Primary Science Education Conference

Our scientific understanding is changing rapidly and the technologies that it is based on seem to be coming thick and fast. And yet what might seem fantastical to us, young children simply take in their stride. After all, they know no different. So what does the future hold for the next generation? What will the world look like two decades from now? What new technologies will transform our lives and tackle the world's biggest challenges, from climate change to health?
In this talk, Jim Al-Khalili will reveal some of the most exciting areas of current research, from gene editing to AI, and try to predict how our world will change. Indeed, this will require a rethink of the sort of science that is taught at schools. In a few decades, older children will no longer be learning the traditional subjects: physics, chemistry and biology, but will very likely be studying interdisciplinary topics such as nanotechnology, genetics and robotics. The talk will also focus to a large extent on the biggest transformation of all – potentially bigger even than the internet – namely, AI. To emphasise his point, he will show clips from his recent BBC4 documentary the Joy of AI, but also issue words of caution about whether society is adequately prepared for such profound changes brought about by these new technologies.

This talk will share ideas from academic literature about effective primary science education. We will focus on issues of both curriculum and pedagogy, including hands-on, minds-on science enquiry, cross-curricular science, science as a series of stories, talk for learning (including argumentation), misconceptions and conceptual change, and models and representations. Participants will depart with not only a range of classroom strategies but a deeper understanding of why they might be effective and greater knowledge to help them evaluate the strategies they currently use. In line with the best practice in professional development, the audience will be expected to be hands-on, minds-on too!

Do you sometimes struggle to get started with experimental science? Do you find it hard to link your experiments to the real world? Do you worry that you might be caught off-guard by questions that children may ask or things that can go wrong?  Do you need more support with terminology around the scientific method? Or you might just want to bring Brian Cox to your classroom! If the answer to any of these questions is yes then come along and try out the Brian Cox School Experiments. You will be able to take away a set of the videos and resources to use in your classroom.

By the time children are five years-old, they have solved all the hard problems of cognitive science: problems of face recognition, natural scene understanding, motor planning, navigation, number understanding, causal reasoning, language acquisition, understanding others’ thoughts, desires, and feelings, and understanding right and wrong.  The rapidity, robustness, and flexibility of children’s learning exceeds anything mastered by our most powerful artificial intelligence systems – and yet children achieve this remarkable learning while they appear to be busy climbing on jungle gyms, playing with blocks, and talking to stuffed animals.  Here I will talk about children’s remarkable ability to draw rich, abstract inferences from sparse data – and the puzzling gap between our formal theories of learning and the actual behavior of our most powerful learners.  I will point to the ways that children’s play has provided insight into the ways that they learn (and the many mysteries that remain), and I will show experiments looking at the relationship between uncertainty and children’s exploratory play, and trade-offs between exploration and instruction.  In the second part of the talk, I will discuss how children deploy some of their remarkable learning abilities to reason about their own and others’ goals, abilities, and emotions.  I will also introduce a new, open source, online developmental laboratory (Lookit!), which has the potential to expand both the questions we ask and the populations we reach.  I’ll end with some thoughts about what cognitive science has to offer education – and more importantly, the ways that educators might help transform the practice of cognitive science.  Finally, time allowing, I’ll show a few cartoons.

Although probably best known for her TV work, Kate’s background includes  Science, Tech, Engineering and Maths along with experience of teaching and of running a primary school STEM club.

Before looking at the role of STEM in primary schools, Kate will question what STEM actually means to the various stakeholders who may become involved or offer support. She will then consider the implications of under-representation of ‘Women in STEM’ in society as a whole, and the impact this may have on primary school teaching. She will also include a whistle-stop update of relevant research into STEM education, with particular emphasis on gender issues.

Overview
This seminar will consider the benefits of introducing current scientific research to primary age children and how this can be done in primary schools. Dudley Shallcross will describe how making links to science research makes learning more meaningful and engages children. He will explain that cutting-edge research can be linked to the primary science curriculum and share examples from ‘I bet you didn’t know…’ articles published in ‘Why & How’, the PSTT Newsletter. Julia Nash will talk about how as a teacher she has used some of the practical ideas in the ‘I bet you didn’t know…’ articles with her class. She will describe how the children in in her class have responded and the impact on their learning and perception of science and scientific research. Ex-biochemist and primary teacher, Alison Trew, will briefly describe what is meant by ‘science capital’ [1] and describe how student engagement with science is shaped by students’ interests, dispositions and past experiences [2]. She will suggest that ‘I bet you didn’t know…’ provides teachers with an accessible, practical way to raise children’s science capital and inspire the next generation of scientists.

Talk 1 – Dudley Shallcross
Fundamental science principles are explored at primary school and many cutting-edge science projects can be explained using these principles. For example, a recent study showed that Greenland sharks can live for many hundreds of years and the principle behind this was making a good calibration chart, something that can be replicated in primary school. In another study scientists believe that they have found a hidden planet in the Kuiper Belt, even though telescopes are not powerful enough to see the planet! Using ideas from primary science investigations it is possible to carry out investigations that mirror these studies. The principles of camouflage are discussed in another paper and these investigations can be carried out in a primary school setting (outdoors of course). Linking with cutting edge science at an early age is, we hope, an exciting way to stimulate children and their teachers and provide rich contexts for learning.

Talk 2 – Julia Nash
Engaging children in ‘real life science’, has for me, been paramount in inspiring young science learners in the classroom. I teach full-time in a class of 7-8 year olds and have used the ‘I bet you didn’t know…’ articles to provide a starting point for a series of science lessons. I want to show that this resource is accessible and enjoyable for everybody, all teachers and children, whatever the Key Stage. The articles explain clearly, in language that children can understand, what scientists have discovered and provide questions for children and teachers to consider in the classroom. There are suggestions of practical activities that the children might carry out to find their own answers to some of these questions. Children love to take ownership of their learning and this is exactly what happened in my class. The children enjoyed exploring new ideas and carrying out their own science research.

Talk 3 – Alison Trew
Science capital combines all an individual’s science-related resources: knowledge, attitudes, experiences and contacts. The more science capital young people have the more likely they are to engage with the subject. We believe that teachers can make a difference to student engagement with science by sharing examples of cutting-edge research because:
• Linking scientist’s research findings to real-life situations enables pupils to see science as relevant to their everyday life and has a positive impact on their attitude towards science.
• Encouraging discussion and providing simple practical challenges linked to research has a positive impact on children’s science-related knowledge and experiences.

Chaired by Craig Early 
 
References 
[1] Bourdieu, P. (1986). The forms of capital. In J. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of theory and research for the sociology of education (241-258). New York, NY: Greenwood.  
[2] Godec, S., King, H. & Archer, L. (2017) The Science Capital Teaching Approach: engaging students with science, promoting social justice. London: University College London. 

Fran Long - Raising STEM career aspirations through the primary years
Discover tried and tested ways of incorporating engineering into the primary curriculum. With a national shortage of engineers, learn about a research study conducted to ascertain ways of raising STEM career aspirations by the age of 10 through a programme of specific enrichment activities. Hear the impact on pupils of monthly contact with real scientists and engineers from a diverse range of careers. STEM career aspirations, perceptions of the roles of engineers and Engineering Habits of Mind (EHOM) exhibited by pupils were all measured and the results statistically significant. Find out how this initiative could be replicated in your school.

Olivia Johnson - Space in the Primary Curriculum
Space can be an inspiring context for learning across the primary curriculum, from science and mathematics to literacy and health & wellbeing. Current research in astronomy and advances in space technology address a wealth of big questions that excite and inspire young minds: How was our Sun made? Can humans travel to another planet? Are we alone in the Universe? In this interactive talk, we will explore a range of resources and activities, based on ongoing research, which tap into pupils' excitement about space and support learning in the primary curriculum.

'A Pollutant's Tale' - a PSTT wild ride through the Science of the Atmosphere and Climate Change.
This lively and entertaining show will explore science relating to:

•     the composition of the Earth’s atmosphere in comparison to other planets,
•     the structure of the atmosphere,
•     some of the chemistry and properties of nitrogen and oxygen,
•     a few of the tropospheric pollutants including carbon dioxide.

Throughout the show there will be exciting demonstrations involving liquid nitrogen, oxygen foam, dry ice and a few explosions.