150 ECAE students complete their training for ADSF

Over a hundred and fifty 4th yearstudents from Emirates College for Advanced Education (ECAE) recently completed their training workshops preparing them to act as Science Communicators at the Abu Dhabi Science Festival (ADSF) taking place from 18th to 26th November at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC) and the Abu Dhabi Corniche. Trainers from the Edinburgh International Science Festival (EISF) delivered these workshops on campus incorporated in the curriculum of the fall semester for the Bachelor of Education (B. Ed) students.

Professor Jim Mienczakowski, Vice Chancellor of ECAE, said, “Our students have greatly benefited from this opportunity. The skills acquired will prove to be highly beneficial for them in their future teaching careers. The College places great efforts on educating an elite caliber of teachers for the 21st Centuryintegratingnew ways and models thatenrich teaching and learning of younger kids through the innovative use of science. We want our students to gain a broad knowledge base and to highly posses practice-oriented teaching skills which they apply creatively during and after their teaching practice. We are pleased to be working with the Abu Dhabi Technology Development Committee (TDC), the organizer of the festival and their Edinburgh Science Team and are looking forward to seeing our students at the festival.”

Mr. Gameel Mohamed, a Science faculty member further added, “Many students have expressed their overwhelming appreciation after participating in the two day communication workshop. An array of communication skills was developed from simplifying complex messages to condensing long messages from capturing the audience’s attention to managing anxiety and all within the context of science”.

“The tutoring team were really looking forward to working with the ECAE: this was going to be a chance to work with the future educators of Abu Dhabi and see what they were capable of. We weren't disappointed. The college has inspiring future teachers, filled with good humour, an understanding of educational needs and a willingness to try new things. The course, led by Tom Pringle, focuses on developing communication skills in order to make science fun and engaging for the next generation. Although our time with each group was short, I know all of the tutoring team were thrilled to see how quickly the students picked up on this message, and all are excited by the potential implications for the classrooms of tomorrow”, said Sian Bevan, one of the trainers from the Edinburgh science team.

Students were assigned to different workshops based on their communication skills. They were trained to deliver workshops, facilitate interactive exhibitions and perform simple science demonstrations by role-playing different occupations such as surgeons, archaeologists or engineers. This was a great opportunity for students to also apply what they have learned over their 3 years of the B Ed program, integrating the science content and exploring interesting ways of engaging their audience, especially when introducing concepts to younger students.