Science Literacy Essay

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Scientific Literacy

When one is scientifically literate, they will realise and understand the scientific ideas and methods required to take part in everyday life. Throughout our lifetimes we regularly hear stories about many different issues around the world, such as global warming and new medicines and drugs that have been invented to apparently improve the quality of life. As a scientifically literate person, one must be able to answer things that they question by investigating the answer. These questions come from our inquisitiveness in everyday life.

Scientific literacy suggests that a person can recognise scientific concerns underlying local and national choices and express positions that are scientifically and technologically informed. One who is scientifically literate can display positions that are scientifically and technologically well-versed. They are also able to look at scientific statements and evaluate them by studying their source and procedures, and use this in such a way that they can then put forward arguments to reach a conclusion.

Being science literate means not believing the first thing you hear before you have surrounding evidence to the fact. In 2002, BBC news reported that German scientists had found out that blonde hair would become extinct within the next 200 years as it is a recessive trait. It stated that for “a child to have blonde hair, it must have the gene on both sides of the family in the grandparent’s generation” (BBC News, 2002)

The New York Times, found out later that year that no actual study had been done. Despite this revelation, the study continued to be cited in publications right up until 2006.

This sparked a panic and instantly everyone knew about this, though it was only one study, which turns out to not have even happened. Therefore, you should not trust any fact unless you find more than one reliable study to support the evidence presented in the fact.

I believe that it is important to teach children how scientific experiments can sometimes be “fixed” to derive a preferred outcome. This, is often to fool people into believing something that isn’t true. For example, on the 1st April 1957 the BBC aired a ‘Panorama’ programme which hoaxed thousands of viewers to believing that spaghetti was grown on trees in Switzerland which, anyone who is scientifically illiterate would testify isn’t scientifically possible. For children to develop the knowledge and understanding of scientific concepts so that they are able to challenge facts they believe aren’t correct then we, as teachers, must teach fair testing throughout the scientific curriculum. I believe that it’s important to enforce to children that they cannot just take the conclusion from their first experiment which they only carry out once. For reliable results they must repeat the experiment several times to ensure that their conclusions are correct. Thus, building their scientific literacy.

 

BBC NEWS (2002) Blondes ‘to die out in 200 years’ Available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/2284783.stm (accessed 26/01/16)

BBC NEWS (1957) BBC Fools the Nation Available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/1/newsid_2819000/2819261.stm (Accessed: 8/02/16)

Science Goals

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Personally, I feel that I need to refresh myself with the science topics tackled in Primary School. Therefore, I have created some SMART targets to complete before placement to ensure that I feel confident while teaching science on my placement.

S – Specific

To refresh my memory on the water cycle. To learn in depth the different stages of the cycle so that I feel comfortable when teaching this to the upper stages as I understand that challenging questions may be asked especially as the children will be curious.

M – Measurable

I want to be able to explain all stages of the water cycle in depth.

A – Achievable

This is something which I feel that I can achieve as it is something that children on my placement may be learning.

R – Relevant

This is relevant because it is part of the curriculum it is in the Plant Earth, Processes of the Earth section of Science Experiences and Outcome (Scottish Government, 2009) My placement is with Primary 7 so they should be able to :

“Apply my knowledge of how water changes state to help me understand the processes involved in the water cycle in nature over time” (Scottish Government (2009) p. 263)

T – Timely

I aim to achieve this goal by placement

 

Reference

Scottish Government (2009) Curriculum for Excellence, Experiences and outcomes for all curriculum areas

Available at: http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/Images/all_experiences_outcomes_tcm4-539562.pdf

Eportfolios

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I feel that by reading other people’s posts, I develop my understanding of a topic. I am instantly engaged when other people write about their own experiences, particularly when I can relate my own experiences to them. One of my favourite posts is “5,6,7….Dance” (Duncan, 2016) due to having a dance background myself.

Before doing the dance input and reading Lauren’s post, I was less aware of the impact that dance can have on a child’s learning as dance was just something I did because I enjoyed it. Now I am able to relate back to the skills which I have developed due to dance and how they helped me at school. Dancing isn’t just about learning technique. You learn so much more, you gain confidence, teamwork skills, co-ordination and so much more. You learn how to observe your teacher which helps you do the same in class. You become aware of the smallest details which has a massive impact in dance which makes you do the same in classrooms. You look for small details which will help you achieve. Criticism is something which you receive regularly in dancing and it helps you in school. You understand the meaning of criticism, you are only given criticism so that you can improve.

Through reading other people’s work, I am able to think about what they are saying and convey my view. Many posts I agree on their view but sometimes I do not. If I have an opposing view, reading the post allows me to understand the person’s view and sometimes allows me to challenge my own opinion. Reading other people’s post, encourages me to further develop the view they made. If that have made reference to a book or an article, I find myself searching for that article and reading it myself. It also helps me to view a topic from another perspective. If I haven’t completely understood something in a lecture, reading other people’s posts can help with my learning.

Reference

Duncan, L. (2016) 5,6,7….Dance Available at: https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/glowblogs/laurenseportfolio/2016/01/19/5-6-7-dance/ (accessed on 22/01/16)

More Science Experiments in Primary Schools

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I feel that science is often a subject which is limited a lot in primary school. You leave primary 7, possibly having only done 2 or 3 experiments a year if that to having science about 3 times a week and getting to do an experiment every week. I used to enjoy science in secondary school. I enjoyed the written part of it anyway, I just wasn’t that interested in the experiment aspect. It just came with too much fear.

“Your hair might catch fire”

“Don’t turn the gas on until you have the flame on a match stick”

The rules worried me. This was made worse when the gas chamber broke half way through a science experiment and we all had to evacuate the building. Of course people started getting dramatic.

“My head hurts”

“I feel sick”

“I’m going to faint”

That was enough for me. I’ll just stick to the theory, well that was my aim. But instead the teachers insisted that I was good at science. I got my Silver crest award and my Go4set. I went to the Big Bang Competition twice and represented my school three times at different chemistry events including a chemistry event at Dundee University when I was in Second Year. Therefore when it came to picking our subjects in third year, many teachers got a shock when I chose Physics and then all other social subjects.

I feel that this fear could have been avoided if I had done more experiments at an early age. I was quite mature when I went to high school and would worry about things such as injuring myself more than I would have in primary school. Primary school children love getting involved and have no fear, which isn’t always a good thing. Many children are visual learners and find it easier to understand things when they see them. Therefore I find science experiments an effective way to do this.

 

My Initial view of maths

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Throughout Primary, Maths was definitely the subject I felt most confident it. However, I did feel that the time spent doing maths was limited. During P6, we decided to try mixing classes to do maths. Six other pupils in my class and I went through to Primary 7 and about 15 Primary 7s went through to my class. The children in the Primary 7 classroom were the children who enjoyed maths most and were also in the top sets. This definitely helped with my enjoyment of maths as I was in an environment where everyone else enjoyed maths. The primary 7 teacher was also very passionate about maths which I felt helped.

During work experience, I saw many teachers teaching maths in a variety of different ways with a variety of different ages and abilities. I noticed that the more enthusiastic the teacher was about maths, the more engaged and interested the children were. I volunteered weekly at my local primary school class, I noticed that some of the children who struggled with Maths were taken away by a fellow teacher for an hour to do some extra maths work. I went along with her one day and notice that they played games and she had a very active approach with them. The children enjoyed this and tried harder. During class activities which involved maths, the children in this group would often sit quietly and be less willing to answer questions compared to when they were in smaller groups.

I read an article in the guardian by Sally Weale where she speaks about following the teaching approach adopted in Shanghai. I disagree with this approach as it is about staying on one aspect of maths until every child has a full understanding. I feel that this would put a lot of pressure on the children who struggle in maths. They go into depth about the matter which although I feel is important, it can often cause confusion for the children who don’t fully understand the work. It could lead to the other children who do understand the work becoming bored as they wait on fellow students to understand the maths. I feel that using this approach occasionally would be beneficial as it may lead to children helping others to develop an understanding of the topic from a different perspective though I feel if this happened too often the children would become bored and less willing to help.

Reference

Weale, S. (2015) Shanghai teaching method ‘could improve UK results within four years’ Available at:http://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/nov/26/shanghai-teaching-method-could-improve-uk-results-within-four-years (accessed: 21st January 2016)

Animation

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Tim The Turtle

This is the video that three other students and I created during the animation workshop.

After the workshop, I went straight to work and showed everyone my video. They laughed but admitted that it was good. The following day, I went back home and visited my grandparents. My 10 year old cousin goes to their house on a Wednesday after school so I went and picked her up. Back at my gran’s house, she took off her jacket and instantly sat herself in front of the TV. I showed her the video, slightly unsure of her reaction.

“Wow, did you really do that?” She asked and I nodded. She was intrigued to find out how I did it. I explained it to her and then got my gran’s laptop. I downloaded Pivot for her and she sat for the next 2 hours engaged on the laptop. When she finished she was so proud of her animation and my gran now tells me that this is what she does each time she comes home from school.

 

Learn Languages Earlier

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When I was 3 years old, my parents got me involved in many activities. I went to swimming lessons, dancing and French lessons. I understood why I went swimming, for safety, and then I went to dancing because my older cousins were in it and it interested me but I always wondered why I went to French lessons. After speaking to my parents, I found out it was because my mum was aware of all the benefits that learning a second language at such a young age brings to a child such as it broadens their knowledge of different cultures, improves creativity and sharpens the brain.

I remember being very shy at French lessons and I barely spoke but I took in everything they said. I used to do the homework they set us in the living room with my dad on a Sunday night with the cassette player. I only went to French lessons till I was 7 and then had to stop as I became more involved in dancing. However, I still feel that what I learnt benefitted me when I started learning languages in Primary 5 as I could still remember the basics.

As well as going to French lessons, my grandparents also spoke basic French. We were taught French songs such as “Sur le pont d’avignon” and the well known “Frere Jacques”.  Still to this day, anytime I walk into my granddad’s house, the first thing he says to me is “Bonjour, Comment ca va?” and we are expected to reply in French and ask him back. It might be basic but it has kept the French language fresh in my brain and even though I stopped learning French after Standard Grade 2 years ago, I can still reply to simply questions and answers.

Therefore, due to my early experiences in learning a language, I feel that children as young as Primary 1 and nursery should be learning another language. It doesn’t have to be a lot, just a couple of songs and a couple of questions but the soon the language and, in particular, the accent in programmed into their brains the easier it is for them to pick it up again.

Basic Academic Skills

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During primary school, I knew that I was stronger at Maths than I was at English. I was in top set Maths but in the second group for English. When I moved up to secondary school, the teachers just assumed that I was good at English as I didn’t struggle in any other subject. It wasn’t until we were streamed in third year that I realised how much I was struggling. With the help of an English tutor, I was able to pass Intermediate 2 and then go on to get a B at higher, however I did have to put a lot of hard work in.

During Advanced Higher History, I was constantly told that I had all the correct information and would get the marks I needed but that my English was “clumsy”, this statement has stuck in my head since.

Due to past experiences, I was slightly nervous that my English skills would hold me back at University but thanks to the Online Module and Study Skills book, I feel more confident. I took my time doing the reading and copied up the notes so I can refer back to them. It has also made me more careful when writing and I now remember to read over my work.

I hope by refreshing my memory and improving my grammar and punctuation skills that I will be at a standard suitable for university level writing.

My reflection on Feedback

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Personally, I feel that feedback is very beneficial. Feedback is given to improve you as a person and ensure that you can do the job to the best of your ability. I am a dancer and a horse rider and both these sports involve a lot of feedback. You should not feel embarrassed by negative feedback as it is only being given to make you better. Both in horse riding and dancing, I have had private lessons during which I was given a lot of feedback and criticism to take on board. I have learnt not to be offended by it as my teacher only wants me to be the best that I can. Also in group lessons and classes, we learnt to give feedback to each other to ensure that we were all kept safe and that our group could come out on top and win competitions.

The benefits of feedback is that it helps you grow as a group. It makes you feel that you can rely on others and that they will help you when needed. It also helps you to improve your skills and allows you to identify where more work is needed. Also sometimes, having another person’s perspective changes your view on something and allows you to develop a deeper understanding of the topic. However, a disadvantage of peer feedback is that it could be used incorrectly. Sometimes, people respond harshly when they originally didn’t intend to which can led to disagreements and frustration.

I have found that receiving postive feedback makes me feel more confident in my work. Any negative feedback I receive makes me even more determined to work harder to ensure that I do not make the same mistake again. I feel that when you are given feedback, it encourages you to work harder due to the confidence boost and also because you want to prove to the person that you have taken their views on board and have improved.

When given feedback, I find it easy to give positive feedback but I find it more difficult to express the negative feedback. I have learnt that if you word it in a certain way it comes across better. For example – maybe next time, you should think more about…

Feedback is something which is used throughout life and as a teacher it is important to give feedback to pupils and fellow teachers. As a student teacher, I will be receiving a lot of feedback from lectures and teachers on my placement and I understand that not all of it is going to be positive but I know that it will make me even more determined to succeed and try harder.