Quite a lot of changes due to change of curriculum to emphasise scientific enquiry
'Surveys show that in many primary schools, science enquiry generally means doing a fair test', e.g. basic experiment
What we found at Nicol Mere?
We were facilitators of knowledge with a little bit of scientific enquiry
What was the ambition of the school?
The different types of scientific enquiry should be driving how children acquire the knowledge and skills
Children would gather knowledge of curriculum through investigation, scientific enquiry based learning
The National Curriculum States:
'Working scientifically' specifies the understanding of the nature, processes and methods of science for each year group. It should not be taught as a separate strand. The notes and guidance give examples of how working scientifically might be embedded within the content of biology, chemistry and physics.
What do the different types of enquiry actually mean?
Observing over time
Observing over time helps us to identify and measure events and changes in living things, materials and physical processes and events. These observations may take place over time spans from minutes or hours (e.g. puddles evaporating, movements of shadows) to several weeks or months (e.g. growing plants, hatching eggs)
Observing over time provides opportunities for children to be activity involved in making decision about what and how to observe and measure and the best ways to record the changes that occur
Identifying and Classifying
Identifying and classifying are key scientific activities that help us make sense of how the world is organised. This happens intuitively from a very early age when children learn to recognise and identify mum and dad. As they get older, they begin to work out what things are by observing closely learning the names of different things, noticing characteristics, similarities and differences and learning how characteristics can be grouped together. Children identify similar / different features of tests that help them to distinguish between different
Pattern Seeking
Children observe and record phenomena, carry out surveys or collect data from secondary sources, and then identify relationships between the data in their findings. Pattern seeking will be part of other scientific enquiries when they are identifying patterns in observations, research and results from comparative and fair tests
Research using Secondary Sources
There are lots of questions that are impossible or unsafe for children to answer using first hand experience, e.g. what lives in Antarctica, how glass is made, what happens when lightening strikes
When researching using secondary sources they can learn to compare and evaluate information from different sources, distinguishing fact from opinion and can recognise conflicting evidence and bias, e.g. comparing diets for healthy weight loss, medical and holistic methods for relieving certain illnesses
Comparative and Fair Testing
Comparative and fair test enquiries enable children to explore relationships between variables. In comparative tests, children compare one event with another, e.g. does red car go faster than green car? In more complex comparative tests, children compare several different materials, events or artefacts controlling conditions and variables to ensure validity. E.g. which is the best material for mopping up water when children control the size of material, the amount of water and the time given to soak up the water
Children carry out a fair test to identify a variable to change that can be quantified and test the effect of changing it on another variable keeping all other variables the same, e.g. how does changing the height of a ramp affect how quickly a toy car travels down it; keeping the tyre of car, surface of the ramp, etc.
At Nicol Mere
Topics are repeated and knowledge built upon
Spiral curriculum
Use of knowledge organisers to collect their necessary knowledge about topic
How to teach science
Exploring / Starting point / Hook
Children explore a question, statement, problem, idea, artefact, model, living thing or event as a starting point to enquiry
Collecting and analysing evidence
Children observe over time, look for patterns, identify and classify, research using secondary sources or carry out a fair test, and record and analyse their findings
Reaching a suitable and satisfying outcome
Children solve a problem, answer a question, develop an explanation, make and evaluate an artefact, model or system, provide evidence to justify why the outcome is appropriate or raise more questions
Top Tips for successful science teaching
Avoid Twinkl
Don't always provide tables for them to record information into - especially Y3+
Be creative
Don't be scared of going off plan - use children's question to lead you off in a different direction
Be aware of what children already know - think of alternative scientific enquiries to take them in a different direction
Stick with your year groups knowledge and skills, do not be tempted to dip into other year groups to extend - we need to show progress in our books
Longitudinal studies / topics, e.g. seasonal change needs to be looked at regularly with identified features that can be observed and compared at each stage
Be aware of year group expectations for maths