KS1/KS2 science curriculum
The challenge of making science fun for primary schools W
ith the news that results in GCSE Science have fallen for another year, David
Hammerson, Managing Director of Science Boffins, explains why he is on a mission to liven up the primary school science curriculum and get children interested in science. Teachers and educators across the UK are
always trying to find ways to encourage more people to consider science and engineering as a career choice. However, science is often seen to be an unpopular choice resulting in exam grades falling year on year and fewer students choosing to study science and related subjects at university. I have always had a great passion for science
and, after retiring, began teaching computer science to graduates. I wanted to inspire young people to realise the potential of science and how it affects everything in the world (or universe). Science features in every aspect of our lives, from the physical world around us to chemical reactions that we can’t see, and I wanted to open young people’s eyes to see how fascinating the subject can be. Over 10 years ago, I devised the idea to launch
Science Boffins, an organisation whose mission would be to help make science appeal to young people. Since then, our Boffins have grown to a team of over 40 who travel across the whole of the UK delivering science events for children. These events are designed to be interactive, fun and memorable, hopefully staying in the child’s memory for years to come, planting the seed that science really can be fun. Our main area of focus is working closely with
26
www.education-today.co.uk September 2015
schools to deliver science assemblies and workshops for KS1 and KS2. These events have become very popular and, in 10 years, we have delivered school events to over 300,000 children. Often primary school teachers are on tight budgets with limited resources which can make running a fun, interactive science lesson a struggle. It can also be a challenge for teachers to find novel ways of making the curriculum interesting for young children. The programme of study for KS1 requires pupils to be able to perform simple tests or
experiments, use their observations and ideas to suggest answers to questions, and gather and record data to help answer the questions that science poses. To meet these requirements, Science Boffins actively encourage children at their events to get involved in the experiments, under close supervision of a ‘Boffin’ (who comes complete with a white lab coat). There has been numerous research and studies that have found that when people learn kinetically, they are more likely to remember the skills and information acquired. The Government guidelines for the KS1
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52