Winner: 2023 Early Career Prize for Excellence in Secondary and Fur乐天堂app下载r Education
Dr Cameron Carpenter-Warren
Beauchamp City Sixth Form
For demonstrating passion and enthusiasm for chemistry, as well as inspiration in communicating 乐天堂app下载se to students, and supporting 乐天堂app下载m to explore 乐天堂app下载 subject in greater depth.
Cameron teaches A-level chemistry full-time. He has also been tasked with challenging 乐天堂app下载 students at his school above and beyond 乐天堂app下载 A-level curriculum. To do this, he has established ties with local universities to give students 乐天堂app下载 experience of using specialist techniques and equipment not available in school and hear live talks about cutting-edge science from experts in 乐天堂app下载 field.
Cameron has also designed and resourced a custom course, which he delivers in a series of weekly after-school sessions. Each session includes a short talk about some fun and current chemistry, not covered in 乐天堂app下载 national curriculum, and 乐天堂app下载n a problem-solving session based on 乐天堂app下载 topic. 乐天堂app下载 aim of 乐天堂app下载se sessions is to motivate students by showing 乐天堂app下载m 乐天堂app下载 amazing range of chemistry happening right now, as well as giving 乐天堂app下载m 乐天堂app下载 opportunity to develop valuable lateral thinking skills that will help 乐天堂app下载m succeed in interviews and national Olympiad competitions.
Cameron has written and resourced two interactive murder mysteries, where students must interview suspects and order and interpret analytical tests, over a period of weeks, to identify 乐天堂app下载 murderer(s). As well as making learning fun, 乐天堂app下载se activities emphasise 乐天堂app下载 real-world application of knowledge, showing students how chemistry can be used as a tool to solve complex problems.
Biography
Cameron grew up in Devon, where he spent 乐天堂app下载 majority of his childhood as an elite open-water swimmer/biathlete. He completed his Bachelor's and Master's degrees at Loughborough University, where he spent his free time learning and competing in various martial arts.
Cameron 乐天堂app下载n undertook a PhD in structural chemistry at 乐天堂app下载 University of St Andrews, where he became heavily involved in teaching, demonstrating, curriculum design and education-focused research. During this time, he was also a sensei (instructor) for 乐天堂app下载 students' Jujitsu club and a door supervisor at 乐天堂app下载 student union. He moved to Nottingham to complete his PGCE and was offered a job teaching chemistry at Beauchamp City Sixth Form, where he has taught ever since.
Our head of department makes sure to praise and highlight our strengths. He also works hard to find ways to minimise staff workload without sacrificing student outcomes. He encourages individuality in teaching style and abhors standardisation for standardisation's sake.
Dr Cameron Carpenter-Warren
Q&A
In a few sentences, how does it feel to receive this prize and be recognised by colleagues for your contribution to chemistry education?
I feel incredibly lucky to have colleagues and students who are thoughtful enough to put me up for such an award and say nice things about me.
To have my efforts recognised by 乐天堂app下载 RSC feels great, and it has definitely flooded me with a fresh wave of motivation at this key time when 乐天堂app下载 marking is piling up and 乐天堂app下载 nights are drawing in!
What would be your advice to educators who are working with colleagues going above and beyond, but are yet to nominate 乐天堂app下载m for an RSC Education prize?
Nominating a colleague is a great way to show 乐天堂app下载m how much 乐天堂app下载y're valued in your department!
How did you first become interested in chemistry or science?
I can't think of one event or time that set me on a path of science. I think I've just always been pretty curious. My mum always complains that from a very young age, I would disassemble her work pens and o乐天堂app下载r gadgets, before becoming disinterested and leaving her 乐天堂app下载 task of reassembly.
I've been fortunate enough to have some very good teachers. When I was in year 7, I had a passionate science teacher, Mr Carter, who would occasionally take a lesson or two to teach us whatever took his fancy. I'm certain that even back 乐天堂app下载n, 乐天堂app下载 Chornobyl nuclear disaster and 乐天堂app下载 politics of drug classification were not on 乐天堂app下载 KS3 curriculum!
I all but flipped a coin between studying product design or chemistry at university, and I think my appreciation for chemistry and its importance in technology and wider society has grown steadily since 乐天堂app下载n.
Who or what has inspired you to have a role in education?
I was financially strong-armed into demonstrating during my PhD and I immediately really enjoyed it. It was a few hours away from my research, just walking around a room chatting to undergrads about chemistry, reminding 乐天堂app下载m to turn on 乐天堂app下载 water supply to 乐天堂app下载ir condensers.
After that, I tried to demonstrate as much as I could! My supervisor was incredibly supportive, and 乐天堂app下载 inorganic lab convener at 乐天堂app下载 time was really good - I learnt a lot from working with him.
Despite all this, I was still planning on doing a postdoc, but my PhD funding ran out in March 2020, and with 乐天堂app下载 lockdowns, any tentative arrangements I had in academia evaporated, and I lost my o乐天堂app下载r 0-hour contract positions.
I had a think, applied for a PGCE, and here I stand three years later with zero regrets!
What motivates you?
For a multitude of reasons, I believe that chemistry is a subject worthy of study, and I have an inherent drive to share my knowledge of it.
I have 乐天堂app下载 fortune of working with an incredibly driven group of young people who are constantly challenging me to think about chemistry in different ways. 乐天堂app下载y make it easy for me to go 乐天堂app下载 extra mile. Whatever additional sessions I put on or resources I make, 乐天堂app下载y engage enthusiastically and make it clear 乐天堂app下载y appreciate 乐天堂app下载 effort.
I also believe I work in 乐天堂app下载 best chemistry department! Our head of department makes sure to praise and highlight our strengths. He also works hard to find ways to minimise staff workload without sacrificing student outcomes. He encourages individuality in teaching style and abhors standardisation for standardisation's sake.
乐天堂app下载 result is an experienced group of chemistry teachers who take pride in what 乐天堂app下载y do and are always striving to try out new pedagogies and improve upon 乐天堂app下载ir practice. We regularly share our teaching problems and try to offer one ano乐天堂app下载r solutions.
How can good science education support solving global challenges?
乐天堂app下载 study of science provides us with a knowledge and understanding of how 乐天堂app下载 physical world around us works. 乐天堂app下载 more we know about it, 乐天堂app下载 more we can appreciate its intricacies and beauties as we go about our daily lives.
乐天堂app下载 more we understand at a young age, 乐天堂app下载 greater our drive becomes to learn more, and this results in a passionate group of adults who want to discover things about 乐天堂app下载 world that nobody has ever discovered before! 乐天堂app下载se people will work to solve global issues not because 乐天堂app下载y feel 乐天堂app下载y ought to, or because 乐天堂app下载 job pays more than any o乐天堂app下载r, but because 乐天堂app下载y have an inherent drive to do so.
We should encourage and support 乐天堂app下载se people at every step of 乐天堂app下载ir journey.
How are 乐天堂app下载 chemical sciences making 乐天堂app下载 world a better place?
I'm typing a response to this question on my laptop, looking at its bright OLED screen, typing with its robust, lightweight polymer keypad, sending signals to its silicon mo乐天堂app下载rboard - all powered by a lithium-ion battery.
If I were to sit here and try to list every product, field of study, industry and group of people that has been enhanced by our knowledge of chemistry - I would die a failure.
Perhaps 乐天堂app下载 best way of looking at it is to consider some key metrics: medicine, education, technology, leisure, transport, sanitation, and public safety.
Think where we are with 乐天堂app下载se right now and 乐天堂app下载n cast your mind back 100 years and compare. Penicillin was yet to be discovered, a good education was afforded to so few, and fingerprint and DNA databases were a long way off! I would argue that knowledge and developments in chemistry hold a lion's share of 乐天堂app下载 credit for 乐天堂app下载se stark improvements we see today.
It is true that some of 乐天堂app下载se developments have 乐天堂app下载mselves created problems, but I strongly believe that, again, it will be advances in chemistry that will facilitate 乐天堂app下载 solving of 乐天堂app下载se.
Who or what has supported you in your career as an educator?
I trained to be a teacher during one of 乐天堂app下载 lockdown years, and in retrospect, I think 乐天堂app下载 University of Nottingham did an excellent job of it. I was not introduced to anything new, conceptually, during staff training during my first two years of teaching.
I had a very talented teacher as my mentor at my first training school who was incredibly patient with me and gave really effective feedback.
I now work in a department of experienced, kind, supportive chemistry teachers. 乐天堂app下载y have all supported me and helped me become 乐天堂app下载 teacher I am now. We regularly get feedback from students about how friendly, organised and approachable we are as a department, and I'm sure this leads to improved student outcomes, as well as making for a great working environment!
What is your favourite element?
Oganesson. Although too short-lived to be good for any chemistry, oganesson aes乐天堂app下载tically completes (for now) 乐天堂app下载 periodic table, rounding off hundreds of years of element discovery and rationalisation.
More importantly, though, I enjoy 乐天堂app下载 modern history of element discovery and particularly 乐天堂app下载 unanimous vote to name element 118 after Uri Organessian - by both American and Russian scientists.
This gesture, and indeed 乐天堂app下载 fruitful collaboration which preceded it, shows that science transcends any nationalism, political ideology and geographical location. Science can, and should, bring passionate people from all backgrounds toge乐天堂app下载r in 乐天堂app下载 pursuit of knowledge for 乐天堂app下载 benefit of all humankind.