November 2011 - University of Worcester

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NEWSUniversity to host World Congress of PerformanceAnalysis of Sport IX ahead of 2012 OlympicsA prestigious international sports conference will be taking place at the University of Worcester next year ahead of theLondon Olympics.The ninth World Congress of PerformanceAnalysis of Sport will feature world leadingkeynote speakers from the world ofperformance analysis.It takes place from July 25-28, immediatelypreceding the 2012 Olympic Games inLondon.University of Worcester’s Professor of Sport,Health & Exercise Science, Derek Peters, whois the Congress Local Organising CommitteeChair, said: “There will be more than 120 oralpresentations of original world class researchand six hours of formal poster presentationsessions to disseminate learning from cuttingedge science and research covering all aspectsof the analysis of sport and performance.“We are delighted to be hosting thisprestigious Congress at the University ofWorcester just before the Olympics, whenmany of our delegates will then get the chanceto stay on in Worcester as a base from whereto commute to see the world’s top athletescompeting.“We hope that Worcester will be the largestCreative writing helps children toengage, according to researchCharles Dickens opens his novel HardTimes with headteacher Mr Gradgrinddemanding facts not fancy from his pupils.But it is the ‘fancy’ that allows children toengage more in the classroom, according toresearch at the University of Worcester.Dr Robyn Cox and Julie MacLusky visitedschools that were trying out some of thecreative writing exercises from their newbook, Teaching Creative Writing in thePrimary School: Delight, Entice, Inspire.They found that the exercises enabledschoolchildren to feel that they had morefreedom in their writing and that this ledto greater engagement and concentration.The researchers noted that at times pupilsdemonstrated a rarely achieved 100%engagement in the writing lesson.Julie MacLusky, Senior Lecturer in Creativeand Professional Writing and Course Leaderin English Language at the University, said:“It was shocking to hear some 11-year-oldssaying they had never written a story before.“The National Literacy Strategy,together with a largely outcomes-basedcurriculum model in UK primary schools,has resulted in some schools teachingwriting lessons which are mechanistic.“The exercises in the book allow them to bemuch more creative and free. With a focuson meaning and story structure rather thangrammatical elements like conjunctives orconnectives, children are able to engagethe reader through emotional responses.”The book aims to support and developwriting skills in primary schools bygiving teachers ideas to inject creativityin their lessons whilst motivatingtheir pupils to be more creative.“The future of the country is in creativeindustries and it’s something that has beenneglected by past governments,” JulieMacLusky said. “However, we think we havethe solution. We believe our exercises willCongress to date and that it will provide avibrant, innovative and world class scientificprogramme.”For more information about the Congressvisit the website www.worcester.ac.uk/wcpas9 or follow updates on Twitter at @wcpas9.Sponsors (local, regional and national) arecurrently being sought for the Congress.Anyone interested should contactProfessor Peters at d.peters@worc.ac.ukenable teachersto both bringcreativity backinto the writingclassroomand engagethose hard toreach pupils.”The bookalso featureswritingexercisesandtemplates that can be used by studentsto progress and develop their ownskills and offers tips on how to writecharacters and plots, and how to conductresearch for fiction successfully.The book, published by the OpenUniversity, is now available.8 / NOVEMBER 2011 / newsandviews@worc.ac.uk
Insight into life behind a lab coatPupils from a Redditch school spent the day making DNA smoothiesand carrying out DNA tests as part of a biology discover day at theUniversity of Worcester.The University’s Institute of Science &the Environment hosted the event to giveschoolchildren an insight into life behind a labcoat.Eleven students, from Trinity High School inRedditch, spent the day in the University’sDarwin lab with Dr Lee Byrne, Dr MikeWheeler and Mark Cook.The students were given an overview by DrByrne of what it is like to study Biology atWorcester, the kinds of research that membersof staff were involved in and crucially the kindof jobs that a degree in Biology might enablethem to consider in the future.The students then had an intensive practicalsession including making an ‘alcoholicbanana DNA smoothie’; making an agarosegel and running DNA to figure out a forensic‘whodunnit’ and identifying human whiteblood cells by microscopy.Dr Byrne said: “The session was a great success.The students were really eager and enthusiasticand it was a great pleasure to spend half a daywith them. The feedback from Trinity High wasexcellent.”Trinity High teacher, CarneaWoods, said that the studentshad a “fantastic day” and Head ofSixth Form, Jeremy Petit, said heknew “that next term, when in year13, many of these students will putUniversity of Worcester down asone of their choices.”Dr Byrne added: “It was a greatday and we hope to put on manymore ‘Discover Biology at Worcester’ sessions.Many thanks also to Biology undergraduateDragana Catici, Dr Karen Blackmore from theInstitute of Education, and Mike’s lab assistant,Susan Harding, for their help and showing suchgreat enthusiasm with the students.”Any schools interested in taking partin Discovery Days at the University ofWorcester should contact the Schools andColleges Liaison Service atd.crawford@worc.ac.uk or call 01905 855393.Chapter explores changing nature of librariesJudith Elkin, Professor Emeritus ofChildren’s Literature, has writtenabout the changing nature of librariesand the impact on children.In a chapter published in Libraries andSociety: Role Responsibility and Futurein an Age of Change, Professor Elkin,a recognised authority on librariesfor children and young people, looksat how ‘libraries might cater for themany and varied needs of the child.’Professor Elkin, places libraries at the heart of education,explaining that they play a vital role in developing earlyliteracy and allowing children to develop in a friendlyenvironment, ‘regardless of age, gender, race, wealth,physical or intellectual ability or geographical location.’The question facing libraries now is how they will continue toprovide a valuable service, whilst responding to a rapidly changingworld in which the future of the written word is becominglyincreasingly uncertain. But as Professor Elkin asserts, librariesare responding well, expanding their services to incorporatemultimedia, audiovisual and computer technology.DiscoverydaysNEWSDramaDiscover, engage, inspireDiscoverydaysBiologyimaginative model for library users. Indeed, no-one could havefailed to notice the shiny new ‘super’ library that is currently underconstruction. Due to open in July 2012, the building is Europe’sfirst fully integrated public and university library, housing a quarterof a million books, journals, DVDs and music collections.Professor Elkin regards Worcester’s new library as a ‘symbol ofshared learning, culture and information that contributes uniquelyto the regeneration of Worcester.’ She dismisses the idea thatthe new library could be considered elitist given its focus on‘accessibility, transparency, flexibility, community, regenerationand partnership’. Younger users in particular will benefit fromthe expertise of specialist librarians as well as activities that aimto develop reader’s abilities. Children will also have differentspaces for both quiet work and noisier, creative activities.Discover, engage, inspireProfessor Elkin cites the soon-to-be-unveiled Worcester Libraryand History Centre, known as The Hive, as an innovative andImpression of how children will use The Hivenewsandviews@worc.ac.uk / NOVEMBER 2011 / 9
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November 2011 - University of Worcester

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