When I was younger we never had any science lessons at Primary School. It wasn’t until I went to High School that I was introduced to Science and I really enjoyed it. I’m excited that we, as teachers, can give children a chance to embrace their curiosity through Science. It is a vital, very relevant subject that is important for pupils to be involved in.
A good Science lesson should definitely be interactive. Teaching the children a theory is important too but it should never be just talking at them. Allowing the children to actually see the theory in practice will intrigue them. Interactive lessons always make the children more interested and therefore they actually learn more. Even if there is not a good access to Science resources, it could be simple Science lessons with simple ‘equipment’. Furthermore allowing the children to interact with each other is important too because they will learn from one another and develop their communication, team working and/or leadership skills. The children will have different ideas about the experiments which they can share with each other and allow an alternative way to think about things.
The children should be developing new and relevant skills every time they do a Science lesson which prepares them for the real world as science is a big part of life and work now and even more in the future. Being able to question and make sense of things are two of the key skills that they can gain from Science lessons which they can hold onto for life. As well as this, discussing the variety of potential jobs that will be available to the children and the different people who fill these roles (eliminating stereotypes), this is important because the children can see that Science isn’t just a man in a white lab coat and will hopefully inspire them, making a job within STEM subjects a reality for them.
Within a good Science lesson looking at news stories relating to science is a great idea as this will prompt discussions with the children and potentially make links with external issues. This again allows them to ask ‘why’ and think about the different effects that all of this new science will have on the world. It opens their eyes to how much all these different aspects of Science impact our society and creates a reality for them to be able to make a difference through Science.
Overall, I would say that a good Science lesson should be interactive, teaching pupils how to apply the knowledge they have gained and giving them skills for life and work. Furthermore children should be inspired to look into Science much more often too.
