Category Archives: 2.1 Curriculum

Overlooked Books

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Over the last few weeks various lectures and tutor directed tasks have looked at the power of story telling in all aspects of life. I have found it pretty astonishing to discover just how many books there are to help children to understand and cope with the emotions that each and every one of us struggle with at some point in life. Although I found this totally amazing, I can’t help but feel slightly frustrated at the was I was taught as a child and the ways in which stories were introduced to me.

As a child, I couldn’t stand reading. it was always an activity that I hadn’t enjoyed. the majority of the reading I remember doing in primary school was silent and was simple a time for my thoughts to run away with them selves, at many points wondering what dramas id be going home to that night, or the heated discussions that I had to endure the previous night. This time of silent reading was the only time were we were encouraged to spend time with a book. it was always an isolating experience for me. Because of the lack of reading I did, I also found other aspects of literacy challenging. even now, at the age of nineteen, I find spelling to be challenging at times.

Luckily, by the time I reached secondary school, one teacher was able to find a way to have me engage with a book properly! After years of turning to numbers to relax, I had finally been shown another way, a way that was easy to do regardless of the situations around me.

These recent inputs have been appealing to me due to the nature of some of the stories and the many different things that a story can teach. We read a book the other day which explained loss to a child in a way that wasn’t too heavy; a way that no other method could do. similar stories were read about teaching social skills and learning about different emotions. In an age where technology is taking over, surely it’s time we start to strip things back to basics and give children the chances to do all the things that I never got the chance to do as a child; to fell in love with reading… to realise that it is ok to feel however you feel and you’re not along… and to step out of reality into the weird and wonderful land of stories.

Science TDT

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As scientific literacy is a concept rather than a fact or particular skill set, there seems to be many controversial debates about what scientific literacy is. Millar (2007, P.145-150) states that “scientific literacy is the capacity to use scientific knowledge, to identify questions and to draw evidence-based conclusions”. Whereas, another definition of this concept states that scientific literacy prepares future citizens for “interacting in a global environment needing to know how to learn, adapt, create, communicate, and how to interpret and use information critically”, and be able “to make personal decisions on the basis of a scientific view of the world” (International Baccalaureate National Curriculum Board, 2009, p. 4). The term scientific literacy has defied precise definition since it was introduced in the late 1950’s (Hurd, 1958). This concept is one that many people have tried to define since the late 1950’s however, none have come up with a universally accepted answer, raising the idea that can you ever truly define a concept? an abstract idea? Therefore, can you ever truly define Scientific literacy?

Being scientifically literate is becoming the focus of school science according to Millar (2007). One of the reasons for this could be the devastating consequences of being scientifically illiteracy. Catastrophic results of this scientific illiteracy can be seen in some inaccurate reports published through the media. An example of this can be found in the case of doctors attributing a rise in autism with the MMR vaccine against measles, mumps and rubella after studying the effects of the vaccine on 12 children (Laurence, J. 1998). After the report was published in a medical journal (The Lancet), the media backed the claims and began spreading the news (Laurence, J. 2013). This resulted in parents refusing to let their children be immunised against measles, mumps and rubella at once and measles broke out in the United Kingdom even leading to the death of a child. With further testing it was shown that there was no link between the MMR vaccine and autism. (BBC, 2005) This example highlights the need for fair-testing and scientific literacy.

A fair test is one in which only one variable is deliberately changed during an investigation while the others are kept the same (Science Buddies, no date.) The one which you change is known as the independent variable whilst the factors which change impacts are known as the dependent variables. Fair testing in schools is important so that pupils can compare and assess the impact that the one independent factor has on the others.

In schools, fair testing is not taught as its own topic but is used in investigations throughout other scientific topics (The School Run, 2018.) Participating in fair tests throughout their time at school enables pupils to engage in science and develop a deeper understanding of how to effectively carry on a scientific investigation. An understanding of fair testing will help children work towards scientific literacy as they can use their knowledge of scientific procedures to determine whether or not an investigation is accurate. They can therefore decide for themselves if they can trust the results of that investigation.

 

BBC, (2005) ‘’No link’ between MMR and autism’, BBC News, Available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4311613.stm (Accessed on: 16 February 2018)

Hurd, P. DeH (1958). Scientific literacy: Its meaning for American schools. Educational Leadership

International Baccalaureate National Curriculum Board. (2009) Scientific Literacy in the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (PYP):NAP-SL Outcomes, available at http://www.ibo.org/globalassets/publications/ib-research/ibnapsl_report_final_000.pdf (Accessed 16 February 2018)

Laurence, J. (1998) ‘Doctors link autism to MMR vaccination’, Independent, Available at: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/doctors-link-autism-to-mmr-vaccination-1147081.html (Accessed on: 16 February 2018)

Laurence, J. (2013) ‘Timeline: How the Andrew Wakefield MMR Vaccine Scare Story Spread’, Independent, Available at:http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/timeline-how-the-andrew-wakefield-mmr-vaccine-scare-story-spread-8570591.html (Accessed on: 16 February 2018)

Millar, R. (2007) Scientific Literacy; Can the school science curriculum deliver? Communicating European Research 2005, Pages 145-150

Science Buddies, (no date), Available at: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/science-fair/doing-a-fair-test-variables-for-beginners (Accessed: 10/02/2018)

The School Run, (2018) Available at: https://www.theschoolrun.com/what-is-a-fair-test (Accessed: 10/02/2018)

Health and Wellbeing TDT

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By investigating food labelling systems, I can begin to understand how to use them to make healthy food choices. HWB 2-36a

 

This outcome has almost limitless way of tackling it. as part of the tutor directed task from a Health and Wellbeing input, we were asked to plan three sessions on at least on of the experiences and outcomes.

In particular I am going to focus firstly on the sugar levels in the foods that we consume. Firstly, the children could be given different foods and drinks and, in groups, order them from the product that they think has the least sugar to the product that has the most sugar. With an upper years class, they would then list the items in the order they decide in a table to work across the curriculum by using elements of numeracy as according to Rowley and Cooper (2009), children make connections that enhance learning  when learning is done across a variety of curricular areas.

For session two, the children will look at the label and add the actual amounts of sugar to their tables. they will then be given the opportunity to measure the sugar so they can visualise the amount of sugar they consume. This can then be used to create a wall display.

In the third session, children will mind map, then research, healthier alternatives. Allowing the children to look for the answers themselves will enable them to develop not only team-working skills but also to use and develop their ICT skills.