Last week I went to the National Science Learning Centre at the
University of York
( https://www.sciencelearningcentres.org.uk/ ) to
attend a two day conference for Science ASTs and ETs. (https://www.sciencelearningcentres.org.uk/centres/national/courses-and-events/35506-47021 ).
Not having attended a subject specific course for 3 years (!)
I had high expectations. I was not disappointed. Having had some time to
reflect on the two days I have decided to use my blog as a way to consolidate
my thoughts and act as an aide memoir to support my action planning.
Many of the courses offered by the SLC have bursaries available to
course attendees . (Full details can be found here : https://www.sciencelearningcentres.org.uk/centres/national/awards-and-bursaries/enthuse-award )
This was the only way that I was able to attend as my entire
subject budget for the academic year is less than the course fees!
Delegate numbers were lower this year than in previous years (due
to the uncertain future of ASTs) However, what may have been lacking in numbers
was more than made up for in the quality of the discussions that took place.
Should the conference run again next year (some doubt over this at present
which is another reason for blogging- by spreading the word hopefully the
partners
(see https://www.sciencelearningcentres.org.uk/centres/national/awards-and-bursaries/enthuse-award ) will continue to offer
funding and teachers might feel inspired to attend in the future.)
The conference began with a keynote speech from the newly
appointed national adviser for science, Brian Cartwright (http://www.ase.org.uk/news/ase-news/ofsteds-brian-cartwright-hmi-confirmed-for-ase-conference/) He spoke of the findings of recent HMI visits
specific to science- plenty of useful advice shared... One of the main things
that I have taken away from this is the importance of putting science into
context and ensuring that children see how science is relevant to their
everyday lives. We don’t use APP although I could see how using it does focus
on that. I haven’t changed my mind about using it per se, but there are useful
aspects of it (particularly AF2- understanding the applications and
implications of science.)
One
of my actions is going to be to look again at our scheme of work and find ways
to make better use of the locality- we are fortunate to have a growing area in
our school along with a conservation area set in the countryside ...as a school
we do make good use of the outside environment but we certainly don’t spend
enough time relating science to everyday life. (I collect in planning from
staff each term which is an excellent way to build up a resource bank of
planning as well as to have a good overview of what is being taught across the
school. ) I know that I don’t put science into context enough so am going to
work hard on that this term and disseminate across the school.
The
next session I attended was “Top Marks: Making Assessment Real.”
This was all about resources put together by a team
of teachers working with Sheffield Hallam University.
(supported by Astra Zeneca Science teaching trust )
It
reminded me that I have a smart science pack and the activities we looked at
followed the CAR model:
Context
rich
Active
rich
Response
rich.
Already
I was making links to Brian’s presentation and thinking about how we could
further improve the science in our school.
I
particularly liked the model of giving children a selection of answers to
discuss as a group. I have used PMI (positive , minus, interesting – here are
some useful links to that http://www.teachingexpertise.com/articles/thinking-skills-thinkathon-2655 and
and “odd one out” activities effectively in class
to stimulate discussions and thinking. I am keen to develop further to provide
children with an improved range of approaches to stimulate their
questioning skills and group work. Concept
cartoons were discussed and it was apparent that many of the delegates were
using them. We don’t have a set in school and I think that this is something I
can action this term- to get to know how to use them effectively so that I can
share with staff. (To be honest I have known about them for ages just haven’t
got round to getting the book- this is where going on a conference is so
powerful- it is great talking in the staffroom, or on twitter, but a focussed
two day course doesn’t half give you an opportunity to really think about
things! Having the funding for the course (thanks to the Enthuse award https://www.sciencelearningcentres.org.uk/centres/national/awards-and-bursaries - this enabled
me to attend the course in the first place and there will be some money left
after supply and travel to enable me to action some of these points- how
fantastic is that J ) We looked at examples where the children were given a scenario with
a variety of possible “answers” the challenge being to decide as a group which
the “right” answer was. The joy of this approach is that the teacher can give
answers tailored to their class/group and it would act as an excellent method
of assessing their understanding. My initial response was to try to find a book
with lots of examples in. Having had some time to reflect I can see that it is
all down to the approach taken. I need
to have a go at coming up with some of my own and share that with the staff
rather than just give them a pile of activities (which will just end up in a
cupboard gathering dust!)
I
hope to be able to work with some other teachers to share ideas and see how we
can improve opportunities for children to experience the CAR model. (In our
cluster ideally, if not there as an online collaboration... it is on my action
plan!)
The session
which followed was “getting the FACTS (formative assessment classroom
techniques)
Having attended a brilliant Shirley Clarke
conference last year (Active
Learning through Formative Assessment)
and
having read some of the wonderful Carol Dweck publications http://www.mindsetworks.com/default.aspx I was looking forward to this session to see how I
could further embed AFL into my teaching.
The
focus was on using AFL as a diagnostic tool and there were some great ideas
shared such as the human scatter graph (loved this one) . Links to the previous
session included giving children a range of answers to a question. Later this
term we will be having a sports week and I will be using the brilliant “In the
zone” kit.
I
have had a go at thinking of how to use the PEO probe (Predict, Explain,
Observe)
You
are going to take your pulse for 20
seconds. Then you will run on the spot for 2 minutes and take your pulse again
for 20 seconds when you stop running. You will continue to take your pulse
every two minutes after that for the next 20 minutes. What do you think will
happen?
a) Your pulse will go up when you run and stay fast after
because you used your muscles
b) Your pulse will stay the same because you’re really
fit
c) Your pulse will slow down when you exercise because
all the blood goes to your muscles and it will go up again afterwards.
d) Your pulse will go up when you exercise and gradually
go back down again afterwards
e) Your pulse will go up when you exercise and go back to
what it was to start with when you stop
I
could also/alternatively present the children with a graph of a variety of
results and challenge them to explain which they think are correct and why.
I
have done a similar activity to this many times but never started off in this
way- I can’t wait to try it!
There were so many ideas in this session and I enjoyed the fact
that both primary and secondary teachers were working together ( I have NEVER
been on anything before that has been cross phase – it was extremely powerful
working with colleagues teaching KS3 and 4)
Other ideas that I particularly liked and will be trying out in my
class were the card sorts (again this is something that I would like to work
with staff on as I could see this being especially useful in our KS1 classes-
action point!) This is where children are given a selection of cards relating
to a topic and they sort them as they see appropriate, giving reasons.
(references given to Marzano’s work into thinking skills http://download.intel.com/education/Common/ro/Resources/DEP/skills/Marzano.pdf )
Using technology effectively is something I am always trying to
improve, we were shown how to use a digital camera to photograph the children
when they are working and to give them the pictures (that session ideally) to
use them to explain what they were doing at that time. Another idea that I
hadn’t used and will be trying out in class.
The final session of the day was an opportunity to discuss posters
which we had all made as our pre course assignment to talk about some of the
work we are doing in our schools and local authorities. This reinforced the
strength of working cross phase and highlighted what fantastic work is
happening across the country. If only the ASTs could get together on a more
regular basis what a powerful and positive force we could be across the
teaching community as a whole.
Phew and
that was just the first day!!
Day two
The day
began with a choice of workshops (each session was a choice of two so I only
saw half of what was on offer- an excellent reason to go again!)
I opted for
the problem solving session (got a bit of a theme going on here!)
We talked
about the revised Bloom’s taxonomy (link here http://www.kurwongbss.eq.edu.au/thinking/Bloom/blooms.htm )
Again we
discussed the power of giving children answers to choose from- I really don’t
know why I haven’t been doing this- that is the joy of having attended the 2
days; I have come away with some activities to use in class that I feel
confident will have IMPACT on teaching and learning J
We carried
out a series of activities as though we were the children. This was a great way to see the potential pit
falls. There was plenty of time to discuss experiences with colleagues. I
attended an activating personal capabilities in science course a while ago and
it was good to see how the ideas dovetailed.
The final
session was on questinioning to deepen learning. I have devoted a lot of time
to honing my own skills in asking questions so was interested to see how to use
this to enrich the children’s skills in asking questions. I particularly liked the model IRE
(Interrogate , response, evaluate) and how to move this on to IRPRPRP (
Interrogate, response, prompt, response,prompt etc)
This is
(another) area that I am keen to develop further with a view to the children
coming up with these rich questions which can be used to base out planning on.
With the uncertainty in the curriculum I don’t think now is a good time to
start rewriting schemes of work, however, I think the time is perfect to teach
children to become successful inquirers and to use those skills to direct their
learning more effectively.
Again I
don’t think coming up with a list is
necessarily the best way to achieve this, prompts and question starts more
valuable if used well. We were show=n a fun APP which generated questions using
virtual dice- all tools which can be used easily. Just using “what if?” as a
start would promote higher order thinking skills.
I am very
keen to foster a culture of “if you know all the answers you’re not learning”
in my classroom. Using questions which
can multiple responses (and osme that
can’t be answered even!) can help to underpin this. I came across this useful document http://www.nicurriculum.org.uk/docs/key_stages_1_and_2/ALTM-KS12.pdf I haven’t seen an equivalent English one (the amount of paperwork that
was coming into schools at one point means it is very likely there was one but
I didn’t read it) It makes very interesting reading and again has heaps of
suggestions for ways to improve the quality of experiences we provide for our
learners.
The day
ended with reflections and putting action plans together. I did mine but it has
disappeared when I tried to locate it (technology and me don’t always work
out!) That was no bad thing though as I put together a far better thought out
plan having had time to reflect.
So, what
have I gained from the conference?
ü Some great colleagues to network with
ü Some new ideas to try in class
ü A great opportunity to share good
practice across key stages
ü Visiting the stem centre (https://www.sciencelearningcentres.org.uk/centres/national/national-stem-centre
)
ü Finding out about the elibrary at the
stem centre and all the resources that are available http://www.nationalstemcentre.org.uk/
ü Had time to focus on my subject and
see how the skills can be used in any area of the curriculum
ü A renewed vision of how I want to
lead the subject in my school.
ü Highlighted the importance of having
opportunities to attend quality CPD in your subject
In my
teaching career to date (21 years) I have been on very few courses whic have
been as positive as this. This was in part due to the audience of ASTs and
ETs - the discussions which took place
both during workshops and in “free time” were stimulating and enjoyable.
I would
recommend attending again without reservation and hope that it continues to
run. When I first arrived it was evident that some delegates had been on
previous occasions; it soon became clear why that was.
I have
written this to help me reflect on the two days and to support my next steps in
school as well as to share with a wider audience how useful the conference was
and what a fabulous opportunity it was. On reading through I think my
enthusiasm comes across clearly J
Please feel
free to add comments .
