Girls in Science - Promotional videos 13:19

In the United Kingdom, and through most of the world, the education gap in Science between girls and boys is the widest in the UK reports state. I have found a few sources on the web which have investigated this issue.

This issue is especially a problem in the UK as we have the widest gap out of all developed countries.

"This gender gap is bigger in Britain than in any other developed country, the study by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) concluded."

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/5389227/Boys-outperform-girls-in-science-in-Britain.html

"The analysis of the 2006 Pisa (Programme for International Assessment) results showed boys in the UK scored on average 10 points higher in the science tests than girls. The average was two points. "

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/8070745.stm

"Boys outperform girls in the sciences to a greater extent in the UK than in any other developed country, a study of 57 countries published today reveals."

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/may/26/science-boys-better-results

These are worrying reports and we felt that as a group we would like to think up some issues to why girls aren't performing as well as boys in science exams. We would like to try and make a difference by creating some promotional videos about how girls can do well in science.

The group has a client; Mrs Davies, - Head of Science - Park Hall Academy. We are due to organise a meeting with Mrs Davies and we are going to create a brief ourselves for this work.

Appeal - Perhaps the subject doesn't feel right for many of the students, maybe they think of stereotypes and how males are often focused upon in the science industry.

Shy - Some girls may think that if they are out-going in subjects; perhaps more inparticular in Science that they may seem 'nerdy' or 'masculine'.

Afraid of Failure - Girls may want to be certain that what they are doinjg, they will succeed in. They may want to stay in a comfort zone and be sure what they are doing is correct. If this is the case then we will need to re-assure girls that it is trying which matters most.

I, myself am male so it will be difficult for me to understand why this statistic is around but it is. I studied GCSE Double Award Science with two B's, we have Danielle in our group, she studied GCSE Double Award with 2 C's. It is good to have a girl in the group who has studied the same course as I so we can both get a good understanding of the subject we are going to be investigating.

Danielle and I attended a business and education links meeting where the Academy held a stall at Solihull College to demonstrate how we could help local business and some charities also attended the event. We went as student ambassadors and we shown attendee's work with Academy Radio and its website with advertising space, as well as videos from the fashion show.

We met a lady who was ambassading 'Skirting for Science" which is an initiative to get girls interested in studying and taking up jobs in science. They have ran workshops in Weston and are planning on holding workshops for Solihull in March, 2012. As the event will be towards the end of my time on this course, the group shall be making promotional videos for the idea, of getting girls interested in Science. We will still be promoting Skirting for Science but we won't be able to use footage of the event due to time constraints. We will be speaking to the lady representing Skirting for Science and see if we can get hold of any footage from their event at Weston College.

Client Meeting:


Friday 4th November - 2:00PM

Today, we held a meeting with our client, Mrs Davies. This was our first meeting and we went prepared. The group felt it would be important to make the right first impression so before the meeting we brainstormed the areas that we would like to cover. Giving the right first impression would set a good foundation for the relationship with the client and the project itself. Notes follow:

Ultimate product: Promotional Video

Narrative would be great to show an interesting experiment which is in the curriculum for Year 9 students.

The promotional videos should include both Male and Female students. A clip in the promotional video could mention the Skirting Science project.

Creating three consecutive promotional videos including one for Skirting Science, one for Main School Science and one for A-Level Sciences.

The promotional video should be timeline based. Begin with main school science from Year 9 onwards (TA - Year 8 students choosing options), A-Level Science (TA - Year 11 Students making choices for Sixth Form) and Skirting Science at the end (TA - To interest female students in the career opportunities available to them).

Interview three students who study A-Level Chemistry.

A problem in the science department - Only six students taking science in Sixth Form.

Video should inspire Year 8's.

Year 11's shouldn't be filmed as there is no real need as the video is aimed towards them, thus not needing them to be in the video.

We should check out the Science Labs and identify the laboratory with the best lighting.

To Research: An idea of what kind of things create a visual impact.

Summary of meeting:

Promotional video

• Film the week before we break up for Christmas.
• We will film year 9’s, 10’s and the AS and A2 group.
• For year 9 open evening and year 11 going into a level.
• Video will start with the triple science GCSE group showing experiments, then how it can be advanced in year 12-13 with exciting experiments.

Our research:

What things create a visual impact?
Link to blog post I made

What lighting style we need?
Natural

What lab to use?
LG7

How long do we want the promotional video to be?
Around six minutes

How long do we want participants to talk for?
About 30 seconds each

Equipment:

• Camera
• Microphone
• Tri-pod
• Lights
• Lighting Shield

Issues to discuss in our next meeting (Friday November 11th)

-Lab to use

-Buzz words