Final Bursary Report

Laura Forsythe

Methodist College

Science Activity Days for P6 Pupils

  1. Professional development activity undertaken, including how the need was identified.

As science is not a compulsory element of KS2, pupils are entering into KS3 with a wide variety of knowledge and experience of science. As a teacher in a school with over sixty feeder primary schools this makes the teaching of science to pupils at KS3 very difficult without a base line to work from. Therefore I brought P6 pupils from a variety of our feeder primary schools to my school to allow them to participate in one of two activity days within science. The pupils carried out a series of experiments covering biology, chemistry and physics in the school laboratories. They were asked to follow written instructions, record results and draw conclusions from their results.

2. The outcomes in terms of improved practice by the teacher.

As a science teacher, the first hand observation of the primary school children has enabled me to have a much clearer insight into the abilities of a KS2 pupil with respect to science in terms of both their capabilities and knowledge. I feel that I now have a greater understanding of how we could, and should, teach science to these young pupils,and I now feel more able and more confident to produce suitable and meaningful teaching material for KS3.

3. The outcomes or benefits of the activity in terms of improvements in pupils’ learning experiences.

The primary school pupils were brought to Methody so that they could participate in a series of science activities that they could not complete in a primary school classroom. The purpose of this was two fold. Firstly it was hoped that the pupils would find the day both exciting and enjoyable and so spark an early interest in science, which I feel it did. However, secondly I feel that a new KS3 course which takes into account the findings of the activity days would give the pupils a more positive and enhanced experience of science from the very start in secondary school education and so improve a pupil’s learning experience.Also all of the information that has been amassed from the days could be easily linked to other key skills and schemes of work throughout the school.

  1. How the success of the professional development activity has been/ will be evaluated.

Pupils were asked to complete a worksheet with each individual science activity. As well as being asked to record results of an experiment they were also asked questions which entailed either the use of the information they had gained from the experiment or which tested their background knowledge of science. From the completed worksheets I will be able to evaluate more clearly the level of ability of a primary school pupil to manipulate apparatus, follow instructions, record results and I will also have a greater insight into their general science knowledge of the world around us.

Also, both the pupils who participated in the activity days and the primary school teachers who accompanied them were asked to complete a questionnaire at the end of the activities. The questionnaires were designed to judge if the pupils themselves felt confident in following instructions, manipulating apparatus etc and whether the tasks that they were set were stimulating, challenging or in fact too difficult for them. In teachers’ questionnaire I was specifically looking to see what place science has in a primary school syllabus and which topics are taught or indeed are no longer taught in primary schools.

  1. How the experiences, skills and knowledge gained will be shared with other teachers.

All of this written information, as well as feed back from the practical observations, will be collated and initially reported to the Head of Science and each science departmental head. This information would then be cascaded throughout each science department so that all teachers involved in the teaching of KS3 could gain a full insight into the activity day. It is intended that the experiences gained could be shared with the rest of the staff in school by means of a tutorial on an inset day or through a Heads of Department meeting. This information will be posted on the STEM website and so shared with other schools in our Area Learning Community.

  1. Reflection by the teacher on the value and effectiveness of the activity.

The activity days were very successful at so many levels. The P6 pupils, based on the observation of them in the laboratories as well as the pupils’ own comments in their questionnaires, had a very enjoyable, exciting and educational experience at Methody which has sparked a great interest in science. Also, and very importantly, the feedback from the observations of the actual practicals, completed worksheets, questionnaires completed by the pupils and especially the information passed on from the primary school teachers will be invaluable to me in the production of new KS3 schemes of work which will be developed over the next year. It was very obvious that a very narrow range of topics is covered in primary schools. What we would have regarded as a base line before in science with respect to science in primary schools has moved backwards, unfortunately, and that I and all of my colleagues need to take this into account.

  1. Future plans/suggestions for future development.

One of the questions posed on the teachers’ questionnaire was “Do you feel that you would teach more science if you had a direct contact with a science teacher in a secondary school who could give you help and advice?” All of the teachers at the activity days were very, very keen to build up links with a secondary school as they feel they do not have the background knowledge and necessary experience within science. I would be keen to establish links with our feeder primary schools so that we can help develop science within the schools, monitor which topics and also help build up an enthusiasm and interest in science from an early age.

L Forsythe S Naismith

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(Teacher in charge of activity) (Principal)