Creative practicals in the new GCSE science curriculum – PowerPoint

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The role of practical work in the new GCSE science specifications has changed. What will this mean for lessons? How will this impact assessment?

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Professional Development

Creative practicals in the new GCSE science curriculum - Webinar

27 Apr 2017

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      string(5808) "Strategiesfor theNewCurriculum14Volume6.3nCreativeTeaching&Learning In 2014, the new National Curriculum for science replaced its ‘How scienceworks’ strand with ‘Working scientifically’. The change in name certainlyreflects a more active approach to this particular aspect of science teaching,with a very clear message: pupils must learn, first-hand, how to think andwork like true scientists.Central to this is the development of scientific attitudes. The global sciencecommunity never stands still; it is continually developing its theories andpractices as new ideas are put forward and new evidence comes to light. Inthe classroom, too, pupils should always be looking for opportunities to refinetheir investigations. The curriculum for Key Stage 3 requires that they be taughtthe value of objectivity, accuracy and precision. It also states that pupils mustlearn how to ensure their experiments—and by extension, their results—arescientifically valid.Worthy aims, certainly. But how can such attitudes be taught?Turn yourstudents intoscientists!The new secondary science curriculum features a renewed emphasis onstudents thinking and working like ‘real’ scientists. But how do we cultivatesuch attitudes? Our science expert, Ed Walsh, considers the key areas.Looking for moreadvice onteachingthe newsecondaryscience curriculum?Sign up for Ed Walsh’supcoming webinar,part of our newTeachersand LeadersSummerSchool.http://teachingtimesbookshop.co.uk/product/cpd-webinars/webinar-creative-practicals-new-gcse-science-curriculum/15Volume6.3nCreativeTeaching&LearningStrategiesfor theNewCurriculumShow, don’t tellThe new programme of study emphasisesthat scientific attitudes should be developedthrough coverage of curriculum content—thatis, students should develop a grasp of whatit means to work scientifically through theirexploration of key concepts and ideas, ratherthan as a discrete component.Objectivity, for example, is difficult to conveyeffectively just by telling pupils it is important.If the experiences they have of investigationsare all based on illustrating what is alreadyknown, they will find it harder to understandwhat it feels like to be led by the evidence.Investigative work should be based, in part,upon students developing ideas in responseto evidence they gather.Of course, it is impossible for any human,even the best scientist, to be truly objective.Individual scientists all have prior knowledge,theoretical beliefs, experiences, culturalbackgrounds, expectations and biases whichwill affect their observations and conclusions.Science tries to overcome this lack of pureobjectivity through the scientific community,which scrutinises scientific work and helpsbalance individual scientists’ leanings. (Moreon exploring this with pupils later).Working safely but independentlyThe ability to evaluate risk forms a brief butcrucial aspect of the working scientifically strand.Students will have previously met the need towork in a safe way; however, the transition tosecondary school science introduces materials,equipment and techniques that may be lessfamiliar and may introduce hazards that are lessapparent. Students need to be introduced tothese and trained effectively.It is important that students work safelybut also that they are increasingly able todecide how to do this. Rather than alwaysbeing dependent upon the teacher issuing andenforcing rules, they should be encouragedto identify hazards and propose safe workingpractices as a response. As they grow older,this might include ideas about concentrationsof chemicals, techniques involving equipmentand methods of disposal.The importance of accuracy andprecisionOne of the ways in which science goes througha step change for many students betweenYear 6 and Year 7 is the increased access toStrategiesfor theNewCurriculum16Volume6.3nCreativeTeaching&Learningcombinations of precision and accuracy usingthe retro arcade game ‘Phoenix’.2Is our evidence valid?The concept of evidence being valid is a centralidea in working scientifically. Students needto develop a sense of whether the evidencethey are gathering is enabling them to answerthe question that is driving their investigation,assuming, of course, that there is such aquestion. With some investigations, thereisn’t an issue over validity, but with others,especially when they are having to use onesituation to represent another, it becomesincreasingly crucial. Investigating energytransfer from burning foodstuffs under a boilingtube of water or using test tubes of hot waterto explore how penguins reduce heat lossby huddling are examples of experiments inwhich considering validity is both importantand insightful.It is also important to introduce and embedthe use of key terms such as ‘repeatability’.To an extent, this will be influenced by thedevelopment of the next generation of GCSEscience courses and the terminology used inthat. However, the word is specifically stated inthe new programme of study, and the question,‘If I were to do this experiment again, wouldI get the same results?’, is an important one.It encourages students to consider the designof their investigation and the following ofapparatus such as more accurate measuringequipment. 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Creative Teaching & Learning

Turn your students into scientists!

28 Jul 2016

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      string(5680) "This month’s FeaturesCould ‘Thinkspaces’offer a new wayto teach coding inschools?According to a recent statement by Middlesex University, networks such as ‘ThinkSpace’ will be vital in teaching schoolchildren how to code and further develop their skills before attending University. So what is the ThinkSpace initiative? Herewe explain…ThinkSpace is a non-profit start-up founded in Plymouth by schoolboy, JamesAnderson, from Devonport High School for Boys, with the aim of promotingcoding in schools at GCSE level.He and his friends were frustrated with the ICT curriculum, which focuses on using software likeExcel and Powerpoint rather than the technical skills they will need to develop their own apps,games and software – so they began to look at other ideas.Initially they wanted to create a sort of Apple Genius Bar-style technology clinic, wherestudents could get help with their devices. However this evolved into the idea of teaching morestudents how to build their own apps, and this became ‘ThinkSpace’.The idea is simple.  Build physical creative environments in schools where students canlearn to code and build apps. Then create a virtual community – not just within the room butamong other Thinkspaces around the world – where they can share their inspirations, successesand failures.In essence, ThinkSpace aims to get schools to create dedicated zones where students canlearn how to code in an informal, fun environment.http://www.teachingtimes.comThis month’s FeaturesJames said he and his friends had toteach themselves how to build apps andwanted to transfer those skills to others.Since the concept was born, Jameshas recruited a network of ambassadors toreplicate the Thinkspace idea in their ownschools.Organisations already exist, such asCode Club, but they are only in primaryschools, while movements like Code.org aremore like petitions than anything practical.the school needs to sign up to the socialnetwork Thinkspace Social, and they canthen begin inviting students to join in.James said: “We are trying to get rid ofthe stereotypes associated with the wordscode, coding, programmers… and make itcool to create apps. That’s why we are notusing the word code in our name.”The idea is that the Thinkspace would beopen during break and lunch and studentswould be able to drop in and out, as well as‘chill-out, eat lunch, read magazines’. Onepart of the Thinkspace would be focusedon design, while another would be morefocused on development.Supporting the technology is a socialnetwork, built by James, where schools canaccess tutorials, resources, how to videos,educational podcasts, interviews withexperts, and other materials. The hope isthat Thinkspaces could be run by the olderstudents teaching the younger ones.Thinkspace has already attractedthe support of Jimmy Wales, the founderof Wikipedia, Apple co-founder SteveWozniak and Twitter’s Dick Costolo, amongothers. The concept has similarities withGoogle Campus, the seven-floor facilityin East London that offers start-up firms aAlthough Thinkspace isn’t trying tochange the curriculum, it is trying to getschools to create their own Thinkspaces –computer workshops where students are freeto create and collaborate on any softwarethey want.To join the programme, schools don’tnecessarily have to have a high-techdevelopment lab – any space with enoughcomputers for all the students who wantto participate will do. A teacher fromplace to collaborate and get mentoring helpfrom experts, as well as the after-schoolCode Clubs that have been established in anumber of primary schools.Initiatives like these are designedto address the gap in teaching codingbetween primary and secondary education,and college and further education.While there are plenty of universitycourses that teach coding – MiddlesexUniversity, for example, offers a computerscience degree alongside a variety ofrelated courses – there is a lack of syllabiteaching similar skills at A-level and GCSE.Part of the problem is a lack ofeducators who are qualified to teachcoding: or rather, a lack of motivatingfactors for those with the skills andknowledge to enter the world of teaching.Experienced programmers can earnsignificantly higher salaries working forprivate companies than they can teaching http://www.teachingtimes.comhttp://www.mdx.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/computing_it/computer_science_bsc.aspxhttp://www.mdx.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/computing_it/computer_science_bsc.aspxThis month’s Featuresin schools, so there is little reason for themto make the switch. This makes it difficult tointegrate coding into the GCSE syllabusnationwide, leaving it up to voluntaryinitiatives, like Thinkspace and Codeclub toget children programming earlier.However, there is some progress. Arecent Department of Education shake-upof the computing curriculum will removethe necessity of teaching basic officeapplication skills like Word and Excel, andadd in the teaching of programming forchildren as young as five. The curriculum,which is due to come into place fromSeptember 2014, will teach the creationand debugging of simple programs inKey Stage One, and an understandingof computer networks and search in KeyJames Anderson starting out by simply searching online ‘how to build an iPhone app,’ he was enlisted byhis school to build a homework tracker and organisational app for his fellow students. That led him downa path of extra-curricular learning and app development, which helped him reach a level vastly ahead ofhis peers.Without a developer license for"
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Digital Learning

Could ‘Thinkspaces’ offer a new way to teach coding in schools?

5 Jun 2014

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      string(407) "... and recruiting to Welsh-medium science departments is a particular problem.Recommendations Schools should:■ Provide stimulating and challenging learning opportunities in science involving effective practical work to meet the needs of all pupils, including the more able.■ Evaluate their curriculum for science in preparation for the new area ..."
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      string(5067) "close relative married a Muslim and 44% of respondents said they would mind themselves.WEB LINK Racial Prejudice In Britain Todayhttp://library.teachingtimes.com/articles/racial-prejudice_091017.htm16Vol 8.3 School Leadership Today www.teachingtimes.comRe por tsLe ader ship Bri efingLeadership Briefings are a weekly service. Do you subscribe?This Estyn report considers a range of factors, such as the quality of teaching and assessment, curriculum planning, staff development, and curricular and extra-curricular learning experiences, that contribute to improving standards in science.It considers general and vocational examination routes at key stage 4. It also reports on the progress made in key stage 3 against the recommendations made in Science in key stages 2 and 3.Main Findings: ■ The quality of teaching is better in key stage4 lessons than in key stage 3. In key stage 3, teacher expectations of what pupils can achieve are often too low.■ In a minority of lessons, progress is too slow. In these lessons, many pupils are too reliant on the teacher. In a very few lessons, a few pupils disrupt the learning of others. This disruption is more common in key stage 3 and in lessons taught by teachers who are not science specialists.■ In key stage 4, performance at level 2 in science has shown an upward trend from 2012 to 2015. Despite declining in 2016, science remains the highest attaining core subject in Wales. Girls consistently perform better than boys in science. Pupils eligible for free school meals still do not perform as well as other pupils. The proportion of pupils who achieve the highest grades in science GCSE has not improved over time.■ Senior leaders generally have a broad vision for the school curriculum and what they want to achieve for their pupils. In science departments, leaders are less clear about the specific aims of the science curriculum. The recent changes to qualifications may have contributed to this lack of clarity, since science leaders are not familiar enough with the content or assessment requirements.■ Lines of accountability for science departments are generally clear. However, because all qualifications are included in the level 2 measure for science, performance data is not specific enough to allow a department to compare itself effectively with similar schools. This has led to a lack of rigour in the performance management and evaluation of science departments in recent years, especially when leaders are not using a range of evidence to evaluate the quality ofScience At Key Stage 3 And Key Stage 4teaching and leaders of science departments and are too dependent on using data.■ When looking at pupils’ work, most departments consider pupils’ literacy and numeracy skills, but only a few focus clearly on the standard of science.■ In most schools, the science department improvement plan is suitably linked to their self- evaluation report. The plan includes appropriate actions to address priorities and the success criteria are linked properly to the department’s targets. In a majority of cases, the actions are not specific enough to improve the quality of teaching.■ Most science teachers benefit from sound internal support from their school leaders and colleagues. However, regional consortia subject officers target their support on science departments that need to improve significantly and there is not enough subject-specific support for science in schools that are not underperforming.■ Most lessons are taught by specialist science teachers. Generally, there is a lack of applicants for science posts and recruiting to Welsh-medium science departments is a particular problem.Recommendations Schools should:■ Provide stimulating and challenging learning opportunities in science involving effective practical work to meet the needs of all pupils, including the more able.■ Evaluate their curriculum for science in preparation for the new area of learning and experience for science and technology■ Ensure that departmental self-evaluation is robust and based on a range of evidence to evaluate subject- specific standards and the quality of teaching.■ inform planning for improvement. ■ Ensure that assessment helps pupils to knowwhat they need to do to improve.Local authorities and regional consortia should: ■ Provide more subject-specific support for scienceteachers on improving teaching and assessment, and facilitate the sharing of good practice.■ Provide more support for schools to evaluate their curriculum, and plan for the development of the science and technology area of learning and experience, as well as the changes to qualifications in science.WEB LINK Science At Key Stage 3 And Key Stage 4"
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    array(1) {
      [0]=>
      array(3) {
        ["value"]=>
        string(10) "Leadership"
        ["matchLevel"]=>
        string(4) "none"
        ["matchedWords"]=>
        array(0) {
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Leadership

SLT 8.3 Leadership Briefing

7 Nov 2017