Category Archives: Professional Studies

Scientific Literacy

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Last week in Science, we were learning about the concept of ‘Scientific Literacy’. I was surprised at how much more there is to science than just learning the facts and experiments. There is a lot of critical thinking behind it as well which has enabled us to get to the point we are at today. We were asked to write a piece on Scientific Literacy.

The Assessment Criteria was;

AC1 – Explanation of the concept of scientific literacy

AC2 – Analysis of an example where a lack of scientific literacy has led to inaccurate media reporting

AC3 – Discussion of how teaching fair testing in school science links to scientific literacy

AC4 – A carefully researched and referenced paper on scientific literacy

AC1 was written by myself (Laura Clarke), AC2 was written by Lucy Gray, AC3 was written by Colette McEwan and AC4 was completed by Anna Polson.

 

[AC1] According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Scientific literacy is ,’the capacity to use scientific knowledge, to identify questions and to draw evidence-based conclusions in order to understand and help make decisions about the natural world and the changes made to it through human activity’ (OECD, 2003, p133).

Scientific literacy is a step further than just knowing scientific facts; it is applying this knowledge to real life situations. It involves thinking critically about a piece of information and coming to an evidence-based judgement of it.

Rodger Bybee proposed four stages of scientific literacy development. This starts off with ‘Nominal Scientific Literacy’; when a student has some knowledge of scientific vocabulary, but doesn’t understand it and may have some misconceptions about it. Scientific literacy then develops to a ‘Functional’ and then ‘Conceptual’ stage until the pupil reaches a level of ‘Multidimensional Scientific Literacy’; when a student can ‘relate their understanding of concepts and processes and the nature of science in the wider context of science technology and society. It includes philosophical, historical, and social dimensions of science and technology’ (Bybee, 1997, cited in Dunne and Peacock, 2012 , p.84).

Becoming scientifically literate is one of the aims of the curriculum for excellence, ‘The experiences and outcomes in science provide opportunities for children and young people to develop and practise a range of inquiry and investigative skills, scientific analytical thinking skills, and develop attitudes and attributes of a scientifically literate citizen’ (Scottish Government, 2004)

[AC2] A famous case of scientific illiteracy in full effect is the MMR jab case. It was feared there was an association between the MMR jab and Autism in the late 1990s this resulted in a decreased number of children receiving jabs for measles mumps and rubella. The Lancet 1998 was the medical journal that suggested the link between the vaccine, autism and bowel disease. (SOURCE: http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/33892/No-MMR-jab-and-autism-link-study) The lack of scientific literacy behind the accusation of the jab caused an uproar amongst the population even prime minister at the time Tony Blair refused to say if his baby also had the jab. (SOURCE: http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/13550/Dangers-of-MMR-jab-covered-up) In more recent studies in which a solid knowledge of scientific literacy is in practice has websites removing the MMR Autism claim. The Advertising Standards Authority said: “We understood that the position held by the World Health Organisation and the Department of Health was that no evidence existed of a causal association between the MMR vaccine and autism or autistic disorders, and that the Cochrane review, looking at the general evidence available, could find no significant association between MMR immunisation and autism. (SOURCE: http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/338290/Website-to-remove-MMR-autism-claim) The fear caused by the uncertainty of MMR vaccine claims created an epidemic amongst the people so strong that the media fed on it and produced many displays of scientific illiteracy.

[AC3] Fair testing is done when carrying out an experiment, you make the test fair by only changing one factor at a time to ensure the results are as accurate and fair as possible. Fair testing highlights that by changing just one factor how the full experiment can change and result in a different outcome. Teaching fair testing in schools is essential and develops scientific literacy as it allows children to not only stop thinking when they get a result, but are able to understand and explain how it works and how they got that result. Teaching fair testing also links to scientific literacy as it ensures children don’t simply accept everything they see or hear, but are able to think critically about situations and challenge them.

 

References

OECD [Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development] (2003) The PISA 2003 Assessment Framework – Mathematics, Reading, Science and Problem Solving Knowledge and Skills. Paris: OECD.

Dunne, M. and Peacock, A. (eds.) (2012) Primary science: A guide to teaching practice. United Kingdom: SAGE Publications.

Scottish Government, Curriculum for Excellence- Science Principles and Practice. Available at http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/learningandteaching/curriculumareas/sciences/principlesandpractice/index.asp [Last accessed 12/02/2016]

Learning from others

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Today, we were given links to some of our other peer’s ePortfolios to see what things that they have been writing. I have to say, it is really encouraging to see how they are engaging with blogging and what creative things they are posting. I really admire in them what I would describe as a ‘teacher frame-of-mind’ that is, they see something on the internet/on TV and immediately think about how it links to teaching and write a blog post about it. This is a quality which I really want to develop. One of the key aspects of becoming a teacher is reflecting on our practice and I feel like this is really something which my peers have grasped.

Here is a link to Lauren’s ePortfolio. I really admire her enthusiasm for teaching and her motivation to continually improve. She is great at keeping her blog readers up-to-date with what she is learning .https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/glowblogs/laurenseportfolio/

Here is a link to one of Claire Beattie’s posts. I really admire her creativity in having the idea to use ‘the Sims’ to design her classroom, this is another computer programme which could be useful in teaching to provide a visual aid like Claire has. Even more, I admire her extra reading and how she has incorporated this into her blog post. This is another quality I wish to develop. https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/glowblogs/cebeportfolio/2016/01/06/180/

Here is a link to Rachel’s ePortfolio. As I noted earlier, Rachel is great at linking tlaptop2Vhings that she has heard outside of University to her blog. You can see her care for children and for issues within teaching, as well as in the wider world.  https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/glowblogs/myunieportfoliorb/

Here are some links to some more blog posts;

Fear of Feedback.

My Tired

Problematic Problems

Longitudinal Coherence and the ‘Concept Knot’

There has been a breakthrough!

From this experience today I have noted some things I could do to improve my ePortfolio work. I will try to include more pictures in my posts as they make them more eye catching and break up the post a bit. I want to post more about things that aren’t just to do with the TDT, I  will actively try to keep my eyes open to what is going on in the news/on media and reflect on how it links to teaching.

Goal setting in Science

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I had a science input which has really motivated me to revise what I know about science as it is a key part of the curriculum. I know that I am going to need to know not just what I am teaching, but facts around it as you can never really predict what sorts of questions your pupils will ask! I have had a good science education, but unfortunately most of the science information in my brain has been hidden and so I need to retrieve it by revising some topics. Therefore, I have set myself a SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound) target;

S- I plan to look specifically at vibrations and waves, in particular, at sound vibrations and light waves

M- I will possibly create a poster or write a blog post to show off what I have learnt and will upload it to my ePortfolio.

A- I know it is attainable as I have learnt this subject before, so I am revising it to bring it to the front of my mind again.

R- It is very relevant as in the curriculum for excellence it says, “Through research on how animals communicate, I can explain how sound vibrations are carried by waves through air, water and other media. SCN 2-11” and “By exploring reflections, the formation of shadows and the mixing of coloured lights, I can use my knowledge of the properties of light to show how it can be used in a creative way. SCN 2-11”.

T- I aim to have this completed before the start of my placement.

 

Professionalism in other Professions

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As part of the online unit I decided to watch ’24 Hours in Police Custody’  and I believe in a strange way it was a real learning experience for me. It has really shown me how important professionalism is across a range of different professions, not just primary teaching. I just felt that there was so much to write about, that so many aspects of a professional were shown in the programme that I should write a blog post about it.

The police officers showed many professional characteristics. For example, they remained calm throughout the arrest/interviewing process despite knowing what pressure was on them and how they had turned someone’s world upside down. They were very organised in their arrest and worked really well together as a team. They supported one another throughout the interview process, for example, when one policewoman admitted that she wasn’t as good at laying into the suspect, another policewoman offered to help her. This point really showed how they all brought their different strengths to the team and how they all respected the fact that they all have weaknesses. As you never really know what a suspect will respond, the police officers showed great flexibility in adapting their questions to respond to the suspect’s comments and also adapted them to suit when they were questioning a child. Two particular characteristics of the police officers which really stood out for me were how polite and respectful they were. They introduced themselves at the door before entering the house to make an arrest instead of just storming in. In the first house, they were considerate of the fact that a child was upstairs sleeping and so were careful to not wake them up. I even appreciated the fact that they simply wiped their feet on the doormat before entering the house. The way that the police officers spoke to suspects, their families etc was just very respectful, calm and collected. Even though the crimes that the suspects were accused of were just awful, they treated everyone as a person of dignity and did not talk down to anyone. They even simply offered the suspects a cup of tea/coffee and a blanket. In some ways, they went above and beyond what I personally would have expected them to do and so I have great respect for them because of this.

However, there were two points in the programme that I believe the professionals did not act professionally. At one point, in private to another policeman, a policewoman called the first suspect ‘an idiot’. I don’t believe that this was very professional as it showed a lack of respect for the suspect who hadn’t even been proven guilty yet. I agree that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and yes I agree that the man’s actions were awful, but I believe that the policewoman should have been more careful as to not call him an idiot on TV. Also, in the interview with the second suspect, one of the policewoman’s tone of voice and body language came across as a little judgemental and disgusted. However, I can completely understand why given the context, and it did not seem to stop the suspect from continuing on with answering the questions.

The police officers’ professional behaviour had an impact on the people they dealt with. Firstly, the professional respect and support they had for each other enabled them all to work cooperatively together. The respect and calmness they showed, I believe, meant that the family members and suspects were not angry or aggressive.

When out arresting people the policemen and women wore their police uniforms. I think that this is important as it reinforced their power and authority and probably boosted the confidence of those wearing the uniform. However, whilst back at the station, the policemen and women were dressed quite casually. I think that this is fine as long as they are dressed modestly.  This may help them to appear less intimidating during interviews, and so suspects may feel more comfortable and willing to answer questions.

If I was asked to develop a course for police officers I would have them attend lectures for probably around 50% of the time. I would have them do background reading for around 20% of the time. I would have them go to practical skills based training for the remaining 30% of the time. After this course, since it is such a practical, ‘hands on’ job, I would then send them on a probationary work based learning year.

After watching and reflecting on this programme, I have realised how important it is to treat everyone with respect. This is particularly important in teaching as I will come into contact with many other people, from the pupils to parents, other teachers, social workers and headmasters, to name a few. I will make a conscious effort to be respectful and polite in how I speak to everyone, and to treat everyone with dignity. This will also be important in motivating my pupils to learn and to help them to achieve their best. I felt on the show that at points the police officers went above and beyond what was expected of them. I want to be the best teacher that I can be and so I am going to try to go above and beyond what is expected. Although this is probably easier said than done.

Peer Review Reflection

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I believe that peer review/ feedback is an essential part of teaching, and so it is something that I should definitely get used to doing!

If I’m honest I don’t really feel like I have ever really gone through the process of giving/receiving genuine feedback. The few times I was involved in peer review in high school I think that everyone was too scared to criticise others, and so the feedback I received was filled with only compliments! Therefore, the lectures/tdts on the enquiring practitioner and peer review were very helpful as it enabled me to properly go through this process. It can be intimidating at first- no one really enjoys being criticised- however, it is good to remember that people are commenting to help you improve your work/practice, not to be mean. I appreciated the fact that everyone was honest with each other as this is definitely more helpful than continuous compliments! In my comment section I received some very helpful advice: someone pointed out that I had made some silly grammatical errors which I was able to then read over and fix.

The peer review process was a positive one because I received some advice which I will remember and apply when writing posts in the future. It developed my confidence to criticise constructively and enabled me to be more open minded to other people’s opinions. This is so vital in teaching, in particular as being an enquiring practitioner, as it is necessary for you to listen to other people’s advice to improve your practice. It is important that we constantly are updating and developing our practice, and so having other people review and criticise what we do is so helpful in order to make our lessons better and learn from our mistakes.

Values of a Professional Teacher

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The first value that I believe teachers should have is patience. If you are going to be teaching for a very long time you are going to come into contact with a number of different classes containing children with a wide range of abilities and personalities. It is important that a teacher has patience in particular, when teaching a subject that is second nature to them. It can be easy to get frustrated if a child takes a little while to grasp a topic, and so the teacher should be patient in order to maintain a professional standard and to not intimidate the child. This could also include having the patience to take the time to think about other ways they could explain the topic, or just simply using different wording to explain it. If a teacher is patient it means that the children are not scared of taking time to figure out the answer, and so they are also probably more willing to ask questions. Another reason a professional teacher should have patience is when dealing with disruptive behaviour. It is important that the teacher doesn’t shout all the time, but figures out creative ways to encourage positive behaviour in the class and to discipline the children. Professional teachers should also have patience when in contact with other staff that they may not get along with. It is important that they maintain a professional relationship so that they can work together for the benefit of the school.

I believe professional teachers should also be honest. This is mainly so that they can be an example to their class. I personally think that sometimes if a teacher does not know the answer to a question a pupil raises, they should be honest and tell them that they don’t know, but will find the answer out for them. I think that in doing this is reminds the children that teachers are human beings too and they are allowed to make mistakes too. Hopefully this honesty will also rub off on the class. Honesty is also a good quality to have when socialising with other teachers. Professional teachers should be open to constructive criticism, and so by being honest you can share tips with other teachers to improve their practice.

Another value I believe professional teachers should have is respect. It is important that the teacher is aware of the different skills, religions and ethnicities in their class. The teacher can then help the class to overcome any pre-judgements/stereotypes they may have by teaching them to respect one another. By respecting the kids and not ‘looking down’ on them may also improve their confidence and help them to enjoy school more.

I believe professional teachers should also be kind. I believe that kindness is a fantastic quality and so the opportunity to teach children to be kind is a great one. Kindness is a quality that will shine through the teacher in how they speak to the class , how they treat the class and how they treat each other. This will inspire the children to be kind to one another, and so will improve the atmosphere in the classroom. It can help improve the children’s motivation to learn and make them enjoy school more. It is also important to be kind with your fellow teachers and school staff. It enables teacher to not just be colleagues, but to also be friends, improving the mood in the school environment. When people are kind to one another, they work better together and so kindness is such an important quality when entering the world of education.

The final value I am going to discuss is fairness. It is important to be fair and to teach the kids what is right and what is wrong. A teacher should treat all the children in their class as equals regardless of their social class, background, ethnicity, gender, religion and so on.  It is easy for a teacher to have ‘favourites’ however it is so important that they discipline and treat all their pupils in the same way. From personal experience, I know that when a teacher has a select few ‘favourites’, not being included in this group is destructive to self-confidence and faith in the teacher. Fairness goes hand in hand with respect and so by treating the class fairly will in turn teach them to treat each other with respect.

The ‘hidden curriculum’ is an unavoidable element of teaching, and so it is very beneficial if a teacher has these values I have discussed, in order to influence the class to be positive pupils with good attributes.

Social Media in the classroom

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Even in my short lifetime, the use of social media seems to have exploded over the past few years, bringing with it many benefits but also many dangers.

In my lecture today, I realised how teachers are so vulnerable to scrutiny, in particular from the press and media. Instead of focusing on what positive things education does, if a teacher makes one small mistake it will be front page news. Therefore it is so important that the GTCS have set out guidance so that I can maintain a standard of professionalism and understand how to address certain issues should they appear.  This is particularly relevant with regards to the growing world of social media. I personally have many different accounts on sites like Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest (to name a few), however I am going to keep these private, but still at a high professional standard in order to follow the professional guidelines set out by the GTCS.

I find it hard to believe that primary school kids nowadays are using social media. However, after a story from my lecturer about his daughter’s own troubling experience on the internet, I now see how important it is to be aware of the engagement of pupils on social media as we cannot just ignore the impact is has on our class. Teachers should use social media to enhance their lessons, as the GTCS puts it, ” introducing their pupils to new tools and delivering the curriculum in innovative and engaging ways.” (GTCS Professional Guidance on the Use of Electronic Communication and Social Media) This is a positive way in which the class can be engaged with the world around them, so that the methods of teaching don’t seem outdated.

Whilst using social media and the internet in the classroom, it is crucial to teach the pupils about the dangers of communicating online. I remember internet safety was introduced to me when I was in the second half of my time at primary school through a series of cartoon videos. These were simple but effective videos and from then on I have always remembered to never add people I don’t know on social media sites, arrange to meet up with people I don’t know, and so on. When I become a teacher I want to make sure that my class are aware of the tips I received about communicating online, so that hopefully they themselves will agree and will stay safe. I will recommend to them that they don’t join any social media sites until they reach the minimum age requirement, however I am aware that there are ways around the minimum age requirement for younger children. Therefore, it is essential to teach children about using the internet properly and how to protect themselves online.

I conclusion, I don’t want my class to be afraid of the internet, just to understand the ways to stay safe. I want them to see that social media and the internet can be used for good, and for them to adopt this positive interaction. I will do everything I can to set an example for them, and to raise any concerns I may have about their use of the internet.

Also, I have decided to include some links below to helpful websites for anyone wanting to find out more about what kind of social media sites there are, the ways to stay safe on the internet and what to do about any online issues they may have.

http://www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children-safe/online-safety/

http://www.net-aware.org.uk/

http://www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children-safe/share-aware/

https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/

http://ceop.police.uk/

Homepage

http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/myexperiencesandoutcomes/technologies/index.asp

Active learning and co-operative working

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The Oxford English Dictionary defines active learning as, ” an educational approach in which students are encouraged to engage with the material to be studied through activities, such as experimentation, group discussion, and role-play.”

One of the benefits I find from active learning is that I am more engaged with what I am doing. Instead of just copying out a topic and not really thinking about what I am writing, I am constantly asking questions, creating links between topics and properly reflecting on what has been taught. This helps me to reinforce my memory of that topic and enabled me to spot if there is anything I don’t understand. Group work and discussions have many advantages, as I will explain later. I hope that when I become a teacher I can encourage my pupils to engage with their learning and to enjoy it.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines co-operative working as, “Involving mutual assistance in working towards a common goal.”

There are so many advantages to working co-operatively with others. In university, having group discussions can help you to figure out topics you may not have understood before; sometimes simply hearing something explained from another person’s point of view is all we need for it to ‘click’ in our brains. Engaging in group projects is important as you will develop teamwork and maybe even leadership skills. These skills are very useful in teaching, as you will need to work co-operatively with other members of staff. Group projects can also develop your communication skills, creativity and motivation to complete the task.