ASE 2025 Annual Conference: Full Schedule

The ASE is delighted to be hosting its Annual Conference, generously sponsored by AQA, at the University of Nottingham from 9th to 11th January 2025. International sessions are incorporated throughout the event for this year and we will have a great exhibition with lots of exclusive Conference offers. Post-16 focus-day and for those involved in leading and delivering professional development, the Teacher Developers’ Group programme is Thursday. Friday is the dedicated Technicians day and Early Career Teacher day. Sessions for both Primary and 11-19 are threaded throughout all 3 days with a focus on Research on Saturday.
Book your tickets now at https://ase2025AnnConf.eventbrite.co.uk - and remember, if you are an ASE member you will benefit from hugely discounted prices! Check out our membership here - it’s free for Early Career Teachers and only £25 for Technicians!

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08:45 GMT

Alternative Visions of the Future - A research based approach to CCE

Saturday January 11, 2025 08:45 - 09:35 GMT

Coates C27

A cross curricular approach to teaching Year 8 students about Climate Change was developed based on the the model for a Meaningful Climate Change Education (Greer and Glackin, 2021). A number of different subjects including STEM, Humanities, Languages and Art taught students about issues relating to climate change and sustainability over a 3 week period.

The teaching sequence for each subject was developed through the lens of 'Alternative Visions of the Future', a core quality of a meaningful climate education. Students were asked to develop their own alternative vision of the future, explore it from multiple perspectives and present this at a research poster conference at the end of a 4 week period. The interdisciplinary nature of the project meant teachers, as well as students, were required to consider the central question from multiple perspectives and provided an important opportunity for teacher CPD.

Speakers

Catherine Tytherleigh

Geography Teacher, Sir William Perkins' School

Huwaidha Nasser

Biology Teacher, Sir William Perkins' School

Saturday January 11, 2025 08:45 - 09:35 GMT
Coates C27

11-19

Theme Sustainability climate change & environmental issues
Key Stage / Audience Type ECTs, Global, Industry, Teacher Developers, 11-14, Trainees, ITEs
Twitter feed @SWPS

08:45 GMT

Moss Safari Live: Focus on Change and Adapt

Saturday January 11, 2025 08:45 - 09:35 GMT

Pope LT C15

Come on microscopic adventure through a microscope and learn how moss offers solutions to climate change, rotifers deal with microplastics, and how tardigrades have become urbanised.

Moss Safari is an increasingly popular activity and having featured in the BBC Live Lesson in 2024 more primary and secondary school teachers are doing Moss Safari’s as part of their curriculum or extra-curricular activities.
Get ready for your Science Week in March 2025 or primary to secondary transition activities by attending this live Moss Safari session with a focus on ‘Change and Adapt’ the British Science Association’s focus for British Science Week.

Andy (Dr Moss) will take you on a live Moss Safari and tell you the stories of how three of the Big Five have changed and adapted over geological time and are adapting (or not) to urbanisation, climate change and environmental pollution.

Delegates will enjoy a fascinating adventure exploring a sample of moss for the Big Five microscopic organisms, learn novel practical approaches to microscopy, and curriculum linked subject knowledge.

Delegates be given access to a free online resource suitable for Key Stage 2, Key Stage 3 or Key Stage 4.
This event will be in collaboration with Vitta Education who provide the microscope and the Edulab Moss Safari kit.

Speakers

Andy Chandler-Grevatt

Senior Lecturer in Science Education, University of Brighton

Past ASE 11-19 Chair (2021-2022) and current Chair of Surrey and Sussex Region Curriculum Editor for Oxford University Press Smart Activate Senior Lecturer in Science Education, University of Brighton (ITE tutor) CSciTeach Talk to me about: assessment without testing, teacher... Read More →

Wendy Ford

VITTA Group Brand Manager, VITTA Education

As Brand Manager for the VITTA Group, Wendy is closely involved with the group's dynamic portfolio, which is dedicated to empowering science educators, bringing science to life, and consequently, providing support for the scientists of tomorrow.As an established marketeer, Wendy's... Read More →

Saturday January 11, 2025 08:45 - 09:35 GMT
Pope LT C15

All

Theme Sustainability climate change & environmental issues
Key Stage / Audience Type Global, ECTs, Teacher Developers, Industry, 7 to 11, 11-14, 14-16, Post-16, Technicians
Twitter feed @MossSafari

11:15 GMT

Keynote: Climate change and health

Saturday January 11, 2025 11:15 - 12:05 GMT

Pope LT C17

As a paediatrician I am very focussed on the importance of improving the wellbeing of children and their families. This is key to developing a resilient community and giving children the skills they will need to adapt to climate change.
We need to bring education and health care together to meet this challenge.

Approximately 5% of the UK carbon footprint is produced by the NHS, 5% of journeys are related to the NHS and 5% of the UK workforce is within the NHS. My talk will be joining the dots between health and education and how we all need to work together to create a positive vision of a healthy low carbon future.

Speakers

Dr Helena Clements

Consultant Paediatrician and Officer for Climate Change, Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Dr Helena Clements has been a Consultant Paediatrician at Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (SFH) for over 20 years. Her main area of interest has been complex disability and palliative care.Helena’s other passion is Climate Action. She has had the support of the Trust... Read More →

Saturday January 11, 2025 11:15 - 12:05 GMT
Pope LT C17

11-19

Theme Sustainability climate change & environmental issues
Key Stage / Audience Type 11-14, 14-16, Post-16

11:15 GMT

Replacing Plastics An investigation into the suitability of natural polymer

Saturday January 11, 2025 11:15 - 12:05 GMT

ESLC B05

The “replacing plastics” project is a creative, interdisciplinary application of both chemistry and physics to a real-world problem. The project is executed by students: they create natural polymer substances that resemble plastic, and then test the suitability of their product as an alternative for plastic in everyday life by analysing a range of physical material properties. In doing so, the students explicitly address the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 12: responsible consumption and production. Aside from building their skills, the applied nature of this hands-on project instils a sense of urgency and purpose for their academic studies and creates a vision of how science matters in their future lives.

In this session, we will examine both the simple method to create our own biopolymer from milk and vinegar and the selection of material tests that the students used to compare the biopolymer with the plastic alternative. This experimental process presents itself as a core workflow around which open-ended investigations and problem solving can be scaffolded, stimulate creative and critical thinking. Additional extension questions and variations that allows this project to be adapted for KS1 towards A Level will be discussed. This project was presented as a workshop at the Science on Stage International Festival in Turku, Finland.

Speakers

Colleen Reesink-Wells

STEM Director, Roedean School

Saturday January 11, 2025 11:15 - 12:05 GMT
ESLC B05

All

Theme Sustainability climate change & environmental issues
Key Stage / Audience Type Global, Teacher Developers, 7 to 11, 11-14, 14-16

12:15 GMT

Coding for Climate Action - empowering students to tackle environmental challenges through computer science

Saturday January 11, 2025 12:15 - 13:05 GMT

Pope LT C15

Coding for Climate Action is an innovative cross-curricular program that empowers KS2 and KS3 students to explore climate change issues and design solutions using code and micro:bit inventions. Developed in partnership with Digitall, this comprehensive curriculum provides ready-to-use lesson plans, student journals, slide decks, and other resources to seamlessly integrate computer science into science and sustainability education.

The program is built around an anchoring phenomenon - the increasing frequency and severity of natural disasters worldwide. Students are challenged to create early warning systems and other digital solutions to mitigate the impacts of climate change. Through this real-world, relevant context, they develop key computational thinking skills like coding, data analysis, and problem-solving, while also cultivating creativity and a solutions-oriented mindset.

Aligned to the national curriculum, the Coding for Climate Action materials include detailed lesson plans, student activity journals, exemplars, and comprehensive curriculum maps. Designed as a plug-and-play unit, the resources make it easy for teachers to swap these engaging climate-focused lessons into their existing schemes of work.

Whether you're looking to inject more climate education into your computing curriculum or bring computational skills into your science lessons, this session will equip you with the tools and strategies to empower your students as the next generation of climate leaders and digital innovators. Join us to explore how Coding for Climate Action can ignite students' passion for addressing environmental challenges through computer science.

Speakers

Vojtech Tichavsky

Amazon Future Engineers

Sponsors

Amazon in the Community

Amazon is here to make a difference in the world, in a way unique to Amazon. With a culture built around solving “impossible” problems, we take a different, more hands-on approach to what is traditionally known as corporate philanthropy. We know that money is important, but we... Read More →

Saturday January 11, 2025 12:15 - 13:05 GMT
Pope LT C15

All

Theme Sustainability climate change & environmental issues
Key Stage / Audience Type 11-14, Global, ECTs, Teacher Developers, 7 to 11

13:15 GMT

Keynote: Can Geology save the world?

Saturday January 11, 2025 13:15 - 14:05 GMT

Pope LT C15

Geologists just look at rocks, right? In this talk, I’ll invite you to reimagine the almost unimaginable ways in which geology shapes our lives, livelihoods, and Labour's red wall. I’ll show how many of the great social, environmental and economic challenges of the 21st Century require the work of Geoscientists…

Speakers

Christopher Aiden-Lee Jackson

Professor of Basin Analysis, Imperial College London (Dept of Earth Science & Engineering)

Chris Jackson is Technical Director at the engineering consultancy WSP and Visiting Professor of Basin Analysis at Imperial College London. Chris works in the general area of sedimentary basin analysis. When not studying the subsurface of the Earth, Chris gives geoscience lectures... Read More →

Saturday January 11, 2025 13:15 - 14:05 GMT
Pope LT C15

All

Theme Sustainability climate change & environmental issues
Key Stage / Audience Type 0-4, 5 to 7, 7 to 11, 11-14, 14-16, Post-16, ITEs, ECTs, Advisors/Consultants, Teacher Developers, Technicians, Global, FE/Skills, Trainees

15:30 GMT

Passionate about Plants

Saturday January 11, 2025 15:30 - 16:20 GMT

Pope LT C15

Why are plants vital to us ? They can provide solutions to some of the problems associated with today’s world, for example in addressing climate change and improving wellbeing . This session will raise awareness for teachers and pupils , share resources about the issues and the importance of plants.

Using the different types of enquiry we will look at using plants and their friends ,both inside and outside the classroom , to make children more aware of the issues and how plants might help to solve them . There will also be practical tips as to how to grow and look after plants and to create a wildlife garden at school .

Speakers

Susie Burr

PSQM Hub Leader, Independent Consultant

I was a Biology and general science teacher but now work mainly with Primary Schools. I am passionate about plants and encouraging children of all ages to enjoy the outdoors. I run a Primary Science Quality Mark hub In Scotland and have had amazing schools achieving all levels from... Read More →

Saturday January 11, 2025 15:30 - 16:20 GMT
Pope LT C15

Primary

Theme Sustainability climate change & environmental issues
Key Stage / Audience Type ECTs, Global, Teacher Developers, 7 to 11

15:30 GMT

Sustainable Stories and Solutions for our Planet

Saturday January 11, 2025 15:30 - 16:20 GMT

ESLC B07

CIEC’s ever-growing collection of classroom investigations Sustainable Stories and Solutions for our Planet highlights the issues and impacts of sustainability for upper key stage two (9-11 year-olds) children. It contains practical and discussion activities to develop children’s awareness and understanding of sustainability.

The resource includes case studies from companies with a strong reputation in sustainability which provide real life contexts for children to develop the substantive and disciplinary knowledge of the primary national curriculum.
New for 2025, the pack has a brand-new set of activities to introduce children to the topic of sustainable fuel. Come along and try out a range of the exciting activities this pack has to offer.

Speakers

Joy Parvin

Director, CIEC, University of York

Specialise in primary science and associated STEM/career/industry resources, CPD, industry visits and associated programmes (eg Children Challenging Industry).

Mackayla Millar

Advisory Teacher, CIEC

Saturday January 11, 2025 15:30 - 16:20 GMT
ESLC B07

Primary

Theme Sustainability climate change & environmental issues
Key Stage / Audience Type ECTs, Global, Industry, Teacher Developers, 7 to 11
Twitter feed @ciecyork