Claire Seeley TASC Wheel: copyright Belle Wallace (2000)

What is it? TASC stands for Thinking Actively in a Social Context. TASC Wheel: copyright Belle Wallace (2000)

TASC & BLOOMS TAXONOMY How does it work? TASC runs alongside BLOOMS taxonomy and scientific method. It gives children a really clear process to follow when investigating or problem solving. Children use lower and higher order thinking skills. They experience more of the though process, therefore have greater ownership of the task in hand. MORE COMPLETE LEARNING EXPERIENCE. TASC Wheel: copyright Belle Wallace (2000)

TASC & learning HOW DOES IT HELP LEARNING? Remember Vygotsky? TASC challenges are designed to help children to work out of the ZONE of PROXIMAL DEVELOPMENT – just enough challenge to make them think, not too much to freak them out! TASC Wheel: copyright Belle Wallace (2000)

Tasc & Science Science enquiry is ‘what children do in order to answer scientific questions about the world around them’ (Turner et al 2011). It can take a range of shapes and styles which might include observing over time, identifying and classifying, pattern seeking, researching and fair testing. TASC Wheel: copyright Belle Wallace (2000)

Memorable and relevant learning…. The best investigations come from the children’s own experiences or interests… What’s in the NEWS? TASC Wheel: copyright Belle Wallace (2000)

CASE STUDY – BEE FEST…. 1. LAUNCH ASSEMBLY input about BEES plus WORKSHOP with LOCAL BEEKEEPER. 2.LAYERED TASC CHALLENGES – children centred problem solving FOUNDATION STAGE What do bees make? How can we use it? YEARS 1/2 Where do bees live? Can we make some places for them to live? YEARS 3/4 What would happen if there were no bees? Why is pollination important? How can we encourage more bees into our school grounds? YEARS 5/6 How do bees communicate? What are the health benefits of honey? 3. SHARING ASSEMBLY TO SHARE OUTCOMES TASC Wheel: copyright Belle Wallace (2000)

Early years using the tasc wheel TASC Wheel: copyright Belle Wallace (2000)

Sharing our learning! TASC Wheel: copyright Belle Wallace (2000)

TIPS FOR USING TASC AS A MODEL FOR SCIENCE INVESTIGATIONS Stimuli – can be anything…. Newsround website is good. For maximum impact it should be relevant to the children’s work. Each group needs a big piece of A3 paper and a TASC wheel to record / jot ideas on. Provide a selection of equipment for the children to use… The children may wish to clarify the problem. Teacher’s role is to facilitate and ask questions – do less but achieve more…. One cycle may trigger further cycles. Give the children the opportunity to share their learning through a creative outcome – dvd, newspaper report, diary entry, presentation….. Great if they can choose this… TASC Wheel: copyright Belle Wallace (2000)

Tips for group work Encourage trial and error. Good scientists reflect on their work and adapt their approach. Be open to the fact that they may not get it right first time – create the right emotional environment for this type of learning…. (BLP: Resilience – learning disposition.) Groups – Generally I do this work in mixed ability groups however I do hive off the ALPHA children into one group so they don’t dominate everyone else. Develop rules for groupwork – everyone has to contribute… everyone has a right to be heard and their idea must be thought about….(BLP: Recipriocity) If conversation is dry - give each child 5 cubes they must spend during the session. TASC Wheel: copyright Belle Wallace (2000)

NOW ITS YOUR TURN!!! TASC Wheel: copyright Belle Wallace (2000)

WORK THROUGH EACH SECTION PROBLEM: HOW CAN WE HELP THIS BIRD TO FLY AGAIN? GATHER : WHAT DO YOU ALREADY KNOW ABOUT THIS PROBLEM? IDENTIFY: WHAT AM I GOING TO FIND OUT? GENERATE: HOW MANY IDEAS CAN I THINK OF? ANALYSE: WHICH IDEA AM I GOING TO TRY 1ST? IMPLEMENT: GO FOR IT…. EVALUATE:HOW WELL DID WE DO? COMMUNICATE: LETS TELL SOMEONE LEARN FROM IT: WHAT DID I LEARN? WHAT CAN I DO NEXT? TASC Wheel: copyright Belle Wallace (2000)

When we did it….. The children came up with two ideas: Physically scrapping off oil Chemically remove with washing up liquid Similar to CASE sessions - Children challenged each other to refine their ideas Children came up with further cycles of enquiry such as Which washing detergent is best for removing oil? Does using detergent affect the sea? How? Would detergent work for all types of feather? Types of oil? TASC Wheel: copyright Belle Wallace (2000)

Assessment opportunities TASC Wheel: copyright Belle Wallace (2000)

HAVE A GO!! If you want to know more: www.tascwheel.com . The TASC wheel supports a honey bee challenge Primary Science magazine Issue: November 2011 120 Author: Claire Seeley Extract: Claire Seeley shares how the TASC wheel can help develop children's thinking skills in science TASC Wheel: copyright Belle Wallace (2000)

TASC Wheel: copyright Belle Wallace (2000)

TASC Wheel: copyright Belle Wallace (2000)