Post on 22-Aug-2020
Linking Primary and Secondary Science Education
Dr Neil Alan McIntyre
Churchill Fellow 2014
1
Contents
Page
1. Introduction 1
2. Aims of the project 3
3. Outcomes of the project – after one year 3
4. Initial evaluation of the project 7
5. Conclusions and Future work 10
6. Acknowledgements 11
1. Introduction
A new school partnership has recently been formed between Southmuir Primary
School and Webster’s High School to educate local children from ages 3-18 under
the leadership of Head Teacher Mrs Jane Esson. The primary-secondary school
partnership, called the Webster’s Campus (Figure 1), is the first of its kind in the
Angus local authority and has opened up the possibility for primary and secondary
staff to work more closely and coordinate learning in all subject areas.
Figure 1: The Webster’s Campus in Kirriemuir, Angus, Scotland.
Southmuir Primary
school
Webster’s High School
2
During my Churchill Fellowship in 2014 I witnessed a similar education structure at
Reaalkool and Viimsi schools in Tallinn, Estonia. In both schools the Head Teacher
led an all-through-school educating children from 7-18 years of age. On my visit I
was extremely impressed with their arrangements for teaching science to primary
age children and the collaboration that existed between the science staff at the High
School with their primary colleagues.
For example, at Viimsi school I spent many hours observing science lessons
delivered by an enthusiastic and inspiring science teacher (Mr Peeter Sipelgas) to
children as young as eight (Figure 2). Each week the primary pupils spent time in the
specialist science classrooms at the High School undertaking simple experiments
which they clearly enjoyed. In addition to this weekly input, the school had a number
of STEM clubs – some of which were run by local undergraduate University students
(please see my Fellowship report for further details).
Figure 2: Left - Mr Peeter Sipelgas helps two young pupils doing an experiment in a
science room at Viimsi School, Tallinn. Right - A robotics club led by an
undergraduate student from Tallinn University.
The input of specialist science staff and local undergraduate students into the
primary science curriculum at Viimsi school left a lasting impression on me and was
something I was keen to re-create within my local school. The formation of the
Webster’s Campus had, in my opinion, the potential to model what I observed in
Estonia and allow science staff from the High school to work alongside the primary
staff to enhance the primary science curriculum. This, I believed, would bring
benefits to the school campus on a number of levels and would perhaps encourage
other schools to consider similar projects in the future.
3
2. Aims of the Project
The funding provided by the Mercers’ Company was targeted towards these short,
medium and long term aims within the Webster’s Campus:
1. Enhance science education for young pupils aged 8-11 (short term aim,
6 months – 1 year).
2. Increase the confidence of primary teachers in teaching science (short term
aim 6 months – 1 year).
3. Coordinate the primary–secondary science curriculum (medium term aim 1 –
2 years).
4. Raise educational attainment within the sciences (long term aim 2 – 3 years)
3. Outcomes of the Project – after one year
Regular Science lessons
From the beginning of the project I was given one afternoon a week to work with the
primary pupils and to support the primary staff in the teaching of science. In
discussion with the primary teachers it was decided that I should work with the
primary 5, 6 and 7 classes (aged between 8-11) on an alternating cycle over the
course of the year. The content covered within the science lessons was generally
guided by the topics the pupils had been covering in class and within the guidance of
the national science curriculum.
Many of the lessons were conducted within the primary classrooms but on several
occasions the pupils were allowed to work within the High School science
classrooms – partly to give the pupils a better experience (in a similar way to what I
had witnessed in Estonia).
The three classes covered a variety of topics during the year including -
microorganisms, sound, space, simple chemical reactions, the water cycle,
electricity, magnets, light, energy changes and dissolving. Throughout the year
simple science investigations were carried out to improve the scientific skills of the
pupils.
4
Sharing good practice in primary science
Primary teachers often lack confidence in teaching science due in part to the fact
that many come from non-science backgrounds. At the outset of the project I wanted
to work alongside primary teachers to share good practice, increase confidence and
provide possible ideas when teaching science topics.
Throughout the year I taught lessons, covering a variety of science concepts, within
the primary classrooms. During these lessons the primary teacher was present and
observed and supported the learning. This allowed the sharing of practice and the
opportunity to discuss future work with the class (Figure 3).
Figure 3: Primary 7 pupils (11 years old) learning basic chemistry within the primary
school.
At various stages throughout the year the pupils had the opportunity to learn science
within the High School science rooms in much the same way as I witnessed pupils
doing in Estonia (Figure 4).
5
Figure 4: Primary 6 pupils (10 years old) learning about how craters form on the
moon after studying a topic on space. Miss McGuire (primary teacher) joins in with
the activity in the High School science classroom.
Organisation of science equipment
One aspect of the project I was keen to develop was to ensure that primary staff had
access to good basic science equipment in order to teach lessons. From the
beginning of the project it was noted that the primary teachers did not have some
essential apparatus such as test-tubes, filter funnels, beakers etc. These were
purchased as part of the project (Figure 5). Equally important was to organise this
equipment in a way which encouraged primary teachers to use it regularly and to be
able to find resources quickly. It was decided to purchase a science storage unit for
this purpose (Figure 6).
6
Figure 5: Some of the basic science equipment purchased as part of the project.
Figure 6: Science storage unit showing some of the labelled drawers containing the
primary science equipment.
Plastic Beakers Thermometers Spatulas
Test-tubes Measuring cylinders Mortar and Pestles
7
4. Initial evaluation of the project
Although the project has a long term future I was keen to assess progress after one
year. In order to do this I gave questionnaires out to the three primary classes who I
had worked with over the year (approximately 70 pupils in total).
The questionnaire asked three closed questions where the pupils had to circle an
answer and two open questions. Given the age of the children completing the
questionnaire (8-11) I tried to make the questions straightforward to ensure accurate
feedback.
The questions asked in the questionnaire are shown below:
Question 1: Have you enjoyed learning about science this year?
Yes / No / Not sure
Question 2: Do you feel that you have learnt interesting things in science this year?
Yes / No / Not sure
Question 3: Have the science lessons made you more interested in learning about
science in the future? Yes / No / Not sure
Question 4: Are there any particular science lessons that you remember?
Question 5: Is there anything that you would like to learn about in the future?
The results of questions 1, 2 and 3 are shown in the graphs below (note: some
pupils did not answer all three questions):
The results show that the majority of pupils have enjoyed learning about science this
year (69%). Only 9 pupils (12%) said they did not enjoy learning about the subject.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Question 1 Question 2 Question 3
Number of pupils responding to questions
Yes
No
Not sure
8
Interestingly, a large majority of pupils said they had learnt interesting concepts in
science throughout the year (82%). This included many of the pupils who had initially
said they did not enjoy the subject in question 1.
Although the results for question 3 were less positive than for questions 1 and 2 it
should be noted that the majority of pupils did believe the lessons had made them
more interested in learning more about science (54%). In question 3 a significant
number of pupils responded “not sure” as their answer (29%). No attempt was made
to discover why they had responded this way given that the questionnaire was made
anonymous.
Although it is recognised that this is a small scale survey, with limited responses, the
results are nevertheless positive overall.
As expected, questions 4 and 5 gave a variety of responses - some of which are
shown below:
Are there any particular science lessons that you remember?
I remember the lemon light bulb
Light - where we used the prisms
How to clean water using charcoal
How sound travels
When we made boats out of clay and seen which one had more buoyancy with more
marbles added
When we learnt all about the moon phases and their names
Water cycle
Making an electromagnet
Microorganisms
Magnets
The planets orbit the sun and what planets are really hot and cold
Making sparklers
When we went to the high school and learned how craters were made on the moon
9
Is there anything that you would like to learn about in the future?
I would like to learn about explosions
Learn more about fire safety
What happens when food goes mouldy
Chemical reactions
I would like to learn about sound and the speed of light
I would like to learn about volcanic rock and chemical reactions
More about space
What chemicals can make fires
I would like to learn about the Periodic Table
These varied responses show that the majority of pupils have a good understanding
of what is studied in science. While some of the pupils may have had a good
understanding of this prior to the project it is my belief that the work covered this year
has given them a better understanding of the topics covered in science. This again is
an encouraging result given the relatively short period of time the project has run.
In addition to gaining information from the pupils I asked for teacher feedback. Some
comments are below:
“The Primary five class have thoroughly enjoyed science this year and are looking
forward to learning more as they progress up the school. The new equipment has
supplied teachers with the correct resources to be more adventurous in science
along with help and support from Dr McIntyre. As a result the lessons have been
more engaging this year in science for the children helping them to develop more of
an interest in the subject.”
Miss Alison Pryde (Primary 5 teacher)
10
“The generous funding from the Mercers’ Company has supported our aim to
enhance the teaching of science within the Webster’s Campus. We have used the
funding to ensure Dr McIntyre has been given an afternoon each week to provide
support to the primary school in a number of ways. For example, he has taught
science lessons throughout the primary school and shared good practice with staff.
The primary pupils have had the opportunity to learn science both within the primary
school and within the High School science rooms. Therefore, the pupils have had
many excellent opportunities this year which has provided a foundation for further
learning as they progress through the school. In addition, Dr McIntyre has helped to
organise the primary science resources making it easier for primary staff to gather
the equipment needed for each lesson. Where necessary he has bought science
equipment to ensure the primary staff have adequate resources to teach science in
the future.
The follow-up funding provided by the Mercers’ Company has enabled Dr McIntyre
to carry forward one of his recommendations from his Fellowship to improve primary
science teaching given the practice he observed in Finland and Estonia. It is my
belief that this project has a long term future given that the Primary and High School
have now been amalgamated into the Webster’s Campus on a permanent basis. We
will continue to support the link between primary and secondary science into the
future.”
Mrs Jane Esson (Head Teacher, Webster’s Campus)
5. Conclusions and Future work
In a relatively short period of time progress has been made in a number of areas.
Primary pupils are experiencing regular science lessons and are learning new
concepts. The majority of pupils report that they enjoy learning about science and
show an interest in learning more about the subject in the future. Generally speaking
the pupils seem to have a good understanding of what topics are covered within
science education.
Primary staff now have well-organised science resources with which they can be
more adventurous in their teaching. Primary staff have also benefitted by observing
lessons and the sharing of practice. It is my belief, therefore, that the short term aims
of the project (1 & 2) are now well established.
Aims 3 and 4 are longer term goals which we hope to make progress with this year
and evaluate in the near future.
Finally, one area in which I believe the project has potential to grow is to involve
other members of staff within the science department. Some science teachers have
11
shown an interest in working with the primary staff and pupils and this is something
which we may be able to take forward in the future.
6. Acknowledgements
I would like to thank The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust and The Mercers’
Company for funding and their continued support.
I would also like to thank the staff and pupils from the primary school of the
Webster’s Campus who I have worked with this year.
Finally, I would like to thank Mrs Jane Esson for her continued support of the project.