2. Thinking, Doing, Talking Science
Helen Wilson
Bridget Holligan
Introduce selves

3. Really useful resources
The Thinking, Doing, Talking Science report:
The Bright Ideas Time module:
The Oxford Brookes Primary Science website (click the Practical Prompts for thinking tab for a handout of ideas:

4. More practical activity
Oxford Brookes University research with 16 primary schools in found that the following approaches led to increased engagement & achievement:
More questioning
Deeper thinking
More discussion
Less writing
More practical activity
BH: The idea for the project was mine but it was very much inspired by earlier research carried out by Helen Wilson and Jenny Mant. I felt that these were all things that non-formal science educators like Science Oxford were good at and felt that SO and OBU could work together on a EEF-funded project.
Mant, J., Wilson, H. & Coates, D. (2007) ‘The Effect of Increasing Conceptual Challenge in Primary Science Lessons on Pupils' Achievement and Engagement’ in the International Journal of Science Education 29(14), 5 November, 2007, pp

5. Further evidence

6. Thinking, Doing, Talking Science
Research aim:
to enhance teachers’ skills to improve the level of conceptual challenge by the encouragement of pupils’ higher order thinking and to measure any resulting impact on both their pupils’ attainment and attitudes.

7. Year 5 pupils (9-10 Years old) 2013-14
Randomised control trial - fair comparison
42 primary schools
Phase 1
Phase 2
21 primary schools
21 primary schools
Intervention
Control
Year 5 pupils (9-10 Years old)
All Year 5 pupils in both schools completed a completed a pre and post -intervention science test & attitude questionnaire
RCT

8. 21 Oxfordshire primary schools
Intervention
Year 5 teacher
Year 5 teacher/science co-ordinator
5 days INSET
2 days supply for planning per teacher BH
End of year celebration & dissemination event

10. Announcing the results

11. Thinking, Doing, Talking Science appeared to have a positive impact on the attainment of pupils in science. Overall, Year 5 pupils in schools using the approach made approximately three additional months’ progress.
The approach had a positive impact on pupils’ attitudes to science, science lessons, and practical work in particular.
The programme had a particularly positive effect on girls and on pupils with low prior attainment.

12. “It’s fantastic when our evaluations produce solid evidence that a particular approach has a positive impact on attainment. It’s especially rewarding when they boost children’s attitudes towards learning too. But the reality of robust educational research is that these results are the exception and not the rule.”
Sir Kevan Collins, EEF

13. Full report here:

14. Pupils’ attainment increases
Pupils’ enjoyment increases
Teacher’s enjoyment increases

15. They find science a lot more fun, it's far more interactive, conversational and they say it's fun!
The children have a 'buzz' about science - very confident to express opinions, speculate and give justifications as to why they think as they do
The less able children are better engaged with their science learning and able to explore concepts practically.
The pupils have more enthusiasm, deeper understanding and higher order thinking.

16. So what did the project teachers do differently ?
Thinking, Doing, Talking Science
All participating teachers felt that they had changed the way they taught science, and were more positive about their pupils’ science ability and engagement than teachers in comparison schools.
So what did the project teachers do differently ?

17. Higher order thinking doing talking Creativity Focused recording
Questions - pupil & teacher
Practical Prompts for Thinking
Practical Investigations
Higher order thinking
talking
doing
Bright Ideas Time
Practical Problem solving
Creativity

18. Bloom’s Taxonomy High:
evaluation - judging, rating and giving opinions
synthesis - hypothesising, showing originality by
creating, inventing and composing
analysis - categorising and comparing; distinguishing
between fact and opinion or relevant and irrelevant
information
Middle:
application/use - transferring knowledge from one
situation to another similar one
Low:
comprehension - summarising and putting ideas or
information into other words
knowledge - remembering, reciting or listing facts

19. Higher Order Thinking:
‘Higher order thinking occurs when a person takes new information and information stored in memory and interrelates and/or rearranges and extends this information to achieve a purpose or find possible answers in perplexing situations.’
Information
Relates, rearranges
Possible answers
This would be great as an animation – the information moves into the mind, is stirred around and then merges as possible answers to perplexing situations.
Lewis and Smith (1993, p.136)

20. Infusion of thinking skills
Higher Order Thinking
Content of science curriculum
Use/Apply
Reflection
Infusion of thinking skills

21. Talking… The Bright Ideas Time Thinking… The Odd One Out The PMI
The Big Question HW

22. The Odd One Out

23. Which is the odd one out & why?

24. Hippo because it lives in water
The bird is the only one that is not a mammal
Cat because it is the only one that has 9 lives
Human is the only one not an animal
Freeland Primary

25. The ice skate as it is sharp
The scooter as you balance on one foot
The skateboard as it has 4 wheels
Cumnor Primary

26. The ice skate has less friction – you can’t stop
After some work on forces and friction
The ice skate has less friction – you can’t stop
The scooter as you need to apply more force with your foot
Cumnor Primary

27. Discussions which then arose:
How do you stop when you are ice skating?
Why doesn’t ice melt when you skate on it?
Which is quicker? (Talked about friction)
Which is harder to stay on? (Led to discussion about balanced forces)
Cumnor Primary

29. PMI Positive; minus; interesting
People have their own plant-like green skin, so they can create their own food in sunlight
St Andrew’s Primary

30. P: Poor people wouldn’t starve
M: You might not be able to lie still to sunbathe – you’d get a sugar rush and have to run around!
P: Poor people wouldn’t starve
I: Would you not need sleep?
I: Would diabetes be a problem or not?
St Andrew’s Primary

31. How do you know that the Earth is a sphere?

32. ‘If it’s flat, when you make the foundations for a temple why doesn’t it go through?’
‘Why doesn’t water fall off the edge if the Earth is flat?’

35. ‘Because gravity comes from the centre of the earth, because a sphere is the smallest shape you can make from the centre, it would most likely be pulled up into a sphere.’

36. Where did the mass of the grown tree come from?
The Big Question
Where did the mass of the grown tree come from?
Rush Common Primary School

37. It has come from the branches It has grown because of photocymthasice!
The roots drink the water and eats the nutrients to keep it alive and helps it grow
The leaves suck in sunlight and convert into energy, using the chemical, chlorophyll. This process is called 'photosynthesis'
The tree weighs more because of the food and water it has eaten in the past 4 years. The tree doesn't have a mouth so the grass collects all of the food and water then it goes down to the roots also the tree likes rain better than house pipe water.
A tree breathes in carbon dioxide then breathes out oxygen
Rush Common Primary School

38. Complete set of resources for the Bright Ideas Time:

39. Practical Prompts for Thinking
Practical Prompts for Thinking – demonstrations that are very accessible to teachers – reliable, easy to perform/resource & where the teachers themselves could feel confident about their own understanding of what was happening. They were used to encourage teachers to explore their own ideas about science and the importance of thinking and talking as a first step to understanding. Using PPT was exciting and memorable for pupils and the teachers enjoyed being able to provide this kind of exciting stimulus in their lessons. PPTs could also spark investigation ideas.
One example of a PPT (a classic science show demo) is : What will happen if I hold a match under a balloon with some water inside? Why do you think that? What else could we try?
But a PPT is anything that a teacher could show to a class which could be used to stimulate thinking and talking. It could be a scenario taken from everyday life e.g. a tin of golden syrup & the questions, “Is it easy to get the lid off?” and “What could we do to make it easier?” “Why does this make it easier?”

40. Further examples of the Practical Prompt for Thinking:

41. Which magnet is the strongest? Which magnet is the strongest?
If you asked your class to do this investigation,
what would be an appropriate learning objective?
No!!!
Which magnet is the strongest?

42. Which magnet is the strongest?
If you asked your class to do this investigation,
what would be an appropriate learning objective?
To plan a fair test
To report and present findings appropriately
To draw a conclusion from results
To evaluate the investigation
To make a prediction based on previous results
To take measurements accurately

44. What would be the learning objective?
How would you assess the learning objective?

45. the recording on the learning objective

46. Make an alarm that comes on when the hamster’s cage door is opened
Problem solving
Make an alarm that comes on when the hamster’s cage door is opened

47. Protect the precious jewel
Problem solving
Protect the precious jewel

48. Make an alarm that warns when the sheep run out of food
Problem solving
Make an alarm that warns when the sheep run out of food

49. Be ready to sell your device to the crofters…

50. Thinking, Doing, Talking Science
Effectiveness Trial
180 schools
Thinking, Doing, Talking Science
Teesside
Manchester
Bath
Dorset
Southampton
Lincolnshire
London