Professor Dudley Shallcross

National Teaching Fellow 2004 Dudley Shallcross is a Professor of Atmospheric Chemistry in the School of Chemistry, and Director of the Primary Science Teaching Trust since 2010. Previously (2005-2010) he was Outreach Director for Bristol ChemLabS, the only HEFCE funded Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning in Practical Chemistry in the UK. His areas of expertise in Education cover science teaching from primary through to tertiary level, teacher training and CPD, adult learning and public engagement in science. He is particularly interested in transition from primary to secondary and from secondary to tertiary level education. In the Higher Education sphere he is concerned with how barriers to entry into Higher Education can be identified and removed. Recent evidence shows the considerable value of having a secondary school teacher (School Teacher Fellow) working alongside tertiary level practitioners in developing and maintaining congruence in the transition between secondary and tertiary level.  At undergraduate level he has been involved in the development of a Dynamic Laboratory Manual for practical chemistry that allows students to rehearse practicals before entering the laboratory, through video clips, active simulations of experiments and formative assessment. The DLM has been so successful that it is now in demand from Universities abroad and a post-16 level version for Chemistry was launched in September 2008. The DLM is designed to enhance the practical experience not to replace it and analysis, both at undergraduate and A level show that it is doing just that. A report as part of the innovative pedagogies initiative by the HEA shows the myriad benefits of pre-laboratory work on not just students but demonstrators, technicians and academics. He has also pioneered the 'Better use of Labs' project that has seen teaching laboratories used throughout the year by schools, the general public and other organisations. Through these interactions we have seen numerous positive benefits, not least by having a stream of secondary and primary school teachers passing through the laboratory advising and supporting our laboratory program so that we are able to understand better the learners that are coming to our HEI. Although no longer directly involved with the Bristol ChemLabS CETL the programme he set up continues to engage with over 30,000 people (aged from 4 to 85) each year in practical (hands-on) science, either at the School of Chemistry or in schools and other venues. The impact of this engagement can be seen through the increase in uptake of science at schools that are part of the project, an extreme case in one school being a rise from 5 to 65 students studying A level Chemistry in just three years. It is noteworthy that this is a self-funding activity and has been financially sustainable for the past seven years. Through the Primary Science Teaching Trust he has founded a College of Excellent Primary Science Teachers, winners of the Primary Science Teacher of the Year are inducted to the College as Fellows. This structure mirrors the NTF idea at tertiary level, with the difference being that these teachers collectively receive in excess of £500,000 a year. As a consequence, these teachers are transforming the landscape of teaching at primary school level, raising confidence in teaching in general but in science in particular.