SAW in the classroom during 2009

Norfolk County Council SAW initiative 2009 - 10

Comments from teachers

“The quality of some of the children’s writing was fantastic. They were inspired by their own uniqueness.“

“The children were certainly surprised by the outcomes of the poetry work. When told initially that they were going to write poetry, they said, quite clearly, that they couldn’t. But they did and very well too.”

“The children were disappointed that Tuesday [the next day] was just an ordinary day”

“The scientific pictures really stirred the children’s imaginations in writing poetry. I was surprised by the quality of the poetry. Our children always respond well to visitors in the school, but there was a real buzz in the classroom the whole day.”

“The quality of some of the children’s writing was fantastic. They were inspired by their own uniqueness.“

“Children were enthusiastic about all the activities, not just one. Children had good ideas of their own about what could be done, and acted on this. Children talked about the day for some time after the event.”

“I was surprised by how long the children could concentrate when they worked in small groups with adult support in producing high quality work.”

“SAW is an excellent project that helps bring curriculum areas together. Children responded very well to all three activities.”

Comments from scientists

“I liked the way different aspects of the projects appealed more to some, so during the whole experience I felt like I saw each of the children at their most animated. It was rewarding when they got so excited at times by contributing to the class with words and ideas. I felt like they all gained something from the experience and I certainly did in having a chance to work individually with these children who have such difficulties. The ideas that resulted from this work were very inspiring and do not show the challenges that they have in order to achieve such work.”
Caroline Smith, Department of Metabolic Biology, John Innes Centre

“I knew how enthusiastic the kids could be… what really surprised me was how much I enjoyed working with them and seeing what they could achieve once one found the right stimulus.”
Trevor Wang, Department of Metabolic Biology, John Innes Centre

“The experience has been wholly positive… a wonderful way to bring science to young children, and the convergence of the scientific concepts together with poetry and art helped to create an experience that I'm sure will stay with many of these children for their whole lives. We in Bio are extremely keen to participate again in SAW and we see this as an ideal way to engage our science with everyday life.”
Dylan Edwards, Head of School, School of Biological Sciences, UEA