Meeting students' needs

Designers often consider particular kinds of people - persona - when deciding how their product must work to produce the desired benefits. For Project Science we considered three year 9 student persona, and how the course would make them more likely to pursue science.

Alys, who believes she’s not good enough for science

Alys is passionate about the environment. Prevented from studying triple science by her grades, she assumed she is not good enough for a science career.

She takes Project Science, chooses an investigation on reducing air pollution, and is supported by a university scientist mentor. In year 11 she extends her project and a gains an EPQ. She now wants to apply for an environmental science course at university.

Billy, who has a negative science identity

Billy, from an under-represented ethnic minority, believes ‘science is not for me’.

He takes Project Science where the teaching programme presents him with diverse case studies and extended experience of working like a scientist. Gradually he comes to see himself as the kind of person who could works in science and he’s now doing a science A level.

Carl, who is unaware of engineering

Carl loves building gadgets but finds little in the curriculum to connect to his interests, and is unaware of engineering as a career.

Project Science allows him to design and make a spacecraft, and in his second year designs a computer-controlled landing gear, which he enters for an Arkwright Engineering Award, and then goes on to study T-Level in Engineering & Manufacturing.