The Youth of Today have any programmes that could do this kind of thing in my school?