Forces – making the invisible visible

By Carol Davenport

Forces are all around us.  They stop us falling through the floor, they make sure that we can walk around, and they keep the Earth circling the Sun.

Forces spectacles

But we can’t see them.  Forces are invisible.  As teachers we need to think of ways to make these invisible forces visible to the children we work with.  The Institute of Physics talks about putting on “forces spectacles”, and that is a useful metaphor for our role.  By using concrete examples we enable children to ‘see’ the forces around them.

In Key Stage 1 we can start by exploring forces through pushes and pulls.  Children can use plasticine to make models and then describe what forces they are applying.  A great story that we could use is that of The Three Little Pigs.  This Teachers TV programme  shows how it could be done. The teacher uses the ‘huff and the puff’ of the wolf to illustrate pushes, but also asks the children to make models of the wolf and helps them to talk about what they are doing in terms of pushes and pulls, pinches and twists.

At KS2 we can start to bring in the idea of forces causing a change in motion.  Pushing and pulling toys are a great context for this.  As children get older we can then begin to talk about a force causing a change in motion.

Picking up Jelly Cubes – Forces demonstration

Many of the forces that the children have been using up to this point are quite easy to ‘see’.  Pushes and pulls are obvious.  However, friction is a different matter, and children struggle to recognise the role of friction in everyday life.  One fun activity that we can do to help them ‘see’ friction, is a ‘jelly race’.  First of all the children pick up some little cubes of jelly out of a bowl using chopsticks. They can time how fast they can do this, which gives some practice in taking measurements for SC1.

Next, the jelly cubes are put back in the bowl and some vegetable oil is added.  Now the children try and pick up the little cubes of jelly again, and this time it is much harder. This activity also helps to address the misconception that friction is only present when an object is moving.  There is friction between the chopsticks and the jelly, even when the jelly isn’t moving.  When the jelly has oil on it there is very little frictional force, and it’s hard to keep hold of it (with or without chopsticks!). By comparing this with picking the jelly up we can help children ‘see’ the frictional forces – and what happens when they are not there.

Jelly and Oil…mmmmm!

These activities, and others like them, will help you, and your pupils, put on Forces spectacles to see the forces at work around us.

I will be running an optional workshop on forces at the Primary Science Annual Conference 2013 in York in July. I’d be delighted to hear your stories and thoughts on teaching forces to our KS1 and KS 2 pupils.

Improving Science Literacy

by Julian Clarke

The need to support the development of good literacy skills within science lessons has been recognised for many years.

Literacy Skills in Science

The recent and planned changes in assessment have raised the priority of this area in many schools alongside the important role literacy plays in the development of scientific knowledge and understanding. Science involves the exploration, investigation, recording, reporting and analysis of the world around us, often in a collaborative way. This needs creative and analytical thinking and communication skills to advance our knowledge and understanding of the world in which we live, not to forget our impact upon it. Literacy is a key feature of communication, enabling one scientist to collaborate with another, sharing ideas and hypotheses, assessing the validity of conclusions and identifying areas for further exploration. Without effective literacy skills, scientific development would be greatly hindered, if not stifled completely.

So what do we mean by literacy and what can we do to improve students’ ability to use it within the science they experience at school?

At the simplest level, literacy involves three components:

• talking
• reading
• writing

All three are important within science – although the emphasis is often placed on outcomes delivered through a written product.

It is important to empower students to talk about their work as this enables them to construct and secure their thinking about the topic being considered before committing it to paper.

Reading is vital as it enables students to gather information and to consider views held by others so that they can explore new developments and applications and to consider their impact on the world around us.

Writing enables students to commit their ideas to paper for scrutiny by others (peer review remains a key aspect of the scientific method); it has also become the aspect most used as a tool to assess and externally verify the performance of individual students.

Other curriculum subject areas make use of and develop these same literacy skills, but science teaching is not always effective at making use of the transferable skills developed by students elsewhere. Whilst we might need students to be able to write in particular forms and for particular purposes in science, we can build upon students’ existing skills by using the approaches and techniques they have already practiced and secured in English or the Humanities.

My session on Literacy in Science at the Science Teaching and Learning Conference on 1^{st – 2nd} July 2013 will explore these areas further.

The national network of Science Learning Centres also run Enhancing Literacy Skills in Science courses in your region and the National STEM Centre has a range of resources called Literacy in Science Training Materials.

What makes effective science practical work?

by Pauline Hoyle

We  recently held a one day professional development day focussing on what makes an effective science practical. This post pulls together my presentation, including video interviews with Robin Millar from the University of York, Fred Young, Chief Executive of our partner organisation in Scotland, SSERC, and Ian Richardson a former HMI for Ofsted.

The slideshare presentation has links embedded to our YouTube site for the video presentations. You can watch the full playlist of science practical work videos there.

As part of the day we asked teachers to give their views, here are the post it notes, I’m afraid you may need a magnifying glass, but if you click on them they should become large enough to read.

Why do Practical Work?

Reinforces what you are doing?

Purposeful, real-life

Team work – responsibility

To make risk aware

What makes practical work effective?

Being clear about objectives

Well planned practical work

We have a range of  science practical work courses running across the network of Science Learning Centres and a specialist practical work course for PGCE graduates.

Improving pupil engagement in science using ICT

ICT for science teaching

by John Walker

There are three ways that ICT can improve science education and pupil engagement.

Find out about science

First and perhaps most obvious is the way it enhances how learners find out about science.  Nowadays teachers don’t have to struggle to draw diagrams on the board – you can just Google it and display the result.

• need to show a process?  Try the pHet website for animations of loads of physics and chemistry concepts.  If pHet doesn’t have it, somewhere else probably does – there is loads of stuff on Youtube (we are on YouTube at Myscience Learning).
• text books not cutting it any more with the kids?  (Have they ever?)  Well, don’t throw them away – they are still useful!  But instead why not give learners specific websites to look at via QR codes that they can access with their smartphones?
• smartphones banned in school?  Just give them hyperlinks from a document – it’s much better than leaving them to Google haplessly!

Do better science

The second way, which is less well developed in most schools, is how ICT allows learners to do better science.  Digital sensors and logging devices allow us to sense, measure and display things which are simply not possible using conventional equipment in school science departments.

• want to show that there is mercury vapour in a fluorescent strip light?  Use a digital spectrometer and display the spectrum against a reference on your screen.  Can you imagine how else you would do this?  (It would take a lot of time and let’s face it, we probably wouldn’t bother, would we?)
• how about showing learners the relationship between carbon dioxide and oxygen during photosynthesis?  Simply seal some spinach leaves in a container in bright sunlight and log the gases for about ten minutes.  You will see a beautiful graph which shows oxygen levels increasing as carbon dioxide levels go down – mirroring each other perfectly!  This opens up the potential for learners to ask some really good scientific questions, and then go ahead and investigate them:  how refreshing for them to find things out for themselves – and for the teacher to not necessarily know the answer beforehand!

Communicate about science

The third way, which is gaining ground, is the use of ICT to communicate about science.  Learners preparing a powerpoint presentation is a fairly obvious way for them to demonstrate their learning, but what about making a film or a podcast?  Today they can go further and make stop-motion video with a free app on a mobile phone (to simulate biological or chemical processes), and then put it on a website to show what they’ve learnt, with links to other websites.  You could use a wiki to stimulate online discussion about a particular topic, giving learners the chance to contribute not just when they are in school.  This provides very rich and varied scope for teachers in assessing their learners’ understanding.

Science teacher training courses and resources

The National Science Learning Centre runs a range of ICT related professional development courses for all levels of teachers, lecturers and technicians. Here are the links:

Cross Phase: Learning Science Using iPads

Primary: Leading Change in ICT in Primary Science

Secondary: Science Teaching and Learning Conference
(session on Differentiation Using ICT)

Secondary: ICT Innovations in Science Teaching and Learning

Technicians: Experienced Technicians Programme: Practical ICT

Other resources:

National Science Learning Centres on  iTunesU

Danny Nicholson’s Whiteboard blog

Talking Science Education at the ASE Conference (#aseconf)

By guest blogger Stephanie Sinclair from the Wellcome Trust

“What role should the curriculum play in science education?” is a particularly topical question given current changes to GCSEs and A Levels and the proposed English Baccalaureate Certificates.  So it was no surprise that the room for this debate, organised by the Royal Society, the national network of Science Learning Centres and the Wellcome Trust, was brimming with educationalists and teachers keen to discuss the issues of the day.

Primary school children doing science investigation

As Chair, Kate Bellingham, guided the room seamlessly from the question of  teaching science versus teaching about science through to discussions around whether we can have a curriculum suitable for all teachers and how best to support, especially non-specialist, teachers.  Pauline Hoyle, Myscience, Dylan William, Institute of Education, Ann Fullick, Freelance textbook author and Robin James, Exeter Road Community Primary School, kept Kate company on the top table and posed questions for the audience including “how contemporary should a curriculum be?” and “do cross-curricular themes offer better learning than single subjects?”.

Interestingly, the audience felt that they would be comfortable with a ‘bare bones’ curriculum which allows them flexibility when reflecting on their own teaching practice, but they felt less confident when imagining all fellow teachers being faced with the task of ‘fleshing out’ such a curriculum. It was recognised that curriculum equates to pedagogy, in so much that what pupils will take away relies on the way in which science is taught, not just the content.

Whilst considering what should be included in the primary curriculum, it was argued by some that it may not be appropriate to teach some concepts (particularly in physics) at such a young age, if teachers are not confident with the subject matter. But should the curriculum be amended so that non-science specialists are more comfortable with it, or should we be aiming to equip and support all teachers in delivering such content? Having a science expert in every primary school, as proposed in the Royal Society’s State of the Nation report, may be one way to tackle this, although it would be essential that they cascaded their learning and experience.

There were clearly disparate views about the role of the curriculum, emphasising the challenge of creating a curriculum appropriate for all learners and teachers, and in an unpredictable and increasingly technological world.  Disagreement about whose responsibility this is was also evident– should the HE sector be setting the curriculum or should society, as tax-payers, have more say in the syllabus? Perhaps a debate for another day…

Teaching Space and Science

By Lynda Homer, Primary Science Course Manager

There is something really inspiring about looking up at the stars on a clear, cold January night and feeling like a very small part of the Universe – and a very strong sense of wonder.  This has been highlighted by programmes such as the BBC’s popular Stargazing Live programme at the start of the month, with Professor Brian Cox and Dara O’Briain, which provoke curiosity about finding out about Space – in children and teachers alike.

Moon over Bayfordbury

Whatever the age of your pupils, from Early Years to post-16, space can provide a fascinating context for developing interest and enthusiasm for science, not just physics or astronomy. There are many opportunities for wonderful activities that will inspire pupils in chemistry and biology, as well as other subjects such as geography, and the national network of Science Learning Centres can help you find out about what is available for us to use in our schools.

At the Science Learning Centre East of England, we have a great interest in Astronomy, the University of Hertfordshire Observatory shares our site and hosted one of the many events linked to the BBC programmes.

If you would like to extend your knowledge and explore further strategies and resources for inspiring teaching and learning using space, then we have two courses running soon which could really bring it all to life in your classroom.

For primary teachers, there is Earth And Space (29 Jan 13), this will explore a range of hands on activities, models and web-based resources to provide inspiring ideas and increase confidence.

For secondary physics teachers, there is EEC12001 Astrophysics, Earth and Space (6 Feb 13). This is a course for KS4/Post 16 teachers and will link cutting edge research in astrophysics to the current curriculum so that you can bring the subject to life. It will include a visit to the University of Hertfordshire’s Observatory.

University of Hertfordshire Observatory

This course is funded by the Research Council UK and is from the Bringing Cutting Edge Science into the Classroom programme. It qualifies for an Impact Award of up to £150 per day. The course is running across the network of Science Learning Centres, including South East, London, East Midlands, South West and Yorkshire and the Humber. Details of dates and venues can be found here.

The National Science Learning Centre is running a course, with the European Space Education Resource Office in the UK (ESERO UK), on how to enrich the primary curriculum through space and astronomy on 12/13 February 2013. It is designed to refresh subject knowledge and give ideas on teaching tricky concepts through practical enquiry whilst looking at interesting ways of engaging children through the topic of space.

As part of the EU-funded “Discover the Cosmos” inquiry-based science education project, supported by ESERO UK, the National School’s Observatory and Faulkes Telescope Project will be running a free Astronomy-themed training workshop at the National Science Learning Centre on 8 Feb 2013.

When looking for resources for teaching space topics ESERO UK will give you many great ideas. The support offered to teachers includes:

• access to quality teaching and learning resources through the eLibrary and physical library at the National STEM Centre
• a network of space education ambassadors throughout the UK
• news items and blogs highlighting developments in space education
• high-quality training and events for teachers and lecturers

In the East Midlands, the National Space Academy works collaboratively and in partnership with the Science Learning Centre East Midlands and its excellent website shows the range of CPD opportunities on offer for teachers including details of Master Classes in STEM subjects and career’s events for pupils.

Incidentally, the Royal Mail has just issued a set of commemorative stamps to celebrate Britain’s contribution to space exploration featuring images from European Space Agency missions. This is the first set to feature a full complement of planetary images. Perhaps they could be used as a starter activity to spark discussion about the solar system with your class?

Other blog post relating to space you may be interested in are:

Esero UK highlights Stargazing Live as inspiration for STEM

Space and astronomy in the primary classroom

Astrology vs Astronomy

Science Investigations

by Carol Davenport

Small children are full of questions about the world around them: Where does the sun go at night?

Science Investigations in the outdoors – worms

Why is ice cold? How did I get here?

When my children were little, it felt like I spent most of my days answering questions like these. In primary school, children continue to ask these questions and often say that science is their favourite subject. However, as children get older, their attitudes towards science change and they often don’t think of themselves as being ‘science people’.

I was talking to Prof Christine Done, who studies black holes at Durham University. We were discussing the response she gets to her talks about Extraterrestrial life. She finds that even apparently uninterested Year 11 lads (16 year olds) are engaged by the big questions raised by her talk and are fascinated by the science. She is absolutely right, as science teachers who have had their lesson plan derailed by students wanting to discuss the latest science news – from finding the Higgs Boson to Felix Baumgartner jumping from space – can testify.

Using science in the news and in the lives of our students, is one way to help them engage in science and to let them see that science is for them. Two publications which will help you keep up and develop activities linked to the latest science news are the ASE’s publication ‘Science Newswise 2’ and  Catalyst magazine (available in the National STEM Centre eLibrary).

Primary Science Investigations in the Outdoors

Another way to engage students in science is by letting them experience what it means to ‘do science’. Many primary schools are excellent at doing this with children planning and carrying out science investigations. These may include:

• observational studies – what types of birds are in the school grounds at different times of the year?
• pattern seeking  – are magnetic objects always good conductors of electricity?
• fair testing  – which washing powder cleans best?

In fact, one primary school was so good at carrying out science investigations that their research into bees was published in a peer reviewed journal http://rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/7/2/168

So how do we continue to take the skills and interest in science that younger children have and nurture that curiosity in secondary school children?

You could join me in York on the Science Enquiry in Action Course where we will be looking at how we can use enquiry and science investigation so we can allow students to ‘do science’ in a real way and they can gain experience of the process through which scientists plan and carry out research. Whilst I’m not sure that any of the participants will get a research paper published after the course, they will have students who are more engaged in science and developing their skills as independent learners.

Or we can continue the conversation here.  How do you maintain that air of curiosity throughout a school career?  Not just in science, but in any subject?

National Curriculum for Primary Science in England 2012

By Rosemary Feasey

The Government has recently released the draft of the new National Curriculum for Primary Science in England which is out for consultation until 11July 2012 and then will be subject to further revision. The final science programme will be introduced in primary schools from September 2014.

The changes to the curriculum have been led by an Expert Panel comprised of Tim Oates (Director of Research and Assessment at Cambridge Assessment), and Professors Mary James, Andrew Pollard and Dylan Wiliam.

The draft document indicates that National Curriculum for science aims to ensure all pupils:

• develop scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding through the specific disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics
• develop understanding of the nature, processes and methods of science through practical activity
• are equipped with the scientific knowledge required to understand its uses and implications today and for the future

The changes do have implications for teaching and learning in primary science; the Government is clearly focused on aiming for higher standards in science, as we all are in education, and their route to this is through a greater focus on the acquisition of scientific knowledge.

Much of the content is familiar, although some topics has been re-organised and moved across a key stage. For example, sound and electricity have been taken out of Key Stage 1 and are now taught only in Key Stage 2 in the primary curriculum.  There is some new content particularly on the solar system, speed and evolution and an emphasis on studying science biographies (which sadly are listed only in terms of male scientists and not representative of wider gender and race).

The biggest changes are the removal of levels, and that the content is split into year groups, with each year having specific content to be taught, with the promise that the Government is looking at alternative approaches to assessment across the primary age range.

Scientific enquiry does feature across all year groups, with some indication of progression and focus for each year.

So what are the implications for teaching and learning in primary schools?  Well, firstly we should note that in Michael Gove’s letter to Tim Oates on the curriculum review he states that the ‘curriculum changes must provide the gifted teachers we have in our classrooms with both a sense of the higher standards we know they are driven to reach and the freedom to develop more innovative and effective approaches to teaching.’ Here we have a clear indication that teachers still have the autonomy to decide how they should teach primary science and we should embrace this and view the new curriculum as an exciting challenge.

It does mean, though, that schools will need to consider how to marry the new curriculum with existing approaches, for example, cross curricular, topic approach.  Some schools will need to think about how to support staff in terms of developing subject knowledge so that they can confidently teach the content of the new curriculum.  Others will treat this as an ideal opportunity to totally revamp their approach to teaching science and will look forward to being innovative and stretching both staff and pupils.

The Science Learning Network will be offering a range of courses and events to support primary teachers in responding to the new primary science curriculum when published early in 2013.  Schools will also be able to request bespoke courses to suit the individual schools or cluster groups by contacting their local centre.

The Primary Science Annual Conference will be focusing on a number of areas of the new primary curriculum.

You may also be interested in the National Science Learning Centre Course Leading Change in the Primary Curriculum.

Assessment for Learning – the teachers perspective

In our latest video, we interview three science teachers from across the British Isles who attended our Assessment for Learning course in York.  These are their opinions and thoughts.

If you can’t view YouTube videos you can also watch the video on the Leading Assessment for Learning in Science course page.

The future of science depends on the quality of science education today

By Rosemary Feasey

As we all know, primary schools play a vital role in developing the essential scientific skills and understanding that young people need in today’s society.

Teachers work incredibly hard to deliver exciting and challenging science content for their pupils, the majority without a background in science themselves – there are currently only 6,000 science graduates distributed across 17,640 primary schools in the UK. This means that the majority of pupils do not have access to a primary science specialist. It is therefore vital that those teaching science to young children have access to appropriate professional development which helps them develop their own knowledge and skills.

To date the majority of evidence that professional development for teachers of primary science has an impact on pupils learning has been qualitative, rather than established through controlled trials. To help address this and build up a body of evidence about the impact of professional development on primary science teaching and learning, the Wellcome Trust is running one of the largest ever randomised controlled trials in educational research.

This groundbreaking study will explore the extent to which an intensive programme of continuing professional development (CPD) for primary science coordinators without a science background improves science teaching and learning in their schools. The study will span two academic years, 2012/13 and 2013/14 and three English regions – London, the North West and Yorkshire and the Humber. Participating schools will be placed into one of three groups, each receiving different levels of CPD with supply cover costs being covered for any courses taken during school time.

One group of schools will take part in the Primary Science Specialist (PSS) CPD programme, which will build science-specific knowledge, pedagogical expertise and leadership skills. Delivered at the National Science Learning Centre in York and regional Science Learning Centres, it will include courses at the centres, online activities and days working in school.

The results of this study will be used to inform the Wellcome Trust, the Department for Education and others about the best way to support primary science teaching. It will also help us to decide whether the PSS programme should be made available across the country.

This is a unique and free opportunity for schools in the three English regions to learn about and improve primary science in their schools and ultimately across the country. If you are a teacher in a state funded school in London, the North West or Yorkshire and the Humber and would like additional information or to take part in the study please contact me.