The Comino Foundation supports the Science & Engineering Education Research & Innovation Hub (SEERIH) at the University of Manchester, based within the Faculty of Science and Engineering.
What is SEERIH?
SEERIH seeks excellence and impact; improving the teaching and learning of science and engineering. SEERIH’s model actively develops professional learning communities of in-service teachers, University staff and students through research and innovative curriculum development. SEERIH innovates to achieve ‘the right CPD, for the right teacher, at the right time on the right issue’, as such enabling all ‘teachers’, be they school or University-based, to thrive together.
What does SEERIH do?
- Engages in-service primary, secondary and HE teachers with research-informed professional development opportunities to enrich mainstream science & engineering teaching, learning and assessment.
- Enhances the interaction between the University of Manchester’s academics, students and in-service teachers to inform teaching and learning for all.
- Inspires and propagates discussion and debate about excellence in teaching and learning in science education across the STEM education sector through developing effective partnerships and associations with national and international stakeholders.
SEERIH’s direct reach covers all 10 Local Authorities in Greater Manchester, with the influence of their work spreading to national and international level. SEERIH is one of the leading groups within the primary STEM sector, working in alliance with the Primary Science Teaching Trust, The Royal Academy of Engineering, BASF, The National Trust, The Royal Institution and the Ideas Foundation, as well as the Comino Foundation.
Current projects include:
Tinker Tailor Robot Pi – developing teaching and learning approaches for primary engineering
See Bianchi, L and Chippindall, J (2016) a pedagogy for primary engineering?, International Symposium on Engineering Education, Conference Proceedings, July 2016, Sheffield
Across the Divide – influencing teaching and learning of science and engineering across the primary, secondary and HE sector
See Bianchi, L., Green, P. and Choudry, S (2017) Across the Divide – short report, presented at The University of Manchester’s Centre for Higher Education Research Innovation and Learning Conference, January 2017.
The Great Science Share 2018 – school engagement annual programme of events, a legacy from the 2017 European City of Science Festival.
Since 2014, SEERIH has responded creatively to the annual lecture programme, designing for the first time a bespoke teacher resource for primary science.
The Royal Institution Christmas Lecture Primary School Series
You will find additional information about the range of partners that we work with and the innovative past and current projects, news, publications and events, on the SEERIH website.
Links to video records of each of the current projects outlined above, and others, are on the Video Links page of this website
Dr Lynne Bianchi,
Director of the Science & Engineering Education Research and Innovation Hub,
Faculty of Science and Engineering,
University of Manchester,
Sackville Street Building, Room C54
Manchester, M13 9PL
Telephone: 0161 306 3991 Mobile: 07811 235793
Twitter handle @UoMSEERIH
Comino partners launching the Royal Academy of Engineering report: Learning to be an Engineer – implications for the education system, March 2017
Professor Bill Lucas, Dr Janet Hanson of the Centre for Real World Learning; Dr Rhys Morgan of the Royal Academy of Engineering; Dr Lynne Bianchi and Dr Jonathan Chippindall of SEERIH
The BBC commented on the content of the report.
SEERIH’s work also supports the Royal Academy of Engineering’s campaign This is Engineering