Keele Outreach

Academic Taster Session Summaries

Is it Good to Swear?

Direct from the BBC's ONE Show, join Dr. Richard Stephens on a blooming great Masterclass. Dr. Stephens has conducted extensive research on the effects of swearing in relation to the pain we feel when we, for example, stub our toe on the sofa. Does letting out a great expletive offer pain relief?

Chemistry Analysis: Past, Present & Future

Ideal from Science & History students. Looking back early chemists, Victorian chemist and all the way through to the most advance chemistry that modern day, 21st century technology has delivered. Get really hands on with a lab class for the concluding hour of the masterclass. 

Voting at 16?

Prof. Andy Dobson poses the question, "why can we not vote until we are 18?" You can join the army, enter an intimate relationship, win the Lotto, and smoke a cigarette, but you cannot vote. Why? And can we change the minds of the suits in Whitehall?

Why do we have laws?

Why do we need laws? And why do we have the laws that we do have? This masterclass considers these questions by looking at some of the key concepts in civil and criminal law. The first part of the masterclass deals with the civil law, and looks at the different ways in which the legal system imposes liability on people for negligently failing to prevent injuries to others. The second part deals with the criminal law, and looks at the ethics of killing and the various ways in which the law holds people responsible for killing one another. In this part of the class, students will divide into mock juries and adjudicate an actual criminal law case. 

Nursing as a profession - What does it mean to care?

Dr Wynne Thomas, a nurse and a lecturer at the School of Nursing & Midwifery, will pose the question 'What does it mean to care?' The session will explore the qualities required in a health care professional to meet the needs of a diversity of patient groups in a challenging health care environment. Students will have the opportunity to explore their strengths, individual qualities, aspirations, and opportunities for career progression within nursing.

Psychology: an introduction to memory and its failings

The first half of this session is a lecture introducing you to cognitive psychology, false memory, eyewitness testimony and attentional blindness. The second half is an interactive session exploring the issues raised in the lecture.

Discovering DNA, the Watson and Crick Way

In 1953 two men walked into the Eagle Pub in Cambridge, bought a drink and announced 'we have found the secret of life'.

This materclass takes you through the discovery charting each step of the way, culminating in building a model of DNA in the same way that Watson and Crick did.  The session involves hands on molecular model building and will give you an indepth knowledge of the structure of DNA, its nucleic acid components and place Watsons and Cricks discovery in its historical context.  

The presenter Dr Graeme Jones set the Guinness World Record for the Largest model of DNA in the Potteries Centre 9 March 2002.

Diabetes mellitus: Causes, Diagnosis and Treatment

Diabetes mellitus (DM) continues to place large resource demands on the NHS, with over 10% of the NHS budget being spent annually on its diagnosis, treatment and care. Almost 3 million people in the UK are currently living with DM, with up to an estimated 1 million who are undiagnosed. The pre-activity lecture will introduce the two most common types of DM, their underlying pathophysiology, long term complications and the principle treatments currently available. The practical activity will then look at two methods routinely used in the diagnosis of DM; urinalysis and the oral glucose tolerance test. The practical component will also introduce students to a range of preparative and analytical techniques including; air displacement pipettes, spectrophotometry and introductory enzyme kinetics.