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Source: http://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/category/secondary-science/feed/

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<title>Developing practical skills in your curriculum</title>
<link>https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/developing-practical-skills-in-your-curriculum/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[sophieporteous]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Mon, 10 Jul 2023 14:31:50 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Secondary Science]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[GCSE Science]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Key Stage 3]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[KS3 Science Now]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[science]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[secondary]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/?p=7295</guid>
<description><![CDATA[By Amanda Clegg and Karen Collins Did your students struggle to answer practical based questions in the recent GCSE and … <a href="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/developing-practical-skills-in-your-curriculum/">Continued</a>
The post <a href="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/developing-practical-skills-in-your-curriculum/">Developing practical skills in your curriculum</a> appeared first on <a href="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk">Collins | Freedom to Teach</a>.
]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[
By Amanda Clegg and Karen Collins
Did your students struggle to answer practical based questions in the recent GCSE and A level examinations? How many of us have been in a practical lesson where a student has asked ‘Is this right?’ or ‘What do I do next?’ despite having a suitable method? How can we sequence practical skills at KS3 to develop students’ disciplinary and procedural knowledge?
The summer 2022 examiners’ reports from all examination boards highlighted many students’ inability to effectively access practical activities and mathematics in science exam questions at both GCSE and A level. Some key areas of weakness were:
<ul>
<li>Understanding hazards and risks</li>
<li>Identifying variables and their meaning</li>
<li>Recognising and the correct use of equipment</li>
<li>Understanding why key steps were being carried out</li>
<li>Suggesting possible improvement to methods</li>
<li>Recognising error</li>
<li>Drawing graphs and interpreting graphs</li>
<li>Drawing conclusions consistent with the evidence</li>
<li>Recognising the meaning of key terms such as repeatability, accuracy, and precision</li>
<li>Converting units and using an appropriate number of significant figures.</li>
</ul>
This is not a surprise; these issues have been identified in previous examination series. Science departments have spent a considerable amount of time sequencing substantive knowledge. It is now time to approach disciplinary knowledge in the same way. 
Practical work can be overwhelming to deliver, particularly if you are new to the profession. Health and safety, behaviour management, availability of materials and their position in the room can all lead to cognitive overload for you leading the lesson. How can we ensure that the students are minds on as well as hands on and are learning from the activity in the same way they would in any other lesson?
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Purposeful practical work</h4>
How many of us include practical work for motivation and engagement, without considering the other potential purposes? More importantly, how many of us do a practical activity simply because it is on the scheme of work?
The Gatsby Good Practical Science Guide (2017) outlines five purposes of practical work:
<ol>
<li>To teach the principles of scientific inquiry</li>
<li>To improve understanding of theory through practical experience</li>
<li>To teach specific practical skills, such as measurement and observation, that may be useful in future study or employment</li>
<li>To motivate and engage students</li>
<li>To develop higher level skills and attributes such as communication, teamwork and perseverance.</li>
</ol>
To this we could also potentially add the development of manipulative skills necessary for working safely and collecting accurate and precise data.  
The first consideration when designing a practical activity should be its purpose. Why are you carrying out this practical activity? Why is it happening now? What disciplinary, substantive and procedural knowledge do the students need before they start? What disciplinary, substantive and procedural knowledge are you hoping to develop?
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Sequencing practical work</h4>
We need to know where students are in order to move them forward, taking into consideration the knowledge and understanding covered at KS2. Do you have a baseline assessment at the beginning of Year 7? Does it cover disciplinary knowledge as well as substantive knowledge? Does your baseline test assess what students should be able to do by the end of Year 6 (rather than KS3)?
Let’s consider one aspect of Working Scientifically. Can your students interpret a graph? Do they understand the difference between describing a trend and explaining a trend? Do they use data from the graph when describing and explaining? How could we sequence their learning to develop this skill? How would we ensure all staff are developing this skill across all key stages?
What would this look like:
<ul>
<li>in a sequence of lessons?</li>
<li>over several topics?</li>
<li>across key stages?</li>
<li>across Biology, Chemistry and Physics?</li>
</ul>
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">KS3 Science Now</h4>
KS3 Science Now has been written with a welcome focus on practical and mathematical skills. Road maps, at the start of each unit, in the Learn and Practice book show how the content follows on from KS2 learning and where this journey will continue during KS4.  A comprehensive knowledge organiser identifies the essential information required for easy reference. This includes an overview of practical experiments and labelled diagrams of equipment. Mathematics and practical skills have been carefully mapped across the 18 units to ensure good coverage and to reflect their role in supporting a deeper understanding of concepts.
<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><a href="https://collins.co.uk/pages/ks3-science-now"><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" src="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/87/2023/07/Unit-13_Road-map-1024x555.png" alt="" class="wp-image-7299" width="815" height="442" srcset="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/87/2023/07/Unit-13_Road-map-1024x555.png 1024w, https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/87/2023/07/Unit-13_Road-map-300x163.png 300w, https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/87/2023/07/Unit-13_Road-map-768x416.png 768w, https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/87/2023/07/Unit-13_Road-map.png 1063w" sizes="(max-width: 815px) 100vw, 815px" /></a></figure></div>
Teachers who contributed to discussions, which helped to shape and refine the structure of the KS3 Science Now materials, requested access to more high-quality questions especially those involving mathematics in science and practical work. Each unit has approximately 35 to 40 questions arranged in three levels of challenge starting with the most accessible first. Worked examples provide supportive scaffolding to guide pupils through the different types of questions before they have a go themselves. Mathematics and practical skills are integrated throughout to help pupils see how they link to substantive knowledge and deepen understanding. Finally, there is a double page spread of relevant stand-alone maths and practical skills questions for each of the 18 units.
Teachers who contributed to discussions, which helped to shape and refine the structure of the KS3 Science Now materials, requested access to more high-quality questions especially those involving mathematics in science and practical work. Each unit has approximately 35 to 40 questions arranged in three levels of challenge starting with the most accessible first. Worked examples provide supportive scaffolding to guide pupils through the different types of questions before they have a go themselves. Mathematics and practical skills are integrated throughout to help pupils see how they link to substantive knowledge and deepen understanding. Finally, there is a double page spread of relevant stand-alone maths and practical skills questions for each of the 18 units.
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">In summary</h4>
You might like to consider developing a policy with your department regarding practical work to address benchmark 1 in the Good Practical Science report.
The Association for Science Education (ASE) has produced some supporting documents to help with this here:  <a href="https://www.ase.org.uk/content/module-1-introduction">https://www.ase.org.uk/content/module-1-introduction</a>
The EEF Improving Secondary Science Review Audit tool is also helpful in stimulating reflection about practical science on page 7. The tool can be found here: <a href="https://d2tic4wvo1iusb.cloudfront.net/eef-guidance-reports/science-ks3-ks4/EEF_secondary_science_audit_tool.pdf?v=1668437524">EEF_secondary_science_audit_tool.pdf</a>
<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>
<h3 class="wp-block-heading">About the authors</h3>
Amanda Clegg is a school improvement consultant and leadership coach with over 30 years of science teaching experience. She is responsible for developing and delivering training resources and coaching programmes for a variety of organisations. Amanda is also a co-author of Collins KS3 Science Now.
Karen Collins is an educational consultant with over 20 years of teaching experience. She has written numerous science resources, including Collins KS3 Science Now and devises and delivers development training to teachers and school leaders.
<h4 class="wp-block-heading"><a>Prepare today’s pupils for GCSE 9-1 Science with KS3 Science Now</a></h4>
<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large"><a href="https://collins.co.uk/pages/ks3-science-now"><img decoding="async" width="1024" height="576" src="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/87/2023/07/Group-asset-2-1024x576.png" alt="" class="wp-image-7300" srcset="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/87/2023/07/Group-asset-2-1024x576.png 1024w, https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/87/2023/07/Group-asset-2-300x169.png 300w, https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/87/2023/07/Group-asset-2-768x432.png 768w, https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/87/2023/07/Group-asset-2-1536x864.png 1536w, https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/87/2023/07/Group-asset-2.png 1600w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a></figure></div>
Develop knowledge and build confidence in KS3 Science and help your students become scientifically literate.
<a href="https://collins.co.uk/pages/ks3-science-now">Find out more</a>
<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>
You might also be interested in: <a href="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/stem-careers/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Empower your students to thrive in a changing world by Ed Walsh </a>
The post <a href="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/developing-practical-skills-in-your-curriculum/">Developing practical skills in your curriculum</a> appeared first on <a href="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk">Collins | Freedom to Teach</a>.
]]></content:encoded>
</item>
<item>
<title>Empower your students to thrive in a changing world</title>
<link>https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/stem-careers/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[stefanlesik]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Wed, 08 Mar 2023 11:01:42 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Secondary]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Secondary Science]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Collins]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[ed walsh]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Key Stage 3]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[KS3]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[KS3 Science Now]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[science]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[secondary science]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[WISE]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/2023/03/08/stem-careers/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Ed Walsh explores how you can inspire students to pursue STEM careers and the value of integrating career discussions into … <a href="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/stem-careers/">Continued</a>
The post <a href="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/stem-careers/">Empower your students to thrive in a changing world</a> appeared first on <a href="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk">Collins | Freedom to Teach</a>.
]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<img decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-9279" src="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/87/2023/03/shutterstock_1878871177-scaled-2.jpg" alt="Two female students looking at a beaker with a red liquid in it, wearing lab coats" width="932" height="621" />
Ed Walsh explores how you can inspire students to pursue STEM careers and the value of integrating career discussions into your teaching.
<ol>
<li>
<h6>Why is it important to start talking about careers in Key Stage 3?</h6>
</li>
</ol>
Students may start to make decisions about KS4 subjects that will affect their future pathways, and their attitudes towards different subjects may well affect whether they see a future for themselves in it. Why try as hard in something that you think you will not study after the age of 16?
It’s not just case of flagging up career possibilities; research shows that many young people enjoy science and know that it’s important in modern life but don’t see a future in it for them. The <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/departments-and-centres/departments/education-practice-and-society/aspires-research">ASPIRES project research</a> or the <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/departments-and-centres/departments/education-practice-and-society/stem-participation-social-justice-research/science-capital-teaching-approach">Science Capital Teaching Approach</a> are good resources.
<ol start="2">
<li>
<h6>Why should we encouraging students, particularly girls, to consider STEM careers?</h6>
</li>
</ol>
Girls are less likely to choose STEM careers than boys (though this is less true now in some pathways) yet when they do, they often do well in them. Thinking about the challenges facing society over the next few decades, the list likely includes global pandemics, feeding an ever-growing population, climate change, the energy crisis and the effective provision of clean water. There isn’t one of these areas that STEM professionals won’t have a pivotal role helping to solve. Working with <a href="https://www.wisecampaign.org.uk/">WISE</a>, in KS3 Science Now, we’ve made a point of a strong representation of women in the examples of STEM professionals.
<ol start="3">
<li>
<h6>How can I integrate careers discussions into my lessons?</h6>
</li>
</ol>
There are lots of ways and a good way forward seems to be short, varied and often. It doesn’t need to take over or dominate lessons but rather to add to the focus. These might include:
<ul>
<li>KS3 Science Now examples and case studies</li>
<li><a href="https://www.wisecampaign.org.uk/">WISE online resources</a></li>
<li>STEM Ambassadors</li>
<li>Video clips of STEM professionals at work</li>
<li>Find out the careers and interests of your students’ parents/carers and integrate these examples</li>
</ul>
<ol start="4">
<li>
<h6>What else can schools do outside of lessons to encourage students to engage with careers in STEM?</h6>
</li>
</ol>
A good idea is taking a range of approaches; it is unlikely one approach will suit all students.
<ul>
<li>Several commercial STEM organisations websites are set up to engage and inform students about their professionals, training, and connections to the curriculum. Some also have activities and interactive resources.</li>
<li>It may be possible to organise visits to commercial STEM locations to see professionals at work and talk to them about their choices and outcomes.</li>
<li>Entering competitions and challenges that students can work towards and compete in, as part of extra-curricular activities.</li>
<li>STEM Ambassadors might provide personnel who could support with activities</li>
</ul>
<ol start="5">
<li>
<h6>How have students responded to discussions about STEM careers?</h6>
</li>
</ol>
If there haven’t been any such discussions it may be useful and informative to see what students think about STEM subjects and what opportunities they hold. However it is important to have looked at the ASPIRES and Science Capital resources first as these will help to identify why, in some cases, students may not have very positive attitudes.
If there have been discussions then it be worthwhile thinking about how you might respond – the materials you might draw upon, the examples to include and opportunities to offer. The Science Capital approach offers some practical ideas though one of the things you should be aware of is that it may not only be a case of trying to change what your students think but also what you offer to get those young people to see that science is for them.
<hr />
Ed Walsh is an experienced freelance consultant specializing in science education and series editor of KS3 Science Now. 
Read one of Ed’s other blog posts here: <a href="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/re-engaging-science-students/">Ideas for re-engaging students with science this t</a><a href="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/re-engaging-science-students/">erm</a>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class=" wp-image-9278 alignright" src="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/87/2023/03/Secondary-emails-300-x-300-1.png" alt="KS3 Science Now Teacher Pack and Learning and Practice Book covers" width="261" height="261" />
<hr />
<a href="https://collins.co.uk/pages/ks3-science-now">KS3 Science Now </a>develops knowledge, builds confidence with purposeful practice, and shows students how science is used in the real world. Request your free evaluation pack: collins.co.uk/KS3ScienceNow
<ul>
<li>Career profiles for every topic, created with WISE, showcase numerous examples of careers with relevant skills</li>
<li>The lesson plans and resources are complemented by road maps, knowledge organisers and high-quality questions</li>
</ul>
 
The post <a href="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/stem-careers/">Empower your students to thrive in a changing world</a> appeared first on <a href="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk">Collins | Freedom to Teach</a>.
]]></content:encoded>
</item>
<item>
<title>Setting your students up for equations success in GCSE Science</title>
<link>https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/setting-your-students-up-for-equations-success-in-gcse-science/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[stefanlesik]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Thu, 19 May 2022 09:08:20 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[GCSE]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Secondary Science]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[AQA GCSE Science]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Collins]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Education]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[equations practice]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[GCSE Science]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[GCSE science calculations]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[GCSE science equations]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Peter Edmunds]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[secondary]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[secondary science]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/2022/05/19/setting-your-students-up-for-equations-success-in-gcse-science/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[By Peter Edmunds When I was a trainee teacher back in 2017, I was frustrated by how much my students … <a href="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/setting-your-students-up-for-equations-success-in-gcse-science/">Continued</a>
The post <a href="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/setting-your-students-up-for-equations-success-in-gcse-science/">Setting your students up for equations success in GCSE Science</a> appeared first on <a href="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk">Collins | Freedom to Teach</a>.
]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[By Peter Edmunds
When I was a trainee teacher back in 2017, I was frustrated by how much my students were struggling with calculations. Really frustrated. Calculations were the easy part of physics, I thought.
Of course, I now know that I was suffering from expert blindness. Just because I found calculations easy didn’t mean that my students did. It took a few months of reflection to figure out why students found calculations hard, and I now understand this in the following terms:
<ol>
<li>Students lacked the necessary declarative knowledge. Or, in other words, they just did not remember the equations or the units.</li>
<li>Students lacked the necessary conditional knowledge of knowing when to rearrange an equation (or when to do a unit conversion), and the procedural knowledge in knowing how to rearrange an equation (or when to do a unit conversion).</li>
</ol>
Knowing this, I set about making a set of resources that isolated each of these pieces of knowledge and got students to practise them individually. More recently, this has been formalised in my <a href="https://collins.co.uk/products/9780008458515">AQA GCSE Science (9-1) Equations Practice Pack</a>, and I’ll detail the thought processes that I went through when making this. I think these thought processes translate if you’re looking at making your own teaching resources, too.
<a href="https://collins.co.uk/products/9780008458515"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class=" wp-image-8937 alignleft" src="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/87/2023/03/219859-FC3D-1-1-300x300.png" alt="AQA GCSE (9-1) Equations Practice Pack" width="222" height="222" />AQA GCSE Science (9–1) Equations Practice Pack</a>
<ul>
<li>Differentiated practice for all science equations at Foundation and Higher level</li>
<li>Fully editable, photocopiable and printable teacher pack</li>
</ul>
<h6></h6>
<h6></h6>
<h6></h6>
<h6></h6>
<h6 style="text-align: left">Isolating areas of practice</h6>
When writing student worksheets in this pack, I ramped the difficulty level throughout with ‘basic’, ‘medium’ and ‘hard’ levels of difficulty.
<figure id="attachment_9129" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-9129" style="width: 269px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class=" wp-image-9129" src="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/87/2023/03/8419-Elastic-potential-energy_210202_Page_1-1-212x300.png" alt="AQA GCSE (9–1) Equation Practice Physics" width="269" height="381" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-9129" class="wp-caption-text">Worksheets from AQA GCSE (9–1) Science Equation Practice Pack, Physics</figcaption></figure>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-9130 alignnone" src="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/87/2023/03/8419-Elastic-potential-energy_210202_Page_2-1-212x300.png" alt="AQA GCSE (9–1) Equation Practice Physics" width="244" height="346" />
 
 
Not only does this have the effect of isolating each area of practice but dually differentiates the worksheets. Personally, I’m not a big fan of giving separate worksheets to different groups of students mid-lesson; I find this is difficult to manage as a teacher (and comes with high workload implications). In my opinion, this also sets arbitrary limits on what an individual student can achieve, which I don’t think is right. I strongly believe that all students can progress to complete more conceptually difficult questions. Instead, I prefer to have one sheet that ramps in difficulty throughout.
Broadly, I tried to keep the ‘basic’ questions straightforward with as few complications as possible. I see these questions as primarily to enable students to:
<ul>
<li>practise recalling the equations and using them in the form given</li>
<li>practise recalling the units.</li>
</ul>
Now, the vast majority of students should be able to access this level of question, especially if it’s been modelled extensively to them in how to answer these question types.
It’s important that students obtain a high success rate on these questions. Important for their confidence and important so that they’re not practising making mistakes.
To help this, worked examples feature in the student worksheets to help model how to answer those types of questions. If I was delivering as part of a lesson, I would also model several examples on the board, and circulate around the classroom live marking as I go (I’m a strong believer in feedback being most powerful in the moment).
<h6>Introduce additional complications</h6>
‘Medium’ questions slowly introduce some additional complications. Often students didn’t know why they were finding a question hard or why they were getting answers incorrect. Therefore I have highlighted what the additional difficulties are. If they need to rearrange I will feed this back and note if, for example, a unit conversion is needed. Hints are also in dashed boxes, which highlight (for example) the specific unit conversion needed.
I see these questions to enable students to:
<ul>
<li>practise unit conversions with the conversion factors given to students</li>
<li>practise rearranging with worked examples to help.</li>
</ul>
By initially scaffolding and highlighting the need to rearrange or do a unit conversion, we are keeping the level of success high. Again, we don’t want students practising making mistakes.
<h6>Moving beyond the scaffold</h6>
Of course, there must be a stage at which support is taken away. This is where the ‘hard’ questions come in.
With these questions anything is fair game, really. More than one complication is involved, with no hints. This is the stage at which the scaffolding is completely taken away. Students have seen the complications in a controlled way, and the hope is that this will translate into the hard section.
In my experience, students have been really proud to get hard questions correct. They also provide a level of ‘stretch’ that caters to even the highest attaining students (again, I prefer ‘differentiation’ to just be one ramped sheet). This ‘stretch’ carries on to the ‘mixed practice’ section where there’s (usually) a very challenging multi-step calculation that spans over more than one equation.
<h6>Equations success</h6>
By isolating one skill/area of knowledge at a time and ramping the difficulty, I’ve found much greater success with my students. Having a uniform approach to calculations across the science department has proved really useful, and by repeatedly isolating the same areas of knowledge, students have become very fluent with calculations. If you use the Equations Practice Pack, hopefully you’ll find this too!
Tag me on Twitter <a href="http://www.twitter.com/edmunds_dr">@edmunds_dr</a>, and let me know how your students get on with equations questions.
Peter is the Head of Physics at a school in London. Formerly a physicist, he studied for a PhD & was a postdoctoral research associate at UCL, then latterly a postdoc at Imperial. He creates and shares physics resources on <a href="https://sciencedoctor.school.blog/">sciencedoctor.school.blog</a>.
 
You might also be interested in:
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-8942 alignleft" src="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/87/2023/03/shutterstock_1742968355-science-revision-scaled.jpg" alt="Science revision notecard" width="300" height="199" />
<a href="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/how-to-run-gcse-science-revision-sessions/">How to run GCSE Science revision sessions</a>
This is a brief blog on how to run revision sessions for GCSE Science. Forgive me, but I’m going to start by being a bit contrary… <a href="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/how-to-run-gcse-science-revision-sessions/">read more</a>
The post <a href="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/setting-your-students-up-for-equations-success-in-gcse-science/">Setting your students up for equations success in GCSE Science</a> appeared first on <a href="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk">Collins | Freedom to Teach</a>.
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<title>Secure Science for GCSE and get students back on track</title>
<link>https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/secure-science-for-gcse-and-get-students-back-on-track/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[stefanlesik]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Thu, 13 Jan 2022 16:25:33 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Secondary]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Secondary Science]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Collins science]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[GCSE]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[GCSE (9-1) Science]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[GCSE Science]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[GCSE science intervention]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Lucy Wood]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[secondary science]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Secure Science]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Secure Science for GCSE]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/2022/01/13/secure-science-for-gcse-and-get-students-back-on-track/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Ever wondered how on earth you will fit all that science into the time you have left with Year 11? … <a href="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/secure-science-for-gcse-and-get-students-back-on-track/">Continued</a>
The post <a href="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/secure-science-for-gcse-and-get-students-back-on-track/">Secure Science for GCSE and get students back on track</a> appeared first on <a href="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk">Collins | Freedom to Teach</a>.
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<content:encoded><![CDATA[Ever wondered how on earth you will fit all that science into the time you have left with Year 11? I had that same thought for years as a Head of Science, with the turbulence of the past couple of years proving this to be even more challenging. After multiple lockdowns and disrupted learning for all year groups, we knew before returning to school that Year 11 in particular would have some significant gaps in both their knowledge and their confidence. Having struggled to find the images and compact explanations I was looking for to teach my own children through lockdown, I decided to make the resource I couldn’t find – this is where the idea for the intervention solution that became <a href="https://collins.co.uk/pages/secondary-secondary-science-secure-science">Secure Science for GCSE</a> started.
Excitingly, Secure Science is a resource that breaks all the rules: we essentially unpacked the entirety of the science curriculum, selected the key ideas that students need and mapped these essentials across 30 sessions that are linked using the natural connections between topics. Secure Science is a blended print and digital intervention solution that will help students to feel confident in their exams, but also to understand the science they will come across throughout their lives, which I’m sure you will agree has never been so important.
<h6>GCSE Science key ideas in 30 sessions</h6>
I’ve supported thousands of students through their GCSEs and worked alongside some astonishing teachers who have supported many more. Those teachers can instil confidence in their students by teaching vast swathes of science content in just one lesson, using the natural connections that exist between topics. Secure Science covers all the basics in 30 sessions, so if you feel like your students have lots of gaps then you can fast forward through lots of them in just one session. In my experience, students who know the basics of most of the specification tend to do well in the exam, as they have a way in with the vast majority of the questions.
<h6>How does Secure Science work?</h6>
<a href="http://www.collins.co.uk/SecureScience"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-9064" src="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/87/2023/03/Secure-Science-email-image-v2-1-300x150.png" alt="Secure Science book jackets and laptop screen" width="344" height="172" /></a>
So, what is in the special sauce? I’ll condense it down into the key elements:
Each Secure Science session has the same format. This helps to reduce the cognitive load so that students can focus on the key concepts. Once each topic has been covered in the main session, there are a series of practice questions, with a suggested sequence in the Teacher Resource so that students can practise applying the key ideas to different types of question and structuring their answer using the framework that appears in each session. Students build their knowledge using the same sequence of ‘think > connect > solve> practice’ in each session.
<h6>Think</h6>
A simple technique for improving students’ exam performance is to make sure they understand what a question is asking. Secure Science translates the command words into plain English and each session structures how to answer each type of question. There are also plenty of practice questions for each command word, so students can feel confident with any type of question in the exam.
<h6>Connect</h6>
The process we use to help students build on what they already know is based in cognitive science research. This strategy helps students to access and build their long-term memory of the key science ideas. Each session has a key question, and the session takes students through a process of finding out what they already know, then gives them some content to fill any gaps in the form of a knowledge organiser and a card deck.
<h6>Solve</h6>
We then support students to construct an answer bit by bit, before pulling together a full answer. We know that sometimes students are flummoxed in exams because they just don’t know where to start with a question. We hope to help with that by breaking questions down into accessible pieces and supporting students to build their answer on what they already know, using the content displayed in each session.
<h6>Practise</h6>
Once students have worked through each type of question and the content in each session, they should then revisit each idea and question type over time, so they practice making the connections and deepen their understanding of the key ideas. There is plenty of advice in the teacher book about how to schedule the revisiting of ideas in different timeframes. You can use Secure Science if you have a tiny amount of time and a lot to cover before the exam, or if you want to build your students’ conceptual understanding over two or three years, and anything in between.
<h6>Adapt® – adaptive learning</h6>
The cognitive science really comes to life in Adapt – the digital element of Secure Science. Adapt uses the same process of thinking through targeted assessment questions to find students’ starting point, connecting what they already know using the video content on Adapt and then using what they have learned to solve a new set of questions. Adapt intelligently manages the learning and assessment so that students are presented with content that moves them forward in every session. Adapt then feeds back to teachers so that lessons and Adapt sessions are perfectly integrated. Investing in EdTech is always a big decision, and we have thought carefully about how to make Adapt valuable so that your investment results in improved outcomes for your students. Although the workbooks and teacher guide can make the best use of the time you have in lessons, Adapt makes the best use of any study time when you are not available. Students can log in on any device and even the shortest session will improve their understanding and confidence in science. I recommend that you use both together so your students develop a really secure science understanding.
 
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-9060" src="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/87/2023/03/Lucy-Wood-circular-frame-1.png" alt="" width="190" height="190" />By Lucy Wood
Educator and teacher trainer
Lucy has been obsessed with the link between science teaching and real-world science since she started teaching 20 years ago. She was a secondary science teacher and head of science until 2015 and since then has worked in and around schools in several roles, including working with Ofqual, the BBC and Ark. These experiences have strengthened her understanding of how policy becomes practice, and how great teachers help students understand the most complex scientific ideas. Lucy says, “I owe those teachers a debt of gratitude, as without the time in their classrooms and the hours unpicking what they were doing, Secure Science wouldn’t exist. Those techniques are the special sauce that makes Secure Science work”.
<a href="https://collins.co.uk/pages/secondary-secondary-science-secure-science">Take a closer look at Secure Science for GCSE and try a sample lesson with your class</a>
The post <a href="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/secure-science-for-gcse-and-get-students-back-on-track/">Secure Science for GCSE and get students back on track</a> appeared first on <a href="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk">Collins | Freedom to Teach</a>.
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<title>How to run GCSE Science revision sessions</title>
<link>https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/how-to-run-gcse-science-revision-sessions/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[stefanlesik]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Wed, 17 Feb 2021 12:14:48 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[GCSE]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Secondary]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Secondary Science]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Collins]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[GCSE (9-1) Science]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[GCSE Science]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Revision]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[revision sessions]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Science revision]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/2021/02/17/how-to-run-gcse-science-revision-sessions/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[This is a brief blog on how to run revision sessions for GCSE Science. Forgive me, but I’m going to … <a href="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/how-to-run-gcse-science-revision-sessions/">Continued</a>
The post <a href="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/how-to-run-gcse-science-revision-sessions/">How to run GCSE Science revision sessions</a> appeared first on <a href="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk">Collins | Freedom to Teach</a>.
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<content:encoded><![CDATA[This is a brief blog on how to run revision sessions for GCSE Science. Forgive me, but I’m going to start by being a bit contrary.
<h5>Retrieval vs revision</h5>
It’s best not to leave revision to one-off revision sessions. Instead, what’s preferable is to build a culture of “retrieval” with your classes. Students should actively be recalling and practising prior knowledge in an attempt to remember it for longer periods of time. And we, as teachers, should be facilitating and encouraging this.
<figure id="attachment_8939" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-8939" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-8939 size-medium" src="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/87/2023/03/Forgetting-curve-1-300x188.jpg" alt="Ebbinghaus Forgetting curve" width="300" height="188" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-8939" class="wp-caption-text">Fig 1. Ebbinghaus’ forgetting curve</figcaption></figure>
Ebbinghaus’ forgetting curve has become a familiar sight for many[1]. Ebbinghaus got some volunteers to memorise some completely made-up syllables with no links to syllables used in everyday language. Then looked at how many were remembered at different time intervals.
The executive summary of this was that the more times the syllables were recapped/retrieved the longer the time that they were memorised for.
Now, it’s all well and good me saying that should build a culture of retrieval practice within our classrooms. But how can we actually achieve this?
<h6>Here’s what I do:</h6>
<ol>
<li>Retrieval “do nows” that students complete as soon as they enter a lesson (as in the image)[2]. I split my “do nows” into four sections; last lesson, last term, last year and a stretch and challenge question. I explain *why* we’re doing “do nows” like this to the students and very quickly it becomes a routine.
<figure id="attachment_8938" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-8938" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-8938 size-medium" src="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/87/2023/03/Do-now-1-300x168.jpg" alt="Do now example for revision" width="300" height="168" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-8938" class="wp-caption-text">Fig 2 Do now example, SciDoc</figcaption></figure></li>
<li>Interleave or “interweave” your curriculum[3]. Interleave is when you teach two different concepts at the same time; if you teach a lesson that links neatly with some previous content then make that link! Interweaving (as coined by Mark Enser) involves separate strands of knowledge running as a continuous theme through your curriculum. Both encourage regular retrieval.</li>
<li>Retrieval homework. This one’s easy. Don’t just set homework on what students are learning now. Set them homework on what they’ve covered previously.</li>
</ol>
Okay, now I’ve had my little rant about how retrieval is superior to revision. Of course, let’s acknowledge that we are going to want to deliver some GCSE Science revision sessions to students. Especially when a formal exam is looming. I’ve thought quite deeply about how I approach this and do so in the following way:
<ol>
<li>Prioritise declarative (factual) knowledge by using self-quizzing sheets/retrieval roulettes</li>
<li>Scaffold students into doing exam questions</li>
<li>Practice makes perfect. Practice makes permanent</li>
<li>Give feedback</li>
</ol>
<h5>Prioritise declarative (factual) knowledge by using self-quizzing sheets/retrieval roulettes</h5>
<figure id="attachment_8941" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-8941" style="width: 174px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-8941" src="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/87/2023/03/Self-quizzing-sheet-1-212x300.jpg" alt="Self-quizzing sheet for revision" width="174" height="246" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-8941" class="wp-caption-text">Fig 3 Self-quizzing sheet, SciDoc</figcaption></figure>
The most important thing to prioritise in revision is declarative knowledge. Without very solid factual recall, students have no hope of answering highly complex problems. I wrote a blog on this recently[4]. To achieve this first step, I thought deeply about the most important “key learning questions” that are the absolutely non-negotiable knowledge that I want students to have[5]. I then produced sheets as in the image and encouraged students to self-quiz until the answers are committed to memory.
Many contributors on “EduTwitter” have gone further and written “retrieval roulettes” to achieve similar aims. Recent sites like carousel-learning.com and kuizical.com have also allowed for remote retrieval roulettes to be implemented.
<h5></h5>
<h5>Scaffold students into doing exam questions</h5>
<figure id="attachment_8940" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-8940" style="width: 174px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-8940" src="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/87/2023/03/Scaffolded-exam-question-1-209x300.jpg" alt="Scaffolded exam question for revision" width="174" height="249" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-8940" class="wp-caption-text">Fig 4 Scaffolded exam question, SciDoc</figcaption></figure>
When I’m confident that the declarative knowledge is becoming solid, then I get students to start practising exam questions. I usually start off doing this in a very scaffolded way, using sheets that consist of both the core notes (to reduce cognitive load in flicking to and from a textbook) and the exam questions themselves. An example is shown in the image.
Scaffolding in this way aligns neatly with Rosenshine principles 7 (“obtain a high success rate”) and 8 (“provide scaffolds for difficult takes”) and keeps student motivation high initially.
<h5>Practice makes perfect. Practice makes permanent</h5>
Now of course this scaffold is temporary and needs to be taken away. I then get the students to undertake a vast amount of deliberate practice. Most domains of knowledge are predictable; our problem solving gets better the more problems we have solved (as we can draw out similarities).
During the process of this practice, students also practise their procedural knowledge (knowing how to do something) and conditional knowledge (knowing when to do something). Ideally, these concepts are embedded throughout the course, but revision allows an excellent opportunity to practise them further.
<h5>Give feedback</h5>
Finally, any time our students produce some work it’s really important that we offer some form of feedback on that work. I’ve recently moved away from simply going over the answers, influenced by a blog by Adam Boxer[6]. If students did badly, then they are upset and demotivated. If they did well, then they’re smug and don’t know what to do to improve.
Instead, I look at the overall themes from the work. Re-teach any concepts that students have done poorly at; and then get them to practise similar questions again. Following this, I’d give the class the opportunity to come back to this topic in retrieval “do nows” and consider tweaking next year’s scheme of work to address misconceptions/difficulties earlier.
Tag me on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/edmunds_dr">@edmunds_dr,</a> and let me know how you approach GCSE Science revision sessions with your classes.
By Peter Edmunds
Many of the resources mentioned in this blog can be freely found on <a href="http://www.sciencedoctor.school.blog/">sciencedoctor.school.blog</a>
[1] Image of Ebbinghaus’ forgetting curve from Chun and Heo, 2018
[2] Credit for original template to the Harris Federation
[3] <a href="https://www.tes.com/news/interleaving-are-we-getting-it-all-wrong">https://www.tes.com/news/interleaving-are-we-getting-it-all-wrong</a>
[4] <a href="https://sciencedoctor.school.blog/2020/09/12/the-role-of-declarative-knowledge-in-problem-solving/">https://sciencedoctor.school.blog/2020/09/12/the-role-of-declarative-knowledge-in-problem-solving/</a>
[5] <a href="https://achemicalorthodoxy.wordpress.com/2018/03/02/fixing-key-stage-3-core-questions/">https://achemicalorthodoxy.wordpress.com/2018/03/02/fixing-key-stage-3-core-questions/</a>
[6] <a href="https://achemicalorthodoxy.wordpress.com/2019/03/26/what-to-do-after-a-mock-assessment-sampling-inferences-and-more/">https://achemicalorthodoxy.wordpress.com/2019/03/26/what-to-do-after-a-mock-assessment-sampling-inferences-and-more/</a>
<h6>Watch Peter’s talk at the ASE Conference 2021 to find out more about running revision sessions and his upcoming AQA GCSE Science (9–1) Equations Practice Pack </h6>
<iframe loading="lazy" title="How to run GCSE Science revision sessions" width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GtiA-2dQ6uU?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<a href="https://collins.co.uk/products/9780008458515"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-8937" src="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/87/2023/03/219859-FC3D-1-1-300x300.png" alt="AQA GCSE (9-1) Equations Practice Pack" width="244" height="244" /></a><a href="https://collins.co.uk/products/9780008458515">AQA GCSE Science (9–1) Equations Practice Pack</a>
<ul>
<li>Differentiated practice for all science equations at Foundation and Higher level</li>
<li>Fully editable, photocopiable and printable teacher pack</li>
</ul>
The AQA GCSE Science (9–1) Equations Practice Pack by Peter Edmunds is publishing May 2021.
 

<a href="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/category/secondary-science/">Read more blogs on Secondary Science</a>
The post <a href="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/how-to-run-gcse-science-revision-sessions/">How to run GCSE Science revision sessions</a> appeared first on <a href="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk">Collins | Freedom to Teach</a>.
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<title>Improving student writing for Extended Response Questions in AQA GCSE Sciences</title>
<link>https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/improving-student-writing-for-extended-response-questions-in-aqa-gcse-sciences/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[stefanlesik]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Mon, 15 Feb 2021 16:34:40 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Ed Walsh]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[GCSE]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Secondary]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Secondary Science]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[AQA GCSE Science]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[covid catch up]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[ed walsh]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[extended response questions]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[GCSE Sciences]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[secondary science]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/2021/02/15/improving-student-writing-for-extended-response-questions-in-aqa-gcse-sciences/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The last twelve months or so have affected many people in many different ways. Apart from the appalling death toll … <a href="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/improving-student-writing-for-extended-response-questions-in-aqa-gcse-sciences/">Continued</a>
The post <a href="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/improving-student-writing-for-extended-response-questions-in-aqa-gcse-sciences/">Improving student writing for Extended Response Questions in AQA GCSE Sciences</a> appeared first on <a href="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk">Collins | Freedom to Teach</a>.
]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[The last twelve months or so have affected many people in many different ways. Apart from the appalling death toll and the long-term effects on the health of many others, the control measures put in place have changed the way that schooling has worked for entire cohorts. The <a href="https://collins.co.uk/products/9780008400545">Extended Response Question resource</a> I edited for Collins turned out to be a lockdown publication in more ways than one. Though conceived prior to the pandemic, much of the writing was done during the first lockdown. Although designed for use in a conventional classroom setting, it has much relevance for the situation we now find ourselves in. This article outlines why good literacy is a key skill in science, and how you can help develop your students’ extended writing to successfully tackle extended response questions in AQA GCSE Sciences.
<h5>Why is literacy important in science?</h5>
There is a long and not always easy relationship between science education and the development of literacy skills; extended response questions are probably at the sharp end of this. Should the preparation of candidates to deal with ‘six markers’ be seen as a further burden on students and teachers and one peripheral to the central business of developing scientific knowledge and understanding? Is it seen as a key skill of a scientist to be able to construct a longer explanation? Is it best to simply be pragmatic and accept that it’s there in the exams and is worth a not insignificant number of marks?
One of the hallmarks of the last year has been the high profile given to scientists, some of whom have become regular guests on news programmes and many of whom have acquitted themselves well not only in terms of the grasp of their specialism but also their ability to explain complex ideas. This is not new of course; I would argue that it is part and parcel of being a scientist to be able to construct a longer response. Being able to describe a procedure, compare two different approaches, or evaluate an idea is in the job description.
Furthermore, many teachers have come to realise that getting students to write longer responses has a value that goes beyond simply demonstrating a competence in dealing with that type of question. It shows whether they have understood ideas in more detail, can use key terminology in context and draw ideas together from different parts of the course.
<h5>How can I improve my students’ extended responses?</h5>
The <a href="https://collins.co.uk/products/9780008400545">AQA GCSE (9–1) Extended Response Questions Teacher Response Pack</a> was written to offer teachers a way forward in three main ways:
<ol>
<li> The first was responding to the immediate situation if there are students in Year 11 who are underperforming and need both practice and guidance. We’ll soon know how these students will be assessed for the purposes of awarding grades this year and items like this may well figure large. For some students, it’s more opportunities (<a href="https://issuu.com/collinsed/docs/collins_gcse_science_extended_response_questions_t">so we’ve included dozens of such questions</a>) and for others, it’s an unpacking of the command words. Because AQA now use the same level descriptors each time a certain command word is used, students can be trained to respond accordingly. An evaluate question needs a judgment, for example, and the candidate who doesn’t include one cannot get full marks.</li>
<li>The second purpose is a more strategic view over the GCSE courses and a desire to integrate the use, both of the questions and ideas, about how to explicitly teach the skills of response over the duration of the course.</li>
<li>The third is to support the view that it needs to be an even longer-term strategy. We progressively develop practical skills and cornerstone concepts such as the particulate model of matter over five years; we should do the same with the skills of constructing longer responses.</li>
</ol>
The constituent aspects of focusing on key terminology, quality sentence construction, and the organisation of text will serve students well on a number of fronts. What some of our students need is repeated exposure to language and ideas. We need to get them to not only think like a scientist but also to write like a scientist, and that won’t happen in the six weeks prior to an exam.
<h5>How can I use this resource with my students?</h5>
<a href="https://collins.co.uk/products/9780008400545"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-8932" src="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/87/2023/03/203429-FC3D-1-300x300.png" alt="AQA GCSE (9-1) Extended Response Teacher Resource Pack" width="215" height="215" /></a>Twenty years in teaching and almost as many in curriculum development have taught me how inventive and creative teachers are (and have to be) in terms of devising approaches and developing ways of developing student competencies. What we’ve done with this resource is to offer a toolkit. There is a range of materials in there. For each question, there is a model answer that would get full marks and another that would get some of the marks. These are designed to present to students to develop their capacity to recognise improvements. We’ve included commentaries as well, to support teachers to see what examiners will look for.
The feedback we’re getting is that this lends itself to use in a range of ways, including learning at home. In a recent interview in the Financial Times, Professor Sir John Holman (author of <a href="https://www.gatsby.org.uk/education/programmes/support-for-practical-science-in-schools">the Good Practical Science report</a>) expressed the hope that the recently raised profile of science would increase interest in STEM careers, but that this would only happen if, principally amongst other factors, the teaching supported it. Teaching needs to be good, and so do the tools that support it. <a href="https://issuu.com/collinsed/docs/collins_gcse_science_extended_response_questions_t">Check out the sample pages and see what you think.</a>
<h6>Watch Ed’s talk at the ASE Conference 2021 to find out more about the AQA GCSE (9–1) Extended Response Questions Teacher Response Pack </h6>
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Improving student response to extended response questions for AQA GCSE Sciences" width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XxrpM7IXC7c?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
By Ed Walsh
<a href="http://www.edmundwalsh.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Ed Walsh</a> is a freelance consultant, specializing in science education. A teacher for twenty years and a team leader for twelve of those, he now writes and edits curriculum materials, designs and delivers CPD, and works with science departments to improve the quality of their provision.
<a href="https://collins.co.uk/pages/secondary-science" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">View secondary Science resources from Collins</a>, including books written and edited by Ed.

<a href="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/category/secondary-science/">Read more articles on Secondary Science</a>
The post <a href="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/improving-student-writing-for-extended-response-questions-in-aqa-gcse-sciences/">Improving student writing for Extended Response Questions in AQA GCSE Sciences</a> appeared first on <a href="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk">Collins | Freedom to Teach</a>.
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<title>AS & A Level science skills by remote learning</title>
<link>https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/as-a-level-science-skills-by-remote-learning/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[digitaltechnology]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Wed, 03 Feb 2021 16:37:00 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[International]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Secondary]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Secondary Science]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[a-level science]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[secondary]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/2021/02/03/as-a-level-science-skills-by-remote-learning/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Many students find science skills to be challenging in the usual school lab setting, but learning remotely can make this … <a href="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/as-a-level-science-skills-by-remote-learning/">Continued</a>
The post <a href="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/as-a-level-science-skills-by-remote-learning/">AS & A Level science skills by remote learning</a> appeared first on <a href="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk">Collins | Freedom to Teach</a>.
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<content:encoded><![CDATA[Many students find science skills to be challenging in the usual school lab setting, but learning remotely can make this challenge seem greater.
Getting students to do past practical papers (or parts of these) can be valuable, but this approach alone will not be sufficient for students to develop a deeper understanding of the skills required.
In this post, we will give some examples of how students can access and develop the required practical skills for AS & A Level sciences in a remote learning context.
Some of these activities and examples draw upon ideas from the Collins AS & A Level Student Books, each of which contains Experimental Skills sections for almost every topic which do not require laboratory access.
You can find the sample pages for these resources by clicking on the link <a href="https://collins.co.uk/pages/caie-sciences">here</a>.
<h2>#1: Safety</h2>
When we ask that students carry out any activity, we should keep safety as a top priority. This is more difficult to monitor during remote learning, so teachers should exercise their own judgement about what activities to plan. For example, determining the absolute uncertainty of a volume measured in a kitchen jug would be acceptable, but using boiling water to make solutions in kitchen glassware may not. Risk assessments should be part of any experimental plan.
<h5>Key Tip</h5>
Always encourage students to write their own risk assessment. The minimum should be ‘This is a low-risk activity with no specific hazards. The usual laboratory rules should be followed.’ Beyond that, any safety precaution should be specific to the procedure. For example, ‘Oxygen gas will be evolved, so oxidisable materials should be removed and flames should not be used.’
<h2>#2: Planning</h2>
When questioned, students at AS & A Level usually say that planning is one of the easier skills, yet many do not access full marks when assessed. Independent, dependent and control variables should be identified in practice scenarios, along with a workable method being given.
Points that students often miss are:
<ul>
<li>Those which will ensure accuracy or reproducibility of the results. For example, ‘Rub the ends of the wire lightly with sandpaper to ensure a good electrical connection to the crocodile clips.’ or ‘Use a thermostatically controlled water bath to ensure that the temperature remains constant.’</li>
<li>Justifying what equipment to use, such as ‘Use a 500 cm3 measuring cylinder to collect the gas because my calculations show that the volume evolved will to too great for a standard 100 cm3 gas syringe.’</li>
<li>Justifying procedures, like ‘Observe the cells using a magnification of x500 and count the chromosomes in a cell at metaphase or anaphase.’</li>
<li>Methods of analysis, such as ‘If the predicted relationship between the time period and the length is correct, then a graph of T2 against l will be a straight line through the origin.’ or ‘A minimum of three readings should be made for each plant species and the means should be compared.</li>
</ul>
<h5>Key Tip</h5>
Ask students to write a whole plan for an investigation and provide them with success criteria in advance. The success criteria can be in the form of a check-list. For example, ‘I have identified both dependent and independent variables and stated how these are to be measured’ etc. Use past papers and the Collins AS & A Level Student Books for ideas. After identifying which areas need development with each student, focus on these with more detailed success criteria.
<h2>#3: Making measurements and recording results</h2>
Teachers and students often think that these skills cannot be practised at home. Obviously, at home, we do not have access to more sophisticated equipment, but this is a good opportunity to deconstruct the misconception that science only happens in a lab. There are many examples of investigations that can actually be carried out at home. Each of these can be developed with further questions.
Examples include:
<ul>
<li>Collecting leaves from two different heights, such as 0.5 m and 1.5 m on a woody plant and comparing their surface areas. A plant that is non-toxic to the touch and that contains no known allergens should be chosen. Students can be given a plan or can plan their own investigation, then carry it out. How can the surface area of a leaf be determined at home? Plan and detailed drawings can be made from light micrographs that are found on science photography websites.</li>
<li>Placing clean iron nails into water with various concentrations of table salt, then removing the nails to air-dry. The time taken to rust or the percentage cover of rust could be compared. What units of concentration should be used at home when sensitive weighing apparatus (to enable a moles calculation) is not available? If lab access was possible, how could the mass of rust on each nail be determined? What would be the advantage of converting this to a percentage mass?</li>
<li>A simple oscillating system such as a home-made pendulum or weighted plastic ruler held horizontally off the end of a desk can be set up. The stopwatch app on a smartphone can be used to measure the time period when a key variable is changed. What unit could be used to measure the load on the ruler without access to a sensitive balance? Would a time index on a phone’s video with a resolution of 0.01 s remove the need to take repeat measurements and calculate a mean?</li>
</ul>
Many websites have quite sophisticated simulation software that enable results to be recorded from a wide range of experiments. Use a search engine to look for ‘<type of experiment> simulation’ and explore some of the hits. Students can then be given the direct link to the chosen simulation.
<h5>Key Tip</h5>
Learners without access to any resources at home can be allocated into groups to work remotely with others. For example, one student with a video camera can show the oscillating system to the others who use the time index on their own video to determine the time period. One student can share photographs of their leaves sitting on squared paper, etc.
<h2>#4: Analysis of results</h2>
Students can quite easily be given sets of data to analyse at home. By the time students get to AS & A Level, graph plotting should be already well practised, but often scaling axes and use of error bars can still be a challenge. Ensure students have access to 2 mm square graph paper and devise ranges of results that will make a suitable scale progressively more challenging.
Giving a set of results for an exponential decay, such as counts per second from a radioactive sample or the current from a discharging capacitor can be a useful way of students practising how to use natural logarithms to enable a straight line to be plotted.
Similarly, the cell potential of an electrochemical cell has a straight-line relationship with the log10 concentration of the aqueous ion.
Such graphs also involve the use of negative numbers, which can be challenging for some students.
Results of population genetics studies can be provided for students to apply, for example, chi-squared analyses. In these cases, students should be provided with any statistical tables and equations.
<h5>Key Tip</h5>
Teachers can use software such as Excel to generate their own data sets for students to plot. By using the trendline option, a line of best fit can be seen in advance. Points can then be manually adjusted to be just off this line to add challenge to the students when drawing their own line of best fit. Some of these apps also allow the equation of the trendline to be shown so the ‘ideal’ gradient or intercept is known by the teacher in advance.
<h2>#5: Evaluation</h2>
This is possibly the most challenging of all practical skills, partly because many students do not completely understand what is required. For example, many students consider it sufficient to refer to better equipment, or using meters with digital rather than analogue displays.
Fortunately, evaluation is one of the skills that lends itself well to remote learning.
Practising this skill can be done in two ways:
<ul>
<li>Identifying limitations/sources of error or uncertainty and suggesting improvements. For example, when determining an enthalpy change in a glass beaker and using a thermometer with a resolution of 1 oC improvements could be using a polystyrene cup with a lid and a thermometer with a resolution of 0.5 oC as these changes would reduce heat loss to the surroundings and reduce the percentage error in the results respectively. Students find this to be a difficult skill and may need support with this initially.</li>
<li>Recognising absolute or actual errors or uncertainties. Students can do this at home using domestic measuring equipment. For example, the absolute or actual uncertainty of bathroom weighing scales with a resolution of 1 kg can be quoted as ± 0.5 kg or 1.0 kg. They can then calculate the percentage uncertainty in the mass, for example, of a suitcase. This can be extended to derived values. For example, if the uncertainty in a value of T is 0.1 s, then what is the uncertainty in T2? These uncertainties can then be shown as error bars on graphs so best and worst fit lines can be drawn and uncertainties in gradients determined.</li>
</ul>
<h5>Key Tip</h5>
Provide students with an experimental procedure and a writing frame or cloze (gap-fill) passage to support them in recognizing sources of error and suggesting improvements.
There are many video resources that show how to calculate errors or apply error bars to graphs. Go to an online video resource and search, for example, for ‘error bars AS & A Level physics’ and explore the hits. Don’t forget to watch the videos before providing direct links to ensure their suitability and accuracy!
<h3>Action plan</h3>
<ul>
<li>Start with a skills area where you feel most confident.</li>
<li>Always develop a clear set of success criteria for each task and share these with students in advance.</li>
<li>Provide support, or scaffolding, when starting something new. Remember, it is better to provide too much support than too little!</li>
<li>Allow students to work in remote groups and share ideas when working on a task. Perhaps the first task in each skill area could be a collaborative group effort.</li>
<li>Set clear targets for when and how you want work to be submitted.</li>
<li>Once students clearly understand the criteria for each skill area, then peer-assessment can be used. This can be accompanied by them giving each other feedback.</li>
</ul>
 
<h5><a href="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/87/2023/03/Michael-Smyth-Photo-1.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-8909 alignright" src="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/87/2023/03/Michael-Smyth-Photo-1.jpg" alt="Michael Smyth Photo" width="148" height="236" /></a>About the author</h5>
Michael Smyth graduated with a PhD in Biophysics and began his career in research at the University of Oxford. His work has been featured in major newspapers and he has won international awards for his work in science education. A senior examiner for over 20 years, Michael currently writes and marks exam papers, trains teachers and examiners and writes books and articles on science. Including the Cambridge International AS & A Level Biology, Physics and Chemistry resources.
The post <a href="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/as-a-level-science-skills-by-remote-learning/">AS & A Level science skills by remote learning</a> appeared first on <a href="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk">Collins | Freedom to Teach</a>.
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<title>Nobel Prize for Chemistry 2020: The Genetic Scissors</title>
<link>https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/nobel-prize-for-chemistry-2020/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[stefanlesik]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Thu, 15 Oct 2020 13:58:34 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Secondary Science]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Activities]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Chemistry]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[collins lesson ideas]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[lesson ideas]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[nobel prize]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Nobel prize 2020]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[secondary science]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/2020/10/15/nobel-prize-for-chemistry-2020/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The 2020 Nobel Prize for Chemistry has, for the first time, been shared by two female scientists, Emmanuelle Charpentier from … <a href="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/nobel-prize-for-chemistry-2020/">Continued</a>
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<content:encoded><![CDATA[The 2020 Nobel Prize for Chemistry has, for the first time, been shared by two female scientists, Emmanuelle Charpentier from France and the American, Jennifer A. Doudna. They led separate teams to discoveries which resulted in the exciting new tool that cuts and pastes DNA and goes by the cryptic name of CRISPR.
DNA, genomes and all that
Francis Crick and James Watson, with the assistance of Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins discovered the structure of DNA in 1953. While celebrating their work they said that the pattern of the bases that made up the rungs of the double helix ladder might be the code of life. Over the next decades that idea was shown to be true. DNA carries the instructions for making proteins used by organisms. The complete DNA code was read first for viruses and bacteria, then for small multi-celled organisms such as nematode worms. In 2003 the reading of the human genome was completed.
In the 1980s it was noted that some bacteria contained a mysterious repeated sequence of bases. They were given the name CRISPR, the six letters standing for words that describe the sequence and arrangement of the repeats. Within CRISPR were bits of DNA that seemed to resemble the DNA of viruses. It was also noticed that certain genes were always associated with CRISPR but what they did was unknown. In 2005 it was observed that the bacteria that contained CRISPR were resistant to attacks by viruses known as phages. It looked as though the CRISPR genes produced a protein that could snip the DNA of the invading phage in two.
The Winners
Emmanuelle Charpentier was born in 1968. She is a talented piano player and dancer but at school excelled at science. At a young age she told her mother that she would study at the Pasteur Institute in Paris and that is where she did the work for her doctorate. She also adopted Louis Pasteur’s saying, “Chance favours the prepared mind”. Emmanuelle was interested in how pathogens (bacteria that cause diseases) developed resistance to antibiotics. After spells as a researcher in France and the USA, she became a professor and head of a team at the University of Vienna in 2002. She moved to Sweden in 2009 then to Germany in 2014. In 2018 she became Director of the Unit for the Science of Pathogens at the Max Planck Institute in Berlin.
In Vienna, Emmanuelle began looking at how the genes were regulated in streptococcus bacteria that cause mild diseases like tonsilitis but also life-threatening sepsis. She continued the work in Sweden focussing on the RNA molecules (single strands similar to DNA) that controlled the genes. She noticed that one of the RNA molecules had a similar pattern of bases to the genes that had been found near CRISPR sequences. She set her team to look more closely at the CRISPR sequence in her bacteria and discovered a particular molecule called tracrRNA that proved to be important in the reaction cutting the phage DNA. In 2011 Emmanuelle headed to a conference in Puerto Rico having announced her team’s discovery.
Jennifer A Doudna is four years older than Charpentier. She was born in Washington DC where her father was a university teacher of literature and her mother was a history teacher. When Jennifer was seven, they moved to Hawaii. She became fascinated with the plants and animals of the island and her parents encouraged her interest in science. Her father gave her James Watson’s book The Double Helix and this inspired her to study biochemistry. Early in her university course she had doubts about her ability and thought of swapping to French – she excelled at languages – but was persuaded to stick with science. She completed her degree in 1985 and then did research in various parts of the USA before becoming a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, where her husband Jamie already worked. She has a son, Andy.
Jennifer studied the processes in which genes guided the formation of proteins. This is carried out by various forms of RNA. Her research taught her a lot about the jobs done by the various types of RNA in cells. In 2006 she became interested in the CRISPR discoveries. She realised that the genes associated with CRISPR were similar to genes that produced proteins that chop up DNA. With her team she discovered the function of the proteins produced by the CRISPR genes in the particular bacteria she chose to study.
Jennifer also attended the Puerto Rico conference in 2011. She happened to meet Emmanuelle in a café, and they started to talk about their separate work on CRISPR genes and RNA. They carried on talking as they walked around the town and decided to cooperate with each other.
The CRISPR scissors
By 2011 it was known that CRISPR bacteria attacked invading phages using the section of the phage’s genome copied in the bacteria’s CRISPR sequence. This allowed the RNA molecules to find the matching section in the phage DNA. The cutting proteins snipped the DNA at that point.
Charpentier and Doudna now worked together to simplify the system and design the CRISPR sequence so that the protein scissors would break a DNA molecule at the spot that they chose. They soon had success and in 2012 the two women publicised their invention of the CRISPR genetic scissors.
Other scientists quickly realised they could use the CRISPR scissors to snip DNA of plants and animals as well as bacteria and insert new genes. The method was much easier to use than earlier ways of modifying genomes.
Describing their invention as “scissors” makes it appear a simple mechanical process. It is as if a pair of intelligent scissors is being used to snip pieces of string of identical length from thousands of balls of string in a very short time. In fact, it involves RNA molecules matching up the bases in the CRISPR sequence with the target DNA and then protein enzymes breaking the chemical bond in the DNA backbone between specific base pairs. It’s chemistry.
The Feud
Feng Zhang, a scientist at MIT in the US, picked up Charpentier and Doudna’s work and quickly showed that the CRISPR scissors worked on human cells. MIT took out patents on his work. This meant that anyone else wanting to use CRISPR on human cells would have to pay MIT to be able to do the work. Charpentier and Doudna challenged the patents saying that it was merely an extension of their own invention. A court case in 2014 took MIT’s side but the dispute is continuing. Meanwhile Charpentier and Doudna have each formed companies to exploit their discoveries.
The Future and COVID
Scientists are very excited by CRISPR. It is already being used to develop new disease and drought resistant crops. It offers a method of treating genetic diseases and of curing cancers. CRISPR is also part of the fight against the COVID pandemic. It is being used to develop a genetic vaccine that will target the coronavirus genome, snip it and destroy it.
It is only eight years since Charpentier and Doudna developed the CRISPR genetic scissors. Its impact on science has been great which is why they have been awarded the Nobel prize so soon.
 
Student tasks
<ol>
<li>Only five other women have been awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry before Charpentier and Doudna. Who are they? Which of them won it alone and which ones shared it with men?</li>
<li>Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna have become famous. Find out more about their lives and work.</li>
<li>Charpentier and Doudna worked in the same area of chemistry at different establishments, but it was the discoveries they made together that won them the prize. How important do you think their chance meeting in Puerto Rico was to their success? Would it have been the same if the conference had been on Zoom?</li>
<li>The Nobel Prize can be awarded to up to three people working in the same field. Do you think Feng Zhang should have had a share for his work on using CRISPR on human cells? Do you think the scientists who did the earlier work on CRISPR should have been rewarded?</li>
<li>It has become common for scientists and their universities to set up companies to sell products produced from their discoveries. Do you think this is right?</li>
<li>CRISPR makes it much easier and to carry out precise genetic medication of plants and animals. This could produce new crops and useful bacteria, e.g. to dispose of plastic waste. What modifications to plants and bacteria would you like to see?</li>
<li>CRISPR could be used to make genetic modifications to human cells, for example to eliminate genetic diseases and to choose characteristics of babies (e.g. hair colour). Do you think modifications like these should be allowed on humans?</li>
<li>Charpentier and Doudna are still unusual in being female leaders of research teams as well as being female Nobel prize winners. What do you think can be done to help female scientists achieve the same success as men?</li>
</ol>
Sources
<ol>
<li><a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/">The 2020 Nobel Prize for Chemistry website</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.mpg.de/10729312/emmanuelle-charpentier">Emmanuelle Charpentier’s page on the Max Planck Institute website</a></li>
<li><a href="https://news.berkeley.edu/2020/10/07/jennifer-doudna-wins-2020-nobel-prize-in-chemistry/">Jennifer A. Doudna’s page on The University of California at Berkeley website</a></li>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmanuelle_Charpentier">Wikipedia page on Charpentier</a></li>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jennifer_Doudna">Wikipedia page on Charpentier and Doudna</a></li>
</ol>
 
By Peter Ellis
Discover more <a href="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/?s=nobel+prize">lesson ideas based on previous Nobel prize winners </a>
Collins has a wide range of engaging Science resources from KS3 to A-level. <a href="https://collins.co.uk/pages/secondary-science">Explore the full range here.</a>
The post <a href="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/nobel-prize-for-chemistry-2020/">Nobel Prize for Chemistry 2020: The Genetic Scissors</a> appeared first on <a href="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk">Collins | Freedom to Teach</a>.
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<title>Ideas for re-engaging students with science this term</title>
<link>https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/re-engaging-science-students/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[stefanlesik]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Tue, 08 Sep 2020 11:53:58 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Ed Walsh]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[GCSE]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Secondary Science]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Collins]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Collins Learning]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[ed walsh]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Education]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Key Stage 3]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Key stage 3 Science]]></category>
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<category><![CDATA[KS3 Science]]></category>
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<content:encoded><![CDATA[It’s always a risk when committing thoughts to paper (or cloud) on education policy and practice; what might seem adventurous or at least perceptive at the time of writing can look predictable or even downright out of date by the time it’s circulated. Moving from hard print to digital communication might have addressed that prior to lockdown but the rate at which official guidance is changes means that it’s a brave person who suggests what science departments might to get things going this year.
Government policy is that schools should reopen in full this September, so let’s take that as a starting point. We also know that local lockdowns are a distinct possibility and may well affect schools in a locality. We also know that the DfE, following recent consultations, is not minded to significantly alter GCSE and A-level qualifications for next year. What I want to do is to explore some ideas around what teachers and subject leaders in science might usefully do.
Lockdown v1.0 arrived with little warning and resulted in most schools closing to most students on March 20th. It was difficult to put any degree of planning into place and even though there is a widespread view that, overall, it should have been implemented even sooner, the fact remains that even the best organised schools were having to react very quickly and to spend time and effort after that working out how best to respond. It may be of course that at least some schools do get a clear run next year and an opportunity to try and get students back on course.
However, this may not materialise; lockdown v2.0 may happen, and with even less notice. Schools are likely to have more of an idea about how to respond organisationally, but resourceful Heads of Science are also likely to have thought through how to continue providing a high-quality offer. What did the experience of last term teach about what worked? What’s the best way of organising the science team and do the members know what’s expected of them if they find themselves looking at students through a Zoom screen again?
Obviously, there’s likely to be a real focus upon Years 11 and 13. It’s a good idea to be quite open with colleagues, students and parents about the approach that will be taken to completing the course; this is likely to be both convincing and effective if it’s not entirely based on the assumption that there will be no further disruptions. What’s the running order of topics, what are the resources to catch up on missed sessions and how will assessment be used to set the agenda for the year and decide on priorities? Furthermore, is there a plan in place that can be delivered even if students are not in school for all sessions?
The question of practical work
One of the changes that has been put in place for the GCSE sciences in 2021 is to allow the use of demonstrations and simulations in relation to practical work; it is worthwhile giving thought as to how this will be used. There’s no indication that the nature of the exam questions relating to practical work will be altered in any way so it’s a case of ‘different means but same end’.
A project I’ve had some involvement with over the last couple of years is the ASE’s ‘Good Practical Science: Making it happen’ programme. We caught up recently with some of the Heads of Science who had piloted the materials for the programme previously and asked them about strategies they had used during lockdown. No-one suggested they’d ‘found the silver bullet’ in terms of the online equivalent of practical work but several had explored making short videos. What was interesting and a common finding was that videos featuring the class teacher got an immediate and sustained ‘buy-in’ by the students. It is likely that some students end up pretty isolated in lockdown and this seemed to work.
Ideas to re-engage your KS3 students
It’s also worth thinking about KS3 students, who may also be on a restricted curriculum diet; some schools are managing the situation by reducing movement around the school and basing groups in one room. This obviously drops out a number of teaching and learning approaches traditionally associated with science and there’s scope for some creative thinking about substitutes. Little can compare with discovering for the first time that hydrogen burns with a squeaky pop but inventive teachers may be able to inject something that avoids being didactic. A few ideas to try with your KS3 students:
<ol>
<li>Set up a two by two grid on the screen populated with appropriate graphics and challenge students to identify in which way are each of these objects the odd one out. For example:
<ul>
<li>Sodium, calcium, tin, iodine</li>
<li>Bulb, battery, wire, buzzer</li>
<li>Nerve cell, skin cell, muscle cell, blood cell</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Five-minute problem solver – devise something which would, for example:
<ul>
<li>Separate plastic from metal in a materials recycler</li>
<li>Enable a space probe to descend through the atmosphere of Mars</li>
<li>Display useful ‘at a glance’ nutritional information on food packaging</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Hot seat revision – set as homework the devising of questions on a previous topic and have one of the students in the hot seat the next lesson answering the questions live</li>
</ol>
It’s been widely (and rightly) reported that lockdown has been divisive for students. Those who have support at home in various forms have generally coped better than those who don’t. It is very likely that some students will have fallen behind and it will be important to identify those and intervene. The careful use of assessment will be important and the provision of catch up will be crucial. Neither students or schools can afford a widening gap.
The final point is that networking is both tricky and important. Schools vary but what is also different is the creativity and resourcefulness applied by individual teachers and also the science teams in different schools. It’s well worth keeping in touch with colleagues and sharing ideas.
 
By Ed Walsh
The post <a href="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/re-engaging-science-students/">Ideas for re-engaging students with science this term</a> appeared first on <a href="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk">Collins | Freedom to Teach</a>.
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</item>
<item>
<title>Preparing for exam questions on science practicals</title>
<link>https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/exam-questions-science-practicals/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[stefanlesik]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Mon, 02 Mar 2020 10:15:36 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Secondary]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Secondary Science]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[GCSE]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[GCSE 9-1]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[GCSE Science]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[practicals]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Revision]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[science]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[science practicals]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[secondary science]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/2020/03/02/exam-questions-science-practicals/</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Students often love the idea of practical work in science. They have the chance to work in small groups as … <a href="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/exam-questions-science-practicals/">Continued</a>
The post <a href="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/exam-questions-science-practicals/">Preparing for exam questions on science practicals</a> appeared first on <a href="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk">Collins | Freedom to Teach</a>.
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<content:encoded><![CDATA[<a href="http://s20211.p595.sites.pressdns.com/exam-questions-science-practicals/shutterstock_1582718014/" rel="attachment wp-att-8701"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-8701" src="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/87/2023/03/shutterstock_1582718014-scaled.jpg" alt="Density of materials" width="458" height="305" /></a>Students often love the idea of practical work in science. They have the chance to work in small groups as they experiment with new equipment and see the science come to life, rather than taking notes from the board or answering questions in their books.
When it comes to exams, it’s another matter. Students often feel underprepared and uncertain about the types of questions that may be asked about the practical side of science. With most students in England now sitting GCSEs with required or core practicals they must carry out in class, there is no escaping the fact that this is an area of science that students need our help with.
Students can follow instructions and will learn a method for carrying out specified practicals, although they sometimes don’t appreciate why they carried out each step or understand how to collect valid meaningful data. To make your students more responsible for their own experimental results, there are small ways you could enhance the required practicals in lessons. When measuring the density of materials, why not allow them to choose from a wide selection of different measuring cylinders and ask them to justify the choice they made – whether a 5ml, 20ml or 100ml cylinder. To encourage independence, perhaps include a wide range of measuring devices for every practical activity so they always select, and justify, appropriate equipment for that measurement.
Could you stretch the more able with objects that float in water, or are hollow inside when they calculate the density? Could you ask your students to measure the specific heat capacity of liquids or investigate the wave speed in different thicknesses of vibrating elastic? What happens if objects other than springs are stretched? Allowing students some freedom to conduct more open-ended investigations for these core practicals will help prepare them for the unexpected nature of exam questions.
In many schools, the sequence of science taught in lessons follows the order in which it is written down in the exam board specifications, even though this is not a requirement from the boards. A great example of this is when students learn to calculate the specific heat capacity of a material. The usual method relies on students setting up a circuit with ammeters and voltmeters in the correct place. Recording the mass, current, potential difference, time and temperature. They take many measurements and then plot a graph to calculate the gradient, which is then used in a subsequent calculation. These are all skills they will have mastered by the end of Year 11, yet this activity is often carried out near the start of the course. A simple demo or practical could be used when this is first covered by the students, but by then revisiting the same practicals in greater detail towards the end of GCSEs they will have a much deeper understanding of why they carried out each step.
Revision for exams does not have to remain a solely paper-based activity. Spending a couple of lessons with a carousel of all the essential practicals set-up allows them the opportunity to re-familiarise themselves with the equipment and techniques they might not have used since the start of Year 9 or 10. Around these core practicals could be prompts for the students to think about and discuss – what else could the same apparatus be used to measure, are there other ways to carry out the same experiment, what possible questions could be asked about that particular practical?
The more hands-on experience and time your students have with the common equipment they use for GCSE Science the more confident they will become, leading onto greater confidence when questions about this undoubtedly come up in their exams.
 
Lewis Matheson
Lewis worked in both the state and independent sector where he was a Head of Science. He has also made over a thousand videos supporting GCSE and A Level Physics and continues to make resources for students of all abilities.
The post <a href="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/exam-questions-science-practicals/">Preparing for exam questions on science practicals</a> appeared first on <a href="https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk">Collins | Freedom to Teach</a>.
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