(SCIE0841) Newly Appointed Subject Coordinators for Science This is not your only support: Science coordinators support groups (SCIE0821) Science Coordinators Annual Conference (SCIE0823)

Why 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 school’s curriculum? Briefly outline what you have done as ‘science coordinator’ so far.

Is 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: A-levels in Maths A-levels in English A-levels in Science Higher Education: 23% of all degree courses are science based

Maintaining 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.”

What is the necessary time to teach NC? YearsCalculated time to cover NC 1 and 21 hour 30 in 3 and 42 hours 5 and 62 hours

1.What excites you about this role 2.What worries you? 3.What do you envisage your biggest challenges will be?

1.What is science? 2.What knowledge should be taught? 3.How should we teach children to work scientifically? 4.How will I know if teaching and learning is good enough? 5.Safety Duel role Key Questions for this role (Agenda)

Half day visit Any time before April Some time for general reflection on the role. Focus the visit on exploring a key question for you.

Session 1: What is science? Wondering why Gathering and analysing evidence to find out why

Let’s do some real science! Gathering and analysing evidence to find out why

Why 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 writing Focus on informal writing and recording to create clarity

Why did the sugar make the cola fizz? What we did What happened What it tells us

Question? What I Know Need to know What I am finding Emerging explanation

Why 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

Short interlude Ran for the kit, grabbed it all and then played for a bit Thought, chatted then grabbed the kit and played for a bit Came 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

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

Session 1 reflection Discuss on your table what you feel you need to add to your nuggets sheet Add what you need to.

Session 2: What scientific knowledge should we teach?

What 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 embedded…it may be something tiny. Scientific enquiry is about finding new knowledge

Scientific Key Ideas (the tools for explaining, hypothesising and predicting) What do you think the key ideas about skeletons are for primary age children?

A complete skeleton was found How do you think this animal might have moved? Many animals have skeletons to support their bodies and protect vital organs Muscles are connected to bones and move them when they contract. Movable joints connect bones

Key Ideas

More 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

Session 2 reflection Discuss on your table what you feel you need to add to your nuggets sheet Add what you need to.

3. 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 enquiries…3 MIN ONLY What ideas about enquiry / AT1 / working scientifically could be learned or applied through these enquiries?

Fair testing understanding 1.identify the desired effect (e.g. waterproofness) 2.Identify what might cause the effect (e.g. type of material) 3.know that changing the cause (material) might change the effect (waterproofness) 4.Suggest a range to test 5.Suggest how to measure the effect 6.Recognise that other variables may also cause an effect 7.Recognise that if these change we wont know what caused the effect 8.Seek to control these other variables 9.Recognise when these variables are difficult to control and seek ways to overcome these problems

Working Scientifically On your own Look at the document carefully Identify any aspects that need clarification On tables Share your questions

Fair testing understanding 1.identify the desired effect (e.g. waterproofness) 2.Identify what might cause the effect (e.g. type of material) 3.know that changing the cause (material) might change the effect (waterproofness) 4.Suggest a range to test 5.Suggest how to measure the effect 6.Recognise that other things may also cause an effect 7.Recognise that if these change we wont know what caused the effect 8.Seek to control these other effects 9.Recognise when these variables are difficult to control and seek ways to overcome these problems

Making enquiries age appropriate Look at your favourite enquiry you do with pupils: –Identify what type of enquiry it is –Identify 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 first

Are bananas really the slippiest fruit? 1.How would you tackle this question 2.How would you set it up for your children 3.Identify a.the key idea it is addressing b.what type of enquiry it is c.the aspect of working scientifically it is engaging with 4.Which phase would this activity be most appropriate for? Be prepared to share this succinctly with another group in 15 minutes

Making enquiries age appropriate Look at your favourite enquiry you do with pupils: –Identify what type of enquiry it is –Identify 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?

Progression in key ideas and working scientifically To 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?

Planning for progression in key ideas and working scientifically 1.When key ideas are taught should be clearly mapped. 2.Teachers need to actually teach them 3.Teachers need to check that children do understand these when they are taught and adapt teaching if necessary to ensure all do. 4.Teachers need to keep a record of which children are in danger of falling behind

Session 3 reflection Discuss on your table what you feel you need to add to your nuggets sheet Add what you need to.

Session 4: How will I know if teaching and learning are good enough?

On the chart provided write key questions down the left hand side Key question X= poor source of evidence √= Ok source of evidence √ √= Powerful source of evidence

If 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?

Session 4 reflection Discuss on your table what you feel you need to add to your nuggets sheet Add what you need to.

The 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) Session 5:Safety

Final reflection Add 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.