Nappy changing challenge and classroom olympics: competitive and cooperative hands on data collection activities

It is well recognised that hands-on school activities can encourage engagement and learning. However, for many years such activities with a competitive element have taken a back seat to the promotion of activities that encourage cooperation. With careful consideration to the inclusion of all class members at KS3 level, Conker Statistics have worked closely with secondary school teachers in developing two themed sets of activities that have elements of competition and cooperation. The Nappy Changing Challenge, designed to raise awareness of childcare, uses realistic baby dolls and real nappies. A well designed data collection form provides the necessary guidance to perform the three stages of the activity including estimation, opinions and measurement. Analysis of the data collected motivates class discussion and presentation of the key results. Classroom Olympics, launched at the English Institute of Sports in 2010, encourages all pupils, regardless of their athletic ability, to take part in competitive activities such as the bean bag shot put and standing start triple jump. To date over 2000 students have taken part in these activities within the classroom and at school events.We discuss out experience of The Nappy Challenge and Classroom Olympics.