Episode 13: The importance of science in the primary curriculum

Curriculum

26th January 2018

Episode 13: The importance of science in the primary curriculum

Episode 13 of The Curriculum explores the place and importance of science in the primary curriculum, with host Melanie Moore talking to Dr Fran Barnes, expert in primary science and author of the Love to Investigate series. Issues explored include the importance of science, how to overcome barriers to teaching science and teacher expertise.

Episode 13: The importance of science in the primary curriculum

Transcript

Melanie Moore: Good afternoon and welcome to another episode of The Curriculum by Cornerstones. This week I’m your host. It’s Melanie Moore, author of The Cornerstones curriculum and director here at cornerstones. This week we’re looking at the importance of science in the primary curriculum. And I’m delighted to say I’m joined by Dr. Fran Barnes, who is a cell biologist and our resident expert in primary science. So good morning, Dr. Fran. Can I call you Fran? Just for ease of conversation. 

Dr. Fran Barnes: Good morning. Yes of course, you don’t have to use my official title. 

Melanie Moore: This week we are looking at the importance of science in the primary curriculum. And perhaps just to set the scene a little bit, it was interesting to note the recent research done by Amanda Spielman into what’s happening in primary schools in terms of the curriculum. And that there is an admission in there that the curriculum has been narrowed somewhat. Perhaps due to the emphasis on tests in maths and English. And my view, I don’t know if it’s your view. We’ll find out in a minute, is that some of that has sort of squeezed science out of the curriculum. I know when I was teaching, we were testing children in science in a strange way. It kept science a priority on the agenda. So maybe let’s just remind ourselves why in your opinion, science is so important in the primary curriculum. 

Dr. Fran Barnes: Well, firstly, I think I would say, is the fact that science is still a core subject and that is often forgotten these days. I think it is like you say, it’s because there is much more of a focus on literacy and numeracy in the primary curriculum. And again, it’s because of the testing. It’s sad really, that the testing is what the focus is on, but we can’t get away from that. What is the importance of science is a big question. Let’s be honest. So I think the first question is really what is science? And science to me is the study of nature. And I don’t just mean green trees, you know, fluffy rabbits. Nature is everything that we see and everything visible, everything we experience, all the forces that is nature. So we can define it roughly as biology, chemistry and physics. But actually, you can break that down even further into specific disciplines like cosmology or biochemistry. So science is a really broad title. That’s basically what the study of science is, is the study of everything. 

Melanie Moore: That’s great. What about in terms of the skills and competencies knowledge even that science brings to children’s learning? 

Dr. Fran Barnes: I think the importance is so children are experiencing science every day, and often they don’t even they’re not even aware of it. So, you know, the building we’re sitting in that is science, why are we using the materials we are? And I think science allows us to move children really abstract idea into something that is a deeper understanding, something that they understand. For example, you know, you can say, oh, why is the sky blue? You can give them a factual answer where, you know, you can explain it in very scientific terms, but when you do an inquiry, it moves it from that abstract idea into something that is really tangible that they can understand and appreciate. 

Melanie Moore: So talking about a lot of specific skills there. We’ve got questioning, making connections, maybe problem solving and creativity. 

Dr. Fran Barnes: I think we often forget that science is a very creative subject. You’re doing the same skills as you would when you were creating a piece of artwork, as you are when you’re doing science. And I think the main one is curiosity. I mean, children are innately curious, and science has basically given them the tools to explore their curiosity. 

Melanie Moore: I suppose when you when you talked about creativity as well, it’s interesting, you know, that some of the most significant scientists of all time, like Leonardo da Vinci, really combined art, science, technology showed real curiosity in the world, which then led to some of the most fundamental inventions of all time. 

Dr. Fran Barnes: Absolutely. And I think that’s something we’ve really got to remember, is we are giving the children the tools that they need to solve the world’s future problems. And that’s really I mean, that’s all it boils down to. The scientific method, if we talk about it in that sense, is actually quite straightforward. And the more children become familiar with it, it becomes second nature. Once they’ve got that as second nature, they then have the facility to move forwards and become the next, you know, Brian Cox or Leonardo da Vinci. 

Melanie Moore: I know that Brian Cox is one of your favourite scientists. 

Dr. Fran Barnes: Of course. How can you not love him? 

Melanie Moore: Tell me a little bit about that. Then why is he such an inspirational scientist? 

Dr. Fran Barnes: I think it’s his communication skills. I mean, he has taken, I think, possibly the hardest subject, and he contextualizes it and simplifies it even for me to understand. I mean, some of the theories that he talks about, he’s made me go. Oh, yeah, I understand that now. So I just think he’s a great communicator. 

Melanie Moore: And that’s the kind of light bulb moment you want with children as well. 

Dr. Fran Barnes: Absolutely, we can’t all be Brian Cox, but we can try to just even get a little glimmer of him. 

Melanie Moore: Good, okay. I don’t think there’d be any of our listeners who would disagree with the wonder of science and all the skills, you know, that children can learn. But perhaps we have seen a slight decline in the amount of science being taught in schools. So, what do you think are the barriers that maybe prevent teachers from perhaps doing as much science or doing science in as much depth as perhaps they would like to? 

Dr. Fran Barnes: I think there’s quite a few barriers. And I would say actually most of them you can overcome, I think the biggest one is always time. And as we’ve already said, there is a real squeeze on the curriculum. There is a focus on literacy and numeracy. And so I think for science, it often gets squeezed maybe even an hour a week, sometimes less, sometimes more. So I think it’s using opportunities when they arise to get science on the agenda. So it might not be sitting down to do a full investigation because actually that’s useful, but it’s not the only useful way of of exposing children to science. Cross-curricular links are a really, really good one. If you’re doing historical figures, you can look at science figures from the past. If you’re doing food, I mean the parallels between food and the changes that happen when you cook something is science. And I think it’s just about making those links enables you to get science on the agenda and into the children’s thinking in more than just that one hour a week.  

Melanie Moore: Yeah, and I liked what you said about, you know, use the unexpected, perhaps everyday moments. I can’t remember exactly the example you gave, but it might have been why is the sky blue or. You know, what’s happening with this building that we’re sitting in because there is something, isn’t there, happening every day in the world around them that perhaps you could just have a science moment in the day. 

Dr. Fran Barnes: I love that idea, ‘a science moment’. And children are always asking these questions, you know, why is the sky blue? Why is that leaf falling off the tree? You know, why is it snowing? Not raining? And I think you have to use those serendipitous moments to latch on to the science and almost go with the children rather than just sort of shutting them down and saying, oh, you know, we’re meant to be doing numeracy. Say, oh God, let’s find out. Let’s go and do a bit of an inquiry. Let’s, let’s just observe sometimes. 

Melanie Moore: Because you could always say, I mean, it might be a nice idea to have a question board or something. So you don’t have to stop that maths lesson, but you can say, that’s a great question. Let’s park it. Let’s write it on our thinking or science board. And let’s come back to that when we’ve got half an hour or 20 minutes. And let’s come back to that question and think about it. So time is a huge barrier. What about teacher expertise. Because some of the things that you’re describing, I could well imagine some people thinking, well, that’s fine to stop my lesson and answer the question about why is the sky blue? But if I don’t know the answer to why is the sky blue, that can sometimes be a little bit daunting. So what about teacher expertise? What can teachers do to sort of get themselves up to speed? Or do you have any sort of tips and techniques? If you can’t answer a question, what would you do? 

Dr. Fran Barnes: I think firstly, I mean, obviously there is a benefit if you’ve got a degree in science or a PhD in science or just an interest in science it is a benefit because children often ask questions and their learning goes off on a random tangent and you can answer their questions, but it is not the be all and the end all. I think for me, some of the best science teachers I’ve ever seen are the ones who are enthusiastic. And I think if you’re enthusiastic, that sort of filters through to your children. Obviously, it’s nice for us to know what we talk about, and I think we all feel more confident teaching science if we if we have a bit of background knowledge. CPD, obviously, you know, grab whatever you can from any source. It doesn’t even have to be formal CPD. You might just take the time to read around the subject before you teach it, so at least you feel like you’ve got a bit of a grounding in the subject. And also, I think it’s really important that we, that we don’t just try and almost fudge it. We can say, actually, I don’t know, but let’s let’s find out together. Let’s tweet a scientist we know and ask them because actually, you know, Twitter for example, is a perfect platform. You can access a lot of scientists in lots of specialisms. And on the whole, they’re generally really open to these kind of questions. I definitely think don’t worry if you’re not a specialist by doing your best and being enthusiastic is more than enough. 

Melanie Moore: So what you’re talking about there is almost, you know, being that role model. Because scientists don’t always know the answer either, do they? And they go through a process of, right. What is our formulating the question? How are we going to find out the answer to this? What resources can we use? How are we going to investigate it? And actually for children to understand that that’s how real scientists work is also valid, isn’t it? Because wouldn’t that be the process that you’d be doing if you were doing an investigation anyway?  

Dr. Fran Barnes: Absolutely. I mean, if you come up with a question and as a teacher, you don’t know the answer, that’s basically your theory. And you use that to model to the children how to do a scientific investigation. So you’ve got your theory, your hypothesis. So you work out how you’re going to test that theory, you get your results, and then you go back to the start and tweak it to get the answer that you’re looking for. So I think it’s really important that you model that to your children because then they’re immersed in it all the time. They see that we don’t know everything, but we will use the same approach to find out ourselves. 

Melanie Moore: So I think what you were describing there was the process of an investigation and testing. Can you just explain a little bit more about different types of investigations, including the fair test and what that actually means? 

Dr. Fran Barnes: I think up till 2014, there was really big focus on fair testing. And actually I think that probably puts off a lot of teachers and also children because they start seeing science as a writing exercise, not as a exploratory exercise. And a bit of, you know, there’s something that’s quite a lot of fun. But actually from 2014 onwards, when the new curriculum was released, the the documents stated that there was five different types of investigation that children can be taking part in and actually fair testing featured just once. And that’s down as a simple test. But then your investigations can focus on observing changes over time. It can be pattern seeking. You know, it can be something as simple as the sequence of the seasons. You know, observing that the same pattern year on year, grouping and classifying as another type. And then the final one is research. And I think we often overlook research as a type of investigation. But if you ask, 90% of scientists would say the majority of their work is research and based on previous research as research. So it’s really, really important that we remember that there isn’t just fair testing, that there are five types of investigation and that hopefully will relieve teachers of this need to always, you know, say what is a fair test. So one example I can give is when Charles Darwin lived at Downe House with his family, he got his children to follow bumblebees in the garden and just to see what flowers they visited. And it’s a really simple approach to science, just observing what is going on around them. It’s not a fair test. They’re not going to write anything down. It’s simply a really lovely observation. 

Melanie Moore: And what did he find out? 

Dr. Fran Barnes: Well, that’s a tough one. He actually found out that bumblebees always follow a set of flight path and always visit the same flowers. This just shows that how a really simple observation can tell us a lot about the behaviour of a certain species. 

Melanie Moore: So Science Week this year begins on the 9th of March. What have you got planned for Science Week? 

Dr. Fran Barnes: Ah well a Cornerstones we are generating this podcast are giving away lots of free stuff. I mean we’re going to be giving away some love to investigates which you can access through our Twitter account, through our hub or through the website. And I’ll also be available on Twitter to answer any questions that children have got. I mean, I think the important thing to remember with Science Week is it’s great because we can really celebrate science and science technology, engineering and maths for a week, but you don’t have to wait for Science week to celebrate science. 

Melanie Moore: It goes right back to what we were saying at the start, which is how do we get more science in the curriculum. And Science Week is obviously a really good example of that. And just making the most of that opportunity. Make sure you’ve got something planned. 

Dr. Fran Barnes: There’s a lot of free resources out there. Some of the bigger organizations are already releasing opportunities for workshops. They’re releasing resources. Just grab what you can immerse your children in science for a lovely week. 

Melanie Moore: And get in touch with you, presumably, if you’re waiting for some really tricky questions, you’re not afraid to answer any of them, are you? 

Dr. Fran Barnes: I will answer anything! 

Melanie Moore: Okay, so that’s an open invitation to listeners and the children in their classes to pose a question to Doctor Fran. 

Dr. Fran Barnes: Challenge me, see if I can answer it, and if I can’t, I might suggest an investigation that we can do. 

Melanie Moore: You might give the answer. I don’t know, but why don’t you go and find out? 

Dr. Fran Barnes: Absolutely. I think that’s great, actually. 

Melanie Moore: So I think we’re just about out of time now, but a huge thank you for talking to us today. And I’ve learnt lots more about science from you in that very short time. So thanks ever so much, Dr. Fran. 

Dr. Fran Barnes: Thanks very much. 

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