As a former Science teacher, I know only too well the problems associated with the practical teaching of electrical circuits and electronics. The educational challenge starts all the way back at primary level teaching.
The first kit to be designed was aimed at Key Stage 1 & 2, and is called, not unnaturally, the Primary kit. Get the basics right and the rest will follow. For class teachers whose knowledge and understanding of electricity is a little rusty, the kit offers an easy route to get the basics right.
The Primary kit is designed with simplicity in mind, with easy-to-put-together parts. It makes teaching a lot easier, adds to the learning experience and increases the pupil’s enjoyment.
As there is a lack of equipment, in many primary schools the electric circuit modules tend to be glossed over, or all too frequently only go as far as lighting a bulb with a battery and two wires. This skimping of the subject is a lost opportunity, as pupils are engaged by a hands-on experiment.
This practical experience serves to inspire pupils in a relevant and rewarding subject, that some will end up using well beyond the classroom.
Looking at how best to help teachers, I started by looking at some of the myths that need to be overcome.
The Myths include:
- “It is too hard for teachers and pupils”
- “It is too expensive for schools”
- “It takes up too much class time”
- “Girls cannot or will not do it”
Myth 1 - It is too hard for teachers and pupils
To dispel this myth, we needed to make electric circuits easier for teachers and pupils alike. We had to get away from the idea of using wires and crocodile clips. The wires never went in straight lines, so it was difficult to follow the circuit, and the crocodile clips were forever breaking off and needing to be replaced!
The solution was to use plastic strips with wires on the underside and press-studs to join components such as bulbs, motors, buzzers, switches etc. A baseboard ensures that everything is securely mounted. To make it even easier for users, all the parts are colour coded and numbered and these colour and number codes carried over to the manual and storage box.
This method of building a circuit is so simple that children of all abilities can enjoy it. Mistakes are corrected in seconds, so maintaining a high level of interest.
With the mechanics sorted, I turned to the experimental material documented in the QCA scheme of work. This material is excellent provided you have a good working knowledge of electricity and understand such terms as series and parallel circuits, direction of current flow etc., but for most, it needed further demystifying!
What seemed to be needed was a manual detailing each experiment with a picture showing the layout of the components and a description of how the circuit works. To complete the kit, a section for rusty teachers and parents to bring their knowledge up-to-date was included.
Each kit has a comprehensive manual that starts with a teacher/parent guide to electricity. Then follows worksheets based on the QCA schemes of work covering units 2F, 4F and 6G. Each worksheet has a picture of the circuit and a description of how each circuit works. At the end of the manual are some fun circuits for extracurricular use or home experimentation. These include a sound module to replicate the sound of a machine gun, a police car and an ambulance!
Myth 2 - It is too expensive for schools
To keep the cost as low as possible, all the parts have been sourced from the Far East and because of this, the Primary kit has an education price of £9.50 plus VAT.
The kit is suitable for pupils working in pairs, so a class set of 16 kits for 30 pupils including one for the teacher would cost only £152.00 plus VAT. Each kit requires 4 AA size batteries that are not included in the kit.
Myth 3 - It takes up too much class time
Most of the circuits in the Primary kit can be constructed in less than 2 minutes!
Each component has its own place in the storage box and as they are all colour coded and numbered, it is easy to select only the parts required for an experiment. Other parts need not be removed. At the end of the session, it is just as simple to check if all the parts have been returned. Conducting an experiment, making notes, and putting all the parts away, can be comfortably done in less than thirty minutes.
Myth 4 - Girls cannot or will not do it
The kits are visually attractive with brightly coloured parts so they appeal to girls and boys alike. Girls who think that they cannot do electric circuits soon discover that because of the press studs, the circuits are very easy to put together. Soon, building circuits become fun and, if it doesn’t work, it only takes a few seconds to correct the mistake. If further proof is required that girls do enjoy electric circuits, just look at some of the photographs. Everybody enjoys success and Cambridge Brainbox kits make success easy to achieve.
Cambridge BrainBox extends the range of kits
There are now 5 other kits in the Cambridge Brainbox Electronic range: The Primary Plus, Sensors and Alarms, Secondary, Explorer and Cars and Boats.
As another tool for Primary level children, we have introduced Sensors and Alarms. This kit demonstrates how electrics/electronics can be used to monitor everyday situations. The kit uses electronics to demonstrate how to check if it is raining, how to monitor the water level in your bath, how to switch lights on and off automatically, when daylight fades, how to check if a door or window has been opened etc. The education price for Sensors and Alarms is £6.50+VAT
Primary Plus kit is aimed more at after school clubs or the home user, and could be used to extend the range of the Primary kit. This kit is designed not so much as a teaching kit, but more with fun in mind. It contains almost all of the elements of the Primary kit, but includes more sound modules, an AM radio module, and the Sensors and Alarms parts. The manual does not have the QCA worksheets, but there is a good explanation as to how and why the circuits work.
The education price for the Primary Plus kit is £19.50+VAT.
The Secondary kit helps with the teaching of electricity and electronics at Key stage 3 and covers year 7 unit 7J. The kit includes most of the parts from the Primary Plus and includes a multimeter to measure voltage and current. The manual has worksheets following the QCA scheme of work and has details of several hundred further experiments.
The education price for the Secondary kit is £27.50+VAT.
The ‘top of the range’ electronics kit is the Explorer. This kit offers an introduction to solid state technology including the working of transistors, diodes, thyristors and 7 segment displays etc. Also included in the kit is an AM and FM radio module and all the parts of the Sensors and Alarms kit. The Explorer kit is aimed at the upper end of Key Stage 3, or as an introduction to electronics at Key Stage 4. The manual details over 800 different experiments. The education price for the Explorer kit is £33.50+VAT.
The final kit in the range is ‘Cars and Boats’. The kit fits in with the Design and Technology syllabus at Key Stage 2 and covers year 6 unit 6D Controllable Vehicles. Pupils can build a fan driven car, a gear driven car, a fan driven boat and a propeller driven boat. Enough parts are included to provide a basic introduction to electricity along with all the parts from the Sensors and Alarms kit.
The education price for Cars and Boats is £13.50+VAT.
For pictures, video and more information on the Cambridge Brainbox products see:
www.cambridgebrainbox.co.uk or call 01279 821333 for a brochure.
