Themes

Science

What can this site tell me about... SCIENCE?

There are currently 6 digests online that deal with a variety of issues regarding science teaching. This summary draws together the main themes within these 6 digests - gender, pupil beliefs and formative assessment. Click on View All Digests above for more detailed information and suggested implications for practitioners. You can also use the Resources and references within the digests to search for more research on this topic.

In a study of Teachers' implementation of gender-inclusive instructional strategies, the authors suggest that it is important to investigate the circumstances and conditions under which it may be useful to separate boys and girls. They found that single sex classes in science were more conducive to teaching that takes account of pupils' current interests, needs and concerns. Single sex teaching also gave teachers more opportunity to address problems such as boys' tendency to have poor communication skills, and girls' typical inexperience of hands-on activities and open-ended problem solving.

Single sex teaching is often used to improve girls' attainment and motivation in science. However, Investigating the patterns of differential attainment questions whether the gender gap exists at all. This may seem unlikely, but the authors explain that we could have been misled by inaccurate reporting and they make the case for detailed analysis of examination data in relation to the proportion of boys and girls taking each subject. They also suggest that underachievement and low achievement are separate issues that need separate responses.

It’s not just girls who dislike physics is the conclusion of Gender and physics, which showed that both boys' and girls' attitudes to science vary over time related to the quality of the curriculum, the quality of the teacher, and perceived career benefits. The authors suggest that the current GCSE curriculum fails to relate science to boys' and girls' lifestyles and experiences, and this could in part explain the predominance of boys at A Level Physics. The full digest gives more detail of attitudes at different ages, views on the course content, and attitudes to continued study. For example, the researchers found the students' interest in physics increased during the Scottish Standard Grade course and declined on entry to the Higher Grade course, perhaps because of the move from application-led to principles-led teaching.

Pupil beliefs are investigated by two digests on this site. Changing students' scientific misconceptions tested the effect of two teaching strategies (conceptual change texts and concept mapping) for tackling common misconceptions about diffusion and osmosis. By asking students to predict the outcome of a process and then demonstrating that the outcome was in fact different to how the students had supposed, teachers were able to bring misconceptions to the surface and work on them together. The before and after tests conducted showed a significant improvement in understanding for the experimental class.

Untangling dimensions of middle school students' beliefs about scientific knowledge and science learning asked whether students' belief about science influenced their learning of the subject. The three dimensions investigated were:

- autonomy: the degree to which students took personal responsibility for their learning;

- strategy: whether their preferred learning style was based on memorising data or learning for understanding; and

- tentativeness of scientific knowledge: whether students believed in the permanence or otherwise of scientific knowledge.

The study revealed several patterns, such as the fact that students who believed in learning for understanding were more likely to believe that scientific knowledge is tentative. However, ratings of the students on the three dimensions changed little over the duration of the course, suggesting that change is difficult to effect. The full digest contains various suggestions for practice for whole class teaching and supporting individual student's learning based on these findings.

Teachers' and students' roles in formative assessment brings together two studies that set out to illustrate successful formative assessment methods in secondary schools, including science teaching. Overall, the authors suggest that improvements of up to half a GCSE grade may be possible using similar activities to those used in the study, which included:

the use of questioning to promote classroom dialogue;
exploring the use of feedback and marking;
developing pupils' skills and self and peer assessment; and
making formative use of summative tests.

For example, the teachers in the study found that increasing wait time after asking questions encouraged the students to make longer and better responses. They also used techniques such as a 'no hands up' approach to discussion, open questioning, and comment-only marking to encourage students to think about the subject and their own learning.

To find out more about these and similar strategies and suggestions for practice, see the full digest.

What next?

The full digests give much more detailed information on the studies, their findings and also some suggested implications for practitioners. To find the full digests, click on View All Digests.

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Research Home Themes \| Find digests \| About the digests resources glossary researchers contact TRIPS Digests are grouped into themes: Assessment for Learning Behaviour CPD Early years English Ethnicity Gender Gifted and Talented ICT Inclusion Initial Teacher Training Leadership Mathematics Modern Foreign Languages Motivation Out of school learning Parents Pupil grouping and organisation of classes Pupil Voice Science Self evaluation Speaking and Listening Special Educational Needs Teaching Assistants Thinking skills Transition Whole school improvement Comments Send us your feedback Collated digests To view/remove/add notes and save your collated digests click here Get Word Reader View all digests on this theme Themes Science What can this site tell me about... SCIENCE? There are currently 6 digests online that deal with a variety of issues regarding science teaching. This summary draws together the main themes within these 6 digests - gender, pupil beliefs and formative assessment. Click on View All Digests above for more detailed information and suggested implications for practitioners. You can also use the Resources and references within the digests to search for more research on this topic. In a study of Teachers' implementation of gender-inclusive instructional strategies, the authors suggest that it is important to investigate the circumstances and conditions under which it may be useful to separate boys and girls. They found that single sex classes in science were more conducive to teaching that takes account of pupils' current interests, needs and concerns. Single sex teaching also gave teachers more opportunity to address problems such as boys' tendency to have poor communication skills, and girls' typical inexperience of hands-on activities and open-ended problem solving. Single sex teaching is often used to improve girls' attainment and motivation in science. However, Investigating the patterns of differential attainment questions whether the gender gap exists at all. This may seem unlikely, but the authors explain that we could have been misled by inaccurate reporting and they make the case for detailed analysis of examination data in relation to the proportion of boys and girls taking each subject. They also suggest that underachievement and low achievement are separate issues that need separate responses. It’s not just girls who dislike physics is the conclusion of Gender and physics, which showed that both boys' and girls' attitudes to science vary over time related to the quality of the curriculum, the quality of the teacher, and perceived career benefits. The authors suggest that the current GCSE curriculum fails to relate science to boys' and girls' lifestyles and experiences, and this could in part explain the predominance of boys at A Level Physics. The full digest gives more detail of attitudes at different ages, views on the course content, and attitudes to continued study. For example, the researchers found the students' interest in physics increased during the Scottish Standard Grade course and declined on entry to the Higher Grade course, perhaps because of the move from application-led to principles-led teaching. Pupil beliefs are investigated by two digests on this site. Changing students' scientific misconceptions tested the effect of two teaching strategies (conceptual change texts and concept mapping) for tackling common misconceptions about diffusion and osmosis. By asking students to predict the outcome of a process and then demonstrating that the outcome was in fact different to how the students had supposed, teachers were able to bring misconceptions to the surface and work on them together. The before and after tests conducted showed a significant improvement in understanding for the experimental class. Untangling dimensions of middle school students' beliefs about scientific knowledge and science learning asked whether students' belief about science influenced their learning of the subject. The three dimensions investigated were: - autonomy: the degree to which students took personal responsibility for their learning; - strategy: whether their preferred learning style was based on memorising data or learning for understanding; and - tentativeness of scientific knowledge: whether students believed in the permanence or otherwise of scientific knowledge. The study revealed several patterns, such as the fact that students who believed in learning for understanding were more likely to believe that scientific knowledge is tentative. However, ratings of the students on the three dimensions changed little over the duration of the course, suggesting that change is difficult to effect. The full digest contains various suggestions for practice for whole class teaching and supporting individual student's learning based on these findings. Teachers' and students' roles in formative assessment brings together two studies that set out to illustrate successful formative assessment methods in secondary schools, including science teaching. Overall, the authors suggest that improvements of up to half a GCSE grade may be possible using similar activities to those used in the study, which included: the use of questioning to promote classroom dialogue; exploring the use of feedback and marking; developing pupils' skills and self and peer assessment; and making formative use of summative tests. For example, the teachers in the study found that increasing wait time after asking questions encouraged the students to make longer and better responses. They also used techniques such as a 'no hands up' approach to discussion, open questioning, and comment-only marking to encourage students to think about the subject and their own learning. To find out more about these and similar strategies and suggestions for practice, see the full digest. What next? The full digests give much more detailed information on the studies, their findings and also some suggested implications for practitioners. To find the full digests, click on View All Digests.