Science Education Group
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At the beginning of Science
Year we would like to involve
all interested schools and science
teachers to help develop novel
KS4 Mini-projects. The intention
is to provide opportunities
for linked practical investigation
and reading research, which
will allow students greater
autonomy than the current model
used for course-work assessment
(Sc1.2). The studies will be
open-ended, offering the possibility
for various students or groups
to follow different lines of
enquiry.
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- a series of practical activities
on CD-ROM
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The studies will be based on
applications of science met
during GCSE courses. The contexts
will be chosen to motivate students,
either because the applications
are used in everyday life or
appear in intriguing phenomena,
which are counter-intuitive.
Thus, they will be suitable
for use by individuals in science
club sessions, or with classes
as part of the GCSE course.
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- practical skills in the
context of a meaningful study
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- Each project should be based
on some property that is intriguing
or counter-intuitive e.g.
plants grow faster in the
dark, if only for a short
time.
- There should be opportunities
for a variety of different
lines of investigation (including
finding information on the
Internet).
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- motivating or intriguing
contexts for science practical
work
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- It should be possible to
link the activities to some
explanatory theory which is
accessible at KS4
- Each study should provide
several different possible
lines of enquiry, each of
which could be covered by
students in about 4 - 6 hours
work, leading to an investigation
report or presentation to
the class or club.
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- freedom of choice for individuals
or opportunities for shared
group investigations
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The second in our proposed
series of open-ended studies
is Fluid Flow. One or
two of these studies will be
provided on each ASE CD ROM
throughout Science Year.
We plan to develop a web forum
for exchange of ideas about
the projects.
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We are looking for schools
who are prepared to trial some
(or all) of the suggestions
and report the outcomes.
We are keen to evaluate both
the learning outcomes and the
effects on student attitudes,
and to develop assessment guidelines
for this type of activity. In
particular, which lines of investigation
do and do not work with students
across a wide range of ability.
What are the effects on the
attitudes and motivation of
students? How could such studies
be incorporated into coursework
assessment, either within a
framework similar to the current
Sc1.2, or through development
of new assessment criteria?
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- a chance for your school
to become involved in trials
and to help shape the future
of coursework assessment.
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For further details and for
information about resources
and support, please contact:
Peter Nicolson,
The Science Curriculum Centre,
University of York,
Heslington,
York
YO10 5DD
tel: 01904 432524
fax 01904 434078
email pen1@york.ac.uk
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- practical help and more
information available
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Many thanks to those schools which
have already become involved in developing
the project ideas. We would be delighted
to hear from others who would like
to join the group.
The first open-ended study, Finding
Out About Freezing, from Who
am I? has been trailed, and data
comparing temperatures in different
locations of a freezer is available.
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