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CHAPTER
1
What's it all about A creative approach to big ideas
Introduction
This chapter defines a view of what big ideas about science and information and communications technology (ICT) might be and why they are important in primary school teaching. It is supported, in the second chapter of the book, by educational theory stretching over many years as well as by current thinking about what constitutes good primary school teaching and learning. This chapter deals with two main issues: firstly, what does a creative approach to teaching mean and then, what are big ideas? Section 1.1 explores what a creative approach could mean; sections 1.2 and 1.3 deal with science; while sections 1.4 and 1.5 focus more on ICT.
What is a creative approach?
A creative approach to teaching and learning demands a certain expectation of the reader of this book - you should not be hoping to get lesson plans from it that you can just use straight away in your own classrooms. There are plenty of other places where these are available; see websites (http://www.educate.org.uk/) and books like Letts guides (Peacock 1999). This book does not attempt to explain lots of science knowledge or concepts - again, there are other places where this can be found. What this book does do is suggest ways to put theory, knowledge, skills and creativity into practice. A creative approach means taking some of the ideas presented here and adapting them, using your own ideas, so that they can be used to support teaching and learning in your own classroom.
What are big ideas?
In science they can be about content, like:
‘Cells’ exist, and can be seen with a microscope.
‘Particles’ are thought to exist even if we cannot see them.
‘Gravity’ is a force that attracts objects towards each other.
‘Light’ is needed to help us to see.
Or big ideas could be about teaching science, such as:
It is necessary to make the imperceptible perceptible.
Children's ideas are important starting points for teaching.
Teachers should help children to move from the particular to the general.
Children should be encouraged to predict before testing.
In ICT the big ideas are different, partly because ICT depends more on skills and techniques than on concepts (although there are models and ideas too), so the big ideas are presented as major reasons for using ICT in science teaching.
ICT is used in primary schools in two main ways:
as a tool to help teachers deliver the curriculum;
to help children learn better.
ICT is not the same as IT
The ‘C’ in ICT means communication and implies the process of communication and the reasons for its importance, rather than just the technological background to it and how it works. This book does not try to cover the teaching of information technology skills, or how to use computers and digital devices themselves. It does try to focus on how children can be helped to learn through the use of information and communications technology, rather than how to learn IT, and it also suggests how teachers can use ICT to support their teaching. Hence the focus on big ideas in ICT is intended to suggest ways, for example that word processing can help in learning and teaching science, or how databases can help children understand patterns in science.
Reasons for using ICT in teaching science
It is possible to identify a number of reasons for using ICT. Have a look at the following sets of justifications and compare them to your own views. Here are five realistic reasons for using ICT in science teaching in primary schools:
1 It is statutory in the England and Wales National Curriculum to teach both science and ICT in primary schools.
2 During initial teacher training and the induction period in the first year of teaching, it is also statutory for trainees to use ICT and to teach science - this is governed by QTT standards 2.5 and others.
3 Using ICT makes science teaching more fun - it allows both children and their teachers to enjoy teaching and learning more because ICT provides certain tools and contexts that books, or other tools, do not offer.
4 ICT encourages children to reach higher levels of thinking skills within a limited time - it also provides contexts for conceptual development and improved attitudes to science learning.
5 In primary schools in England and Wales (and throughout many other developed countries) there are a lot of ICT resources, because of the amount of money that has been spent in recent years. Many children also use complex ICT equipment and ideas in their homes. What a waste of a useful resource it would be if teachers did not make use of this in planning and carrying out their teaching.
Why is ICT appropriate for education?
DfES (Department for Education and Skills) and NOF (New Opportunities Fund) training guidance (www.tta.gov.uk/teaching/ict/nof/nof.htm) suggest four functions of ICT that make it appropriate for education (although none of these is about motivating children or enjoying teaching and learning):
speed and automatic function
Speed and automatic function could include using databases to search and ask questions of many records in science experiments. Capacity and range might include the use of a CD-ROM or the Internet to gain scientific information. Provisionality suggests that data entered in word, graphics or numbers can easily be edited or altered, so a picture taken during a science investigation could be enhanced to show specific aspects of plant growth. Interactivity can be described in different ways - the interactivity of a child using an interactive whiteboard, or interacting with an Integrated Learning System, or using email to interact by communicating with someone else.
1.1 A creative approach to teaching and learning
Why do we need a creative approach?
Research evidence about children's attitudes to science indicates that they are more interested in primary schools, but that this interest is reduced in secondary schools. Why? Recent research (Murphy and Beggs 2003) from Northern Ireland shows that the upper years in primary school are now also affected by this re...
