These technical briefs look at the ways Practical Action have helped poor communities to make the best use of their own labour and to use locally produced building materials and techniques that they can afford and manage.

Technical briefs are documents produced by Practical Action which are freely available...

A Year Ten module from the Salters’ double award science course. A surveyor’s report on a proposed barn conversion is used to introduce different materials used in construction and issues associated with their use. The lessons which follow then consider each type of...

This collection of resources, set in the context of the construction industry, offer challenges and activities linked to maths, science and careers.

These resources were originally developed to support post 16 Applied Science specifications, and include:

In this resource students analyse the benefits and concerns regarding genetic tests being sold to consumers. Information contained in genomes and implications upon health and identity are considered as part of the activity. The ethics and laws surrounding this procedure are examined. Accompanying slide...

This resource from Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute is a hands-on classroom activity for Key Stage Two students that aims to support the teaching of topics such as microbes and hand hygiene. This interactive, practical activity demonstrates how microbes, such as bacteria and viruses, can be spread through surface...

These resources were developed by the Gatsby Science Enhancement Programme in collaboration with Keele University in order to provide support for teaching aspects of ‘How Science Works’. The emphasis of the materials is on ‘data, evidence, theories and explanations’ linked to ‘applications and implications of...

These diagnostic questions and response activities (contained in the zip file) support students in being able to:

• Describe common sexually transmitted infections in humans.
• Identify methods of contraception that can be used to during human sexual intercourse to prevent the transmission of...

This STEMNET resource describes the background and career of STEM Ambassador Vicki Hodges, an Attitude and Orbit Control Systems engineer working on a project to develop an unmanned spacecraft.

Having joined the Astrium graduate scheme, Vicki has moved around the company and gained experience in a variety of...

This Nuffield Pathways Through Science module began with the study sound waves and vibrations including how the ear works and the properties of ultrasound. This led on to activities related to how sound vibrations are captured, recorded, and produced. The final group of...

This is one of a series of focused units, from the Association for Science Education and the Design and Technology Association, to introduce students to important technologies and their applications. This unit features control systems and their applications to...

A Year 11 module from the Salters Key Stage Four double award science course. This module introduces ideas about how living organisms control their internal environment and respond to changes in their external environment. Students are reminded that few living things...

These activities, produced by The Centre for Industry Education Collaboration (CIEC), are based on a BASF chemical plant at Seal Sands, Middlesbrough. They enable students to see how and why chemical reactions are controlled in a chemical plant. The materials contain full teacher guidance, student notes and...

These diagnostic questions and response activities (contained in the zip file) support students in being able to:

• Describe how the properties of particles in a gas change as the gas is heated.
• Describe convection currents in liquids and gases.  
• Explain what happens to the density of...