This was one of the projects I was involved in:
This was part of a suite of projects undertaken as part of a coordinated project among selected initial teacher education providers as part of the (UK Government) Department for Education and Skills (DFES) initiative called the 'Secondary National Strategy' (previously 'KS3 Strategy').
The project teams were based in
- Institute of Education (now part of UCL), University of London
- Keele University
- King's College London
- University of Cambridge
- University of York
The project was supported by The Gatsby Science Enhancement Programme (SEP)
SEP produced a set of resources for schools based on the projects, and the work was reported in a suite of papers in a special edition (June 2006) of the School Science Review.
Download the SSR editorial: Teaching about ideas and evidence in science – towards a genuinely broad and balanced 'science for all'
Below is the information about the Cambridge Project as carried on the DFES 'Standards' website.
Teaching Ideas and Evidence in Science: A KS3 Strategy Science ITT Project
University of Cambridge (Faculty of Education)
Dr. Keith Taber, Lecturer in Science Education (http://www.educ.cam.ac.uk/staff/taber.html; [email protected])
The research team was supported in Faculty by John Raffan, Philip Stephenson, Stephen Tomkins, Elaine Wilson, and Mark Winterbottom.
Introduction
The project was designed to build upon two existing interests in the faculty – the role of explanations in science, and in learning and understanding science, and meeting the needs of the most able in science classes.
The trainees were involved in sessions in Faculty; research visits to two Cambridge Schools; project work on school placement; presentations at a 'Meeting the Needs of the Most Able in Science' seminar with local teachers; presentations at the Secondary Science Partnership Conference attended by PGCE school-based mentors. Aspects of the project are described below, and more details can be found in the forthcoming SEP sponsored publication.
The starting point for the project was to consider the nature of science, and how this is reflected in the curriculum (in the 'ideas and evidence' thread of Sc1 in the National Curriculum). The aim was to look at developing a 'curriculum model' for the nature of science to inform trainees' work. The notion of a curriculum model is important because the nature of science is a contentious and indeed much-contended field, and (like any aspect of science) needs to be simplified and presented at a level suitable for learners. So 'curriculum model' implies a simplification of the phenomena as understood in the professional community, which is matched to the developmental level of the pupils, but is intellectually honest, and acts as a suitable basis for progression of understanding.
KS3 Pupils' Understanding of 'Explanations' in Science
The Cambridge project was linked to an existing initiative. An ongoing series of Saturday morning seminars on 'Meeting the needs of the Most Able in Science' acted as the focus for a collaborative (Universities of Cambridge, Reading & Surrey-Roehampton) project: Able Pupils Experiencing Challenging Science (APECS). As part of the APECS project a top set Y9 science group had undertaken two lessons exploring the nature of explanations in science. This work was reported to a 'Meeting the Needs of the Most Able in Science' seminar to which trainees as well as local teachers were invited.
Research Visits
Existing research suggests the extent to which school pupils understand some aspects of the nature of science. However, in order to give the trainees involved in the project first-hand experience of pupils' level of understanding, two research visits to local schools were planned. Details of the schools involved are given at the end of this report.
The visits involved trainees interviewing pupils on a 1:1 basis about their understanding of four key terms (theory, hypothesis, experiment, model), and small group activities considering why scientific thinking has changed.
The resource used was a set of probes for exploring pupils' ideas about why scientific ideas develop. In each of the probes a brief scenario is presented in terms of what people used to think, and what scientists now think. The groups were asked to work in small groups (e.g. 3 pupils) and to suggest:
- Why people held the original ideas/beliefs
- Why scientists now think those ideas were wrong
- Why scientists now hold the new ideas
- There were eight topics considered in the set of probes:
- blood circulation
- burning
- the four elements
- moving continents
- new life? (spontaneous generation)
- origins (evolution)
- sight
- the solar system (geocentric-heliocentric)
The topics were chosen so that in at least some of the examples used the pupils were unlikely to have much background knowledge of the evidence involved, and so were required to think around the topic to make their suggestions.
The pupils enjoyed working on these exercises, and some of their suggestions are certainly credit-worthy. Some of the responses produced by the small groups (e.g. "Scientists have conducted experiments to prove it") would be good starting points for full class discussion.
Most of the work was undertaken with top science sets in Years 7, 8 and 9, but the trainees also interviewed a mixed-ability Year 7 tutor group at one school.
The research team met as a group before and after each of the visits. The pre-visit meeting was primarily to ensure everyone understood arrangement and procedures, but the post-visit meeting allowed the trainees to share experiences and discuss pupil responses to the interviews and group activities. In this way the group of trainees were sensitised to the likely level of understanding of Ideas and Evidence among the pupils they would work with on the subsequent teaching placement.
Trainee research projects.
The trainees involved in the project were asked to think about the teaching of ideas and evidence in science during their work on professional placement. They were invited to apply their understanding of this area of teaching, and – if they felt confident – to report back on their experiences.
Five of the trainees provided accounts of their experiences, showing what can be expected from relatively inexperienced teachers supported by mentors and other experienced teachers in schools.
Trainee 1 (PGCE Secondary – Physics specialist) undertook work at Fearnhill School in Letchworth. He was supported by two mentors, one of whom is the Head of Faculty. He worked with a Y7 group studying electricity. Trainee 1's project examined how practical work and the use of models and analogies influenced the way pupils construct their own understanding of the concepts that they are studying. He looked at how the use of physical evidence is combined with external ideas to give the pupils the basis to form their own personal models of science.
Trainee 1 reported that, "the work carried out for this project has allowed me to look far more at the way in which a pupil is interpreting their science lessons and not just at what they are being told. In asking pupils 'why?' they have given a specific answer to a question, it is possible to learn a huge amount about the way in which they learn and the range of misconceptions they have picked up in the process". Trainee 1 learnt that "in testing pupils it is useful to give them a chance to tell you more about their understanding of a phenomenon than they can by answering a simple closed question. Allowing pupils to develop their ideas and describe them is useful both for them in formulating these ideas, and for the teacher in understanding them." He concluded that, "the use of carefully constructed analogies is a powerful tool in developing understanding, but it is critical to asses the understanding and be careful to avoid developing any new misconceptions."
Trainee 2 (PGCE KS2-3 – Science specialist) undertook work at College Heath Middle School, Mildenhall. She worked with a Y8 group, and was supported by the Head of Science. She focused on extension work for a small group of more able pupils in the mixed ability group. She set a task to identify which fast food outlet were diluting drinks – requiring the pupils to apply the conceptual knowledge they had been taught in an unfamiliar practical context. Trainee 2 aimed to give these pupils more autonomy (something recommended in providing provision for the more able in science) and asked them to design, carry out, and develop an appropriate practical way of comparing different strengths of drinks using colorimetric analysis (incorporating the use of ICT in the form of a data-logger). This was an activity that required pupils to extend their thinking beyond the QCA scheme of work and allowed them to apply and further the knowledge they should already have acquired.
Trainee 2 reported that pupils enjoyed the opportunity to work at their own pace and being chosen for this activity. They were also pleased with the opportunity to use the computer to produce graphs and collect data. In terms of her own professional development, the trainee reported that "participation in this project allowed me to focus in on a group of more able pupils and learn more about strategies to extend gifted and talented pupils". She concluded that the type of practical extension activity employed produce a range of benefits, i.e.
- Extends and challenges more able within class
- Consolidates learning about concepts in the topic of light
- Involves thinking and investigative skills
- Encourages pupils to apply theoretical knowledge to a practical task
- Draws together information from across the entire topic
- Gives pupils more autonomy and ownership of their own learning
Trainee 3 (PGCE Secondary – Physics specialist) undertook work at Deacon's School, Peterborough, working with a Y8 class. He was supported by his mentor, the class teacher and the school's Gifted and Talented Coordinator. Trainee 3 focussed on tasks designed to develop 'higher level' thinking skills, including modified CASE (Cognitive Acceleration through Science Education) tasks. The topics were moments and pressure. His aim was to engage more able pupils in challenging thinking, e.g. by letting them apply previous knowledge in a different context. The tasks included two involving the introduction to new topics (moments, pressure), and an investigation based around the practical application of a principle (moments). Instead of presenting the pupils with facts (rote learning) they had to develop their own ideas and find laws. Daily life experience had to be related to the new science concepts, and formulating their findings mathematically provided an extra step of abstraction. Trainee 3 was guided by the notions of higher level thinking skills in terms of 'Bloom's taxonomy'.
Trainee 3 reports that this in this Y8 top set the pupils did demonstrate higher level thinking skills, and that they reported that they liked their thinking to be challenged. He concluded that the pupils were not used to higher level thinking tasks. He found that initially they showed some resistance, but that once they realised that they were capable of success on the tasks, they gained confidence. In terms of his own professional development the trainee found it "helpful to gain experience with higher level thinking skills exercises and pupils' responses to it. It increased my awareness of gauging the challenge at the right level".
Trainee 4 (PGCE Secondary – Physics Specialist) undertook work at Jack Hunt School, Peterborough. She worked with a Y9 class learning about electricity and was supported by her mentor and Hannah the class teacher. Trainee 4's project considered three aspects of the nature of science – empirical work and the use of models and analogies. She considered how teaching strategies (practical work, the use of models and analogies) can help identify and correct pupils' misconceptions (analogous to the way science develops through the interplay of experimental and theoretical work).
She reported that she felt the approach taken had benefited all pupils in the topic of electricity. In terms of her own development as a teacher the trainee found that involvement in the project made her look very closely at what degree of conceptual development can be expected in a few lessons when teaching such an abstract topic – it also made her think abut the nature of the subject matter in considerable depth. In particular she reflected that she would "continue to use the inverted Bloom structure [i.e. focus on 'higher level thinking skills'] as I feel that all the pupils benefited at differentiated levels more than a focus on the lower level thinking skills could encourage".
Trainee 5 (PGCE Secondary – Biology Specialist) undertook work at King Edward VII School, King's Lynn. She worked with a mixed-ability Y7, supported by her mentor and the class teacher. The class were learning about aspects of the solar system. She used this context to develop pupils' understanding of scientific models. Trainee 5 started by producing a 'pupil-friendly' curriculum model, aimed at Year 7 pupils, then probed prior understanding of the nature of science and discovered that the pupils' understanding of the scientific model was particularly out of line with the target knowledge she had identified. Trainee 5 focused her teaching on this aspect of 'ideas and evidence'.
Trainee 5 reported that the pupils benefited from this teaching since it increased their scientific vocabulary (since the word 'model' was used extensively) and introduced them to another way of thinking about Science (critically analysing the work of others rather than blindly accepting facts without evidence). Many of the pupils also developed the ability to accept a model even though it has obvious limitations since often, the more realistic a model becomes, the more complicated it is to understand. In terms of her own development, she reported that "the teaching also allowed me to develop my own model of how the nature of Science should be taught to KS3 pupils".
Although the featured trainees worked with different topics, and in different ways, they all felt that their involvement in the project was beneficial to their development as teachers, and to their classroom practice. They all felt that they would take the ideas they had explored in this project into their future practice as they begin their careers.
Download the SSR editorial: Teaching about ideas and evidence in science – towards a genuinely broad and balanced 'science for all'
