Science 2014… and beyond

1. Science 2014… and beyond

2. Agenda • 9:30 Introduction • 9:45 Principles for teaching science • 10:30 Break • 10:45 Curriculum 2014 • 12:00 Lunch • 1:00 Assessment for learning in science • 1:45 Skills, differentiation and recording • 2:15 Break • 2:45 Planning and Reflection time

3. The Principles of science teaching and learning…

4. Science is going well when… • As a table can you group your cards into types/ saying the same thing? • Can you give a heading/area for each group? • Can you as a group arrive at a list of 5-7 principles for teaching science?

5. John Ball’s Seven Principles of Science When we do science: • We need to learn through practical ‘hands on’ investigations as much as we can. •  We need questions to investigate, make us think, understand and progress.  • We need to learn together collaboratively and learn from each other. • We need the teacher to be enthusiastic and knowledgeable about the topic. • We need great resources to help us learn. • We need to learn within familiar contexts we recognise and can relate to. •  Whenever we can, we also need to learn outside the classroom and by having science visitors in school.

6. Stick to your principles! Children should be learning science through active investigations and enquiry based learning. Children should be encouraged to argue about and debate science concepts ...a lot! Children should be encouraged to be scientific and ask questions about the world around them!

7. Floating Questions Encouraging children to formulate questionsand assessing what they know. A bowl of water Plastic weights A sandwich box A box

8. Scaffold if you need to • Can you use it to …? • Does it…? • Does it look…?

9. Encouraging questioning Do you use any of these techniques? Do you have some good ideas?

10. Maintaining Curiosity “Physicians take an oath that commits them to ‘first do no harm.’ The best science teachers set out to ‘first maintain curiosity’ in their pupils.” Ofsted 2013

11. Key Findings (in a nutshell): • Best schools – teachers and pupils understood the ‘big ideas’ of science. • Achievement highest when pupils involved in fully planning, carrying out and evaluating investigations suggested themselves. • Schools often lacked sufficient differentiation. • The quality of feedback to pupils to enhance learning often poor. • Literacy teaching with interesting and imaginative science contexts worked well. • Failure to ensure full coverage of the science NC. • Outstanding when teachers and subject leaders had received science-specific training.

12. A survey of 91 primary schools… The best teaching was: • driven by determined subject leadership that put scientific enquiry at the heart of science teaching and coupled it with substantial expertise in how pupils learn science. • set out to sustain pupils’ natural curiosity, so that they were eager to learn the subject content as well as develop the necessary investigative skills. • was informed by accurate and timely assessment of how well pupils were developing their understanding of science concepts, and their skills in analysis and interpretation so that teaching could respond to and extend pupils’ learning.

13. How do pupils learn science? • Understanding their own ideas – confront own predispositions. • Exploring/noticing/observing. • Identifying/classifying/pattern seeking. • Questioning theirs and others ideas. • Testing/experimentation/research. • Discussion/dialogue/argument • They don’t learn much by being told!

14. Charles Darwin “I love fools' experiments. I am always making them.” …I think that I am superior to the common run of men in noticing things which easily escape attention, and in observing them carefully.”

15. Common weaknesses found: • activities did not match each pupil’s prior learning, so that some pupils wasted time or did not complete work. • pupils became disengaged from learning and more able pupils in particular were not given work that was challengingenough. • teachers failed to provide pupils with feedback that really helped them to improve their work.

16. How do you teach science well? • Understand pupil’s prior learning – what they know and can do already. • Meet the accessibility and challenge needs. • Give feedback causing thinking and that affects learning. How are these three areas in your school?

17. Break before….. The new curriculum!

18. Aims of the new science curriculum To ensure that pupils: • develop scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding through biology/chemistry/physics. • develop understanding of the nature, processes and methods of science through different types of enquiry that help answer questions about the world around them. • Are equipped with the scientific knowledge to understand the uses and implications of science today and in the future. • Scientifically literate members of society if nothing else!

19. Let’s take a look then discuss!

20. New Curriculum integration!

21. Things to consider: • Is introduction of the new curriculum in your school development/improvement plan? (SIP) • Do you have an action plan for science? • Have you talked to staff yet? Topic changes ahead. • Are there training/ CPD areas needed? • Do the resources you have meet the needs of the new NC? (E.g. data loggers) • How will you track pupil’s progress in science? • Don’t forget schools must publish the curriculum on their website! Discuss – note down areas of need!

22. NC 2013

23. Origins of new National Curriculum • ASE Late 1990 research into primary science enquiry. • 2000s ASE Primary Science Committee initiate writing on primary science enquiry. • 2011 – Is it fair or not? • 2012 – Redraft primary science NC builds on ASE work from 15 years ago. Anne Goldsworthy and Brenda Keogh work on draft. Stuart Naylor

24. What’s the same • Most of the subject knowledge and understanding. • A balance of science and content skills. • Most topics come up more than once, so there is progression. (Don’t throw away your schemes of work – they might be useful!)

25. Content that’s gone… • Understanding of common life processes gone from KS1 – moved to more detailed in KS2 (e.g. digestive system). • The role of drugs as medicines. • Care for the environment and sensitivity to other people animals. • The effect of rest and exercise of pulse rate. • Role of micro-organisms • Germination. • Care of teeth. • Forces – (opposing forces, measurement and identification of direction. (Too abstract – Piaget and abstract thought).

26. Does this mean we can’t teach it? • No! • The curriculum is a ‘minimum entitlement’ for pupils. We have a duty to expand on it! • It’s a mastery curriculum –simplified to ensure as many complete and achieve. • The expectation is that the teacher ensures all ‘get it’ while allowing others to go deeper/ follow own enquires. “Not moving on, but moving out” Jane Maloney, SLC

27. New Content • Greater emphasis on scientific language (e.g. deciduous and evergreen) • Seasonal changes (Yr1) • Microhabitats (Yr2) • Sources of food (Yr2) • Fossils (Yr3) • Soil formation (Yr3) • Changing environments (Yr4) • Digestive system (Yr4) • Temperature at which changes occur (Yr4) • Knowledge of different lifecycles (Yr5) • Lever, pulleys and gears (Yr5) • Identifying animals groups , e.g. amphibians (Yr5) • Transpiration of nutrients and water within animals (Yr6) • Evolution and inheritance (Yr6) • More explicit understanding of light and the formation of shadows (Yr6)

28. What else is new? • ‘Working scientifically’ and emphasis on different types of enquiry. • More naming and identifying things (especially in KS1). • More on using outdoor environment. • Some reference to how scientific ideas have changed over time. • Some content moved to different year groups.

29. More… • Working scientifically is more than fair testing – it includes different types of enquiry e.g. observation. • The purpose of working scientifically is to answer scientific questions – enquiry based learning. • The non-statutory guidance illustrates how working scientifically might apply in each topic.

30. Opportunities • Fair testing and other types of enquiry provide far more opportunities for children. • Working scientifically underpins all of the subject knowledge topics. • Working scientifically in three phases – more progressive/ depth to progression over time. • Strong emphasis in guidance on effective teaching and learning – read it!

31. Planning issues • In KS2 there are five areas in each year not six and there are four in KS1. • The PoS study can be studied over two years not just year group. • Phase group skills progression. • The topic of seasonal change will stretch across a year.

32. Our extra half terms! Ideas? • Take longer over each topic? • Make one double length topic? • Use the final half term for revision, consolidation and extension? • Independent (pairs or groups) study some of the question that came up during the year? • Create your own topic? • Do something adventurous – class science newspaper/documentary/show

33. The Local Environment! ‘Pupils should use the local environment throughout the year to explore and answer questions about …” “They should raise and answer questions about the local environment…’ ….”including those in the local environment”

34. Every year group should be out and about! • Local habitats near you? • Class photo diary of a habitat. • Yearly science diary – half term survey of an area. • Every year group should be outside poking around at least three times a year!!

35. Mastery more than spiralling “While it is important pupils make progress, it is also vitally important that they develop secure understanding of each key block of knowledge and concepts in order to progress to the next stage. Insecure, superficial understanding will not allow genuine progression…” p3

36. Assessment! Nuffield and ASE developing a framework for assessment: • Use ordinary classroom work to assess against learning objective – achieved/not achieved/exceeded • Summary judgements at the end of each topic using this information. • Overall you’ll have a yearly summary of progress. • Internal and external moderation. • DfE exemplars

37. Assessment continued… • No levels! • Schools ‘free to use their own approach.’ • Schools still required to identify what children have learnt and what progress they are making, report to parents and provide end of key stage judgements. • Ofsted will use whatever assessment information school provide. • DfE will provide examples of good practice. • Almost certainly National sampling.

38. What we already know about assessment… • More evidence isn’t always better evidence. • All assessment involve professional judgements. • Professional judgement need to be justified in terms of process used, not amount of evidence accumulated. • Evidence suggest AFL improves learning too!

39. Caution! • Some teachers may approach mastery type curriculum as a tick list exercise rather than using it as a basis for enquiry. • We must teach children to be scientific!

40. Caution • Pupils with gaps will never catch up unless teachers assess well and ensure attainment targets have been learnt.

41. Assessing under the new curriculum • Plan in assessment opportunities as you teach. • Focus on scientific enquiry. • Use an on-going assessment system and record keeping. • Use quizzes and mini tests for specific knowledge occasionally. • Go back over points that need securing.

42. Moderation will be important Assessment • Take each point in the Pos. • Is the child working towards/achieving or exceeding? Example: Compare and group together different kinds of rocks on the basis of their appearance and simple physical properties. What could this look like at these 3 stages?

43. Assessment for learning in science • Assessment should be part of the learning process. • Assessing is done best while pupils are ‘doing science’ and not when science is over! • Plan for it, look for it, ask for it and record it as you go.

44. Make assessment part of teaching Plan in your assessment opportunities

45. Make assessment part of teaching Make discovery and enquiry the basis of science lessons – then you're assessing authentic science skills and knowledge as you teach! Questions!

46. Your concept cartoon. Discuss…. • What do you think! • How, when, where might you use concept cartoons?

47. Ways to use concept cartoons • Providing a stimulus for an investigation • Introduce a new topic – assess prior knowledge. • Challenge a group • Work with a small group • Revision • Homework

48. Why are concept cartoons so good? • Visual • Minimal text – accessible to all. • Familiar contexts. • Making scientific argument/dialogue ok. • Unemotional – ideas are equalised. • Identify children’s misconceptions. • Collaborative/enquiry orientated.

49. Paper back £60 -£100 second hand £150 approx. CD-ROM and site license

50. Building in assessment for learning! Concept sentences – use the words, plus your own to make a sentence. • Provide pupils with key words or picture on cards. • They use these with words of their own to form sentences about a topic/concept. • Minimise nouns (so they have to make connections and use vocabulary)