PowerPoint Presentation

(SCIE0841)Newly Appointed Subject Coordinators for Science

This is not your only support:Science coordinators support groups (SCIE0821)Science Coordinators Annual Conference (SCIE0823)

richard.aplin@hants.gov.ukdavid.whittle@hants.gov.ukWelcome etc and point them towards the Notes Summary Sheet. This might act as a useful summary of their thoughts of the day, add to this as you see fit and we will give you some reflection time at various points to ensure you note down your important actions

Give out flyers for conf and sci co net

1Why me!How did you find yourself in this role?What expectations do SLT have of you in this role?What kind of profile does science have within your schools curriculum?Briefly outline what you have done as science coordinator so far.

Some of you might be asking yourself this question.

Here is your chance to share your excitement at taking on science or getting a few things off your chest.

In 3s introduce yourselves to each other and then share your thoughts on these three questions

2Is science important in primary schools?KS3: Students spend similar amounts of time in English, maths and science

KS4:Students study 1 GCSE in Maths, usually 2 in English and 2 or 3 in science

A-Levels:75000 A-levels in Maths83000 A-levels in English131000 A-levels in Science

Higher Education:23% of all degree courses are science based

science is very important for the future success of our children and there is much research to show that a poor start in primary schools is very difficult to make up.what you do is very important as far as childrens futures are concerned

3Maintaining curiosity (Ofsted biannual report on science Nov 2013)A significant minority of leaders in the primary schools visited were failing to ensure full coverage of the science National Curriculum. They did not track pupils progress in science effectively and were not setting challenging targets for improvement in science. For these leaders, science was no longer a priority.

Take feedback and show the next slide4What is the necessary time to teach NC?YearsCalculated time to cover NC1 and 21 hour 30 in3 and 42 hours5 and 62 hours5What excites you about this roleWhat worries you?What do you envisage your biggest challenges will be?discuss this on their tables and add to postersPut posters round room and we all have a look and we summarise key worries and challenges (we could add in the one about time to work with colleagues and making sure you are proactive with HT)6What is science?What knowledge should be taught?How should we teach children to work scientifically?How will I know if teaching and learning is good enough?Safety

Duel roleKey Questions for this role (Agenda)These are the questions we will discuss todayIn all of this though you have to be aware you have a duel roleyou cant lead a subject area unless you are open to learning and developing yourself. Just as teachers who dont model excitement with learning are poor teachers so too must you model enthusiasm not only for science but learning how to teach it and being passionate about helping children improve and colleagues improve. So at least half of what you do must be to develop yourselfthat way you will be much more effective in leading and supporting others

but before we look at these things in more detail

7Half day visitAny time before AprilSome time for general reflection on the role.Focus the visit on exploring a key question for you.

Explain that they are entitled to a half day visit from one of us.This can be anytime before April but to get the most from it needs to be planned carefully.By the end of today we hope you have a clear idea of what you want to do over the next few months, these activities will raise further questions in your mind about how things are, how you can find things out and what you might doit will be very helpful if over the next few months you try and focus down on the one or two questions that it is becoming clear are the important ones for you in your . This is the question that we can focus on when you need to focus on it. At some point today you need to have a quick chat with Dave or I about this meeting

30 min to here

8Session 1: What is science?

Wondering whyGathering and analysing evidence to find out why

9Lets do some real science!Gathering and analysing evidence to find out why

Show them the cola activity in a big glass in a tray.

10Why did the sugar make the cola fizz?Prepare to feedback to the group:What did you find?What is your evidence for this conclusion

Notes on recording:Ideas need to be clear before formal writingFocus on informal writing and recording to create clarity

11Why did the sugar make the cola fizz?What we didWhat happenedWhat it tells usThis method might be useful here, where you will probably try several different experiments all giving different bits of info.

What is always key though is that you ensure pupils are clear what the question isget them to talk about it in their groups and agree the exact wording and then they should write it downdont assume the question they explore is the one that you gave them!12Question?What I KnowNeed to knowWhat I am findingEmerging explanationtake them through what this means.

13Why did the sugar make the cola fizz?Prepare to feedback to the group:What did you find?What is your evidence for this conclusion

Before starting agree how you will keep notes to support your thinking

14Short interlude

Ran for the kit, grabbed it all and then played for a bitThought, chatted then grabbed the kit and played for a bitCame up with an agreed rough plan and then got kit necessary for the plan and carried it out.Came up with a clear plan and method, wrote it down and then stuck to it

As a short interlude have a think about which of any of these strategies you employedget them to choose the ones they adopted, they may have done a bit of two or three.In retrospect; how would you have felt if I had insisted you followed a path that was different from the one you did follow

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Shove a typical examples of planning proforma and ask them if it would have helped if we had asked you to use this.

Then show some other examples and then ask to what extent do teachers in your school use such planning sheets with pupils? What do you think about that?16

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18What was it about the activity that made it feel like real science?

19Write up what they say on the next slideSession 1 reflectionDiscuss on your table what you feel you need to add to your nuggets sheetAdd what you need to.

20Session 2:What scientific knowledge should we teach?

21What did you learn about science (not teaching) through doing the cola fizz experiment?This could be skill or knowledge but it must be new or more embeddedit may be something tiny.

Scientific enquiry is about finding new knowledge22They will probably come up with a long list and the questions are: One of us right them up as they say them in tiny font

How would a teacher organise the lesson so that all this knowledge was made explicit and how could you predict what they will learn in such an activity?Is all this knowledge equally useful?

It would be helpful to have an idea about what the really important scientific knowledge is that children need to developthese really important ideas are called the key ideasScientific Key Ideas(the tools for explaining, hypothesising and predicting)What do you think the key ideas about skeletons are for primary age children?

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24Ask them to sketch what they think the skeleton of a dolphin is likethey must refer to their key ideas to help them.

25A complete skeleton was found

How do you think this animal might have moved?

Many animals have skeletons to support their bodies and protect vital organsMuscles are connected to bones and move them when they contract.Movable joints connect bonesThe important learning is that key ideas are not just things to learn but tools to help us explore our questions, make sense of the world and ultimately explain it!26Key Ideas

27More ideas about the teaching of Evolution can be found in The Spring 2015 edition of Primary Science News

Copies of this can be obtained by contacting hias.enquiries@hants.gov.uk 28Session 2 reflectionDiscuss on your table what you feel you need to add to your nuggets sheetAdd what you need to.

293. How should we teach children to work scientifically?(enquiry)

Which material is the most waterproof?What food do snails like to eat?Do plants absorb water through roots only or do they also take it in through their leaves?

What KI could be learned or applied through these enquiries3 MIN ONLY

What ideas about enquiry / AT1 / working scientifically could be learned or applied through these enquiries?

Refer to the Key ideas and identify what KI could be learned or applied through these enquiries..point is this is quite easy.Now ask the questions what precisely could they learn or embed about enquiry?

They will probably say fair testing or something else that is too vaguePose the rhetorical questionwhat must a child understand to be able to do these things. we need to think carefully what we have to teach children to be able to do things like fair testingit is complicated30Fair testing understandingidentify the desired effect (e.g. waterproofness)Identify what might cause the effect (e.g. type of material)know that changing the cause (material) might change the effect (waterproofness)Suggest a range to testSuggest how to measure the effectRecognise that other variables may also cause an effectRecognise that if these change we wont know what caused the effectSeek to control these other variablesRecognise when these variables are difficult to control and seek ways to overcome these problems

All of these things are necessary for a fair test, do we mean all of these?Think again about the experiment to do with roots and leaves, what would be the expected knowledge and understanding you would want all pupils to demonstrate by the end of year 4

Give out the doc: Working scientifically, what needs to be learned.Give them 5 minutes to look at this and discuss on their tables31Working ScientificallyOn your ownLook at the document carefullyIdentify any aspects that need clarification

On tablesShare your questions

Take feedback and show the next slide32Fair testing understandingidentify the desired effect (e.g. waterproofness)Identify what might cause the effect (e.g. type of material)know that changing the cause (material) might change the effect (waterproofness)Suggest a range to testSuggest how to measure the effectRecognise that other things may also cause an effectRecognise that if these change we wont know what caused the effectSeek to control these other effectsRecognise when these variables are difficult to control and seek ways to overcome these problems

So what should pupil know and understand by end of KS1 and year 4

Referring back to the activity on rootsto what extent did it feel about right for a child in year 4?33Making enquiries age appropriateLook at your favourite enquiry you do with pupils:Identify what type of enquiry it isIdentify what pupils would need to understand to be able to do this? (both KI and Working Scientifically Ideas)What phase would this enquiry be most appropriate for?

But firstThis is what we are going to ask you to do, but first we will do it together34

Why are bananas always used as the cause of someone slipping.is it just the funniest fruit or is it really the slippiest.35Are bananas really the slippiest fruit?How would you tackle this questionHow would you set it up for your childrenIdentifythe key idea it is addressingwhat type of enquiry it isthe aspect of working scientifically it is engaging with

Which phase would this activity be most appropriate for?

Be prepared to share this succinctly with another group in 15 minutesMake the point that we want this to be appropriate for a particular phase ensure it is based on appropriate key ideas.

We now know what ideas children will be engaging with how should we assess and track working scientifically?36Making enquiries age appropriateLook at your favourite enquiry you do with pupils:Identify what type of enquiry it isIdentify what pupils would need to understand to be able to do this? (both KI and Working Scientifically Ideas)What phase would this enquiry be most appropriate for?Should / could you adapt this enquiry to make it more age appropriate for your children?

37Progression in key ideas and working scientificallyTo be ready for KS2 every child needs to understand every KS1 key idea (and the same for being KS3 ready).If this is to be a reality what must be in place?Let them discuss this and take feedback.

Key things are:

Curriculum must ensure all key ideas are mappedTeachers need to actually teach themTeachers need to check that children do understand these when they are taught and adapt teaching if necessary to ensure all do.Teachers need to keep a record of which children are in danger of falling behind38Planning for progression in key ideas and working scientificallyWhen key ideas are taught should be clearly mapped.Teachers need to actually teach themTeachers need to check that children do understand these when they are taught and adapt teaching if necessary to ensure all do.Teachers need to keep a record of which children are in danger of falling behind

Session 3 reflectionDiscuss on your table what you feel you need to add to your nuggets sheetAdd what you need to.

40Session 4: How will I know if teaching and learning are good enough?41On the chart provided write key questions down the left hand sideKey questionX= poor source of evidence= Ok source of evidence = Powerful source of evidenceWhen you are monitoring this it can appear a massive task.ou need to focus identify the key things aout T+L you are looking for and look for them in as efficient way as possible. We are now going to modloe for you one way of working out how to do this

Considering everything we have discussed today what questions do you have about the science that is being taught in your school. Once you are happy the question is important add it to the sheet

Take feedback and write up the questions and then ask them to quickly chat on their tables about where we might look for evidence of these things and write them up.Ask them to write the important sources of evidence along the top. Next to each statement put a X (for poor source of evidence) and a tick if it is a good source and double tick if it is a powerful source Now highlight cheap and expensive methods of monitoring in different colours.If you were to choose just 3 monitoring activities over the year to get as rich a picture of how things are what would you do and what precisely would you look for in each?

42If you were to choose just 3 monitoring activities before July to get as rich a picture of how things are:What would you do?What precisely would you look for in each?

Give them a chance to discuss this and record on the monitoring chart.this might be the beginnings of your monitoring plan to hel;p you work out where the priorities fore development are

43Session 4 reflectionDiscuss on your table what you feel you need to add to your nuggets sheetAdd what you need to.

44The Key Principle: We need to teach children how to be safe rather than being safe for the children

Annual Safety Audit

Where to look for help:Safety in science at KS 1 and 2 (HCC)www.cleapss.org.uk

Session 5:SafetyKey principle we have to develop chns ability to look at a new context/situation see what hazards exist, and manage them to reduce risk. Sounds complicated but its about if the floor is wet, it might be slippy youre role is to point out stuff they might not know ponds .. Drowning is very unlikely BUT picking up germs is likely .. So what do we do?

Safety audit a general list of things to check sent out each year keep a record and make sure your schools H & S officer has a copy too!

Wave the book at them safety cards in back .. Also available electronically on the moodle!CLEAPSS website, PST Newsletter, guides & Helpline!

45Final reflectionAdd any final thoughts to your nugget sheet. At this stage do you have any preliminary ideas about what you might want to do during our half day visit? If you do not this down on the reverse side of the sheet.

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