Does it matter what we choose to teach in primary science, or is it more important that teachers teach what … More
Category: Literacy
First Thoughts on The ASE Enquiry Panel Discussion Jan21
Yesterday I took part in a panel discussion at the ASE conference on enquiry in science. Chris Harrison and Jane … More
Retrieval and Transfer: It’s Not Just ‘Can They or Can’t They?”
When you check whether pupils in your class can do something they either can or they can’t. Then you decide … More
“Didn’t You Learn This Last Year?
A class of year 7 pupils stare blankly at a teacher who has asked a question they could all answer … More
Entitled to Know
I’ve been arguing about the content of the primary science curriculum; not so much with primary teachers, but with secondary … More
England’s Primary Science Performance (2018).
This post is my response to reading the STAs 2018 Key Stage Two science monitoring report (here). We were due … More
The Problem Solving Methods Learners Use – and How to Develop Them
Solving problems, especially in physics, has been well studied (e.g. Larkin, McDermott, Simon and Simon 1980: here and Chi, Glaser … More
How Much Enquiry In My Primary Science Curriculum?
I started writing a series of posts on inquiry learning vs explicit instruction earlier in the summer. Over this period … More
Three Questions to Ask about Your Science Enquiry Activity
I am an enquiry sceptic. Evidence shows that when inquiry-learning techniques are used in science, the outcomes are generally worse … More
A Short Blog About the Quality of Short Written Responses.
A chemistry GCSE question An answer you might be pleased to see: The yield of methanol would decrease because a … More
