![]()
Part I
Science and Why We Teach It
Introduction to Part I
Science deals with ideas about our environment. These scientific ideas must be tested against our sense experiences. Progress in science happens when our existing ideas are challenged and we have to invent new theories that deal with the anomalies better. Thus germ theory deals with transmission of diseases better than traditional beliefs, yet science has a lot to learn from traditional medicine. Newtonâs ideas about gravity have been superseded by Einsteinâs theory of relativity, but there are still inconsistencies between relativity and quantum mechanics. Scientific ideas are never complete or absolutely true.
In the same way, young children build up pictures of the world in their minds. Simple pictures that help them make sense of the data they receive from their senses. Babies soon recognise âdown-nessâ as they look for their dropped rattle on the floor â they donât look for it on the ceiling! But these naĂŻve ideas get replaced as children need to make their mental models more widely applicable, as âdown-nessâ transforms to notions of âgravityâ.
As science teachers we must understand some of these naĂŻve ideas and help children develop alternative, more powerful, scientific ways of interpreting their environment that can go alongside their âeverydayâ beliefs. Children need time to reconstruct their ideas to take account of the scientific theories that we presently hold, and to appreciate that they will change over time. They also need to appreciate that the process by which the ideas came into being, the very process of being scientific, forms an important part of their scientific education.
A single teacher works with approximately 30 pupils at a time, many of whom need to be convinced that their time in school is worthwhile. Good science teachers understand how to create a simulating and pleasant working atmosphere in lessons, where pupils feel safe, where the science they are studying is relevant and useful to them and where they are challenged to do their best.
These two facets â teaching science and teaching pupils â are at the heart of being a successful science teacher as a result of which the pupils in our charge can come to enjoy, understand and use the scientific way of viewing their world.
In Chapter 1 we start by looking at how a good science teacher might achieve this. In Chapter 2 we explore the way science works, and in Chapter 3 we visit the real world of our pupils: their environment and their future. They will need a deep understanding of the need to make this a sustainable future.
![]()
Chapter 1
What Makes a Good Science Teacher?
Chapter overview
Good teaching involves many different aspects: planning lessons so that pupils are motivated to learn; evaluating and reviewing; taking risks to experiment with new ideas; developing a positive classroom climate; fostering a rapport with the pupils that rewards their effort rather than their attainment. The additional demands on a science teacher include developing expertise in a subject they may not have studied since GCSE level, planning for the scientific misconceptions held by pupils and supporting pupils as they develop their understanding of very challenging concepts.
Rewards of teaching
The rewards of teaching science are many: the enthusiasm of pupils learning how their world works, especially important as we work towards developing a sustainable future for the planet; the fun of problem solving; the satisfaction of hearing pupils argue enthusiastically about different theories; the pupilsâ fascination with hearing the stories of scientific discoveries; their enjoyment of a wide variety of practical and project work â above all there is the stimulation of guiding and supporting pupils as they develop their ability to reason, explain and argue.
Personal statements on application forms show that many prospective science trainee teachers believe teaching consists largely of âpassing onâ information and understanding about scientific ideas. Of course when they start training, they quickly realise that this is very far from the truth. Traditional âexplainingâ is an important, but relatively small, constituent in the complex and varied diet demanded by todayâs pupils, and required by the National Curriculum and exam specifications. This complex and varied diet, which we develop in the chapters that follow, is based on the outcome of research into how children learn.
To be successful, teachers of all subjects have many aspects of teaching to consider â just study the list in Box 1.1 for a few moments. Just managing all of these requires detailed planning, constant checking and honest evaluation. The effective teacher needs a toolbox of imaginative and effective strategies, needs to take risks and be prepared to fail, and must be prepared to change (see Chapter 18 on Planning). Only complacent teachers expect the same thing to work the same way on successive occasions; every class responds differently and this necessitates changing the structure and focus of the lesson, even if some of the resources can be reused.
Box 1.1 Some of the many aspects of teaching and learning for all teachers
Every Child Matters
Exam board specifications
Personal Development Curriculum (PDC)
Learning styles
Literacy
Active Learning
Building Learning Power
. . . and many more | National Curriculum
Assessment for Learning
Classroom climate
Higher order thinking
Health and Safety
Misconceptions
Learning Skills | SEND
Behaviour for Learning
Differentiation
Numeracy
Questioning
Independent Learning
Pedagogy |
Demands made on science teachers
In addition to the generic demands of teaching, science teachers have additional pressures and issues.
- First, take the issue of the range of subjects; science teachers are most likely to have a degree-level qualification in one science (often biology based, chemistry based or physics/engineering based). In most schools, they are expected to teach all three curriculum sciences at junior secondary level and sometimes also at senior secondary â there is plenty of overlap of skills, strategies and language but less overlap of subject knowledge and understanding. Compare this with a language teacher â a specialist in German for example is unlikely to be expected to teach Mandarin.
- Second, consider the issue of pupilsâ prior knowledge and understanding: from a very early age, children have been making sense of their world using their common sense and ideas from parents and teachers. When they enter secondary school, they have already reconciled thoughts and observations in their own way â this prior knowledge often contains misconceptions (see Chapter 5 Elicitation) and science teachers must acknowledge these in their teaching or risk having the more scientific models and theories rejected in favour of the more familiar ideas. Compare again with the teacher of German: most pupils start learning from a completely empty base line and do not need to reconcile new ideas with their naĂŻve, everyday ideas though obviously there will be linguistic links.
- Third, many scientific ideas, theories and models are complex and require the pupils to sustain their concentration at a high level for prolonged periods; they must invest much and be prepared to be patient for the delayed gratification of that âah haâ moment of deep understanding.
So how does a science teacher incorporate all of these considerations and teach good lessons? And if they manage it, how do they know it is a good lesson? The answer is simple: focus on the pupils. Are they interested, excited, focused, engaged, stimulated to ask questions â or are they bored, passive, accepting or, even worse, disruptive? Of course, this is also dependent on the nature of the pupils in the class, but if you plan lessons to engage and stimulate at the appropriate level as well as allowing pupils to take ownership of their learning (see Chapters 6â10), then at least you know that the few pupils who do refuse to engage are doing so because they have personal issues that cannot be solved by one teacher alone (see Chapter 20 for discussion of management of pupils in science lessons).
The âeurekaâ moment
To illustrate, here are three different versions of the same junior secondary lesson. As you read them, reflect on how you want your own lessons to be received by the pupils.
To set the scene: the pupils have already learnt about density; they know that 1 cm3 of different materials have different masses (as weighed on a top-pan balance); they can calculate the density of rectangular blocks of different materials. They have discussed the answers to questions such as âWhich is heavier, wood or paper?â and âWhich is heavier, a ton of feath...
