Science

The Course

The Subject Application part of the Science PGCE Course is continually revised and updated in order to respond to feedback from trainees and mentors and to take account of ongoing government initiatives and legislation. It has been planned to include a range of experiences that will allow trainees to develop the knowledge, skills, understanding and awareness to become good Science teachers. There are three elements that contribute to this: the Subject Application course; the generic Professional Studies course and the two school placements. Making coherent links between these three elements is essential if trainees are to exploit the course to its full potential and make the most of their development opportunities over the course of the year.

Science Content

During the course trainees will become acquainted with the content and nature of the Science curriculum 11 - 18 and will develop a language to describe the teaching and learning of Science Relevant literature such as the National Curriculum, OFSTED Reports, and the National Strategies will provide a framework to describe Science, the variety of activities, outcomes of related activities and ways of promoting Science in the classroom. A wide range of exemplar resources and methods will be used so that trainee teachers experience different approaches, reflect on their experiences and consider the implications for the classroom. Specific aspects of classroom organisation and management of the National Curriculum and the National Strategies will be introduced. The appropriate use of ICT in teaching and learning Science will be addressed throughout the course. Sessions will involve trainees in discussions, presentations of work and practical activities. Each session is supported by relevant subject reading.

Science in the National Curriculum - Key Concepts at Key Stage 3

There are a number of key concepts that underpin the study of science and how science works. At Key Stage 3 pupils need to understand these concepts in order to deepen and broaden their knowledge, skills and understanding. The requirements of Key Stage 3 are changing over the next two to three years, to include more on ‘How Science Works'. Also some Middle Schools in the County are teaching the whole of the Key Stage 3 Curriculum, leaving the Upper Schools more time to teach the Key Stage 4 curriuclum.

1.1 Scientific thinking
1. Using scientific ideas and models to explain phenomena and developing them creatively to generate and test theories.
2. Critically analysing and evaluating evidence from observations and experiments.

1.2 Applications and implications of science
1. Exploring how the creative application of scientific ideas can bring about technological developments and consequent changes in the way people think and behave.
2. Examining the ethical and moral implications of using and applying science.

1.3 Cultural understanding
1. Recognising that modern science has its roots in many different societies and cultures, and draws on a variety of valid approaches to scientific practice.

1.4 Collaboration
1. Sharing developments and common understanding across disciplines and boundaries.

1.5 Subject Knowledge
1. Sc2 reproduction of plants and animals, digestion, respiration, photosynthesis, food chains and webs, ecology, variation and classification, fit and healthy, the environment and inheritance and selection.
2. Sc3 reactivity series of metals, acids and alkalis, rocks and the rock cycle, pollution and its environmental impact, compunds and mixtures.
3. Sc4 speed, forces, space, gravity, electric circuits, magnets and electromagnets, energy resources, light, sound, heating and cooling,

Breadth of Study - Key Concepts at Key Stage 4

During this key stage, pupils should be taught the Knowledge, skills and understanding of how science works through the study of organisms and health, chemical and material behaviour, energy, electricity and radiations, and the environment, Earth and universe.

2.1 Organisms and health
In their study of science, the following should be covered:
1. organisms are interdependent and adapted to their environments
2. variation within species can lead to evolutionary changes and similarities and differences between species can be measured and classified
3. the ways in which organisms function are related to the genes in their cells
4. chemical and electrical signals enable body systems to respond to internal and external changes, in order to maintain the body in an optimal state
5. human health is affected by a range of environmental and inherited factors, by the use and misuse of drugs and by medical treatments.

2.2 Chemical and material behaviour
In their study of science, the following should be covered:
1. chemical change takes place by the rearrangement of atoms in substances
2. there are patterns in the chemical reactions between substances
3. new materials are made from natural resources by chemical reactions
4. the properties of a material determine its uses.

2.3 Energy, electricity and radiations
In their study of science, the following should be covered:
1. energy transfers can be measured and their efficiency calculated, which is important in considering the economic costs and environmental effects of energy use
2. electrical power is readily transferred and controlled, and can be used in a range of different situations
3. radiations, including ionising radiations, can transfer energy
4. radiations in the form of waves can be used for communication.

2.4 Environment, Earth and universe
In their study of science, the following should be covered:
1. the effects of human activity on the environment can be assessed using living and non-living indicators
2. the surface and the atmosphere of the Earth have changed since the Earth's origin and are changing at present
3. the solar system is part of the universe, which has changed since its origin and continues to show long-term changes.

2.5 How Science Works
The aim of science is to find explanations for the behaviour of the natural world.
1. A good explanation may allow us to predict what will happen in other situations, and perhaps to control and influence events.
2. Scientists do have characteristic ways of working. In particular, data, from observations and measurements, are of central importance.
3. Identifying a correlation between a factor and an outcome. This factor may then be the cause, or one of the causes, of the outcome.
4. knowing how to devise and test a scientific explanation
5. Explanations do not automatically ‘emerge' from the data. Thinking up an explanation is a creative step. So, it is quite possible for different people to arrive at different explanations for the same data. And personal characteristics, preferences and loyalties can influence the decisions involved.
6. The scientific community has established procedures for testing and checking the findings and conclusions of individual scientists, and arriving at an agreed view. Scientists report their findings to other scientists at conferences and in special journals
7. Where possible scientists choose to study simple situations in order to gain understanding
8. The application of scientific knowledge, in new technologies, materials and devices, greatly enhances our lives, but can also have unintended and undesirable side-effects. An application of science may have social, economic and political implications, and perhaps also ethical ones.
9. Personal and social decisions require an understanding of the science involved, but also involve knowledge and values beyond science.