Misconceptions In Primary Science

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Using shortcuts and teaching models is another source of misconceptions. For example, many pupils taught the octet rule in chemistry go on to use this shortcut to incorrectly explain why specific chemicals react. [footnote 127] In science, pupils can be introduced to formula triangles to rearrange a simple formula without any knowledge of how it works. [footnote 128] This review explores the literature relating to the field of science education. Its purpose is to identify factors that can contribute to high-quality school science curriculums, assessment, pedagogy and systems. We will use this understanding of subject quality to examine how science is taught in England’s schools. We will then publish a subject report to share what we have learned. Table 1: Knowledge can be categorised according to its disciplinary nature and how it is used by an individual Since there are a variety of ways that schools can construct and teach a high-quality science curriculum, it is important to recognise that there is no singular way of achieving high-quality science education. A high-quality science curriculum not only identifies the important concepts and procedures for pupils to learn, it also plans for how pupils will build knowledge of these over time. This starts in the early years. Research shows that high-quality science curriculums are coherent. This means the curriculums are organised so that pupils’ knowledge of concepts develops from component knowledge that is sequenced according to the logical structure of the scientific disciplines. In this way, pupils learn how knowledge connects in science as they ‘see’ its underlying conceptual structure. Importantly, this sequencing pays careful attention to how to pair substantive with disciplinary knowledge, so that disciplinary knowledge is always learned within the most appropriate substantive contexts. Sequencing substantive knowledge

For this to be successful, sufficient curriculum time needs to be allocated to teach underlying substantive and disciplinary knowledge first. [footnote 152] This is because carrying out a scientific enquiry requires knowledge of the concepts and procedures to guide what is done and why. [footnote 153] If this prior knowledge is not available, pupils will be participating in discovery learning, and not scientific enquiry. Practical work through teachers’ use of demonstrations The performance of pupils who study science in England is significantly above the average performance of pupils in other countries. Over the past 10 years, there has been an increase in the number of pupils wanting to study science beyond age 16. However, there is emerging evidence from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), key stage 2 national sample tests and Ofsted’s own research into curriculum that suggests the picture is not an improving one for all pupils and may be deteriorating. This makes the findings of this review particularly significant, not only because it identifies features associated with high-quality science education but because it also shines a light on some of the barriers that prevent their implementation. Aims of science education Like teachers, technicians benefit from specialising. In average-sized secondary schools, there should be technicians to support practical work in biology, chemistry and physics. [footnote 255] Technicians should also have regular CPD opportunities. These lead to direct improvements in the quality of practical work in the classroom. [footnote 256] The national curriculum specifies what disciplinary knowledge pupils will need to know and remember through the ‘working scientifically’ sections of the programmes of study. [footnote 62] Although the precise purposes of science education have been contested for some time, [footnote 4] there is general consensus that it involves pupils learning a body of knowledge relating to the products and practices of science. [footnote 5] By learning about the products of science, such as atoms and cells, pupils are able to explain the material world and ‘develop a sense of excitement and curiosity about natural phenomena’. [footnote 6] By learning about the practices of science, pupils learn how scientific knowledge becomes established through scientific enquiry. By learning this, pupils appreciate the nature and status of scientific knowledge: for example, knowing it is open to revision in the light of new evidence.

The school science curriculum sets out what it means ‘to get better’ at science. Expertise in science requires pupils to build at least 2 forms, or categories, of knowledge. The first is ‘substantive’ knowledge, which is knowledge of the products of science, such as models, laws and theories. The second category is ‘disciplinary knowledge’, which is knowledge of the practices of science. This teaches pupils how scientific knowledge becomes established and gets revised. Importantly, this involves pupils learning about the many different types of scientific enquiry. It should not be reduced to learning a single scientific method. In high-quality science curriculums, knowledge is carefully sequenced to reveal the interplay between substantive and disciplinary knowledge. This ensures that pupils not only know ‘the science’; they also know the evidence for it and can use this knowledge to work scientifically. Learning science: from novice to expert Science teachers engage with subject associations, and take responsibility, with support from the school, for developing their own subject knowledge throughout their career.

Knowledge of methods that scientists use to answer questions. This covers the diverse methods that scientists use to generate knowledge, [footnote 64] not just fair testing, which is often over emphasised in science classrooms and curriculums. [footnote 65] For example, use of models, chemical synthesis, classification, description and the identification of correlations (pattern-seeking) have played important roles, alongside experimentation, in establishing scientific knowledge. [footnote 66] In our overview of research underpinning the education inspection framework (EIF), we identified teaching as the single most important factor in schools’ effectiveness. Teacher effectiveness is particularly important in science given the abstract and counterintuitive nature of many of the ideas being learned. Research highlights the importance of teacher explanations in science that build from what pupils already know. These explicitly focus pupils’ attention on the content being learned. This often involves the use of teaching models and analogies to represent abstract concepts in a concrete way. Evidence shows that unguided ‘discovery’ approaches are not effective. Instead, pupils learning science benefit from systematic teaching approaches that carefully scaffold their learning. Because research shows a strong positive relationship between reading achievement and science achievement generally, schools that prioritise pupils’ reading will likely help pupils to learn science and vice versa. Teacher-directed instruction There are at least 4 content areas [footnote 63] through which pupils make progress when learning disciplinary knowledge:

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The purpose of practical work is clear in relation to curriculum content so that practical activities can be set up and managed to develop pupils’ disciplinary and/or substantive knowledge. At its heart, science involves the study of the material world. Practical work [footnote 140] therefore forms a fundamental part of learning science [footnote 141] because it connects scientific concepts and procedures to the phenomena and methods being studied. Always ask children why they have reached a certain conclusion or hold a certain belief – this helps identify what the misconception is rooted in. As pupils progress through the science curriculum, new knowledge gets systematically integrated into pre-existing knowledge. This forms larger concepts and new ones, which in turn allow pupils to operate at more abstract levels. [footnote 94] For example, pupils will integrate their knowledge of mass and volume into their concept of ‘density’. In this way, new knowledge depends on what pupils have already learned. Indeed, results from a 12-year longitudinal study show that early introduction to science concepts in primary school positively influences subsequent science learning throughout secondary school. [footnote 95] As these pupils progressed through school, they had fewer and fewer misconceptions compared with pupils who did not do the intervention.

Update: Want to test how many Christmas misconceptions your students have? Try this new free quiz here: A useful framework for constructing science curriculums makes the distinction between the following: National curriculum in England: science programmes of study’, Department for Education, September 2013.The 2019 school workforce census shows that 26.6% of teaching hours in physics were taught by teachers with no relevant post-A-level qualifications. [footnote 34] The figure was 17.3% and 6.9% for chemistry and biology respectively. At primary, estimates suggest that just 5% of teachers hold specialised science degrees and teaching qualifications. [footnote 35] There is strong correlational evidence to show that reading achievement is associated with science achievement generally. [footnote 194] Research suggests that any school approach that improves pupils’ reading will, in turn, help pupils to learn science and vice versa. [footnote 195] Reading well-written scientific texts helps pupils familiarise themselves with key vocabulary and the conceptual relations between these words that form explanations. [footnote 196] recognise the power and limitations of science and consider associated personal, social, economic and environmental implications. This includes making decisions based on scientific evidence and learning about socio-scientific issues Importantly, he stresses that practical work should form ‘part of a broader teaching strategy’. This means that there needs to be sufficient time after or before the practical for pupils to interpret and explain the observations and measurements made, or that are about to be made.