Produced by the Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS), this case study looks at the theme of harnessing technology. Petroc is a further education college in the South West of England. This case study describes how the college tackled the professional development of science staff in the area of teaching...

Produced by the Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS), this case study looks at the theme of harnessing technology. It describes the steps being taken by Hull College Science department staff to develop web-based resources in a virtual learning environment (VLE).

The science staff have undertaken a...

Produced by the Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS), this case study looks at the theme of harnessing technology. By Birmingham Metropolitan College, the study describes how an e-learning mentor produced a series of video clips relating to the mathematics curriculum. These were made available to view on...

A Catalyst article describing the use of smart materials to help people with disabilities. Many more people with physical and mental disabilities are leading independent lives at home, thanks in part to recent technological developments. The article focuses on one project which makes use of smart materials to help...

Produced by the Learning Skills Improvement Service, these materials help to demonstrate effective practice. This case study looks at the themes of harnessing technology and curriculum development. North Nottinghamshire College received a grant from the East Midlands Development Agency to purchase computer...

Produced by the Learning Skills Improvement Service (LSIS), this case study tackles the themes of harnessing technology and curriculum development. It looks at how the biology department of City and Islington College set up, trialled and integrated a Moodle virtual learning environment (VLE).

The approach...

This document presents the executive summary and findings of a report which was carried out by a team from the Institute of Education, University of London, for the Wellcome Trust and published in 2001. It investigates how, and in which curriculum subjects, controversies arising from bioscience are tackled in...

This report, commissioned by the Nuffield Foundation, addresses two questions: • What is the range and type of research evidence from countries with high performance in mathematics that gives insights into the reasons for their relatively high position? • What constitutes high performance in mathematics learning...

A Catalyst article about the European Space Agency (ESA) which has sent the Venus Express spacecraft to explore Earth's cloudy neighbour. The purpose of the project, which is primarily to gather information about the atmosphere around Venus, is explained and is put into context with concerns about climate change on...

This report, from the Royal Society, expresses the belief that science and mathematics are at the heart of modern life and provide the foundations for economic prosperity and explains the Royal Society’s ambition for the next twenty years of science and mathematics education. That it should enable people to make...

Produced  in 2011 by the Learning Skills Improvement Service (LSIS), this case study looks at the themes of mathematics and progression through STEM. It describes the development of the mathematics provision at Abingdon and Witney College. The aim was to make maths more relevant to students, particularly those...

This Catalyst article is about a micro-hydroelectric power station on a river in Yorkshire. As oil prices soar and global warming threatens, the need for affordable green solutions to the energy crisis is ever increasing. Giant hydroelectric power stations, such as the Three Gorges Dam in China, will help to fulfil...

A Catalyst article looking at renewable energy. To tackle climate change and all the challenges imposed by the need to find alternative and reliable energy sources, there is one major resource that has remained untapped until now: wave power. This article describes the size of this resource and presents the leading...

The Wellcome Trust Monitor is a unique survey of UK adults' and young people's views of science, biomedical research and science education.

* Wave 1 (the baseline survey) was conducted in 2009 by the National Centre for Social Research who interviewed 1,179 adults and 374 young people.
*Wave 2 was...

A Catalyst article about whaling. During the last century whales were hunted and killed by many nations for the valuable materials they provided. Whale populations collapsed as a result. The article looks in detail at this example of human impact on the environment and details whale populations throughout the world...