School Science Review number 352
Number 352 - March 2014
|5||Theme Editorial: Perspectives on the science curriculum - Andrew Hunt|
|9|| What place does science have in an aims-based curriculum?
School science should contribute to human flourishing.
|15|| Designing a science curriculum fit for purpose
To meet the varied needs of students, the science curriculum needs to address both the things that make us different and the things that we need to hold in common.
|21||Progress in science education? The revised National Curriculum for 2014
Implications for the new National Curriculum for England of an approach to curriculum change that aims to cover fewer things in greater depth, while focusing on concepts, principles, fundamental operations and core knowledge.
|30||The ‘Curriculum for Excellence’: a major change for Scottish science education
This article introduces the Scottish ‘Curriculum for Excellence’, with associated new National Qualifications for young people aged 3–18 years; the innovative characteristics of the reforms and the challenges they face are discussed.
|37|| The philosophy and structure of the curriculum in university technical colleges
University technical colleges (UTCs) are a new type of school for 14- to 18-year-olds, offering rigorous technical education delivered in partnership with employers and higher education, and underpinned by a broad general education.
|43|| What should be in the biology curriculum?
The biology curriculum should focus less on current understanding and more on how we arrived at it.
|46|| Thinking like a physicist: design criteria for a physics curriculum
The idea of a physics curriculum defined by content is challenged in favour of a curriculum based on the skills and ways of thinking that define what it is to be a physicist.
|53|| Teaching critical thinking? New directions in science education
Opportunities to engage in critique, argumentation and questioning not only help build students’ understanding of science but also develop their ability to reason scientifically.
|63|| The contribution of practical work to the science curriculum
Good practical work is intrinsic to good science teaching, but which practical work is good, and what can be done to make it better?
|71|| Developing confidence in practical science activities in novice teachers: policy, practice and the implementation gap
We examine the confidence beginning teachers have in their practical skills and what impact this has on a broad and creative approach to practical work in science lessons in secondary schools.
|81|| Connecting science with mathematics: thinking outside the toolbox
Exploring how we might take a new approach to connecting science learning with mathematics with reference to the outcomes of a number of European projects involving an inquiry-based learning
|89|| An evidence-based approach to introductory chemistry
Why a fundamental redesign of the introductory chemistry curriculum is needed.
|99|| Using a backward design approach to embed assessment in teaching
Thinking first about the questions and tasks that will provide evidence of learning during a lesson helps focus the teaching on the intended learning outcomes.
|105|| An issues- and concepts-based curriculum: teaching about climate change
Climate change – a vehicle for teaching scientific ideas or a rationale for teaching science at secondary level? The National Curriculum topics are converted into a teaching sequence.
|112|| ‘I like science but it’s not for me’: the need to improve STEM careers education
The evidence that integrating awareness of STEM careers into mainstream science teaching can help students’ engagement and understanding justifies exploring the idea, initially on a pilot basis.
|119|| Helping young people engage with scientists
Why engage with scientists? We explore the value and inspiration this can bring to young people, scientists and teachers, along with the risks, highlighting how teachers can increase and improve interactions.
|126||Teachers’ experiences of science curriculum reform
A three-year study reveals the wide range of factors that impact on teachers’ experiences of curriculum reform and considers the implications for future science curriculum reforms.
Reviews of these latest publications:
|139|| Science app reviews
The latest app reviews for science teachers:
|141|| Science websearch
Check out ASE rated science websites that you might find useful for planning or in the classroom.
|144||Special issues and index|