A still from the JAMES film
Marianne Cutler and Liz
Lawrence introduce a new ASE
cross-curricular resource pack
that explores Edward Jenner’s
discovery of vaccination
S
mallpox was one of the most deadly
diseases mankind has ever known
but, thanks to work started by
Jenner, it was the first and is still the only
human disease to have been completely
eradicated. Many older primary school
children study this when learning about
microorganisms. This new resource from
the Association for Science Education
(ASE), aimed at children aged 9–11,
centres around a 15-minute film drama
entitled JAMES, which tells the story of
Jenner’s discovery through the eyes of
James Phipps, the 8-year-old boy whom
Jenner used in his experiments in 1796.
The resource
JAMES is supported by a package
of resources designed to guide and
inspire teachers to extend work across
the curriculum, linking science with
literacy, history, drama and ethics, in
keeping with many developing curricula
today. Children explore the history
and science of Jenner’s discovery and
its huge legacy in terms of modern
immunology and humanity’s continuing
fight against disease. They develop their
understanding of working scientifically,
applying their skills in engaging, real-life
contexts.
There are several separate sections,
with two core resources, which have a
strong focus on ‘working scientifically’
(see Box 1). The materials are designed
so that teachers can be flexible in how
many of the other resources they use and
in what order, although a recommended
pathway is available on the schoolscience
website (see end).
Development
Twenty-six primary schools, divided into
three groups, were involved in trials and
development of the Jenner resource:
1 Four schools in the London Borough
of Barking and Dagenham and three
schools in Northamptonshire and
Warwickshire, through their involvement
in the Primary Science Quality Mark
(PSQM). Their teachers attended a faceto-face CPD session before starting the
Box 1 The Why you’ll never catch smallpox resources
Smallpox – the speckled monster (core resource). Centres on a simulation of a smallpox
outbreak in a village circa 1796. It enables the children to explore the observations that led Jenner
to his discovery and the scientific processes Jenner used in his experiments to test his hypothesis
about cowpox providing protection from smallpox. This activity also features extracts from Jenner’s
publication citing his real case studies, and a graph-drawing and interpretation exercise using data
from a real smallpox outbreak in the town of Warrington in 1773.
Find out more
We hope to publish articles from some of
the pilot school teachers in future issues
of Primary Science, focusing on:
working scientifically through
simulation activities (‘Smallpox – the
speckled monster’ and ‘Measles alert!’)
and the ‘Dr Edward Jenner, immunologist’
ethics activity on modern-day trials;
working scientifically using secondary
sources of evidence (‘History detectives’
activity);
exploring characterisation and
interpretation of Jenner’s work (‘Strength
of character’ and ‘Making movies’
activities).
Measles alert! (core resource). An interactive simulation of a modern measles outbreak, using
real data from the 2013 Swansea epidemic. Children take on roles as scientists, data analysts,
healthcare workers and media communicators. They analyse the outbreak, discover that the cause
of the outbreak is a low uptake of the MMR vaccine and then try to bring it under control.
Why you’ll never catch smallpox was
launched at ASE’s 2016 Annual
Conference and the resources are freely
available on ASE’s schoolscience website:
www.schoolscience.org.uk
History detectives. A literacy and history of science activity that looks at the historical evidence
about Edward Jenner and James Phipps, the early reaction to Jenner’s work in the first part of the
19th century and how the events leading up the first vaccination are portrayed in the JAMES film.
These resources were developed by ASE in
partnership with media production company
James Films, with support from the Wellcome
Trust.
Dr Edwina Jenner, immunologist. A discussion-based ethics and history of science activity
comparing the ethics and scientific processes of Jenner’s work with modern clinical trials.
Strength of character. A literacy-focused activity about the importance of characters in
storytelling, which explores the characters of James and Dr Jenner in the JAMES film.
Making movies. A literacy-, film- and science-focused activity, which looks at the different
creative elements of filmmaking. Children produce their own ‘what happened next’ films to follow
on from the JAMES film, using their creative skills, illustrating their scientific understanding and
vocabulary. This is a great activity for self- and teacher-assessment.
Key words:
pilot, and groups of children took part
in professionally led workshops based
around the ‘Making movies’ activity.
2 Four schools in the locality of Dr
Jenner’s House museum, Gloucestershire.
Their teachers attended a face-to-face
CPD session at Dr Jenner’s House
museum and received a subsidy for a
class visit to the museum during the
project.
3 Fifteen schools recruited through ASE
and PSQM in various parts of England.
Their teachers attended a live interactive
webinar.
All Group 1 schools and a sample of
Group 2 and 3 schools were visited
during the pilot, when their classes were
observed working with the resources,
groups of children were interviewed,
and teachers gave face-to-face feedback.
Two head teachers were also interviewed
and teachers completed an online survey
at the end of the pilot. This, together
with the many submitted annotated or
adapted versions of the resources and
examples of children’s work, helped
to ensure the final resources are fit for
purpose.
Marianne Cutler, Helen Harden
and Liz Lawrence (ASE) with Terhi
Kylliäinen and Felix Levinson (James
Films).
Cross-curricular links
Primary Science 141 Jan/Feb 2016
31
32
Primary Science 141 Jan/Feb 2016