Undergraduate Ambassadors Scheme Research Articles

Can a nutritional sciences undergraduate ambassador scheme improve the diet of secondary school children through education?

Childhood obesity is a worsening epidemic in the UK. Schools are increasingly being targeted as an intervention setting for this problem. Currently, teachers are poorly equipped to educate pupils on healthy eating as they frequently lack experience in this area. The Undergraduate Ambassadors Scheme (UAS) provides a framework for awarding academic credits to undergraduates primarily from science and technology disciplines to take on the role of an ambassador for their subject. The UAS scheme includes a placement in a school or college setting. In the context of a BSc in Nutrition, the undergraduate can, therefore, act as a nutritional ambassador within the school environment, contributing their specialist knowledge of healthy eating. In doing so the student can potentially influence the knowledge, attitudes and behaviours of pupils in relation to healthy eating, whilst enhancing their own key skills base including communication and reflective learning skills. The aim of this project was to examine the effect an undergraduate ambassador for nutrition had on the dietary knowledge, attitudes and behaviours of secondary school pupils in Year 10 (aged 14 and 15, National Curriculum Key Stage 4). A major objective of the project was to develop and deliver a lesson plan centred on healthy eating. The impact the lesson had on dietary knowledge, attitudes and behaviours of pupils was assessed using questionnaires and food diaries, completed by pupils before and after the lesson. There was a small increase in healthy eating knowledge. However, there was no significant effect on healthy eating attitudes or behaviours of secondary school pupils. In addition, pupils gave negative responses towards learning about healthy eating in school. These results indicate the school environment may be an unsuitable setting for childhood obesity interventions.

The Undergraduate Ambassadors Scheme in Ireland

The Undergraduate Ambassadors Scheme in Ireland

Undergraduate Ambassadors Scheme (UAS)

Undergraduate Ambassadors Scheme (UAS)

The Future of the Discipline? Mathematics and the Undergraduate Ambassadors Scheme

The crisis in UK mathematics education, both in schools and universities, has been widely reported. Currently, 24% of full-time mathematics teachers in English secondary education have `weak’ or `nil’ qualifications in the subject, 31% of secondary mathematics teachers are now over the age of 50, and it is estimated that England alone is short of 3500 qualified mathematics teachers. Furthermore, studies suggest that UK mathematics undergraduates often lack confidence in several key skills essential for teaching, and the availability of attractive careers for mathematics graduates impacts upon the numbers entering the profession, thus risking a spiral of decline. This paper recounts the development of a unit of study in the Faculty of Mathematical Studies at the University of Southampton, England, in conjunction with a new national initiative entitled the Undergraduate Ambassadors Scheme (UAS). This aims to address the crisis in UK mathematics education through the training and placement of final year undergraduates as teaching assistants in local schools, with a view to promoting mathematics as a university choice to the broadest possible constituency, whilst simultaneously developing those key skills in which undergraduates regularly feel least confident, and facilitating an insight into teaching as a career option. The paper also provides a detailed evaluation of this new initiative, together with the recent comments of students who, having completed the UAS unit, have progressed subsequently to postgraduate teacher education.

Undergraduate Ambassadors Scheme update

Undergraduate Ambassadors Scheme update

Undergraduate Ambassadors Scheme update

Undergraduate Ambassadors Scheme update

Undergraduate Ambassadors Scheme: Progress to Date

Undergraduate Ambassadors Scheme: Progress to Date

Undergraduate Ambassadors Scheme

Undergraduate Ambassadors Scheme

Those who can, teach: addressing the crisis in mathematics in UK schools and universities

The crisis in UK mathematics education, both in schools and universities, has been widely reported in the national media. A recent study shows that 26% of full-time mathematics teachers in UK schools have no qualification in the subject, and that 31% of all UK schools' mathematics teachers are now over the age of 50. The crisis in school mathematics has impacted on much of the university sector, with some departments under threat of closure and widespread difficulties experienced in student recruitment. The availability of attractive careers for mathematics graduates impacts upon the numbers choosing to enter teaching, thus risking a spiral of decline. Furthermore, studies suggest that UK mathematics graduates often lack confidence in several key skills essential for teaching, such as presenting information effectively, working in teams, and written communication. This paper recounts the development of a unit of study in the Faculty of Mathematical Studies at the University of Southampton, England, in conjunction with a new initiative, the Undergraduate Ambassadors Scheme, which seek to address the crisis in UK mathematics education through the training and placement of final year undergraduates as teaching assistants in local schools. This with a view to promoting mathematics to the broadest possible constituency as a university choice, whilst simultaneously developing those key transferable skills in which undergraduates regularly feel least confident, and allowing undergraduates to experience a flavour of teaching as a career option.

Undergraduate Ambassadors Scheme andCommunicating and Teaching Mathematics

Undergraduate Ambassadors Scheme and<i>Communicating and Teaching Mathematics</i>

Maths Undergraduate Ambassadors Scheme

Maths Undergraduate Ambassadors Scheme