I decided to select this module due to my lack of experience and confidence in the subject. As a teacher, I feel it is important to challenge yourself and gain subject knowledge in order to produce successful lessons. The thought of going into a primary classroom and conducting a large-scale science experiment is extremely daunting to me. I hope that through engagement with this module my subject knowledge will greatly increase alongside my confidence.

Today was our first lecture in the Science elective. This input consisted of a short introduction followed by our groups conducting a small science experiment. As part of this elective, it is a requirement to vlog our findings. I have decided to make a short video detailing today’s experiment and findings.

On reflection, as a group, there were a number of things which we could have done to improve the accuracy of this experiment.  Cross and Bowden (2014) state that the key to any investigation is fair testing. Our experiment therefore could be considered flawed as we did not accurately measure the water in each of the boiling tubes meaning that the solids had different volumes of water to react with. When experimenting, there are many variables which can be changed, in this instance the variable was the solid. Although it is unlikely to have affected the outcome of the experiment, it could be argued that by using the same spatula for each substance cross-contamination could have occurred therefore altering the reaction/outcome.

This experiment was based on observation. Observations are qualitative changes which are easy for people (pupils) to understand (Cross and Bowden, 2014), after grasping basic observation skills pupils can progress to measuring the qualitative changes.  Personally, I lacked any knowledge as to what the substances could be and was unable to explain why they reacted with water in the certain ways. As a teacher, it would be fundamental to have a solid knowledge of a topic before explaining it to the children.

However, it would have been of value to predict what each substance was and what reaction it might have when placed in the water and comparing this to the observed result. Cross and Bowden (2014) stress that predictions are important as they allow us to focus on the results.

This experiment was centred around soluble and insoluble substances. BBC Bitesize (2017) states that “soluble” describes a substance that will dissolve and “insoluble” describes a substance that will not dissolve. Although at the time this seemed to make sense. I decided it was important to research what makes substances soluble and insoluble.  Through research I have learned that it is the molecules of a substance which determine whether or not it is soluble or insoluble. Water is a polar molecule, one end is positively charged and the other end is negatively charged. Substances that do not dissolve in water are non-polar and do not interact well with water molecules.

To further progress pupils’ learning, this experiment could be extended to explore factors which affect solubility, these include: temperature, pressure, polarity and stirring speed.

References:

BBC (2017). BBC Bitesize – KS2 Science – Soluble and insoluble materials. [online] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/clips/zx7w2hv [Accessed 24 Sep. 2017].

Cross, A. and Bowden, A. (2014). Essential primary science. 2nd ed.