Promoting Improvement

1. Promoting Improvement ITE Thematic dissemination conference: secondary science Brian Cartwright HMI, National Lead for Science Angela Milner HMI, National Lead for ITE, including FE 22 October 2013

2. Welcome, introductions and objectives To promote improvement in the quality of initial teacher education (ITE) by: • sharing the key findings of the ITE thematic inspections of secondary science which took place in 2012-13 • identifying areas of strength and what needs to be improved • sharing expectations and good practice. A web link to associated materials and published resources will be available on Ofsted’s website after the event. Promoting Improvement | 2

3. Thematic inspections: secondary science

4. Strengths • Provider emphasis on teaching science through enquiry-based learning • Subject Knowledge Enhancement (SKE) support (when needs are identified) • Partnership coherence and communication • Electronic monitoring of trainee progress by the centre • Subject-based mentors in supporting day-to-day science-teaching survival techniques • Theoretical basis of misconceptions in science • Formative feedback to trainees • Assignments on curriculum and science teaching • Good English as an additional language(EAL training) where sufficient resources allocated. Promoting Improvement | 4

5. Areas for improvement • ‘Practical work is common but investigation work is not’ • Differentiation through more enquiry-based science learning • Understanding of progression in science including cognitive development of pupils • Provider-based checking of trainee subject knowledge • Science in context • Retention and employment of late recruits in shortage sciences • Recognising and tackling pupil misconceptions • Using information and communication technology (ICT) for teaching science • Science placement and, therefore trainee understanding of, pupil premium and other national priorities and their impact in science • Limited practical resources in some placement schools. Promoting Improvement | 5

6. Preparing for 2014

7. The new National Curriculum • Ofsted looks for schools to understand the importance of these statements, and for teachers to recognise their statutory duty to implement them. • A common omission in secondary ITE training is a clear understanding by trainees of progression through the science national curriculum, and generally quite weak primary science experience; the better understanding seems to occur when trainee visits to primary schools happen mid-course, rather than pre-course. • How well are new teachers trained to manage transition in science? Promoting Improvement | 7

8. Science Initial Teacher Education Teacher training implications from September 2013 for the new Science National Curriculum Expert Group Spring 2013 Promoting Improvement | 8

9. Overview Providers should consider: • opportunities to reinforce the purpose of science education • risks that might limit pupil progress • stumbling blocks that lead to misconceptions • effective science teachers • recommendations Promoting Improvement | 9

10. Opportunities Purpose Teachers, including new entrants to the profession, should understand the purpose of, and reason for, science in the school curriculum. Big ideas Teachers should understand the big scientific conceptswell enough to connect it with a particular National Curriculum element. Progression Teachers should know what pupils have already done in previous stages, and what will follow. Promoting Improvement | 10

11. Purpose • Teachers need to internalise and then apply the principles set out at the start of the programmes of study. • Teachers should ensure that pupils are equipped with the necessary knowledge, skills and understanding to continue learning science in their next Year, or Key Stage. • The aims of the curriculum should be evident in teachers’ planning and delivery of science lessons. • Teachers should know how to use spoken language in science to enhance pupils’ cognitive development. Promoting Improvement | 11

12. Big ideas of science * All material in the Universe is made of very small particles. Objects can affect other objects at a distance. Changing the movement of an object requires a net force to be acting on it. The total amount of energy in the Universe is always the same but energy can be transformed when things change or are made to happen. The composition of the Earth and its atmosphere and the processes occurring within them shape the Earth’s surface and its climate. *Association for Science Education Wynne Harlen 2010 Promoting Improvement | 12

13. Big ideas The solar system is a very small part of one of millions of galaxies in the Universe. Organisms are organised on a cellular basis. Organisms require a supply of energy and materials for which they are often dependent on, or in competition with, other organisms. Genetic information is passed down from one generation of organisms to another. The diversity of organisms, living and extinct, is the result of evolution. Promoting Improvement | 13

14. Big ideas about science Science assumes that for every effect there is one or more causes. Scientific explanations, theories and models are those that best fit the facts known at a particular time. The knowledge produced by science is used in some technologies to create products to serve human ends. Applications of science often have ethical, social, economic and political implications. Promoting Improvement | 14

15. Progression • Teachers must know how the curriculum describes a sequence of knowledge and concepts, but that secure understanding of each block is necessary to allow genuine progression. • Teachers of particular year groups, or stages, should know what has preceded, and what will follow, in the National Curriculum. • Teachers should be able to assess securely whether a pupil has mastered an idea before assuming they can tackle higher-order content. Promoting Improvement | 15

16. Risks Detail Too much time micro-planning new science-lesson activities around new content. Pedagogy Insufficient time training teachers in how children learn science, how misconceptions arise, and how those misconceptions can be tackled. Assessment Insufficient training to ensure teachers can confidently assess pupil learning directly against the National Curriculum. Promoting Improvement | 16

17. Detail • The programmes of study describe the knowledge, skills and understanding expected, but do not say how to teach them. • Guidance is offered, but this must not limit teachers' freedom to choose local contexts and relevant activities that interest their own pupils. • Trainee teachers must learn how to select from the wealth of resources and schemes available, when planning activities that meet the learning needs of their own class. • Teachers should try out the investigations for themselves, to check that the activity works, and to develop their own skills in using equipment. Promoting Improvement | 17

18. Pedagogy • Teachers need to know how children learn, or mis-learn, science concepts, be able to diagnose misconceptions, and choose a learning strategy that will overcome these. • Teachers need to be familiar with a wide range of teaching methodologies that they can select to best match the learning needs of their pupils. • Teachers should apply their knowledge of each pupil’s wider cognitive development, particularly in literacy and numeracy, to ensure these will synchronise with the science. • Teachers should know and teach pupils how to apply straightforward models of the big ideas, and how these models can be used predictively. Promoting Improvement | 18

19. Pedagogy • Teachers should know potential stereotyping situations and proactively counter these. • Teachers should be trained on observational drawing skills, and how they can show their pupils this skill. Promoting Improvement | 19

20. Assessment • Teachers should be trained to assess pupils’ scientific understanding using a wide range of strategies including discussion, observation of their work, formal assessment activities, and analysis of pupils’ written work. • Teachers should learn how to use this assessment information to plan the next steps in each pupil’s science learning, and keep records that other teachers can use to build upon prior learning. • Teachers should learn how to teach pupils to self- and peer-assess their own work and, in particular, how to evaluate the outcomes of the pupils’ own investigations. Promoting Improvement | 20

21. Sharing expectations and good practice Excellent science teachers: • use the science phenomena itself as the interesting core of the lesson, let pupils experience the pleasure of understanding a concept for themselves, and do not just tell them the answer • have a personal enthusiasm for science coupled with the ability to inspire and motivate students • have high expectations of what pupils can achieve and take responsibility for the achievement of all students. Promoting Improvement | 21

22. Sharing expectations and good practice Excellent science teachers: • are highly skilled at assessing individuals’ understanding and progress during lessons, adapting teaching and support accordingly to address misconceptions • can contextualise science well, and relate it to pupils’ everyday lives • provide plenty of opportunities for experimental and investigative work. Promoting Improvement | 22

23. Sharing expectations and good practice Excellent science teachers: • deliver a real focus on developing pupils’ sense of curiosity, amazement and love of the world around them • use assessment well to plan lessons that effectively differentiate resources and challenge all students from the outset, not just by outcome • give clear and lucid explanations, including using models, to explain difficult concepts with a strong emphasis on scientific literacy. Promoting Improvement | 23

24. Current school provision

25. Science in schools today • Ofsted looks to school leaders, and training providers, to tackle the issues raised whilst recognising the success of providers in driving a steady rise in academic standards over time; 2013 GCSE grades not withstanding. • Training providers are a major lever in bringing about further improvements to science teaching. • The mission must be to train teachers of science who are committed to ‘maintaining curiosity’ irrespective of the local limitations of some placements; they are being trained for the wider profession, not just a particular setting. Promoting Improvement | 25