DYW in pictures
We have tried to capture some of the messages around DYW into cartoon format.
Challenge Questions
Developing the young workforce
Following the publication of its 3-18 Curriculum Impact Report for Sciences in September 2012, Education Scotland organised a series of conversation days where priorities for action to secure improvements in science education nationally were identified.
Key aspects for development emerged, which included primary and early years practitioners requiring guidance and exemplifications for assessment in the sciences.
To address this aspect the sciences team hosted a Glow Meet, Assessment in the Sciences, which was complimented by a series of professional learning twilight sessions across Scotland.
Practitioners have asked that the Meet be run again, therefore join us on Tuesday 10th March 3.35-4.45 pm in Glow TV.
Participants should be familiar with the Assessing Progress and Achievement Overarching Paper.
We will also be using a highlighted Assessing Progress and Achievement in the Sciences curriculum paper, Sciences Progression Framework and an Annotated Exemplification which can be downloaded through the blog link upon registration for the Glow Meet.
To register https://meet.glowscotland.org.uk/assessscience2/event/event_info.html
This is the first post in a series which describes some of our work on ‘content-free’ templates for educators and learners to use in our learning.
This space is on Glow O365, so it is best to log into Glow (eg on the Learning Spaces Community) before you explore the links below
What’s the thinking behind it?
This space helps support the learning of a class throughout an extended period of time.
It covers the first 2 or 3 stages of the Salmon model reasonably well, helping learners with easy access to resources, encouraging socialisation and information sharing.
At the same time, it offers the potential for ‘flipping’ some of the teaching and learning .
What does it do?
It has a number of functions that will support class learners; teacher announcements, newsfeed, calendar and learning resource areas. The slides below will you give some idea of the functionality…
Ok, how do I get it?
The Class Space template is on Glow O365 and is available to any member of staff from their school site. See How to create a Class Space for more details.
Summary of support available
Thanks for reading!
The sciences Glow 365 site continues to develop and is being populated with many resources to support the sciences curriculum.
A tile entitled Primary/Early Years Science is now available on the site through which you can access our newsfeed, resources and blog page. All are easily accessible and provide up to date relevant information for practitioners in each sector. 
Our latest blogs include details about grants from the British Science Association, how to access the new FREE primary ReachOut CPD programme and you can download the recent Supporting Primary and Early Years science Glow Meet.
To access the site http://bit.ly/glowsciences
The site is work in progress and further developments will be introduced as the Glow 365 platform takes shape
You can also access information and discuss the latest developments with colleagues through the Learning Together site www.bit.ly/learningtogetheredscot
#primary science
Developing the Life and Ethos of West Barns Primary School
Over the past 12 months at we have been working with pupils, families and the wider community to help us develop a clear rational for our curriculum based on shared values of respect, happiness, confidence, responsibility, safety and friendliness. The school continues to develop open and supportive relationships with children and their families. We are now beginning to see the impact of many months of hard work on the life and work of the school.
This year we have introduced Learning Journeys which will support pupils in reflecting on their learning and identify their next steps as well as recording their wider achievement. We are sharing these with parents and families on a regular basis and encourage them to add their own comments, photos, certificates etc. and help their child set health and wellbeing targets. This will provide parents with a great opportunity to become more involved in their child’s learning and achievements. By the end of this first term we are already seeing pupils engaging more in discussing their learning, identifying their strengths and next steps, thinking of strategies to help them move forward and evidencing their achievements.
Parents and families also recently helped our Primary 4-7 pupils understand the importance that literacy, numeracy and health and wellbeing skills will play in their adult lives. Pupils interviewed adults as part of the Family Homework task (download parents survey). Pupils then worked together to process and present the information. This gave our children a greater understanding of why it is important to master these basic skills during their school years. Younger pupils have been thinking about what jobs they would like to do when they are older and which skills they will need. Staff continue to make the links between the children’s learning and skills for learning, work and life.
This year we felt it was essential that we looked at how we could better promote emotional resilience in our pupils. We are using a whole school approach to health and wellbeing through using Edinburgh City’s ‘Creating Confident Kids’ resources (http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/info/20075/information_for_professionals/383/learning_publications ). The Headteacher is working with all classes to develop a whole school approach through active learning and school assemblies. The Playground Committee has also been looking at ways that we could better support pupils during break times through developing games and activities and have introduced their own Playground rules.
The whole school community are now working together to develop an ethos of positive behaviour to promote effective learning and wellbeing across the school. This year, before choosing new House Captains, pupils were asked what attributes they valued most in a leader. The results were unanimous – pupils wanted role models who showed respect, kindness and responsibility. Candidates then used these findings to inform their election campaigns and now have a clear remit of what the school community expects from them in their new roles.
Our recent pupil survey showed us that our children wanted to contribute more to the life and work of the school. We are now giving all our pupils the opportunity to exercise their responsibilities through playing an active part in one of our 4 school committees. We have timetabled quality time and invested in resources to ensure that pupils have real opportunities to participate responsibly in decision-making, contribute as leaders and role models and offer support and service to others through meaningful projects that will benefit the school and our wider community.
Although we have an open door policy here at West Barns and welcome communication from parents, we were keen on trying to involve our parents more in the day to day running of the school. Our Parent Council have recruited many volunteers through the West Barns Helping Hands scheme which involves parents, families or neighbours offering their help in a variety of different ways from creating resources, digging the garden, mending toys, making curtains and helping organise events. We are seeing many more parents and families becoming involved in the school and we are making headway with many new projects thanks to their help.
Next month see how our curriculum rationale is being developed.
Dundee Science Centre Science Learning Institute is a partnership for professional development in learning, teaching and public engagement with science.
The Science Learning Institute is a collaborative approach to providing support and development for the many professions who engage with learners throughout the community. Dundee Science Centre’s vision is a culture of curiosity, confidence and engagement with science for the whole community, and we are working with our partners to provide high quality and interprofessional training for practising professionals, those in further and higher education, STEM Ambassadors and others working with children and young people in formal and informal learning settings, to enhance learning for all across our region.
Working in partnership allows us to support you in making your teaching relevant, engaging and challenging, reflecting cutting-edge science in Dundee and the surrounding area, Scotland and beyond.
Through joint programming, a wide range of learning sessions and courses are created and delivered by the Dundee Science Centre Science Learning Institute team and partners. We are delighted to have funding to cover the costs of attendance. Please not that this is limited, so please get in touch soon to reserve a place for the session(s) you’d like to attend.
To help with your planning, we have arranged our information in date order and have indicated suggested level for each session. For more information on our offerings, please see our website where information on Curriculum for Excellence organisers and significant aspects of learning can also be found for each offering.
Except where stated, all courses are open to all professions and backgrounds. We look forward to welcoming and working with you.
Upcoming Professional Learning sessions
www.DSCScienceLearningInstitute.org.uk
Kindly supported by the Mathew Trust and Dundee City Council
Edinburgh International Festival is an educational charity. Each year it delivers one of Europe’s largest science festivals, a primary school education programme and a variety of international projects.
A key part is Generation Science.
Generation Science tours all over Scotland bringing educational and entertaining performances to your classroom, including hands on activities.
This year, to compliment the Logo Mindstorms Challenge workshop, there will be a Mindstorms Advanced workshop where learners will be challenged to use their programming skills to rescue a robot stranded on another island.
Through the Fuel Hunters workshop learners will become exploratory engineers and discover the origins of oil.
The Generation Science team deliver science workshops from Early to Second Level. The team will come to your establishment and support your delivery of transition projects, science fayres and science themed days.
For further information call 0131 553 0321 or download the Generation Science Brochure www.generationscience.co.uk
Following the publication of its 3-18 Curriculum Impact Report for Sciences in September 2012, Education Scotland organised a series of conversation days where priorities for action to secure improvements in science education nationally were identified.
Key aspects for development emerged, which included primary and early years practitioners requiring:
To address each aspect the sciences team will be hosting three Glow meets, complimented by a series of professional learning twilight sessions.
The first Glow meet Supporting the Sciences: planning the primary & early years science curriculum will take place on Wednesday 17th September 3.45 – 4.30pm.
To register for the glow meet: http://bit.ly/supportingthesciences1
Further information regarding dates and venues for the professional learning twilights relating to this Glow meet will be available shortly.
Welcome to the first post from West Barns Primary School in East Lothian. The school community will be telling their story via monthly posts on the Primary section of the Learning Blog. They will be describing the process they are using to develop their curriculum together…
West Barns Primary School is a small village school situated on the outskirts of Dunbar. We have 71 primary pupils split between 4 classes and 13 children in our Nursery. The school is well supported by our families and the local community. Our pupils enjoy the wonderful school grounds and the opportunities offered by the outstanding local environment.
This year the school has been working with the whole school community to build a curriculum that provides our children with relevant, motivating and challenging experiences that meet the needs of all our learners. Children and their families, staff and the wider community are helping us create a new vision for West Barns Primary School, identify what we need to do to get there and plan how we are going to bring this about.
Together staff, children and their families have begun to examine the different elements of the curriculum and have embarked on a journey to find out how we would like it to look in our school.
We used a button vote to find out the views of parents and carers.
Some of the questions and statements the children used with the parents included:
Download the full list of parent questions here.
The results gave us a clear picture of what we were doing well and the areas we needed to improve.
From the start we wanted to encourage our children to contribute more to the life and work of the school and exercise their responsibilities as members of our learning community. We began by involving our children in a series of workshops designed to build a picture of how they saw our school. All pupils filled in an ’ How good is our school?’ survey. Older pupils supported younger children by explaining the questions and helping them traffic light their answers.
Download the children’s survey here.
The children analysed the results and collated them so that everyone could see what was working well and what needed to be improved. We used this information to help us develop our School Improvement Plan.
To help develop our next steps we also asked all our children some important questions, including:
Download the template with all the questions here.
Pupils from across the school worked together to gather their ideas.
You can see what came out as important in the Wordles pupils created with the results.
We thought it was great that the words ‘good’, ‘helpful’ and ‘responsible’ came out as important for both our teachers and our learners.
Pupils, parents and staff then worked together by using a button vote to choose new values for our school.
It was interesting to see that respect, happiness, confidence, responsibility, safety and friendliness were our outstanding choices. This has given us a clear direction for the future and has informed our health and wellbeing programme for this year.
Come back in October to see what the West Barns school community do next as they develop their curriculum together.
Following the publication of its 3-18 Curriculum Impact Report for Sciences in September 2012, Education Scotland organised a series of conversation days where priorities for action to secure improvements in science education nationally were identified.
Key aspects for development emerged, which included primary and early years practitioners requiring:
To address each aspect the sciences team will be hosting three Glow meets, complimented by a series of professional learning twilight sessions.
The first Glow meet Supporting the Sciences: planning the primary & early years science curriculum will take place on Wednesday 17th September 3.45 – 4.30pm
To register for the glow meet: http://bit.ly/supportingthesciences1
Further information regarding dates and venues for the professional learning twilights relating to this Glow meet will be available shortly.
THE SCOTTISH LEARNING FESTIVAL 2014: RAISING ACHIEVEMENT AND ATTAINMENT FOR ALL
SLF 2014 is completely FREE for everyone to attend and will support practitioners as they explore a wide range of practical approaches, resources and research aimed at improving achievement and attainment for all learners in Scotland.
There will be inspirational keynotes speeches, conversation and debate in the professional discussion sessions and professional learning seminars where you can engage in activities and learn from practitioners and young people;
This includes a number of seminars specifically aimed at addressing the sciences curriculum.
Wednesday 24th September 9.30-10.15am
Learning for sustainability – a strategic agenda for change – SLF Guide Page 7
In February 2014, the National Implementation Group for Learning for Sustainability was established to ensure all learners in schools experience global citizenship, outdoor learning, sustainability, children’s rights and play in a transformative way. This seminar will outline the ambitions of the group and this exciting agenda for change which will impact on all schools and support the introduction of the new GTCS Professional Standards.
Thursday 25th September 12.00-12.45pm
Supporting primary science to inspire STEM careers – SLF Guide Page 21
STEM subjects are central to Scotland’s economic future and our health and wellbeing. They also offer a range of excellent career opportunities for young people. This seminar will demonstrate how SSERC and Education Scotland provide valuable support for primary practitioners to enthuse and inspire learners about science and STEM careers.
Thursday 25th September 13.15-14.00
Engaging pupils with science – SLF Guide Page 23
Outlining the various projects Aberdeen City have developed, which have increased pupils’ engagement and enthusiasm in science. This includes the S6 Science Ambassador Award; Science Buddy Award; P6/7 Science Champions; Intertek Science Fair; Science for PSAs & Playground Science.
Thursday 25th September 11-11.30am
Conversation Area : Supporting the Sciences
Meet the Education Scotland Sciences Team and explore the vast range of support available across all levels of the sciences curriculum. Discuss how to enthuse and motivate learners and practitioners through real life contexts and partnership working.
To book your place browse the conference programme, note the seminars you want to
attend and visit the SLF website – www.scottishlearningfestival.org.uk.
Register on line today.
FIRST LEGO League is a robotics program for 9 to16 year olds designed to get young learners interested in and enthsed by science and technology — and teach them valuable employment and life skills.
It can be used in the classroom or teams, composed of up to ten children with at least one adult coach, can come from a club or organisation who just want to participate in a challenge.
In First Lego League learners need to think like scientists and engineers as they programme a robot (using the LEGO® MINDSTORMS® robot set) to score points, devising a solution to a problem as part of their project, all while being guided by the FLL Core Values.
These three elements – the Robot Game, Project, and FLL Core Values – make up the Challenge.
Registration will open soon for the 2014 First Lego League World Class Challenge, What is the future of learning? exploring how we gather knowledge and develop skills in the 21st Century.
For more information: http://www.firstlegoleague.org/mission/support#sthash.PAN7FUy8.dpuf
Young learners from Crookfur Primary School, East Renfrewshire and Cleeves Primary, Glasgow, have helped launch the new Dams to Darnley Environmental Education Pack.
The pack, which has been written by Countryside Ranger Eilidh Milne, is structured around Curriculum for Excellence and provides lesson plans and ideas for countryside ranger-led activities in Dams to Darnley and school grounds. It also includes lesson plans for outdoor learning activities for teachers, either within the country park, school grounds or local green space.
The pack can be downloaded at www.damstodarnley.org/pack and there will be a limited number of additional printed copies available on request.
Dams to Darnley Country Park is a partnership project between East Renfrewshire Council and Glasgow City Council.
Education Scotland has produced a suite of documents to support learning, teaching and assessment of the sciences from early to third level.
Following on from the Sciences Experiences and Outcomes we have the Sciences Principles and Practice Paper, essential reading which:
Supporting the Principles and Practice paper is the Concept Development in the Sciences paper.
This document is unique to the sciences curriculum and provides:
In addition the Assessing Progress and Achievement in the Sciences paper supplements advice stated in the Principles and Practice paper to support practitioners in capturing what children and young people have achieved.
Assessment in the sciences focusses on learners’ knowledge, understanding, skills, attributes and capabilities in the significant aspects of learning.
We want learners to have K/U of the big ideas and concepts in science and also develop skills in investigation and enquiry, analytical thinking and become scientifically literate – the significant aspects of learning bring these together. They are the core learning against which learners’ progress can be compared periodically and are common to all levels from early to third.
Assessing Progress and Achievement in the Sciences:
In addition to this there is the new Sciences Progression Framework, a guide intended to support practitioners in considering the evidence of knowledge and understanding, skills, attributes and capabilities provided by learners as they progress through and then achieve a level in the sciences.
The significant aspects of learning relate to the statements for each level within this progression framework. They should be considered jointly when assessing progress and achievement.
We also have annotated exemplification of work in the sciences which show work deemed to typify the achievement of a level in the sciences. The effectiveness of the support documentation is evident when used alongside the annotated exemplars.
This resource:
Additional information regarding the sciences curriculum can be accessed through the Education Scotland sciences website and STEM Central.
Additional assessment resources can be accessed through Education Scotland Learning Teaching and Assessment
Venue: Mearns Primary School, East Renfrewshire
Date: 9am to 12:30pm, Tuesday 3rd June 2014
This professional learning event presents an exciting opportunity to learn about the approaches to 3-18 sciences developed by the Eastwood High School and Mearns Castle High School clusters which have been identified through the inspection process as being very good practice.
The event is aimed at Quality Improvement Officers, Science Development Officers, science coordinators, school leaders and practitioners from all sectors with responsibility for sciences as well as national agencies and partner organisations.
The event will provide delegates with an opportunity to hear about various strengths of work taking place in the cluster including the:
To book a place at this event please contact Jennifer.Moore@educationscotland.gov.uk. It is advisable to book early to avoid disappointment.
Scotland’s Environment Web has a unique set of on-line guidance and digital tools to help people set up their own public environmental monitoring projects.
Public monitoring or ‘citizen science’ can be described as “scientific activities in which non-professional scientists volunteer to participate in data collection, analysis and dissemination of a scientific project…” It can be a great, fun way to gather information and get involved – scientists need your help!
On May 7th a best practice guide on When and how to use Citizen Science was published.
It will take anyone thinking about embarking on a project through the steps which will help decide when you should choose and how to use citizen science.
Whether you are a teacher keen to get your students outdoors, a member of the public wanting to get more involved in your local environment, or an organisation wanting to set up a project, here is support available in the Scotland’s Environment Web toolkit. The tools make it easier to start and run a project, using some of the new digital technology to help.
Click on the link to access Scotland’s Environment Website: http://bit.ly/18JGXwU
Scottish science centres are to benefit from an extra £2.5m in funding.
Glasgow Science Centre is to get the largest share of the Scottish government funding, at £962,680. Our Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh will receive £899,090, Dundee Science Centre £332,220 and Satrosphere in Aberdeen £246,010.
The combined total includes £110,000 towards subsidising school transport costs, and a further £100,000 will be shared by the four centres for community events.
The popularity of the science centres has increased since last year with almost 645,000 more people visiting the four centres in the past 12 months.
The funding package will allow each centre to invest in hands-on exhibits and activities and use their experience to help improve the confidence of primary teachers in delivering physics, engineering and technology.
Dundee Science Centre has announced plans for use of its share of the funding, with the “Ice Station Antarctica” exhibit due to open this summer. This is a major exhibition from the Natural History Museum and will be seen outside of London for the first time.
The new “Scotland’s Time Lords” galleries will open at Our Dynamic Earth this month, bringing to life the impact scientists have had since the Scottish Enlightenment.
Education Scotland is delighted to announce that schools can access Tigtag – the award-winning online science resource for primary schools – free of charge through Glow.
We have agreed a 12 month national education licence with Twig World which allows Scottish schools to have unlimited access to this great resource.
There is no need to ask for a free trial or subscribe to the site if you are already a glow user.
Simply, click on www.tigtagonglow.com
You will see a box labelled Glow User. Put in your glow user name and password and start using this fabulous resource.
Alternatively, if you have entered a search for Tigtag and gone through http://www.twig-world.co.uk/tigtag/ click on the Tigtag image in the top right hand corner
and you will be taken to the Tigtag home page.
You will then see this image
Click on Log in with Glow and input your user name and password to start using the resource.
Remember there is no need to click free school trial if you are an existing Glow user.
You can use Tigtag straight away to enhance and support your science learning and teaching.
Tigtag provides access to:
• background information, relating to the key concepts identified in the science organisers, and quality films to support and enhance teaching and learning in the sciences.
• planning resources, investigation sheets, practical challenges and succinct clear lesson plans, providing a range of contexts for learning which draw on important aspects of everyday life and work.
• interactive lesson packages to help stimulate the interest and motivation of all learners and support staff in planning challenging, engaging and enjoyable learning and teaching activities.
• a “What Happens Next?” and “Scientific Enquiry” section to encourage learners to engage in dialogue, developing their investigative and inquiry skills.
Sciences – National Qualifications Update
We can now confirm that three Higher Cross-Authority Writing Workshops will now take place as follows:
Session 1 – Evening session 5pm – 7:30pm on Wednesday 19th March and all day Thursday 20th March 2014. Venue: Stirling Management Centre, Stirling
Session 2 – Thursday 24th April 2014. Venue: SSERC, Dunfermline
Session 3 – Tuesday 27th May 2014. Venue: Glasgow, to be confirmed. Note: Date changed due to clash with Biology Markers’ Meeting.
The purpose of the days will be to provide practitioners with the opportunity to share existing materials developed for the Higher Sciences qualifications and co-develop further materials as required including resources for each Higher Unit, banks of questions etc. Our hope is that we will have groups collaborating to support all five sciences Highers including: Biology, Human Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Environmental Science. Education Scotland and SQA colleagues will also be attending to work alongside practitioners.
Each local authority is invited to identify one practitioner to attend. This should be a Faculty Head, Principal Teacher and/or someone with experience of developing course materials for national qualifications. Nominations should be sent to Grant.McAllister@educationscotland.gov.uk by 5pm Monday 10th March 2014. When submitting nominations please provide the following details: name, role, school, email, subject specialism and dietary requirements. Our hope is that the same representative will attend all three events to ensure continuity but we realise that this may not always be possible.
One place for each local authority is guaranteed providing nominations are received by the deadline. Places not claimed by this point will be reallocated to other authorities. A limited number of reserve places will also be available to ensure balance across each of the five Higher qualifications. Authorities can nominate a second individual, from a different subject specialism, to be added to this list. We will notify reserve list nominees about availability of places shortly after the deadline on the 10th March.
Other updates:
Please note: you may need to click the compatibility view icon and/or refresh button in the top navigation bar of your internet browser to see the videos.
An extensive range of course materials for Higher Sciences is available from Education Scotland’s NQ Higher Sciences website: http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/highersciences/
The cross authority writing group’s approach to National 5 Hydrogels assignment has been published on the NQ Glow portal. http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/nqcoursematerials/subjects/c/nqresource_tcm4827127.asp .
Highland council have kindly shared their mapping of changes from traditional higher to CfE Higher for Biology, Chemistry, Human Biology and Physics. Again available on the NQ Glow Portal.
South Lanarkshire have produced a guide to assessments in the sciences at national 3, 4 & 5. This has been adapted to into subject specific versions and are available on the NQ glow portal http://bit.ly/1lcuFGn
The sciences glow 365 site http:\bit.ly/glowsciences continues to be populated with more materials including resources for National 4 & 5 Biology, Chemistry and Physics.
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation has an educators’ group: http://is.gd/circulareconomy. The Ellen MacArthur foundation has a number of resources suitable across the sciences and interdisciplinary learning activities. The Scotland’s Environment Website Youth Discussion competition is aimed at 5-18 yr olds and closes on 31 March. The competition has an environmental theme so it could cover a range of areas within the curriculum.
Education Scotland is delighted to announce that schools can now access Tigtag – an award-winning online science resource for primary schools, free of charge through Glow.
We have agreed a 12 month national education licence with Twig World which allows Scottish schools to have unlimited access to this great resource.
There is no need to ask for a free trial if you are already a glow user.
Simply, click on www.tigtagonglow.com
Put in your glow user name and password and start using this fabulous resource.
Alternatively, if you have entered a search for Tigtag and gone through http://www.twig-world.co.uk/tigtag/
Click on this tigtag image in the top right hand corner and you will be taken to the Tigtag home page.
You will see this image 
.
Click on Log in with Glow and input your user name and password to start using the resource.
Remember there is no need to click free trial if you are an existing Glow user.
You can use Tigtag straight away to enhance and support your science learning and teaching.
Tigtag provides access to:
• background information, relating to the key concepts identified in the science organisers, and quality films to support and enhance teaching and learning in the sciences.
• planning resources, investigation sheets, practical challenges and succinct clear lesson plans, providing a range of contexts for learning which draw on important aspects of everyday life and work.
• interactive lesson packages to help stimulate the interest and motivation of all learners and support staff in planning challenging, engaging and enjoyable learning and teaching activities.
• a “What Happens Next?” and “Scientific Enquiry” section to encourage learners to engage in dialogue, developing their investigative and inquiry skills.
Following the publication of the updated 3-18 Curriculum Impact Report for Sciences in October 2013, Education Scotland hosted a series of conversation days to engage stakeholders in discussions around the findings of the report and to collectively identify priorities for action to secure improvements in science education nationally.
The fourth conversation day took place in Bucksburn Academy, Aberdeen, on 12th December 2013 and brought together around 40 participants from the local authority, Satrosphere Science Centre, Aberdeen University and representatives from industry, universities and schools. Delegates heard presentations from Kittybrewster Primary School, Bucksburn Academy, Glaxo Smith Kline and the University of Aberdeen.
Following the welcome presentation participants split into small discussion groups to identify the key priorities for improving science education. Discussions focussed on three themes:
Priorities for sciences education
Attainment
Delegates recognised:
Support
Delegates suggested:
Confidence
Cluster working
Learners attending the conversation day highlighted the areas they regarded as being the key priorities in sciences education:
SECONDARY
Delegates highlighted a number of concerns relating to the secondary sector which they viewed as being key priorities in teaching the sciences:
Education Scotland is keen to hear your views. Click on the title of this blog post to leave a comment.
Cineworld has partnered with a number of organisations to create some unique learning opportunities this year.
First on 18th March at 10.30am we have a special schools encore screening of War Horse from the National Theatre. PG 8 cert 180mins
Substantial teaching resources are available at:
http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/discover-more/digital-classroom/resource-packs
On 31st March at 10.00am there is a live interactive Q&A with the author Michael Morpurgo and a screening of Private Peaceful. U Cert 180mins
Every child has the opportunity to submit a question to the author and will receive a free copy of his book A Medal For Leroy.
http://www.privatepeaceful.co.uk/
On 5th June we have a live presentation from the British Museum’s Viking exhibition, last years Pompeii presentation was very popular and this is sure to be the same and directly relevant to the curriculum. U cert 60mins
http://www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/exhibitions/vikings/vikings_live.aspx
Finally on 17th March at 7.15pm there is an opportunity to see the amazing documentary Hubble and hear a talk and Q&A by the wonderful Professor Martin Hendry from Glasgow University Astrophysics department. U cert 90mins
http://www.cineworld.co.uk/whatson/hubble-qanda-with-martin-hendry
These events are only available in cinemas. For details of which Cineworld cinemas in Scotland are screening these events please see www.cineworld.co.uk.
For bookings and any other queries please contact Gow Gibson, Education Officer at gow.gibson@cineworld.co.uk 0141 419 1740 or 07815707921
Edinburgh International Science Festival 2014 celebrates ‘Science at the Heart of Everything’, inviting audiences of all ages to discover the science all around us over two weeks from 5th – 20th April:
Amanda Tyndall, Deputy Director of Edinburgh International Science Festival, said: “This year’s Science Festival will see hundreds of the best and brightest minds in science and technology gather in Edinburgh to debate and celebrate some of the biggest, and sometimes controversial ideas in science. For two weeks the city becomes the perfect melting pot for discussion, as we explore the ideas that place science smack-bang at the centre of all of our lives”.
The 2014 programme unlocks the many ways in which we are unquestionably connected to science and technology. With events examining the science in food and drink, politics, art and literature, and even DIY, audiences can discover science in new ways and surprising places, question the ever-increasing prominence of technology in our lives and how this shapes all aspects of our society.
The Edinburgh International Science Festival runs from Saturday 5 to Sunday 20 April 2014. Full details of the 2014 programme can be found at www.sciencefestival.co.uk. Tickets for all events can be booked online via the website or through the Box Office on 0844 557 2686 from 11am Thursday 13 February 2014.
The Youth Discussion competition is still open; why not enter this weekend for a chance to win a unique prize?
What is the competition about?
What needs to change in your local community that will make a difference to your environment and what role can you play in making it happen?
We want you to answer the question and tell us how you can make your environment better.
Gillian from Keep Scotland Beautiful explains the prize they are offering – with a little help from her furry friends! vimeo.com/84878949.
Who can enter?
The competition is open to all young people throughout Scotland between the ages of 5-18 whether through your school, as part of a group or as an individual. Prizes to be won include a backstage tour of the Hydro, tickets to the Irn Bru Carnival 2014/2015 and the Teen Drive electric car event at Knockhill and gadgets like tablets!
Get your entry in soon and don’t miss out!
Education Scotland is delighted to announce that schools can now access Tigtag – an award-winning online science resource for primary schools, free of charge through Glow.
We have agreed a 12 month national education licence with Twig World which allows Scottish schools to have unlimited access to this great resource.
Schools across the country are currently using Twig on Glow to access almost 1500 top quality short films. Tigtag provides a superb addition to this resource, and provides valuable support to primary practitioners to assist in the effective teaching of the Sciences Experiences and Outcomes of Curriculum for Excellence.
It provides access to:
• background information, relating to the key concepts identified in the science organisers, and quality films to support and enhance teaching and learning in the sciences.
• planning resources, investigation sheets, practical challenges and succinct clear lesson plans, providing a range of contexts for learning which draw on important aspects of everyday life and work.
• interactive lesson packages to help stimulate the interest and motivation of all learners and support staff in planning challenging, engaging and enjoyable learning and teaching activities.
• a “What Happens Next?” and “Scientific Enquiry” section to encourage learners to engage in dialogue, developing their investigative and inquiry skills.
Explore the world of Tigtag and Twig on Glow science with your learners through www.tigtagonglow.com Log in using your Glow password.
Education Scotland continues to add sciences materials created by local authorities to the NQ Glow Portal and is grateful to the practitioners and authorities across Scotland who have contributed to date.
We greatly appreciate the most recent contributions from colleagues in North Ayrshire for sharing materials at National 4 and National 5 for Physics and Cell Biology and Multicellular Organisms and we’re also grateful to colleagues in Moray who have shared their N5 Cell Biology materials.
Aberdeen City have kindly shared a range of National 4 and National 5 Chemistry materials.
Education Scotland is also in the final stages of editing course materials for all N3 and Higher sciences qualifications. These will be posted to the NQ Glow portal in February. Please see our STEM e-bulletin for ongoing updates about NQ support.
If you have any materials you would like to share the please contact Jennifer.Moore@educationscotland.gov.uk
Delegates attending our third conversation day at Millburn Academy were asked to reflect on the findings of Education Scotland’s Sciences 3-18 Curriculum Impact Report and, through group discussion, identify what they saw as the key priorities for action.
In the final session of the conversation day participants were encouraged to write down ideas and suggestions as to how science education could be further improved nationally. Suggestions included:
STEM North of Scotland – web links to resources and programmes available for schools in the North of Scotland provided by Pat Kieran, STEM Ambassador who participated in the conversation day.
http://www.stemnorthofscotland.com/activities-and-experiments/activities-and-resources.html
Education Scotland is keen to hear your views. Click on the title of this blog post to leave a comment
Delegates attending our third conversation day at Millburn Academy were asked to reflect on the findings of Education Scotland’s Sciences 3-18 Curriculum Impact Report and, through group discussion, identify what they saw as the key priorities for action.
In the second session of the day, participants were given the opportunity to use the Implemento planning tool to further explore one of the main themes emerging from the group activity in the morning. The following action was chosen as focus for this activity:
Ensure learners are empowered to determine how they learn.
Participants identified the following as the worst outcomes that could arise should this action not be implemented:
The following actions were suggested to help recover from these negatives outcomes:
Participants saw the following as the best possible outcomes of the action to empower learners:
Education Scotland is keen to hear your views. Click on the title of this blog post to leave a comment.
Delegates attending our third conversation day at Millburn Academy were asked to reflect on the findings of Education Scotland’s Sciences 3-18 Curriculum Impact Report and, through group discussion, identify what they saw as the key priorities for action.
Priority areas for action
The priorities below are listed in order of prevalence. Those mentioned more frequently in group responses appear closest to the top of the list.
Education Scotland is keen to hear your views. Click on the title of this blog post to leave a comment.
Delegates attending our second conversation day at Bishopbriggs Academy identified four priority theme for sciences:
Education Scotland is keen to hear your views regarding the third priority which addressed career long professional learning and support for practitioners.
Delegates viewed that:
Education Scotland is keen to hear your views. Click on the title of this blog post to leave a comment.
Delegates attending our second conversation day at Bishopbriggs Academy identified four priority theme for sciences:
Education Scotland is keen to hear your views regarding the second priority which addressed the importance of planning across school clusters.
Delegates saw cluster working as being important for a number of reasons:
Primary and primary/secondary transition should be seen as a priority for cluster working:
Education Scotland is keen to hear your views. Click on the title of this blog post to leave a comment.
The Young Engineers & Science Clubs Scotland is a Scotland wide primary and secondary programme run by the Scottish Council for Development and Industry and supported by many of its members including BP, Skills Development Scotland and the Lloyd’s Register Foundation.
Through a network of over 700 science, engineering and technology clubs throughout Scotland, from Orkney to Dumfries, pupils from P5-S2 test their problem-solving skills on a number of themed investigations. So far 12,000 members have worked alongside their teachers, real engineers and scientists on a variety of STEM projects.
Projects include:
Participating schools are fully supported by YESC in the form of start-up grants, free resource kits, advice and assistance.
Further information, advice and contact details can be accessed through the YESC website: http://bit.ly/1cU2F7H
Delegates attending our third conversation day at Millburn Academy were asked to reflect on the findings of Education Scotland’s Sciences 3-18 Curriculum Impact Report and, through group discussion, identify what they saw as the key priorities for action.
In the second session of the day, participants were given the opportunity to use the Implemento planning tool to further explore one of the main themes emerging from the group activity in the morning. The following action was chosen as focus for this activity:
Ensure learners are empowered to determine how they learn.
Participants identified the following as the worst outcomes that could arise should this action not be implemented:
The following actions were suggested to help recover from these negatives outcomes:
Participants saw the following as the best possible outcomes of the action to empower learners:
Education Scotland is keen to hear your views. Click on the title of this blog post to leave a comment.
Delegates attending our third conversation day at Millburn Academy were asked to reflect on the findings of Education Scotland’s Sciences 3-18 Curriculum Impact Report and, through group discussion, identify what they saw as the key priorities for action.
Priority areas for action
The priorities below are listed in order of prevalence. Those mentioned more frequently in group responses appear closest to the top of the list.
Education Scotland is keen to hear your views. Click on the title of this blog post to leave a comment.
SSERC, a Local Authority shared-service providing support across all thirty-two Scottish Education Authorities, is offering practical hands-on CPD courses for primary practitioners.
A few places still remain on two residential courses.
Science Rocks Our World is a 3 day residential course for primary teachers, taking place 21st -23rd November 2013.
Practitioners will engage in practical activities to support learning & teaching across CfE Sciences Experiences and Outcomes from the Planet Earth Organiser and develop their skills and expand their knowledge in this area of science. In addition, participants will be given equipment and resources to support them in the classroom.
Together with the SSERC team, Education Officers from various organisations will explore the lines of development within the themes of; Space, Processes of the Planet, and Biodiversity and Interdependence.
For further information and an application form download:Science_Rocks_2013_flyer
“Science for the Newly Qualified Primary Teacher’ is a 2 part residential course, with part 1 on 31st January – 1st February 2014 and part 2 on 12th May 2014.
The course will offer recently qualified primary practitioners, including probationers, the opportunity to share good practice, explore some of the “big ideas” in science and develop a variety of strategies to support delivery of the sciences within a Curriculum for Excellence. A major part of the course will involve exploring ways in which practical activities can be used to enhance teaching across Early, First and Second Levels.
For further information download the flyer: PrimProb_flyer_v3
Course fees are £450 which includes meals, accommodation and course materials.Local Authority schools will be entitled to receive an ENTHUSE Award which will cover the cost of the courses. This grant is administered through the National Science Learning Centre.
A complete listing of CPD opportunities can be accessed through the SSERC website: http://bit.ly/1aHrkVV
Scotland boasts truly wonderful trees, woods and forests.
Some trees are native to Scotland, while others have found a home here after being introduced for the purposes of tourism, recreation or the timber industry. These trees fulfil vital roles in our environment – all whilst locking away millions of tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere.
It has been suggested that Scotland should have a national tree to symbolise the importance of our forests and woodlands.
Forestry Commission Scotland is running a National Consultation for a National Tree for Scotland on behalf of Paul Wheelhouse, Minister for Environment and Climate Change.
The consultation aims to find out the public’s opinions via two questions;
The consultation runs until 3rd December and the Minister would like to engage with as many schools and education establishments as possible.
There are two main ways for schools to get involved:
There are a range of connections to the curriculum that could be made depending on what angle teachers wish to make: political literacy, studying Scotland, learning for sustainability for example.
All details, including interesting facts can be found at www.forestry.gov.uk/scotlandsnationaltree
For further information click: www.forestry.gov.uk/yearofnaturalscotland
Delegates attending our second conversation day at Bishopbriggs Academy identified four priority themes for the sciences:
Education Scotland is keen to hear your views regarding the second priority which addressed the importance of planning across school clusters.
Delegates saw cluster working as being important for a number of reasons:
Primary and primary/secondary transition should be seen as a priority for cluster working:
Education Scotland is keen to hear your views. Click on the title of this blog post to leave a comment.
This week Education Scotland published an update of the 3-18 Sciences Impact Report. The updated report evaluates current practice, supplements the good practice exemplars, reports on progress made regarding aspects of development in the 2012 report and highlights important areas for discussion and further development.
The evidence presented in this report tells us that children and young people are developing a range of knowledge, understanding and skills in the sciences and achievement is strong and improving.
The report is intended to continue to help practitioners reflect on how well they are developing these capacities, how much more needs to be done and act as a hub for ongoing professional dialogue and development.
There is a summary of the report written specifically for children and young people and, in response to practitioner feedback, there is now a separate document outlining the examples of good practice.
Education Scotland is keen to hear your views about the report and its findings. Visit the Talk with us blog http://bit.ly/GCHeZw to share your thoughts on how best we can improve sciences education for all learners in Scotland.
To download the report and associated documentation visit: The Sciences 3-18
A search is on to find the school with the most creative minds.
The annual Story Generator competition is a national writing competition which invites young people across Scotland to collaborate and create their own stories.
This year, budding young writers from S1 and S2 are being asked to create a digital picture book about what life might be like in the future, using the first line of the George Orwell classic, 1984, as their inspiration: ‘It was a bright, cold day in April…’
The school that has written the best book will win a collection of books from the Edinburgh International Book Festival, with a printed copy of their Storybird online book included. The Pupil who devises the best page wins a Kindle which will come loaded with their own online book.
To find out more and to register your school, visit www.storybird.com/scottishpower
Creating a Prairie Garden
24th September 2013, Aileymill Primary, Greenock
8th October 2013, Blackfriars Primary, Glasgow
Develop a Prairie flower bed in your school garden, richly planted with drifts of perennials and self-seeding annuals, punctuated with grasses. An everlasting, low maintenance style of naturalistic planting, a haven for bees, butterflies and all others that fly!
THE EDIBLE SCHOOL GARDEN
1st October 2013, Perth Academy
To give teachers of all age groups the skills to confidently grow and manage a simple productive garden throughout the year. Also, to ensure that produce is used in tasting, cooking and enterprise activities. Every school should be a food growing school.
e-Bug is an exciting, fun and free microbiology, hygiene and health educational resource for junior (P2 – P7) and senior (S1 – S3) school students across Europe. Designed by health professionals, with input from schools and young people, the e-Bug resource comprises of a teacher website containing detailed lesson plans and a student interactive website.
e-Bug for teachers
The teacher pages on the e-Bug website, www.e-bug.eu, contain detailed interactive lesson plans covering each of the topics below. You can also find school competitions, films of each of the activities, MS Powerpoint presentations, animations to help teach some of the more difficult topics as well as some alternative activities to those found in the pack.
| Micro-organisms
An Introduction Useful Microbe Harmful Microbes |
Prevention of Infection
Natural Immunity Vaccinations
|
| Spread of Infection
Hand Hygiene Respiratory Hygiene Food Hygiene Farm Hygiene Sexual Transmission |
Treatment of Infection
Antibiotic Use
|
e-Bug for students
The colourful and fun student website encourages children of all age ages to venture further into the world of microbes playing interactive games and accessing lots more educational materials. The student website has a lot of fun features which include
Microbe of the week: Facts and images of a new microbe every week, some useful, some harmful, but all interesting.
Fact of the week: Some quirky, fun, disgusting and some outright weird microbe facts.
Revision Guides: For students who want to learn a little bit more, or to be used in the classroom.
Disease fact files: Fact files on important infectious diseases such as measles, influenza, holiday infections, and much more.
Quizzes: Students can test themselves with fun quizzes.
Hall of Fame: Here students can visit a lab or hang out in an art gallery hall of fame to learn about those ‘boring old’ scientists who have made important contributions to microbiology and medicine.
Home science: A series of experiments to do in the home.
Interactive games:Fun games designed to highlight key learning points. How long can you survive the sneeze?
Downloads: Images of microbes and pack characters are available to download for use in any school project.
Join Forth Valley health Professionals for a one day train the trainers’ course.
Gone is an interactive, cross curricular alcohol education resource which has been developed by NHS Forth Valley in conjunction with its partner education authorities.
The resource examines four characters journeys as the move from primary school to secondary school and follows them through the broad general education. A range of vehicles are used to capture pupils. Each lesson involves pupils viewing some short video sequence, completing tasks designed in a computer gaming format and participating in debate and discussion lead by the teacher. The pupils are asked, through a series of votes to predict which character will be ‘gone’ as a result of a decision involving alcohol by the end of S3. The resource is supported by a series of powerpoints and a detailed teacher guide.
This session aims to introduce practitioners to an innovative resource which explores a range health and wellbeing issues.
Revision support for NQ English and Mathematics
With the SQA National Qualifications examinations looming, the National Glow Team are pleased to announce the launch of exam revision support for NQ English and Mathematics. Aimed at pupils and supported by teachers, this Glow revision resource will help pupils in their preparation for national examinations by allowing them to post questions and queries into a teacher facilitated Glow Forum. The resource will be open to all pupils and teachers with the potential to become a vibrant self-supporting community.
Find out more here.
Download flyer for regional events
Regional events – children’s rights, global citizenship and outdoor learning
Education Scotland is hosting a series of important regional events in March 2013 to enable schools to explore the implications of two major policy developments – the Children and Young People Bill and the Learning for Sustainability report.
The Children and Young People Bill, which will be considered by the Scottish Parliament in 2013, sets out a range of proposals for children’s services and will seek to embed the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) across the public sector. This will support the Getting it Right for Every Child approach and also the exciting work taking place in Scottish schools to engage learners in rights-based education and pupil voice activities.
The Learning for Sustainability report, published in December 2012, sets out a strategic agenda for change for Scottish schools. The report recommends the adoption of a coherent whole school approach to ensure that sustainability, global citizenship and outdoor learning are experienced in a transformative way by every learner in every school across Scotland. The report also includes a number of recommendations relating to career-long professional learning, leadership development and the new GTC Scotland Professional Standards. The Scottish Government will respond to this report in March this year.
In addition, participants will also learn of the many exciting events taking place in 2013/14 to support these aspects of learning including: the Year of Natural Scotland; Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games; the Scottish independence referendum; Homecoming Year; Ryder Cup; David Livingstone’s bicentenary; John Muir’s centenary and the centenary of the start of the First World War.
Through a mixture of workshops, exhibitions and spotlight sessions, delegates will have the opportunity to gain practical ideas and insight from early years, ASN, primary and secondary schools with interesting practice to share. Key national organisations will also be on hand to offer support, resources and advice.
Target audience: The main target audience are school leaders, local authority staff and those with a whole school responsibility for global citizenship, sustainability, children’s rights and outdoor learning.
Sectors: Early years (including partnership providers), ASN, primary and secondary schools.
When:
How to book: Delegate places have been allocated to each local authority to ensure all school sectors and geographical areas are well represented. School or local authority staff should contact their local authority coordinator in the first instance to book.
General bookings will be available from 26th Feb onwards. Please email Willie Bhari: Willie.Bhari@educationscotland.gov.uk or Tel: 0141 282 5208 to add your name to this waiting list. Cost of attending event: Free.
Learning for Sustainability – the report of the One Planet Schools Working Group, was published 17 December 2012.
The report includes strategic recommendations to support the development of coherent whole school approaches to ensure that learning for sustainability, global citizenship and outdoor learning are experienced in a transformative way by every learner in every school across Scotland. The report includes a number of recommendations relating to career-long professional learning and initial teacher education and advocates genuine partnerships with local communities and action to improve the sustainability of the school estate. A key ambition of the report is to provide an agenda for strategic change that will create an enabling framework, remove barriers, and build on existing excellent practice.
Dr Alasdair Allan, Minister for Learning, Science and Scotland’s Languages said:
“I welcome the publication of Learning for Sustainability and would like to thank the Working Group for their work and commitment to producing the report and recommendations. As we approach the Year of Natural Scotland in 2013, the report reminds us of the importance of learning which connects young people to local and global issues, an integral part of Curriculum for Excellence.
“A wide range of actions have been taken as part of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development and we welcome steps to encourage and support schools in their approach to sustainability and global citizenship, including through outdoor learning.
“We will take time to consider the report, to engage with partners on its recommendations and respond in full in March 2013.”
The report can be downloaded from:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Education/Schools/curriculum/ACE/OnePlanetSchools
See the associated Engage in Education blog from Professor Pete Higgins, Chair of the One Planet Schools Working Group: http://engageforeducation.org/news/learning-for-sustainability/
Education Scotland today launches The Sciences 3-18 Curriculum Impact Project report. The sciences and social studies reports are the first two reports in a Curriculum Impact series designed to present a subject-by-subject picture of how children and young people are experiencing learning in different areas of the 3-18 curriculum across the country.
Providing subject-specific analysis and evaluation of current practice, based on a range of independent inspection activities, the report identifies emerging innovative and thought-provoking practice, while highlighting important areas for development. Published on the web, the report will be refreshed from time to time with links to newly-identified, practice and evidence, a dynamic approach that will keep the reviews contemporary on an on-going basis, and relevant to developing needs.
A summary for children and young people has also been published, along with a summary of key strengths and aspects for development.
The publication is intended to provide a focus engagement by children and young people, parents, practitioners and the wider sciences community in Scotland.
Through our Sciences 3-18 Impact Project blog, we want to engage all those involved in the sciences 3-18 to talk together about how we can work together to take forward the key messages of the report.
This outward facing, public blog is a mechanism to allow engagement by all.
Talk with us on bit.ly/sciences3-18.
The STEM Professional Learning Community will also act as a focus for professional dialogue and learning arou
nd the Sciences 3-18 Impact Project. Join us, using your Glow login in, on bit.ly/stemhome.
Education Scotland has recently published a practical guide to support the development of the key messages surrounding Building the Curriculum 4: Skills for Learning, Life and Work. It will provide teachers and other practitioners with support to help them ensure that skills development is an integral part of learning throughout the Broad General Education stage of Curriculum for Excellence.
Highlights include:
Find the Skills in Practice resource here on the Education Scotland website:
The advice and guidance document on personal mathematics gives practitioners support in developing relevant learning experiences for learners covering this National 2 Mathematics unit. It is intended to provide support for practitioners in developing cross-curricular projects.
This advice and guidance is designed to support practitioners working with learners at National 2 level. It provides guidance to practitioners to support the development of learning experiences which will incorporate both knowledge and the development of skills and provides examples of how skills can be formatively assessed and progression planned for and profiled.
The National 2 English and Communication course builds on the experiences and outcomes of the literacy and English curriculum area and enables learners to develop the ability to understand and use language.
This advice and guidance will support practitioners as they plan their approaches.
See list of latest advice and guidance.
This advice and guidance demonstrates the practical application of skills and knowledge developed within the units of Software Design and Development and Information Systems Design and Development. The guidance indicates how problem solving can be applied and transferred in differing contexts.
View the new advice and guidance here.
This advice and guidance provides an exemplar project and suggested learning and teaching approaches that may give learners the opportunity to carry out research and gain an understanding of computer systems and hardware technology.
View the new advice and guidance here.
This support consists of three video case studies which will help identify current innovations impacting on the working practices of administrators within the modern, dynamic workplace. These current innovations will be further explored with links to free web-based material to give practitioners and learners the opportunity to experiment with emerging technologies which may be of benefit to the administrative function.
View the new advice and guidance here.
This resource for National 4 Science exemplifies the teaching of scientific skills. It is set within the context of health and demonstrates the transferrable skills that are required within science. The skills demonstrated can equally be used by practitioners of Biology, Chemistry and Physics at National 4.
Visit latest advice and guidance published.
Added Value Unit: As part of the National 4 Religious, Moral and Philosophical Studies (RMPS) Course, learners are expected to complete a mandatory Added Value Unit. The Added Value Unit at National 4 level in RMPS will be assessed through an assignment. This support has been provided for practitioners to support the teaching and delivery of the assignment.
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