Teaching the ‘big ideas’ of chemistry through an Earth context

The ‘big ideas’ of chemistry Plan for the day Coffee/tea Welcome Chemistry through the window Sampling the KS3 and KS4 ‘Chemistry in an Earth context’ workshop activities and feeding back on them What are the ‘big ideas’ of chemistry that all children should know/understand? Lunch ‘Big ideas’ plenary - recording all suggestions Planning, testing, writing materials for a KS3 or KS4 activity for teaching the ‘big idea’ in an Earth/environment context Feedback on the activities Feedback on the day and ‘What next’ - sorting out the follow up Departure © The Earth Science Education Unit Copyright is waived for use of this PowerPoint within the laboratory or classroom. Copyright material contained herein from other publishers rests with them.

The ‘big ideas’ of chemistry Times Educational Supplement front page, 10th June 2005 Bill Bryson said "My only memory of science at school was of staring out of the window and waiting for it to be all over. I was completely bored by the teachers writing formulae on the board. Physics and chemistry are germane to everyone’s lives but the teachers always made them seem terribly remote"

The ‘big ideas’ of chemistry An Evaluative Study of Creative Science By Manchester Metropolitan University, Institute of Education Science in an Earth context: teaching the big ideas of science through an Earth perspective The impact on the participants was overwhelmingly positive. There are many reasons why this session buzzed, but it appears that the key reason was that they had to think and work things out for themselves, and in the process of thinking and talking to others and then seeing if their ideas worked in practice, they became more creative than they had imagined was possible. They were automatically being critical of their own ideas and the ideas of others. There was very little didactic input, yet expert information was transferred in indirect but more effective ways: 'I could never have believed it possible that we could have generated so many "new" ideas in so short a space of time.'

The ‘big ideas’ of chemistry Chemistry out of the window - KS3 Spot the periodic table – through the window - KS4

The ‘big ideas’ of chemistry Sampling the KS3 and KS4 ‘Chemistry in an Earth Context’ workshop activities The chemistry of me at 16: teaching KS4 chemistry through an Earth context What am I made of? The metal in me - calcium The carbon in me The iron in me The hot air in me The value of me – what am I worth? The ‘Putting it all together’ plenary Science under the limelight: teaching KS3 chemistry through an Earth context What’s the use? – calcium a key chemical compound Elementary science – key crustal elements Don’t be a drip! – how drips can form stalagmites The heat is on! – can heat cause chemical breakdown? What goes up must come down – the carbon dioxide story Liam’s lime trail The ‘chemical cross words’ plenary

The ‘big ideas’ of chemistry What are the big ideas of Chemistry that all children should know/understand?

The ‘big ideas’ of chemistry ‘Big ideas’ plenary – recording all suggestions Planning, testing, writing materials for a KS3 or KS4 activity – for teaching the ‘big idea’ in an Earth/environment context Feedback on the activities Feedback on the day and ‘What next’ – sorting out the follow up.

The ‘big ideas’ of chemistry Suggested ‘quintessential’ stories that merit a place in the curriculum from Beyond 2000: science education for the future – a report with ten recommendations. Osborne, J and Millar, M (1998). London: King’s College. Available on:  the human body as a set of inter-related organ systems;  cells as basic building blocks;  adaptation of organisms;  life processes in plants;  mechanisms for passing characteristics from one generation to the next;  evolution by natural selection;  all matter being made of tiny particles;  chemical reactions as particle rearrangements;  different kinds of bonding;  the Earth’s movement relative to the Sun;  the structure of the Solar System;  the formation and evolution of the Earth;  the structure and evolution of the universe;  forces acting over long distances;  the causes of motion and its control;  the causes and direction of change, and  radiation, light and their interaction with matter.

The ‘big ideas’ of chemistry ‘Big ideas’ of chemistry that all children should know/understand include (from Jane Essex - PGCE Chemistry tutor, Keele): How are chemicals the same/different? States of matter and kinetic theory Acids and alkalis, reaction, neutralisation Elements and compounds Evaluating scientific claims about chemical behaviour Mixing, solvents, chemical change Detergents Levels of reactivity – study of risk Chemistry of water/solubility Conservation of mass/energy – order and disorder ‘Pollution is a resource in the wrong place’ – order and chaos Methods of concentration Quantifying things

The ‘big ideas’ of chemistry Planning, testing, writing materials for a KS3 or KS4 activity – for teaching the ‘big idea’ in an Earth/environment context

The ‘big ideas’ of chemistry Science in an Earth/environmental context activity Participant Card Title: Introduction: Activity: Teachers’ Support Key Stage: National Curriculum Refs: Time: Pupil learning outcomes: Context: Common misconceptions: Resource list: Follow-up: Name…………………School…………………Contact details ………………………………………. Use extra paper for diagrams, tables of results, risk assessments etc. as necessary and attach Please tick: □ We would be happy for ESEU to pilot this activity in schools □ We would be happy for ESEU to use this activity as part of its future ‘Science in an Earth context’ work

The ‘big ideas’ of chemistry Feedback on the activities Feedback on the day and ‘What next’ – sorting out the follow up