Tag Archives: CPD

Advice for teaching electricity (from #ASEChat)

Posted on by
Reply

 

I’ve advocated #ASEChat on Twitter before as a source of excellent CPD.  If you want to know more about #ASEchat then check out  my guide here and look at the official #ASEchat page here.

 

Last night I moderated (if that is the appropriate term) a discussion about teaching electricity which made for very interesting reading.  I’ve posted a summary of the chat below, and as with all #ASEchat sessions, the official archive and summary can be found on the official #ASEchat page.  I maintain an unofficial archive of #ASEchat transcripts on Google Docs in spread sheet format which allows you to sort by contributor, highlight links etc.  The electricity chat can be found here.

 

Summary of Topic 24 – Teaching Electricity

I chose this topic as a biologist because I’m not sure I always do it justice. I wanted to hear from experienced and creative physicists how they introduce the concepts and any models they might use. I’ve listed some of these below:

  • The Rope Model: recommended by the IoP and several ASEchat participants, the rope model can be used to model flow of charge around the circuit (several participants didn’t like the phrase ‘flow of current’). For those who haven’t seen this model before, this video captured at a regional ASE workshop (featuring Helen Pollard from the IoP) demonstrates how it works.
  • The penguin rollercoaster was mentioned more than once (similar to this one) in which @gwiff explained the penguin is the charge, the height is the voltage, the current is the penguins going past, the resistance is the friction and finally the battery is the escalator.
  • Several teachers said they introduce the term coulombs early on in KS3 and to specifically avoid referring to electrons. @Lethandrel said “Coulombs given joules each (EMF) Mission give them all away (pd is each charitable donation) Must do it in conga line” and shared an image of her own furry coulomb.
  • Several teachers pointed out that many of the models have flaws in them (credit to @alomshaha and @informed_edu for pointing out the flaws in the rope model). All is not lost however as other contributors suggested that discussing models and their limitations fits in very well with ‘how science works’. In fact @alomshaha points out “It was while struggling with electricity as a student myself that I first really understood what a model was in science”.
  • Primary teachers have a part to play in teaching electricity. Advice included avoid referring to electrons, don’t teach students that current decreases round a circuit, make circuits and test for breaks in these circuits, testing different sized batteries.
  • Finally the question was asked if electricity is taught poorly in many instances, are we not better off leaving teaching electricity until KS4 so it can be taught by subject specialists. The response was mixed, however physicists are in short supply and many schools don’t have this luxury, so good models and explanations are essential for all teachers.

Top tweets

ViciaScience: Is teaching electricity just about understanding how bread is transported from bakery to supermarket?

Lethandrel: Avoid talking about electrons – kids end up obsessed and can’t think of electricity without them

Lethandrel: I talk about coulombs per sec and joules per coulomb, cute furry creature with bag of jewels/joules nice visual to hang it on

Agittner: have we all seen John Travoltage on the Phet simulations?

informed_edu: pet hate: "current flows round the circuit"

informed_edu: @Bio_Joe Charge flows around the circuit. Current is the number of coulombs flowing past each second.

alomshaha: @asober The IOP’s rope model is inadequate. Does not explain potential difference or drop in P.D across resistor

Useful links mentioned in the discussion

PhET Interactive Simulations – http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulations/category/physics

Squishy circuits – http://courseweb.stthomas.edu/apthomas/SquishyCircuits/index.htm

Teaching Science for Understanding (Electricity) – http://www.education.leeds.ac.uk/research/cssme/ElecCircuitsScheme.pdf

Klunky Schematic Editor – http://www.qsl.net/wd9eyb/klunky/

Switched On Kids – http://www.switchedonkids.org.uk/

Hilary Osoko has advice for Primary teachers – http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=96600

Making sense of children’s ideas http://staff.science.uva.nl/~joling/vakdidactiek/documenten/electricity.pdf

Cheap high quality Science CPD in the East Midlands from the ASE

Posted on by
Reply

Yes it’s a shameless plug.  I’ve been part of a group organising a science CPD event on Nov 12th (a Saturday) at Nottingham Trent University.  Numbers aren’t looking too good at the moment and I would hate to have to pull the plug on it because word hasn’t got out.

 

TeachMeetAseLogo (v2)

 

9.00am Registration and Refreshments

9.20am Welcome

9.30am Choice of Seminar

  • A.Creative ideas for Special Needs in Science
  • B.Using ‘Enquiring Minds’ to deliver a creative Science Curriculum
  • C.Science, Art and Writing
  • D.Active engagement and challenge

10.30am Coffee

10.45am ASE Science TeachMeet

A TeachMeet is an organised but informal meeting for teachers to share good practice, practical innovations and personal insights in teaching.  Our teachmeet will purely have a science focus and participants are welcome to come as spectators or presenters. Please see further details below.

11.45am Plenary and Evaluation

12.00pm Event closes

The cost for this event to members is £7.00 and to non members is £12.00. All participants will receive a free resource pack including either the See SAW book for primary teachers or the Big Questions DVD for secondary teachers.

To book your place please email Sue Banner on [email protected]. Please state your name, school, primary/secondary and your preferred choice of workshop. Please also give your ASE membership number if appropriate. If you don’t hear back from Sue, assume you have a place.

A.Creative ideas for Special Needs in Science – Rob Butler C.Sci Teach

A look at some creative ideas and strategies to use with students with special needs, or who perform below national expectations, with the aim of engaging students and raising achievement.  Rob Butler has over 13 years of experience teaching in a special school, and will be sharing tried and tested ideas from his own practice. You will have the opportunity to see samples of web material appropriate to this group of pupils.

Target Audience –teachers, technicians, students, TAs, tutors and advisors. The content is mainly secondary but some material is appropriate for upper primary

B. Using an ‘Enquiring minds’ approach to deliver a creative Science curriculum – Margaret Fleming Education Consultant

Enquiring Minds explores how students’ ideas, interests and experiences can inform the content, processes and outcomes of teaching and learning in schools. At a time of curriculum reform in primary and secondary schools, Enquiring Minds provides guidance and research to help support schools through the process of change.  Margaret Fleming has worked with a team of colleagues from the LSN Triple Science Support Programme to develop resources based on this approach to teaching and learning. She will share the ideas developed in the context of Triple Science Biology.

Target Audience – secondary teachers, technicians, students, TAs, tutors and advisors.

C. Science, Art and Writing (SAW) Jane Winter

SAW is an innovative and cross curricular approach to science, which inspires poetry and art work while increasing scientific understanding for all ages.  In this session we will tell you about our experience of using this approach with children in the EYFS, KS1 & KS2 in our school.  This session will provide ideas for your Art and Literacy subject leaders to help promote science teaching and learning in your school, along with some great ideas for manageable, creative and fun science days. . 

Target Audience – primary teachers, co-ordinators, Students, TAs, tutors and advisors. 

D. Active engagement and challenge, Melanie Edwards Science AST, Redhill Academy

A hands on workshop in which you will take part in several Teaching and Learning strategies that have a proven record of engaging and challenging students of all ages. The strategies can be adapted to teach various areas of the Science curriculum; they also require minimal resources and little preparation time. Therefore, you will be able to incorporate the strategies into your lessons the very next week! Descriptions of the strategies will also be provided to allow coaching of colleagues back in your schools.

Target Audience – teachers, technicians, students, TAs, tutors and advisors. Mel will be speaking from a secondary viewpoint but much of the material is appropriate for upper primary

ASE Science TeachMeet

A TeachMeet is an organised but informal meeting for teachers to share good practice, practical innovations and personal insights in teaching.  Our TeachMeet will have a science focus and participants are welcome to come as spectators or presenters. Presenters will sign up for a 2-3 minute presentation or a longer 5-7 minute presentation which can be about any topic related to (science) education, and in any format.  Having seen some of the exciting and innovative practice in the East Midlands, we would hope that many of you will sign up to share with us some of your ideas and innovations in the classroom.  Every idea shared is worthwhile.

Target Audience – teachers, technicians, students, TAs, tutors and advisors

An open letter to the Association of Science Education (ASE)

Posted on by
18

An open letter to the ASE

I’m a member of the ASE, and I joined because I am passionate about science education.   I’m also active on the region 16 committee, again because I want to make a difference to the quality of our science education.  I’m writing to you because I’m concerned about the lack of direction shown by the ASE at the moment, and I’m sure if I have concerns about the ASE then members with less attachment to the ASE will also be having concerns (and the membership figures I’ve seen would seem to back me up!).

With the scaling back of the role of the local authorities, the ASE was handed the perfect opportunity to make itself heard as the authoritative voice of science education in the UK (and beyond).   Instead I’ve seen a couple of attempts at high profile media campaigns but very little of real day to day value to the teacher in the classroom, the very same teachers that keep the ASE afloat with their membership fees.  What teachers want is practical advice, ideas and guidance that will inform and improve their day to day practice, not the hot air and bureaucracy that the ASE has moved towards.  Given that members are the lifeblood of the ASE, scant attention has been paid to recruiting new ones and providing the service that they want.  In fact with the scaling back of the role of field officer, it’s more important than ever that the work of the ASE speaks for itself through its actions and media profile.

I am not confident in the ability of the ASE to change direction and bring in fresh blood (and fresh money).  It has come to my attention that there are several internal obstacles WITHIN the ASE, who seem resistant to positive change, and seem to think that the current stumbling around the dark is the way to go.  I’ve got news for those people – the ASE is at a turning point.  It’s make or break time and simply doing the same old thing will lead to the collapse of the ASE and their end of their cushy jobs or power trip.

What I want to see is more listening to members and what they want.  At the moment there is little incentive for science teachers to join and part with their cash.  The website offers very little distinction between members and non-members, and with the exception of a couple of periodicals that’s all you get.  Supporting resources and materials that are distributed by the ASE have been funded by industry and so must be available to all – whether you’ve paid or not.  I believe the comments in this thread on the TES website (http://fcr.me.uk/eVaNC1) sum it up perfectly!  The recent café ASE events in London are an excellent step in the right direction – but what about members across the country? It is a simple job to stream or even simply video these events and to bring this dialogue to members through the website but again there has been some internal resistance to this (hopefully due to change soon).

So where do we go from here?  My membership is due for renewal and I’ve thought long and hard about renewing.  My opinion of the ASE has dropped to the point where I do not think it is reasonable for my school to cover my membership fees as it has done so in the past.  I am going to stay a member of the ASE and pay the membership fee myself, but if there isn’t a significant change of ethos over the next year I will begrudgingly sever my links with the ASE.

Please ASE stop burying your head in the sand!  You need to change, consult your members and think about how you can best serve them and at the same time bring in new members.  The time for change is now before the ASE reaches the point where the diehard members like me can no longer keep it afloat.

 

I’d be interested in hearing from readers of my blog how their perceptions of the ASE, and what (if anything) they feel should change.

The value to a school in taking PGCE students (and why teacher training works best in a university)

Posted on by
1

We recently had Science PGCE students from Nottingham Trent University at my school and I found the whole experience very positive indeed.  The students had been well prepared by the university and had come with a comprehensive repertoire of skills and practical ideas to use in their own lessons.  I found that even in the limited time they spent teaching (teaching a 25% timetable for 6 weeks) I was able to pinch several practical ideas and approaches that I hadn’t seen before.

Mentoring students also forces you to reflect on your own practice, and what makes a good lesson.  You can’t help but to subconsciously act upon this advice yourself and consequently improve your own teaching (an excellent CPD activity).

Seeing what a comprehensive skill set the University had equipped the students with made me wonder if individual school based training could have delivered the same results consistently to such a large group of trainees.  Teachers in school already face huge demands on their time, and there would have to be substantial investment to release mentors to bring trainees up to the standard ours started with.  University based teacher training also benefits from the economies of scale – do the teaching and theory as a group and then send trainees into schools to learn the tricks of the trade.  It’s hard to see how this will work if training is delegated to individual schools – and could become something of a postcode lottery where the experience of a trainee depends very heavily on which school they train in.  With diminishing roles for local authorities who will have an oversight of training between schools?  Will schools end up buying in the universities to provide the training on their behalf.

I found having a PGCE student an extremely useful experience – and I’d urge those with opportunity to offer a place to students in your own school.

Experiment carried out by PGCE student comparing sugar content of different sports drink (HSW lesson)

100_0129

Photographs showing technologies developed for use in Space Exploration – PGCE student BTEC lesson

100_0119100_0120velcro