Science was one of those subjects I fell out of love with for a period of time.  like many people, I learn best when doing.  Primary science was intriguing and sparked my curiosity and excitement.  I was a naturally curious child and my mother would tell me later that my constant questions drove her to distraction.

“Why do you have to cook food before you eat it?” “Why does the sun go to bed at night?” “How does the egg cook with it’s shell still on?” “Is steam the same as smoke?”

My poor mother would patiently answer my questions, explaining things in great detail.  I was like a sponge and the world was a giant pond.  I was always asking questions and trying to absorb as much information as possible.  This was the case right up until my third year at secondary school.  I was told I had to pick one area of science so I chose biology.  My Grandfather grew all of his own fruit and vegetables and had an amazingly colourful garden.  All these plants grew so differently and at different times of the year.  It fascinated me and I wanted to know how and why these things happened.

I had an idea of what we would be covering but not a clue about how it would be taught.  I was sadly disappointed.  Workbook after workbook was presented to me throughout those two years.  I memorised the definition for diffusion, purely because I was told to write it out 50 times as a punishment for not being able to tell my teacher when asked one day.

Diffusion is a movement of molecules from a region of high concentration to a region of low concentration down a concentrated gradient.

I now know what this actually means and how to apply it to every day life but at the time it meant absolutely nothing to me.  This was rote learning at it’s finest.  I passed my exams and never thought about science or biology much from then on.

A few years ago that suddenly changed.  I was flicking through the channels and came across three large hairy men blowing things up in the middle of a deserted field.  They were testing out a theory with a mobile phone, a car and a large tank of petrol.  They wanted to know if using your mobile phone in a fuel station would in fact cause an explosion.  I was hooked! Mythbusters reignited my curiosity as they attempted to spark and ignite this little wreck of a car whilst standing several feet away.  I suddenly remembered my favourite TV show as a child “How 2” and all my curiosity and questions.  Here is a video link if you wish to see exactly how I was inspired as a child. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30jHkF6qUo4 

Curriculum for Excellence promotes active and cross curricular learning.  It is also not about learning facts but skills.  This has completely changed the way in which we teach science in schools as I discovered whilst on placement last year.  I watched primary six children making security lights and alarms using circuit boards.  There was context there and they were working as a team collaboratively.  There was no workbook on the table and no worksheets to fill out.  This was purely a practical lesson and I enjoyed every second of observing them.  When  I spoke to them they were all so enthusiastic and keen to try and complete the task.  This was the complete opposite of rote learning.  a week later they did the same task again and they knew exactly what to do.  They knew why things had to be  connected a certain way and were able to tell me instead of “Just because it is.” or “That was how we were told to do it”.

I hope that I can become the kind of teacher that inspires and ignites curiosity in my pupils.  For that I need to make sure that I myself know “why” and “how”.  It is not simply acceptable that I be one step ahead with memorised notes from a textbook.  I need to have a depth of knowledge on a subject so that I can differentiate within the class and explain and demonstrate things in  several different ways so that I meet the needs of every child in my class.

I have completed an audit of my knowledge and what has become apparent is that I have a good breadth of knowledge but very little depth.  I plan to take one area at a time and develop my knowledge further so that I can ensure the pupils in my class have the best experience possible.  I have attached the audit below and will review this every semester to allow for continuous development throughout my time at university.

Teaching primary science knowledge audit