Creative practicals in the new GCSE science curriculum – Webinar

The role of practical work in the new GCSE science specifications has changed. What will this mean for lessons? How will this impact assessment? In this webinar, Ed Walsh takes a look at the impact of the changes on science lessons as we know them, and gives some practical advice on incorporating enquiry-based work into your curriculum.

A link to the recording of Ed Walsh’s webinar, Creative Practicals in the new GCSE science curriculum, is embedded in this article.

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      string(377) "... science subjects and careers. Many schools had already experienced increasesin uptake in science subjects at GCSE and post-16, due in part to National Centre CPD. ■ As a result of teachers introducing a wider range of teaching approaches and contexts, pupilshad developed transferable and practical skills (e.g. discussion ..."
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      string(4226) "Leadership BriefingLeadership Briefing – www.teachingtimes.comReports Summaries – a weeklyservice of essential summaries,in-depth reports and criticalanalysis that’s new and relevantto education, linked to originalsource documents.EVALUATION OF THE NATIONAL SCIENCELEARNING CENTRE: FINAL REPORTKeywordsCPD, teachers,motivation,engagement,science, studentprogress,attainment,participation,GCSESummaryThis NFER research explores the impact on pupils of continuing professional development(CPD) undertaken at the National Science Learning Centre, which provides professionaldevelopment in the teaching of science, in primary and secondary schools and FE colleges.The aim of the study was to explore the impacts on students of the subject-specific CPDundertaken by teachers at the National Centre, with a particular focus on students’ motivationfor, and engagement with, science, student progress and attainment, and participation inscience subjects at GCSE and progression post-16.Key  Findings: ■ Staff and pupils reported increased pupil enjoyment of, and engagement in, science, due togreater teacher enthusiasm and confidence in teaching science and delivering practicals.Increased pupil confidence and understanding and more secure subject knowledge were alsohighlighted. Interviewees anticipated that this increased enjoyment and interest would lead togreater uptake of science subjects and careers. Many schools had already experienced increasesin uptake in science subjects at GCSE and post-16, due in part to National Centre CPD. ■ As a result of teachers introducing a wider range of teaching approaches and contexts, pupilshad developed transferable and practical skills (e.g. discussion skills, working in pairs/groups,undertaking practical work), greater awareness of the importance of science to society, andincreased knowledge of career opportunities. ■ Interviewees were cautious in reporting impacts on student attainment, although many feltthat students’ increased enjoyment of, and engagement in, science would inevitably lead toimprovements in progress and attainment. Some teachers (and students) reported actualimprovements in grades. ■ There was widespread enthusiasm for pursuing CPD at the National Science Learning Centre onan ongoing basis and the ENTHUSE bursary contributed to the accessibility of courses. ■ All of the impacts reported during the first phase of the research were evident during follow-upinterviews, suggesting lasting benefits.Recommendations for schools: ■ Schools could improve internal systems and develop guidance to enable the effective monitoringand evaluation of the impact of CPD. More effective links should be made with performancemanagement processes in schools and evaluation should be built into the application andplanning process, covering both short- and long-term evaluation outcomes.Week Commencing 5th August 2013http://www.nfer.ac.uk/nfer/publications/NSLC02/NSLC02.pdfhttp://www.nfer.ac.uk/nfer/publications/NSLC02/NSLC02.pdfhttp://www.nfer.ac.uk/nfer/publications/PMSZ01/PMSZ01.pdfLeadership BriefingLeadership Briefing – www.teachingtimes.comReports Summaries – a weeklyservice of essential summaries,in-depth reports and criticalanalysis that’s new and relevantto education, linked to originalsource documents. ■ School and departmental wide approaches to the evaluation of CPD should be adopted. Thiscould be further supported by ensuring that senior school leaders and those responsible for CPDhave appropriately defined roles and receive training to enable them to support staff in maximisingthe impacts and benefits of undertaking CPD. ■ Senior school leaders should communicate clearly the purpose and value of CPD to staff, outlinetheir priorities for its use, and introduce school-wide processes by which staff can share theirlearning from such experiences with their peers.WEB LINKEvaluation of the National Science Learning Centre: Final Reporthttp://www.nfer.ac.uk/nfer/publications/NSLC02/NSLC02.pdf"
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Leadership

Evaluation of the National Science Learning Centre

1 Aug 2013

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      string(318) "It is important that professional development makes a difference but how can its impact be robustly tracked and measured? Drawing on extensive research, Suzanne Straw, Matt Walker, Irina Kudenko and Pauline Hoyle provide practical guidance for teachers on evaluating their continuing professional development."
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      string(349) "reflective journal or yourevaluations of lessons or schemes of work■ Feedback from pupils (see below)■ Changes to schemes of work/lesson plans/assessment/resourcesPupils■ Attainment data■ Progression data (e.g. teacher assessment within/between years/Key Stages,progression from Key Stage 2 to GCSE or post-16 study)■ ..."
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      string(4801) "reflective journal or yourevaluations of lessons or schemes of work■ Feedback from pupils (see below)■ Changes to schemes of work/lesson plans/assessment/resourcesPupils■ Attainment data■ Progression data (e.g. teacher assessment within/between years/Key Stages,progression from Key Stage 2 to GCSE or post-16 study)■ Attitude surveys (before and after changes and with a comparison groupif possible)■ Interviews/discussions/focus groups■ Videos/photos/posters■ Feedback on pupil engagement from the observation of lessons bycolleagues■ Documenting your personal reflections/observation of pupils■ Parent feedbackColleagues andschool■ Feedback from colleagues■ Evidence of improved student progress and attainment■ Feedback from lesson observations (for example by staff/Ofsted)■ Other evidence e.g. from staff/pupil surveys, interviews, videos etc.■ Evidence of increased uptake of subject pre-/post-16■ School/department documents e.g. development or improvement plans/vision statements, schemes of work/assessment regimes/lesson observationprocesses/resourcesbefore and after you implement changes in the classroomresulting from your professional development and tocollect the same data from a comparison group of pupilsnot experiencing the same changes. When this is notpossible, comparing pre- and post-intervention data foryour target group, or comparing post-intervention dataof the target group with the results from a comparisongroup of similar pupils would still provide useful data.In any case, you should aim to collect different■■■ How should you evaluate impacts onpupils?Planning how you will evaluate the impact of yourprofessional development on pupils is key, and you needto give this some thought prior to undertaking the CPDand/or actions post-CPD. In particular, you will needto consider what data can be collected, if pupils shouldbe involved in evaluation and when to collect the data.The ideal would be to collect data from pupils both66A framework for evaluating teacher continuing professional development ■■■■■……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………types of data to ensure that your measurement ofimpact is correct. You may want to collect quantitativeor qualitative data and both types of evidence can bevalid, useful and complementary. The type of questionsyou want to pose will influence the method(s) youdecide to use.The example below is from a physics teacher whocompleted a CPD course ‘Success in teaching 11-16Physics’ at the National Science Learning Centre(NSLC) and chose to focus on his Year 11 AdditionalScience (AQA) students by introducing changes to theway they studied the topic of radioactivity and nuclearphysics. The teacher used the exam results of his pupilsin a previous year as a benchmark to compare hiscurrent pupils’ achievements. He also used ‘Pupil Voice’to verify the established result and provide additionalevidence of impact:It [radioactivity and nuclear physics] was a good topic aslearners often struggle with the concepts involved and it can seema topic in which a lot of physics is thrown together and it is lesseasy to see the ties…I decided that, throughout the topic, I wouldreturn to the same PowerPoint slide, which is a spider diagramshowing the overview of the topic…I think ultimately the bestjudge is assessment data. It is very difficult to make comparisonsbetween students in a statistically small sample. However, whencomparing the end of topic assessment data for this class againstmy class of a similar ability last year, the students on averageincreased their marks by nine per cent. However, another measureis how the students felt about the topic in relation to the othertopics covered this year…The overall consensus [from PupilVoice] was that the students found it a good thing that helpedto bring everything together.Progress and attainment data will be the mostconvincing data to demonstrate the positive impactsof the changes you make in your classroom.In terms of progress, this might include assessing,over the period of time in which you have beenimplementing changes in the classroom, how pupilshave progressed from their starting point and to whatextent the progress they have made is higher thanexpectations/ targets and can be linked to your changein practice.In terms of attainment, you will want to look atpupils’ performance in internal and external"
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Professional Development

A framework for evaluating teacher continuing professional development

14 May 2015

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      string(483) "... 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 ..."
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      string(5727) "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. Throughout their secondaryyears, students need to explore ways ofworking accurately, consider an appropriatedegree of accuracy and develop competencyin using more sophisticated equipment.Some phenomena, such as weight changeon combustion, may only be apparent usingsensitive weighing equipment, for example.Gathering data should lead to a"
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Creative Teaching & Learning

Turn your students into scientists!

28 Jul 2016

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      string(5645) "Using research to inspire practice. (pp. 161-178). Paris, France: OECD.Y7, 8, 9Oracy (paired talk, P4C, formal debates, public speaking…)Mercer, N., & Littleton, K. (2007). Dialogue and the development of children’s thinking. London, UK: Routledge.Topping, K. J. & Trickey, S. (2007a). Collaborative philosophical enquiry for school children: Cognitive effects at 10-12 years. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 77, 271–288.Topping, KJ & Trickey, S (2007b), ‘Collaborative philosophical inquiry for schoolchildren: Cognitive gains at 2-year follow-up’ British Journal of Educational Psychology, 77, 4, pp. 787-796.Y7, 8, 9Formative assessment (comment-based feedback)Black P, Wiliam D (1998) Inside the Black Box: Raising Standards through Classroom. Assessment Phi Delta Kappan 80(2) 139-148. 2. Hattie, J. (2009) Visible learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses related to achievement, Routledge, London. Higgins, S., Kokotsaki, D. & Coe, R.J. (2011). Toolkit of Strategies to Improve Learning: Summary for Schools Spending the Pupil Premium. Sutton Trust-Educational Endowment Foundation.Y7, 8, 9Metacognition (language of learning, plenaries, journals) Whitebread, D. & Pino Pasternak, D. (2010) Metacognition, Self-Regulation & Meta-Knowing. In Littleton, K., Wood, C. & Kleine Staarman, J. (eds) International Handbook of Psychology in Education. Bingley, UK: Emerald.Y8Personal effectiveness (organisational skills)Harrison, N., James, D. and Last, K. (2012) The impact of the pursuit of ASDAN’s Certificate of Personal Effectiveness (CoPE) on GCSE attainment. Project Report. UWE/ASDAN.Y9Thinking & reasoning skills  (critical thinking, debating)Halpern, D. F. (1998). Teaching critical thinking for transfer across domains: Dispositions, skills, structure training, and metacognitive monitoring. American Psychologist, 53, 4, 449-455.Whole-schoolGrowth mindset (shared language of learning)Claxton, G, Chambers, M, Powell, G & Lucas, B. (2011) The Learning Powered School: Pioneering 21st Century Education. TLO, Bristol.;  Perkins, D. (1995). Outsmarting IQ: The Emerging Science of Learnable Intelligence. New York: Free Press.Dweck, C. (2006). Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. Random House: New York.Engle, R. A., Lam, D. P., Meyer, X. S., & Nix, S.. “How does expansive framingpromote transfer? Several proposed explanations.,” Educational Psychologist, v.47, 2012, p. 215-231.Whole-schoolTransfer (managed approach)Engle, R. A., Lam, D. P., Meyer, X. S., & Nix, S.. “How does expansive framingpromote transfer? Several proposed explanations.,” Educational Psychologist, v.47, 2012, p. 215-231.Hipkins, R., & Cowie, B. (2014). Learning to learn, lifewide and lifelong learning: Reflections on the New Zealand experience. In R. Deakin-Crick, C. Stringher, & K. Ren (Eds.), Learning to learn: International perspectives from theory and practice (pp. 303–320). London, UK: Routledge.Whole-schoolAction Research as CPD (collaborative inquiry) Bell, M., Cordingley, P., Isham, C. & Davis, R. (2010) Report of Professional Practitioner Use of Research Review: Practitioner engagement in and/or with research. Coventry: CUREE, GTCE, LSIS & NTRP. Available at: http://www.curee-paccts.com/node/2303Crippen, K. J., Biesinger, K. D. & Ebert, E. K. (2010) Using Professional Development to Achieve Classroom Reform and Science Proficiency: An Urban Success Story from Southern Nevada, USA. Professional Development in Education, 36 (4) pp.637-661. Joyce, B. & Showers, B. (2002) Student achievement through staff development. In: Joyce, B. & Showers, B. Designing training and peer coaching: our needs for learning. VA, USA: ASCD. Timperley, H., Wilson, A., Barrar, H., & Fung, I. (2007). Teacher Professional Learning and Development: Best Evidence Synthesis Iteration [BES]. Wellington, New Zealand: Ministry of Education. Available at www.educationcounts.govt.nz/goto/BES.  The importance of transferThere is not space here to explore each of these components in detail. However, as can be seen in Table 2 the L2L curriculum at Sea View formed part of a whole-school approach to teaching and learning, which aimed to ensure that the skills and dispositions developed through the L2L curriculum were able to transfer meaningfully to other subject areas throughout the school. The issue of transfer has often been the Achilles heel of L2L initiatives, since it is well understood that skills tend to remain rooted in the contexts in which they were developed (e.g. see Willingham, 2007). While it is self-evident that transfer can and does happen, to varying degrees – school would be rather a waste of time if it did not – it certainly does not always happen automatically, and thus requires careful planning and monitoring. One key way in which transfer was facilitated at Sea View was through a shared language of learning, used by teachers throughout the school to focus on the how, as well as the what, of learning (see Figure 2). For a more detailed discussion of transfer at Sea View, see Mannion & Mercer (2016).Figure 2. The shared language of learning at Sea View, comprising the school’s six core values with examples of supporting ‘processes of learning’. What was the impact of L2L at Sea View?By the end of year 9, there was a significant increase in the proportion of students either hitting or exceeding their target grades in the"
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Leadership

Rediscover Learning to Learn

20 Jun 2017