effects on teachers - Science Learning Centres

How Science Works in the UK

secondary school science curriculum: effects on teachers Maria G.W. Turkenburg-van Diepen UK-SERC July 2, 2012

Overview • • • • •

Introduction Research questions Methodology Results Conclusions

The National Curriculum (Science) • ‘Content’: biology, chemistry, physics – the Ideas of Science • How Science Works: explore, investigate, experiment, enquire; The Nature of Science, how we know what we know; applications, implications; communication – the Ideas about Science

2004 National Curriculum for Science: • new curriculum for Key Stage 4 (KS4, ages 14-16); • for first teaching from September 2006; • new emphasis on How Science Works; • less prescriptive for biology, chemistry and physics

Research questions • How does How Science Works influence science teachers’ classroom practice? – What do they do now that they didn’t do when HSW wasn’t in the curriculum? Is there something they wouldn’t do if it wasn’t for How Science Works? How do they feel about that?

• Does the presence of How Science Works in the science curricula 11-18 influence science teachers’ thinking about secondary school science and how it should be taught? – If so, how? What are teachers’ own views about How Science Works? Have teachers’ views of science and science teaching changed since the introduction of How Science Works?

• Do teachers see the more explicit emphasis on HSW as a positive development? – If so, why do they think so? If not, what are their reasons?

Methodology • Semi-structured interviews with teachers • Observations to ‘support’ self-reporting • Interviews with other stakeholders

The sample – Main Study teacher interviews • Representative... Purposive, email contact; • 25 teachers in five different types of schools; • 14 male, 11 female; • subject specialism mix biology:chemistry:physics 10:7:8; • length of teaching experience: range 1-30, mean