Two-way flows of knowledge between schools & communities and experts at the University of Edinburgh have been flourishing in 2023. Image 5,588\nenrolments in Short Courses\nby people living locally;\n\n113\nCity of Edinburgh S5 and S6\nstudents attended Language\nImmersion Day at the University;\n\n270\nNew Scots took English\nclasses taught by staff\n(in 22/23 academic year);\n\n630\nNew Scots have participated\nsince these classes started. Schools sensor network boosts pupils’ data skills Europe’s biggest Internet of Things network is on target to provide every school in the south-east of Scotland with advanced environmental sensors. The network is already giving thousands of students from more than 40 schools in Edinburgh, Fife, the Lothians and Borders access to the latest indoor smart technology, capable of measuring CO2, humidity, light, air pressure and temperature levels. The £9.5 million scheme also provides some schools with outdoor air quality monitors, soil moisture sensors and weather stations. Local school children are being inspired to get interested in science and are using the data to optimise their classrooms. For example, Addiewell Primary School in West Lothian has installed a living wall filled with colourful plants and reduced the lighting to improve the learning environment. Getting ready for a data driven future Data education in schools Often as a teacher, kids pose questions that you can't answer and they get shot down. Whereas with this project, they're really able to investigate whatever they want to do. They're learning lots of great skills, really developing their initiative, their creativity, their sense making. They're looking at large data sets that are really quite confusing for an adult but they're able to break it down, [find] exactly what they're looking for and make sense of that. Liam AirleyPrimary 7 teacher, Addiewell School, West Lothian Image Primary 7 pupils from Addiewell Primary School monitor the positive affect of the green wall on CO2 levels in their classroom (photo: Callum Bennetts Maverick Studios) Scottish schools receive training for neurodiversity Image Illustrations: Claire Hubbard, poster: LEANS project 2021 The Learning About Neurodiversity at School programme (LEANS) is free for mainstream primary schools to introduce pupils aged 8-11 years to the concept of neurodiversity, and how it impacts experiences at school. For this programme, neurodiversity means that we are all different in how we think, feel, and learn, because our brains process information differently. In 2023, LEANS gave in-person training to a range of staff members in West Lothian and virtual training to head teachers in the Scottish Borders. Digital resources include a teacher handbook, videos, posters and templates that are available to everyone to give students and teachers knowledge and confidence. Individual children felt and explained that they recognised themselves as neurodivergent (in different ways) and they appeared to have a ‘penny drop’ moment... I think it helped children to have a better understanding of the way others are/feel, and also why learning can be different and is delivered differently to them. Teacher diary Learning About Neurodiversity at School Middletown Centre for Autism podcast interview with Dr Alyssa Alcorn [external] Compassionate mental health research at Wester Hailes, Edinburgh Mental Health – Imagining Beyond is a collaborative project between the Community Wellbeing Collective, Wester Hailes and Mental Health Data Scientists at the University of Edinburgh. Funded by Research Data Scotland. The Community Wellbeing Collective is an established community of over 30 people from, and connected to, Wester Hailes. As a community and registered charity, they run their own space, which engages in active agency for community members, expanding public imagination and activities that move us towards a more just world. We practise deep listening; we share and relate through questions, anecdotes, and emotions to connect across differences and through needs and desires. As a collective we create a space where we can meet and dialogue as equals, caring with each other to make everyone feel seen and heard, believed, respected and safe. Mental Health – Imagining Beyond blog The ongoing research is shaped on individual and collective lived experiences of mental health and placed in conversation. In 2023, several workshops took place, including one demystifying healthcare, where health data privacy and access were explored, concluding that “healthcare data should ultimately be used for helping and healing others.” Mental Health - Imagining Beyond project blog Community Wellbeing Collective [external] Image Mental Health – Imagining Beyond - ways of working meeting, courtesy of the Community Wellbeing Collective Image Exactly 1,000 students\nsigned up for Saltire Award\nMay 2023 - November 2023;\n\nCentre for Open Learning donated\n40 boxes of English Language\nEducation teaching materials\nto local charities & The City of\nEdinburgh Council;\n\nOur Sport and Exercise team\nloaned out their vehicles\nand generators to help\nlocal communities affected\nby severe weather. Our Community Plan Our Community Plan Our Community Plan: share knowledge and experience This article was published on 2024-07-22
