Second-level at third-level - Leaving Cert Science for Schools Programme
11 February 2004

Irish secondary school students have taken an impressive initiative in their own education. Realising that a fresh perspective can improve the learning experience, enthusiastic students have travelled to DCU to make use of the college's labs. They took part in DCU's 'Leaving Cert Science for Schools' programme which lets students try out experiments from their syllabus, in the university laboratory, using equipment unavailable to most schools.

With the Leaving Certificate examinations looming, these students have shown commendable dedication by taking the time to participate in this programme. They obviously know exactly what they need and exactly how to get it.

Schools from Dublin, Meath, Louth and Leitrim participated in the programme and Gillian Murphy, the organiser at DCU, hopes that it will continue to grow. 'I would like to see DCU's entire schools liaison programme extend and develop further into the future,' she said. 'The experiments are invaluable and it would be great if we could offer the service to all schools'.

Joe Reville, author of Rapid Revision: Biology, a biology teacher from Terenure College, in Dublin, was very enthusiastic about the programme. He said that it was a good opportunity for students to 'see what a university laboratory looks like'. Because of the large number of demonstrators present, the students received lots of attention and learned a great deal of background information on lab work. Mr Reville pointed out that the trip to DCU afforded the students a 'real experience' in a lab, complete with lab coats and a wide range of high-quality equipment. He said that it was an advantage to have the experiments set up in advance by dedicated lab technicians because it saved time and allowed the students to try several experiments in one morning. Another plus was that all of the experiments worked properly, something which, as every science student knows, doesn't always happen in school laboratories.

The demonstrators, Mr Reville stated, were very approachable and happy to discuss career choices with the students. This was an invaluable opportunity for the students to learn about courses and careers they are interested in and maybe some that they had not previously heard about. Sharon Davin, from DCU's School of Biotechnology, said, 'I feel that this scheme really captured the enjoyment of laboratory work and everyone involved, including the instructors, had a renewed love for biology.'

'Teachers also benefit from this programme', Mr Reville said. An average teacher will spend years teaching from the same textbook and this can make it difficult to keep up-to-date with 'modern ideas and approaches'. By attending the programme at DCU, Mr. Reville was able to find out exactly what methods are currently used in a university laboratory. He mentioned that he would like to maintain contact with DCU, in order to stay in touch with new ideas and so that he will be able to offer his students the best possible learning experience.

Janice Corrigan, a biology teacher from Dunshaughlin Community School in Meath, said that the programme was 'well-organised', that it made Leaving Certificate revision easier for her students and she approved of the fact that DCU were able to provide apparatus that her class would otherwise be unable to access. She mentioned, in particular, a biology experiment involving a fermentation lock, a piece of equipment that Dunshaughlin Community School does not possess.

'Time-wise,' she said, 'the programme reduced preparation time because experienced demonstrators were present to set up all of the experiments.' This is a major advantage to a secondary school science teacher who may have to spend hours preparing materials for one class. She also mentioned another experiment, involving DNA extraction, which is normally learned from a textbook because it requires specialised equipment not available to the average science class. At DCU, however, the students gained first-hand experience with this experiment, providing a solid foundation to 'support the abstract ideas' encountered in the textbook.

Don Sheahan, a biology teacher from St. Joseph's secondary school, in Dublin, also addressed the fact that most secondary schools cannot afford all of the necessary equipment and that, because of this, they are very much dependant on the participation of institutions such as DCU.

'The programme,' he pointed out, 'is a very important link between second and third level education'. Sharon Davin, one of the programme's organisers from the DCU school of Biotechnology, feels the same way about this connection: 'We are aware of the need for stronger links between second and third level educators and are delighted to be taking such a positive step in this direction here at DCU.'

One Notre Dame, Dublin, secondary school chemistry student Louise Brennan commented on how impressed she was with the accuracy of the mass balances, illustrating the fact that University laboratories have access to much better equipment than the average secondary school laboratory. Thanks to their trip to DCU, these students have had experience with equipment which most secondary school science students would never see.

A physics student from Ashbourne Community School, Meath, Fiachra O'Coigligh, said that he always had a major interest in the arts but, since attending the programme at DCU, he realised that science can be just as colourful and exciting as the arts. One reason he gave for this was the fact that the 'demonstrators made it easier to follow the experiments'.

The programme is organised by Gillian Murphy and involves the participation of Sharon Davin, Odilla Finlayson, from the DCU chemistry department, Eilish McLoughlin, from the physics department and many dedicated postgrads. Eilish McLoughlin believes that part of the reason for the success of this programme is its relevance and the fact that it is firmly based in the current Leaving Certificate syllabus. She feels that this programme is an excellent way to overcome the fact that many schools cannot afford all of the equipment necessary to do all of the experiments on the syllabus. Another positive aspect is that the programme demonstrates the relevance of science to careers. Echoing Joe Reville's and Janice Corrigan's opinions, Gillian Murphy said, 'Teachers are under enormous pressure to cover new curricula as well as manage a lab without any assistance.'

The students benefited enormously from their trip to DCU and it proves that those who make the effort will always reap the rewards 'especially during the Leaving Certificate where knowledge is paramount. DCU's Sharon Davin pointed out that 'This [programme] is highly invaluable given the pressures of the Leaving Cert year.' She went on to say that, 'The sense of achievement was certainly evident in all the students.'