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Monograph:Dunlop, Lynda orcid.org/0000-0002-0936-8149, Knox, Kerry Jane orcid.org/0000-0003-3530-6117, Turkenburg, Maria Gertrudis Wilhelmina orcid.org/0000-0002-2841-3339 et al. (1 more author) (2019) Practical, open-ended and extended investigative projects in science. Research Report.

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Practical,open-endedandextended

investigativeprojectsinscience

ReporttoTheGatsbyCharitableFoundation

LyndaDunlop,KerryKnox,MariaTurkenburg--vanDiepenandJudithBennett

March2019

1

TableofContentsAcknowledgements.......................................................................................................................................2

Listofabbreviations......................................................................................................................................3

Executivesummary........................................................................................................................................4

Introduction...................................................................................................................................................7

Methods........................................................................................................................................................8

Theteachers................................................................................................................................................10

Findings........................................................................................................................................................11

Howdoscienceteacherapproachesvary?.............................................................................................11

Howisopen-endedinvestigativeworkcharacterised?.......................................................................11

Howisopen-endedinvestigativeworkorganised?.............................................................................12

Learningthroughopen-endedinvestigativeprojects.............................................................................13

Enablersofopen-endedinvestigativeprojectsinthecurriculum...........................................................14

Casestudies.............................................................................................................................................15

BTECAppliedScienceinvestigativeproject.........................................................................................16

CPAC&CRESTAwards.........................................................................................................................17

FlyLab..................................................................................................................................................18

CRESTGoldAwardinsteadofafourthALevel....................................................................................19

NorthernhubfortheInstituteforResearchInSchools.......................................................................20

Antibioticsunlimited...........................................................................................................................21

IBInternalAssessment........................................................................................................................22

Summerwithwoodlice.......................................................................................................................23

Redoxtitrations,Salters’style.............................................................................................................24

AlegacyofAdvancingPhysicsbeforethelinearexams......................................................................25

Plantingideasinplantbiologyandpsychology...................................................................................26

RealWorldChemistry..........................................................................................................................27

Meetingthechallengesassociatedwithopen-endedinvestigativeprojects..........................................28

Challengesassociatedwiththeexternalpolicycontext.....................................................................28

Challengesassociatedwiththestudentexperience...........................................................................29

Challengesassociatedwithinfrastructure..........................................................................................30

Subject-specificobservations..................................................................................................................31

Biologyprojects...................................................................................................................................31

Chemistryprojects..............................................................................................................................31

Physicsprojects...................................................................................................................................31

Conclusionsandlimitations.........................................................................................................................32

Recommendations.......................................................................................................................................34

References...................................................................................................................................................35

Appendix1Questionnaire...........................................................................................................................36

Appendix2Interviewguide.........................................................................................................................37

2

ThisreportshouldbecitedasDunlop,L.,Knox,K.,Turkenburg--vanDiepen,M.&Bennett,J.(2019).

Open-endedandextendedinvestigativeprojectsinscience.ReporttoTheGatsbyCharitable

Foundation.TheGatsbyCharitableFoundation,London.

Theviewspresentedinthisreportarethoseoftheauthorsanddonotnecessarilyreflectthoseof

theGatsbyCharitableFoundation.

Acknowledgements

TheauthorsaregratefulforfundingfromtheGatsbyFoundationforthiswork.Theywouldalsolike

tothanktheteachersandschoolsinvolvedfortheirtimeincontributingtothisreport.

3

Listofabbreviations

ALevel AdvancedLevel

ALPS AdvancedLevelPerformanceSystem

AQA AssessmentandQualificationsAlliance

AS AdvancedSupplementary

ASE AssociationforScienceEducation

BTEC BusinessandTechnologyEducationCouncil

CPAC CommonPracticalAssessmentCriteria

CREST CreativityinScienceandTechnology

EPQ ExtendedProjectQualification

GCSE GeneralCertificateofSecondaryEducation

IB InternationalBaccalaureate

IRIS InstituteforResearchinSchools

MOOC MassiveOpenOnlineCourse

NQT NewlyQualifiedTeacher

Ofsted OfficeforStandardsinEducation

OCR OxfordCambridgeandRSA

PGCE PostgraduateCertificateofEducation

PTA ParentTeacherAssociation

RSB RoyalSocietyofBiology

RSC RoyalSocietyofChemistry

SAC SaltersAdvancedChemistry

SAPS ScienceandPlantsforSchools

SHAP SaltersHornersAdvancedPhysics

STEM Science,Technology,Engineering,

UCAS UniversitiesandCollegesAdmissionsService

5

Executivesummary

Thepurposeofthisstudyistoreportonteachers’useofopen-endedinvestigativeworkpost-16.

TheGatsbyGoodPracticalsciencereportidentifiesopportunitiestocarryoutopen-endedworkas

oneoftheirtenbenchmarksforgoodpracticalscience,yetthereiscurrentlynorequirementfor

studentsinEnglandtohaveaccesstotheopportunitytocarryoutsuchwork,whichmeansthatsuch

workisoftenpushedtothemargins.Thisstudyaimedtofindoutwhyandhowteachersuseopen-

endedinvestigativeworkwithstudentsinordertoidentifywaysinwhichitcanbepossiblein

schoolsinEngland.

Shortquestionnairesandextendedsemi-structuredinterviewswereusedtocollectdata.Atotalof

seventeenteachersrespondedtothequestionnaireandtwelveteacherswereinterviewed.All

teachersinterviewedhadbeenteachingforlongerthan5yearsandworkedinschoolsorcolleges

rated‘good’or‘outstanding’byOfsted.Teacherswereaskedaboutenablersandbarrierstothe

work,andthewaysinwhichtheynegotiatedthese.Findingsarepresentedascasestudiesinorder

toberelatabletootherteachers.Thecasestudiesprovideinformationabouttheproject,who

participates,intendedandperceivedlearningoutcomes,theroleoftheteacher,schoolsupportand

adviceforotherteachers.

Open-endedinvestigativeprojectswerecharacterisedaccordingtotheirdegreeofopen-ness,i.e.

whatwasprovidedtostudentsfromthefollowingdimensions:problemandbackground,

procedures,designormethodology,analysisandconclusions.Projectsinwhichteachersprovided

alldimensions(confirmatoryprojects)wereexcludedfromthereport.Mostteachersinthesample

providedthetheoreticalcontext,withstudentsabletomakedecisionsaboutresearchdesign,

analysisandconclusions.Ongoingorad-hocsupportwasafeatureofmanyprojects,andwhilst

mostprojectswerenotassessed,theywereoftenusedtomeettheCommonPracticalAssessment

Criteria(CPAC)ormadeto‘count’inotherways.Mostprojectswerecarriedoutduringclasstime,

sometimesincludingcollapseddaysinthesummerterm.Fivebigthemeswereidentifiedintermsof

whatteacherswantedstudentstolearn:‘real’science,thestateofthefield,researchdesign,

iterationanddatahandling.

Enablersofopen-endedinvestigativeworkinthecurriculumincludeteacherexperienceand

autonomy,technicalsupport,supportfromseniorleadership,laboratoryspaceandequipment

budget,examinationspecifications,andexternalsupportandrecognition.Challengesinproviding

accessforstudentstoopen-endedinvestigativeprojectsincludeaccesstoliterature,laboratory

space,expertiseandequipment,numbersofstudentsandtechniciansinrelationtonumberof

teachers.Teachersinthesamplefoundwaystonegotiateortoovercomethesebarriers,whichare

likelytobeusefultoteachersconsideringofferingopen-endedprojectworkinthecurriculum.Time

remainsanintractableissueforallteachersinthesample.

Thisreportincludesdataonlyfromteacherswhowerededicatedtoprovidingopen-ended

investigativeprojectstotheirstudents;theremaybeadditionalbarrierstodoingthisthataffectthe

widerscienceteacherpopulation.Alloftheteachersarebasedinschoolsorcollegesrated

outstandingorgoodbyOfsted,andmanyteachwithintheirspecialism.Theconditionsinother

6

institutionsmaycontributetobarrierstoopen-endedinvestigativeprojectsandcaremustbetaken

toavoidwideningeducationalinequalitiesintermsofaccesstoopen-endedinvestigativeprojects.

Whilstopen-endedinvestigativeprojectscanbeintegratedintothepost-16curriculum,wherethisis

notarequirementofthespecification,ittendstorelyonworkbeyondtimetabledhoursfrom

teachers.Severalteachersinthissamplefoundwaysofmakingprojectwork‘count’,forexampleby

relatingittotheCPAC,linkingtoawardschemes,offeringasanalternativetootherscheduled

teachingandlearningactivitiesandencouragingstudentstowriteabouttheirexperiencesonUCAS

applications.Someteachersinthisstudybelievedthatopen-endedinvestigativeworkhadapositive

impactonattainmentpost-16,andtheremaybevalueinresearchingthisclaimbecauseifevidence

didsupporttheclaim,moreteachersmaybeconvincedtointroduceprojectwork,evenifnot

requiredbyspecifications.

Toincreasetheuptakeofopen-endedinvestigativeprojectworkatpost-16,werecommendarange

ofactions.Exemplarsof‘makingopen-endedinvestigativeprojectscount,’couldbemadeavailable

toteachers,withattentiontowaysofminimisingrisk(particularlyinchemistryprojects),and

teacherandtechniciantimeforprojectworkthroughworkloadmodelsandbuy-outcouldbevalued.

Researchinvestigatingclaimsabouttheimpactofopen-endedinvestigativeworkonattainment

wouldbuildamoreconvincingcasetoteacherswhoarecurrentlyreluctanttointroduceopen-

endedprojectwork.Assessmentisanimportantdriverforclassroompractice,andawaytoensure

thatthishappensistochangepolicytorequireopen-endedinvestigativeworkinpost-16

examinationspecifications.However,whereopen-endedinvestigativeworkistobeincludedin

specifications,caremustbetakentoavoidassessmentmethodsthatresultinaformulaicapproach

toinvestigativeprojectwork.

7

Introduction

Open-endedandextendedinvestigativeprojectshavebeenidentifiedasabenchmarkforgood

practicalscience(Gatsby,2017)yetrecentchangesintroducedtotheAdvancedLevel(ALevel)

specificationsmeanthatthereisnolongerarequirementformostpost-16studentsinEnglandto

undertakeopen-endedinvestigativework.Arecentstudyfoundfewteacherstobeundertaking

open-endedinvestigativework(Crammanetal.,2019).Thepurposeofthisstudy,drawingon

questionnaireresponsesandsemi-structuredinterviews,istoreportonthetypesofopen-ended

investigativeworkundertaken,whyteachersdoit,howitisorganised,andwhatteachersperceive

theopportunitiesandchallengesofsuchworktobe.Incontrasttotherecentrapidevidencereview

onIndependentResearchProjectspublishedbytheWellcomeTrust(Bennett,Dunlop,Knox,Reiss&

TorranceJenkins,2016)thisreportfocusesonopen-endedinvestigativeprojects(ofwhichresearch

projectsareonetype),andonwhatteachersdotomakethesepossiblepost-16.

Investigationsaredefinedastasksinwhichstudentsdesignanexperimenttotestagivenquestion,

carryitoutandinterprettheresults,allwithinafixedtimeperiod(Gatsby,2017).Ininvestigative

work,studentscannotimmediatelyseeananswerorrecallaroutinemethodforfindingit(Gottand

Duggan,1995p.14).Thatistosay,thatwhilstproceduresandresultsmightbeknowntoscience,

theyarenotfamiliartothestudentdoingtheinvestigation,andthereisnopre-determinedoutcome

(Gatsby,2017).Investigationscanbeopentodifferentdegrees,andinthisreport,projectsthatare

openinatleastoneofthefollowingsixdimensionsidentifiedbyBuck,BretzandTowns(2008)are

consideredopen-ended:theproblem/question,theory/background,procedures/design,analysisof

results,communicationofresultsandconclusions.Confirmationprojectsinwhichthe

problem/question,theoryandbackground,proceduresanddesign,analysis,interpretationand

conclusionsareprovidedforthestudentsareexcludedfromthisstudy.

Thereisevidencetosuggestthatopen-endedinvestigationssupportstudentstolearnscienceideas

andtodeveloparangeofskillsaswellasimproveattitudestowardsscience(seeforexample

Bennettetal.,2018).Thisreportpresentsaseriesofcasestudiesfrom12teachersworkingin

England.Eachcarriesoutopen-endedinvestigativeprojects,correspondingtotheGoodPractical

Sciencebenchmark,withpost-16studentsinEngland.Fromthesetofcasestudies,intended

learningoutcomeshavebeenextractedalongwithunderstandinghowteachershavenegotiatedthe

barrierstoparticipationinsuchwork.Thecasestudiesproviderelatableexamplesofhowteachers

canprovideopportunitiesforopen-endedinvestigationsinademandingpost-16environmentand

presentwaysinwhichteachershaveovercomebarrierstoofferingopen-endedinvestigativeproject

work.Thequestionsthatthereportanswersareasfollows:

● Howdoscienceteacherapproachestopractical,open-endedandextendedinvestigative

projectsvary?

● Whatdoteacherswantstudentstolearnbycarryingoutpractical,open-endedand

extendedinvestigativeprojectsinscience,andhowdotheybringthisabout?

● Howdoteachersseetheirroleinsupportingstudentstocarryoutpractical,open-endedand

extendedinvestigativeprojectsinscience?

● Whatenablessuccessfulpractical,open-endedandextendedinvestigativeprojectworkin

schoolsorcolleges,andwhatbarriersexist?

8

Methods

Ethicalapprovaltoconductthestudywasobtainedfromtherelevantdepartmentalethics

committee;andvoluntaryinformedconsentobtainedfromparticipatingteachers.

InvitationstotakepartweredistributedviaprofessionalnetworksofteachersintheUK,inviting

responsesfromanyteacherswhocarriedoutopen-endedinvestigativeworkatpost-16.A

questionnaireandinterviewwereusedtocollectdata.Thequestionnairewascirculated

electronically.Thisconsistedofopenandclosedquestions(seeappendix1).Theclosedresponse

itemswerebasedonBucketal.(2008)andwereusedtocharacteriseprojects(Table1).Notethe

definitionofauthentic,whichreferstothecharacterisationofinquiryandnot‘authenticscience’in

whichstudentsparticipateincutting-edgescientificresearchprojects.Theopenresponseitems

askedteacherstoidentifytheirintendedlearningoutcomesandwhatstudentsneedtoknowin

ordertodosuccessfulopen-endedinvestigativeprojects.Atotalof17questionnaireswere

returned.

Provided? Provided?

Provided?

Provided?

Provided?

Problem/Question yes yes yes yes no

Theory/Background yes yes yes yes no

Procedures/Design yes yes yes no no

Analysisofresults yes yes no no no

Communicationofresults yes no no no no

Conclusion yes no no no no

Characterisation Confirmation Structured Guided Open Authentic

Table1:Characterisingopen-endedinvestigativework

Questionnaireresponseswerescreenedandonlythoseprojectsthatwerestructured,guided,open

orauthentic(n=15)wereincludedinfurtheranalysis.Thesewereprojectsinwhichatleastoneof

thefollowingwerenotprovidedtostudents:theproblemorquestion,theoryandbackground,

proceduresanddesign,analysis,interpretationandconclusions.Allteachersdoingconfirmation

projectswereexcludedfromthesamplepriortointerviews.Questionnaireresponseswerethen

analysedindependentlybythreeresearcherstoidentifycentralconceptsinrelationtolearning

throughopen-endedinvestigativeprojects.Thisresultedintheidentificationofthecentralconcepts,

orkeythemes,whichcapturedtheessenceofthequestionnaireresponses.Followingreflexive

discussion,fivekeyconceptswereidentified.Theseinformedthedesignoftheinterviewguide.

Selectioncriteriawerethenusedtoinviteteachersforinterview.Thesewereteacherswho(i)

offeredandcarriedoutopen-endedinvestigativework(structured,guided,openorauthentic)with

post-16studentsand(ii)workedinstate(non-feepaying)schoolsorcolleges.Atotalof12teachers

agreedtotakepartininterviews.Theinterviewguideisfoundinappendix2.Teacherswereasked

9

abouttheirproject,howitwasorganised,howtheysupportedstudentstolearneachcentral

conceptidentifiedfromtheinterviews,andhowtheydealtwithvariousbarrierstocarryingout

open-endedinvestigativework.Theinterviewguidedrewonquestionsusedtorevealteachers’

pedagogicalcontentknowledge(Loughran,Berry&Mulhall,(2012)inrelationtothekeyconcepts

identifiedfromthequestionnaires.Interviewswererecorded,transcribedandthenanalysedto

identify(i)howscienceteacherapproachestopractical,open-endedandextendedinvestigative

projectsvary;(ii)whatteacherswantstudentstolearnbycarryingoutopen-endedinvestigative

projectsinscience,andhowtheybringthisabout;(iii)howteachersseetheirroleinsupporting

studentstocarryoutopen-endedinvestigativeprojectsinscience;and(iv)whatenablessuccessful

projectworkinschoolsorcolleges,andwhatbarriersexist.Thetranscriptswereusedtocreatecase

studiesforeachteacher.

Thefollowingsectionidentifiesthecharacteristicsoftheteacherswhowereinterviewedandthe

schoolsandcollegesinwhichtheyteach.

10

Theteachers

Atotalof12teacherswereinterviewed,fourfemaleandeightmale.Theteachersworkedacrossthe

sciencedisciplines(Figure1)andtaughtdifferentpost-16programmes,withALevelsbeingthemost

common(Figure2).Allteachersinthesamplehadbeenintheprofessionforlongerthan5years,

andhalfhadbeenteachingforover15years.

Figure1:Sciencespecialisms Figure2:Post-16programmetaught

Allteachersworkedinschoolsandcollegesinthestatesector.Threeteachersworkedinpost-16

collegesand9teachersworkedin11-18schools.Oftheschools,threeoperatedacademicselection

policiesforsomeorallentrants.AllschoolsandcollegeshadagoodoroutstandingOfstedrating,

withthemajority(n=7)ratedoutstanding.

TeacherswereworkinginschoolsandcollegeslocatedacrossEngland(Dorset,Kent,London,Norfolk

andYorkshire)inarangeofneighbourhoodtypes,fromruraltownfringestomajorurban

conurbations.Themajority(n=10)werelocatedintheleastdeprivedneighbourhoodsinEngland

(i.e.abovethefifthdecile)andonlyonewaslocatedinaneighbourhoodinthemostdepriveddecile.

Teachers’reasonsfordoingopen-endedprojectsfellbroadlyintotwomaincategories,withsome

overlap:teachersinvolvingstudentsinpursuingteachers’ownscientificinterests,andteachers

doingprojectsfortheireducationalvalue,eitherasalegacyfromspecificationsthatpreviously

requiredopen-endedinvestigations1orbecausetheymetcurrentspecificationrequirements.

Althoughnotuniversalamongstthesample,therewerecleartendenciesforteachersinthefirst

categorytoprovideopportunitiesforstudentstolearnaboutthecurrentstateofthefield,andto

offerfreedomwithinateacher-definedfield.Forone,“it’salmostbeenanecessityformetodoit

andit’skeptmeintheprofessionpossiblybecauseit’sopenedmymindanditallowsmetodo

scienceinadifferentway.”Similarly,thereweretendenciesamongstteachersofferingprojectsfor

theireducationalvaluetoallowstudentstodecideonthedirectionoftheproject,constrainedby

techniqueorresources.Teachersinbothgroupssawthepotentialforopen-endedinvestigative

worktomeettheCommonPracticalAssessmentCriteria(CPAC).

1ThespecificationsquotedwereSaltersAdvancedChemistry,SAC(OCRB)andSaltersHornersAdvanced

Physics(Edexcel)

11

Findings

Howdoscienceteacherapproachesvary?

Thefindingsarepresentedinthreeparts.Inthefirst,thecharacteristicsofopen-endedinvestigative

projectsforthecasestudyteachersaredescribedandthekeylearningoutcomesthatteachers

desiredthroughopen-endedinvestigativeprojectsareidentified,alongwithenablersidentifiedby

teachersinthesample.Inthesecondpart,teachercasestudiesarepresented.Thesefocusona

singleproject;manyteachershadbeeninvolvedwith,orwereinvolvedwith,multipleprojectswith

studentsindifferentyeargroups.Finally,wepresentasynthesisoftheconstraintsonteachers’

capabilitiestoofferopen-endedinvestigativework,andhowthesewerenegotiated.

Howisopen-endedinvestigativeworkcharacterised?

Theprojectsdescribedwereuniquetoeachteacherinthesample,andthesewereopentovarying

degrees.Figure3summariseshowtheprojectscanbecharacterisedusingBuck,BretzandTowns’

(2008)rubric(Table1).Mostteachersinthesample(n=5)wereoffering‘openinquiry’projects,in

whichtheproblemandbackgroundareprovided,buttheprocedures/design/methodologywerefor

thestudenttodesign,asweretheanalysisandconclusions.Fewer(n=4)offeredstudentsthe

opportunitytodo‘authenticinquiry’inwhichtheproblem,procedures/design,analysis,

communication,andconclusionswereallforthestudenttodesign:forsomethiswasthe

specificationrequirement.Aminority(n=3)offeredstructuredorguidedprojectsinwhichstudents

wereprovidedwiththeproblem,procedures,and(inthecaseofstructuredprojects)analysisby

whichstudentscandiscoverrelationshipsorreachconclusionsunknowntothem.‘Authenticinquiry’

projectsweretypicallyconstrainedbyavailabilityofequipmentandresourcesasstudentswereonly

abletopursuetheirowninterestswhentheyhadthemeansbywhichtocollectandanalysedata.

‘Openinquiry’projectsweretypicallyconstrainedbyteachers’interestsasintheseprojectsthe

teacherspresentstudentswiththeproblemorbackgroundinformation.

Teachersinthesamplewhoofferedopen,guidedorstructuredinvestigativeprojectsdidsofora

rangeofreasons,includingmanagingstafftime

inplanningandresourcingtheprojects,

scaffoldingstudents’learningbyconstraining

choiceandprovidingasatisfyingexperiencefor

studentswheretheywouldcollectsufficient

datatoanalysemeaningfullyinthetime

available.

Allteachersinthesamplevaluedopen-ended

investigativeprojects,eventhosewhowere

obligedtocarrythemoutaspartoftheir

specification(forexample,theIBDiploma

ProgrammeandBTEC).

Figure3:Characterisationofprojectsinthesample

12

Figure5:Assessmentofprojects

Figure4:Modeloforganisationwithpartners

Figure7:Optionalityofprojects

Howisopen-endedinvestigativeworkorganised?

Theorganisationofopen-endedinvestigativeworkvariedacrossteachersinthesample.Some

teacherswereworkinginschoolsorcollegeswhereopen-endedinvestigativeworktookplaceacross

thesciencesorinindividualsubject(i.e.Biology,

ChemistryorPhysics)sections.Otherswerethe

onlyteachercarryingoutopen-endedinvestigative

workatpost-16,oroneofasmallnumberof

scienceteachersintheschool.Justoverone-third

workedinpartnershipwithexternalscientistsfrom

theinceptionoftheprojectwhereasone-third

workedentirelyindependentlyandjustunderone-

thirdsoughtadhocsupportfromoutsidetheschool

(Figure4).

Teachersofferedopen-endedprojectworktopost-16

studentsinarangeofways.Inthreecases,project

workwasarequirementbecausestudentswere

assessed(Figure5)fortheIBDiplomaProgramme,the

BTECandforaCRESTAward(thelatterofferedasa

timetabledsubjectinaschoolwherestudentsare

requiredtodoeitherfourALevelsorthreeALevelsand

anothertimetabledacademicactivity).Inaddition,

someteachersusedopen-endedinvestigativeprojects

tosupportstudentstomeettheCPAC.

Mostprojectsinthesamplewereofferedintimetabled

classtime,withonlythreeexclusivelyusing

extracurriculartime(Figure6).Thesethreeprojects

wereofferedtoallpost-16students,butrequiredboth

teachersandstudentstogiveupfreetimeatlunchor

afterschoolorcollege.Teachersusedtimeoutside

timetabledlessonswhentheprojectrequiredscarce

equipment,equipmentthatrequiredspecialisttraining

touse,whereexternalcollaboratorswereinvolved,or

theywantedtotestanapproachtolateruseinlessons.

Someteachersrequiredstudentstocarryoutanopen-

endedinvestigativeprojecteitherbecauseitwaspartof

thespecificationortheirtimetabledrequirements

(Figure7)orbecauseitwasdoneintimetabledlessons,

eitherforallorforasubsetofstudentsinthelesson.

Evenprojectsthatstudentswererequiredtodooften

includedworkthattookplaceoutsideusualscheduled

lessons,e.g.as‘collapsed’daysinthesummerterm.

Figure6:Schedulingofprojects

13

Learningthroughopen-endedinvestigativeprojects

Inordertofocusinterviewsonthehow,whyandwhatoflearning,questionnaireresponseswere

analysedtoidentifyasmallnumberof‘bigthemes’associatedwithlearningthroughopen-ended

investigativeprojects.ThesearepresentedinTable2,alongwiththecontributingdescriptionfound

inteachers’questionnaireresponses.

Centrallearning

outcomeor‘bigidea’

Description

‘Real’science

Thisideareferstothesensethatopen-endedinvestigativeprojectsgive

studentsthechancetofindoutabout‘real’science,orworkmore

similartothethingsscientistsdo.

Datahandling

Thisideareferstoseveralaspectsofdatahandlingthatareimportant

forstudentstolearnaboutincludingevaluationofdataandclaimsby

others,decisionsaboutdatacollection(includinghowdecisionsare

madeaboutthesuitabilityandadequacyofdata),dataanalysis,

interpretationanddatapresentation(forexamplestatisticsandgraphs).

Researchdesign Thisreferstothedecisionsstudentsmakeaboutthemethodstheywill

usetocarryoutaprojectthatanswersaresearchquestion.Thisincludes

decisionsaboutexperimentaldesign,themethodsofdatacollectionand

analysis,equipment,safetyandethics.

Stateofthefield Thisidearelatestolearningabouthowknowledgeiscreatedinthe

discipline,includinghowtosearch,andreviewtheresearchliterature

andunderstandhowtheirworkcontributestounderstandingthestate

ofthefield.

Iteration Thisreferstotherepetitiveandrecursive(ratherthanlinear)process

linkingdatacollectionandanalysisduringwhichstudentsmightnotice

unexpectedresults,testprocedures,gainexperienceoftrialanderror,

ormakeamendmentstotheirmethods.

Table2:‘Bigthemes’thatteachersintendstudentstolearnthroughopen-endedinvestigative

projects.

Inadditiontoidentifyingcentrallearningoutcomesspecifictoinvestigativework,someteachers

usedprojectworkasacontextinwhichstudentscouldapplypreviouslylearntsubjectknowledge,

practicaltechniquesormathematicsandstatistics.Therewasanappetiteforthinkingabouthowto

buildprogressioninunderstandingthese‘bigthemes’butteachersfeltthattherewaslittle

opportunitytocarryoutinvestigativeworkatKeyStage4.

Otherperceivedoutcomesofopen-endedinvestigationsforstudentsreportedbyteachersincluded

resilience,confidence,motivation,organisation,independence,presentationandcommunication

skills,timeandprojectmanagement,leadership,problem-solving,improvedattainment,and

awarenessofcareersinscience.

14

Enablersofopen-endedinvestigativeprojectsinthecurriculum

Arangeofenablersofopen-endedprojectworkwereidentifiedbyteachersduringinterviews,and

thesearepresentedbelowinspheresofinfluence,startingwiththeteacher,workingouttothe

sciencedepartment,schoolseniorleadershiptolocalscientistsandfinallynationalpolicy.

Scienceteachers’priorexperienceswereanimportantenablerofopen-endedinvestigativework.

Somediscussedtheirownundergraduate,postgraduateorindustrialresearchexperience,and

othersdrewontheirexperienceofteachingopen-endedinvestigativeworkthroughprevious

versionsofspecifications,mostnotablyOCRSalters’ALevel.Aswellasexperience,freedomto

decidewhattoteachandwhenwasidentifiedasenablingteacherstoplanandconductopen-ended

investigativeworkwithstudents.

Inthesciencedepartment,headsofdepartmentenabledopen-endedinvestigativeworkbyensuring

timetabling,roomallocationandstaffingforthiswork.Theavailabilityofskilledtechnicianswas

alsoimportantinsupportingteacherswithfinding,testingandrefiningprocedures,carryingoutand

sharingriskassessments,andmaintainingequipment,consumablesandlivingorganisms.Insome

cases,techniciansplayedaroleintrainingstudentsinprocedures.

Beyondthesciencedepartment,schoolleadersenabledprojectworkbyselectingapost-16

curriculumthatvaluesopen-endedinvestigativeworkandallocatingstafftimeandspacetothis,

includingtimeforplanning.Projectworkwasalsoenabledwhereschoolandcollegelibrarieswere

well-resourcedandstaffedbylibrarianswhocouldhelpwithliteraturesearchstrategies.Theyalso

enabledprojectworkwherepoliciessupportedteacherstoofferopen-endedprojectswithinor

beyondthecurriculum,andwheresingle-disciplineteachingwasprioritised.Delegationofdecision-

makingtodepartmentsoverbudgetspendandwhenteaching‘year13content’startedwasalso

importantinenablingscienceteacherstocarryoutopen-endedinvestigativework.

Thescientificcommunityenabledprojectworkinschools.Thiscameintheformofaccessto

scientificsupport,forexampleinansweringteachers’questions,teacherprofessionaldevelopment,

directworkwithstudentsand/orteacherstoplanandcarryoutprojectwork,andtheavailabilityof

hands-onsupporte.g.inchemicalanalysis.Grantfunding(particularlywhenitinvolvedteacherbuy-

out)alsoenabledteacherstocarryoutinvestigativework.

Finally,theassessmentpolicycontexthadaroletoplayinenablingopen-endedinvestigativework.

TeachersinthesamplewereconcernedthatpreviousiterationsofinvestigativeworkinGCSE

specificationshadresultedinaformulaicapproach.Theabsenceofinvestigativeworkin

specificationswasalsoseenasproblematic.Whereprojectworkwaswellintegratedinto

timetabledlessonsatpost-16,teacherswerefollowingspecificationsthatrequiredthis(theIB

DiplomaProgramme;BTEC),wereusingalternativeawardschemes(CREST)orwereusingopen-

endedinvestigationstodemonstratethatastudenthadmettheCPAC.TeachersfeltthattheCPAC

offeredtheopportunityforcreativityintheassessmentofpracticalworkandmultipleopportunities

allowedteacherstoplanforprogression,movingfromverystructuredpracticalworktoopen-ended

investigativework.

15

Casestudies

Thefollowingsectionpresentscasestudiesfromthetwelveteacherstodemonstratetherangeof

open-endedprojectsundertakenbyteachers.

16

BTECAppliedScience

investigativeproject

AlisonAckroyd

BTECSciencetutor,specialismBiologicalSciences

MidKentCollege

Projectdescription

PartoftheBTECAppliedSciencecurriculum.Allstudentschoosetopicsfromthethreemain

sciencesubjects,withinreason,dependingonstaffavailabilityforsupervision.Thesemight

involveapplyingpreviouslylearntproceduressuchastitrationsandaseptictechniques,orusing

specialistequipmentincollege,forexampleusingHPLC(highperformanceliquid

chromatography)toanalysecaffeineindrinks.Theprojectsareinternallyassessedandthen

externallyverified.Projectworkiscarriedoutincurriculumtime,butstudentscanuseafreelabif

amemberofstaffisavailabletosupervise.

Whoparticipates?

AllBTECAppliedScienceLevel3students,in

theirsecondyear,aspartoftheirstatutory

assignments.

Intendedlearningoutcomes

Alisonwantsstudentstolearntosynthesise

theory,toplanprojects,toberesilientand

developemployabilityskillsaswellas

gainingabroaderperspectiveonscience.

Teacher’sroleinsupportingtheproject

Alisonseesherroleprimarilyastimekeeper

andhealthandsafetymanager.She

teachesaboutacademicintegrity

(referencingandplagiarism)inpreparation

forprojectwork.Shealsoprovideschecks

andbalancestoensurestudentsremain

focusedontheirquestion.

Adviceforteachersinterestedindoing

open-endedinvestigativeprojects

Lookatwhattheprofessionalsocieties

provide.AlsoinvestigateMOOCs,science

learningpartnerships,Twitter,STEM

learningandTeachMeets.

Aboutthecollege

MidKentCollegeisoneofthelargestfurther

educationandtrainingprovidersintheSouthEast

forpost-16students,offeringBTECScience.

Teachersgenerallyteachwithintheirspecialism.

Perceivedoutcomesforstudents

Confidenceinthelab,whichAlisonseesas

excellentpreparationforfurtherworkandstudy,

aswellasimprovedorganisation,resourcefulness

andcommunication.

Schoolsupport

Thebiologytechnicianplaysanimportantrolein

finding,testingandadaptingappropriateprotocols

toensuretheywork.Alisonhasasupportivesenior

leadershipteaminthattheyhavededicatedtime

(inthetimetable),equipmentandhuman

resourcestothedevelopmentofnewtopicareas.

Theprojectsalsohavededicatedlabspacewitha

nearbytechnicianandpreproom.

“TechniciansIthinkarekey,ifyoudon’tknowhowtodosomething,oftentherewillbesomebody

therethathasdoneitallbefore,andhaslookedtoseewhatyouhavegotinhouse”

17

CPAC&CRESTAwards

AbaAdebanjo,Chemistryteacher,CRESTAward

lead,CareersCoordinator(STEM)

WestminsterCitySchool

Projectdescription

Abaprovidesstudentswithopportunitiestodoopen-endedinvestigativeworkthroughoutthe

sixthform(years12and13)incurriculumtime,andhasalsostartedtoworkwithImperialCollege

onofferingtheCRESTAwardforstudentsinyear12,whichtheycarryoutinanunoccupiedlabin

theirfreeperiods.Fortheprojectscarriedoutincurriculumtime,Abamadeaconsciousdecision

tochangethewayshewasteachingrequiredpracticalstointroduceopen-endedness,andplan

forprogressioninproblemsolvinganddecision-making.

Whoparticipates?

Abamakestherequiredpracticalsopen-ended

forallAlevelstudents.Sheoffersadditional

CRESTAwardstoallyear12students,with30

outof40applyingtotakepart.


Abawantsstudentstolearnthejoyof

discoveryinscience,developproblemsolving

andanalyticalskills,tolinktheoryto

experimentalworkandtounderstandhowto

testahypothesis.Studentshavecarriedout

open-endedworkonreactionratesandthe

identificationofioniccompounds.

Schoolsupport

Technicalsupport-thestudentscanspeakto

thetechnicianstorequestanyequipmentfor

theirprojectwork.

Adviceforteachersinterestedindoingopen-

endedinvestigativeprojects

● Teachthetheoryfirstsostudents

understand.

● Discusstheusesofequipment.

● Makeconnectionswithpriorlearning.

Abouttheschool

WestminsterCitySchoolisacomprehensive

academy,educatingboysbetweenages11and

16,andgirlsandboysaged16-18.Studentsare

offeredA-levelspost-16,andteachersteach

withinsubjectspecialism.


Studentslearnhowscientistsworkandabout

theimportanceofproblem-solving-it“gets

studentstothinkdifferently”.Abaisalso

convincedthatithelpsthestudentsto

rediscoverthejoysofscience,whichshethinks

canbelostthroughtheformulaicnatureofthe

GCSEsyllabus.


Abatriestoscaffoldstudents’learning,for

examplebyofferingachoiceofequipmentand

helpingstudentstoworkoutwhichis

appropriateforthetask.Byyear13,shetries

togettothepointwherestudentscanbegiven

aproblemandareabletoapplytheory,design

aninvestigationandselectappropriate

equipment.ForCREST,sheencouragesstudents

toworkinmixedsciencegroups.

Laboratoriesarenotfullytimetabledso

studentscan-andareexpectedto-access

theseinfreeperiods.

“Ithinkithelpsbetterifstudentshaveitopen-ended,thentheyarenotjustfollowingitlikea

recipetobakeacake,buttheyareactuallyunderstandingwhytheyareapplyingcertainpartsin

themethod...studentswillappreciateit”

18

FlyLab

DrMariaCourel,HeadofBiology

TheJuddSchool,Tonbridge,Kent

Projectdescription

OpenendedinvestigativeprojectworkisofferedaspartofFlyLab,ageneticsprojectinvolving

experimentswithfruitflies.Year12and13studentsareinvitedtotakepartintheirsparetime.It

isinitsinfancy.Studentsareabletopursuetheirowninterests:theydecidetheproblemor

question,thetheoryorbackground,thedesignandprocedures,methodsofanalysisand

communicationofresults,andtheirconclusions.Mariasupervisesprojectsinherlab(openevery

dayafterschoolforanhour)andhascreatedaGoogleclassroomtosupporttheproject.

Whoparticipates?

Theprojectisofferedtostudentsinyears12and13.

Therearecurrentlyabout40studentsinvolved.

Mariathinksitis“goodforthestudentstoget

experienceofwhatscienceisactuallylikebefore,or

whilethey’remakingchoices.”

Abouttheschool

TheJuddSchoolisavoluntaryaidedstate

grammarschoolforboysaged11-16,and

girlsandboysinthesixthform.Scienceis

taughtwithinteachers’specialisms.The

schooloffersAlevelsandtheEPQ.


Mariawouldlikestudentstolearnhowtoconduct

aninvestigationfromstarttofinish:planning,

collectionofdataandanalysisofresults.Shewants

studentsto“appreciatethechallengesandrewards

ofcarryingouttheirownindependentresearch.”


FlyLabisinitsearlydays.Mariaexpects

studentsto“becomemoreconfidentin

interpretingdata,identifyingvariables,

andappreciatingwhyit’simportantthat

theydoitinacontrolledmanner.”


Mariaseesherroleassupportingstudentsto

becomeindependent.Sheorganisesinputfrom

externalexperts,e.g.academicresearcherDrCamilla

LarssenfromtheCentreforDevelopmental

NeurobiologyatKing’sCollege,London,andtraining

sessionsonthetheoreticalbackground.Maria

providespracticaltrainingonhowtohandleand

analysefruitflies.Shehelpsstudentstodiscuss

interestingquestionstopursue,andisthenhands-

off,takingherleadfromthestudents.

Schoolsupport

MariaworksquiteindependentlyonFly

Labintheschoolcontext.Theprojectis

constrainedbyaccesstolaboratory

equipmentandtechniciantime,andthe

typeofinvestigationthestudentscandois

prescribedbyequipmentandresources

availableinschool.Healthandsafety

requirementsinrelationtomaterials

meansthatitisonlypossibletoworkwith

smallnumbersatatime.

Adviceforteachersinterestedindoingopen-ended

investigativeprojects

● Don’texpectittobeperfectwhenyoustart-

youwilllearnalotthefirsttime.

● Findsomeonewithscientificexpertiseto

adviseyou.

“Ihopestudentswillappreciatethe

challengesandrewardsofcarryingout

theirownindependentresearchwhich

mightinvolvetroubleshooting,unexpected

results,resultsthatopennewareasto

investigate.”

19

CRESTGoldAwardinsteadofa

fourthALevel

MartinHampshire

Physicsteacher

BournemouthSchool

Projectdescription

Open-endedinvestigativeworkisbuiltintothetimetable,justasanAlevelsciencemightbe.

StudentswhoelecttodoCRESTGoldinadditiontotheirthreeA-levelschoosetheirownproject,

followingtheirowninterest,e.g.changesinheartrateduetoexercise.Studentshaveindividual

sessions,15minutesperfortnight,duringwhichtheygetpersonalisedsupport.

Whoparticipates?

StudentswhotakethreeA-levelshaveto

chooseanothercoursetofulfiltheschool’s

requirementforpost-16studymatching

theequivalentof3.5A-levels.CRESTGold

(startinginYear12)isoneoption.

Abouttheschool

BournemouthSchoolisaselectiveacademyfor

boysaged11-16,andgirlsandboysaged16-18.

StudentsareencouragedtostudyfourALevels,or

threeAlevelswithaCRESTGoldAward,oran

additionalmathematicsorPre-Uhumanitiescourse.


Martinwantsstudentstoseewhatreal

scienceisandtolearnthatscienceis

accessibletoeverybody.Healsowants

studentstogaintheabilitytoevaluatedata

andclaims,tocommunicateideasandto

beresilientwheninitialmethodsfail.


Martinbelievesthattheprojectsleadtoimproved

motivationandattainment,abettersenseofwhat

itmeanstodoscience,andgreaterinterestindoing

somethingtechnicalorscientificinthelongerterm.

Hehasalsoseenstudentsdevelopasenseofpride

intheirinvestigativeprojectwork.


Martinseeshimselfinareactiverole,

helpingstudentstoformulaterealistic

researchquestions,tosearchliterature

onlineandrespondwhenstudentscome

upagainstproblems.Heencourages

studentstokeepalabbook.



Don’tunderestimatethetimeandresource

neededtoofferfree-reinonthefocusof

open-endedprojects-studentsmake

mistakes,reachdeadendsandwillneedto

startagain.

Schoolsupport

● SchoolleaderssupportandvalueCREST.

● Technicians’expertise,timeandenthusiasm

forprojects.

● Theschoollibrarianteachesadvanced

literaturesearchingusingdatabases.

● Space-asmalllabhasbeenallocatedto

projectworkandstoringassociated

equipment.

“forusit’sthatsecondstringandforthemjust

makingthemrealisethatit’snotthatthey’vedone

theexperimentbadlyandit’snottheirfaultor

whateverelsebutthatiswhatthenatureof

scientificdataisandbeingabletohandlethatand

copewithit.”

20

NorthernhubfortheInstitutefor

ResearchInSchools

NickHarris

Biologyteacher(alsoworkingwithotherlocal

primaryandsecondaryschools)

Projectdescription

NickisresponsiblefortheNorthernhubforIRIS.Post-16studentsareofferedtheopportunityto

participateinopen-endedinvestigationsbydoingarealscienceresearchproject(currentlyabout

MotorNeuroneDiseasestudiedinyeast).Regularmeetingsareonehouraweek,outsideschool

time,withpracticalactivitiesrunwhenevertheteacher,technicianandstudentscangettogether

duringtheschoolday.Studentsasktheirownquestionsofdataandparticipateinpracticalsteps

withNickduringfreeperiods.

Whoparticipates?

AnyA-levelstudentcanparticipate.


Althoughindividualstudentsmaynotbeable

toparticipateateverylevelofthepractical

aspectsoftheproject,Nickwantsstudents

tolearnwhatitistobeimmersedinareal

researchexperience,undersupervision.


Nickspendsmuchoftheprojecttimeon

discussingtheprojectanditsprocesseswith

thestudents,andengagingthemwiththe

designoftheexperiments.Hetriestolimitit

towhatthestudentsreallyneedtoknowto

beabletoparticipate.



Justdoit-ifyouwanttocreateaculture,

seminarandjournalclubsarequiteeasyto

setupandthereareperksfortheteacherin

theformofinvolvementwithexcitingnew

science,whichcanhelpincontinuingtofeel

partofthescientificcommunityandtofeel

inspiredtocontinueteaching.

Abouttheschool

TaptonSchoolisacomprehensiveco-educational

schoolforstudentsaged11-18,offeringALevels.

Teachersteachwithinsubjectspecialism.


Nickbelievesthatopen-endedinvestigationshelp

studentstoapplytheirAlevelbiologyknowledge

andtoexpandstudents’horizons.Henotesthat

studentsask“lotsofquestionsaboutwhatcouldit

beandthatwasencouragingsotheyareawareof

havingtothink.”Healsobelievesthatit

influencestheircareerdecisions.

Schoolsupport

Thereisaperceptionthattheschoolleadership

valuesresearch,includingintheappointmentof

newteachers.Nickbenefitsfromtechnical

supportwhenhecarriesoutthepracticalwork.

Othersupportingstructuresincludearesearch

seminarseriesandjournalclub.

“Theotherteachersintheroomarejustfallingovergoinghowcanyoudothat?Howdoyouhave

time?AndI’mlike,well,ifyouteachthemstuffthat’sbeyondthespecanditreallygivesthema

deeperunderstandingthenactuallythey’vegotatextbook,theydon’treallyneedmetotellthem

what’sinthattextbookbecausetheycanreaditthemselves.”

21

Antibioticsunlimited

ColinInglis

BiologyteacherandSTEMcoordinator

BoroughbridgeHighSchool

Projectdescription

Studentsfollowtheirowninterests,almostwithoutlimits.Manyprojectsarebasedaround

findingalternativesforantibiotics,becauseoftheissueofantibioticresistantbacteria.Starting

pointishomework,askingrelativesaboutalternativestheyhaveheardabout,orremediesthey

wouldrecommend.Projectsrunafterschool,onehouraweek.Someprojectsrunformanyyears,

drivenbythestudentsastheymoveuptheschool.Projectsarewrittenupandtakento

conferences,notlimitedtostudentconferences,and/orenteredforCRESTSilverAward.

Whoparticipates?

Anystudentwhoisinterestedcantakepart,

andtheycanworkontheirprojectover

multipleyears.


Preparingforafutureinafastchanging

present,Colinfeels“theydon’tneedtobe

taughtknowledge,theyneedtobetaught

thinkingskillsandproblemsolvingskillsand

creativityandtonotbelimitedbythebook

andwhateverelse”.


BecauseColindoesnotwanttolimitthe

studentsinanyway,heoftenfindshimself

outofhisdepthwiththescienceinitially.He

usesallhisteachingexperienceand

pedagogicalknowledgebutallowsstudents

togowheretheprojecttakesthem.

Abouttheschool

BoroughbridgeHighschoolisacommunity

comprehensiveschool,co-educationalforstudents

aged11-18.Studentshaveprovisiontostudyall

SciencestoALevelthroughapartnershipwithKing

James'sSchool.


Asenseof“researchculture”,and“whentheygo

touniversitythey’remoreconfident”.

Schoolsupport

TechniciansandSMTneededsomepersuadingof

themeritoftheprojectandthetimecommitment

butwerewonoverbyevidenceofthevalueforthe

students,aswellasColin’sacquisitionoftime-

savingequipment.



TakingSTEMthroughthelookingglass

(https://www.ase.org.uk/system/files/SSR%20Sept

ember%202017%20017-024%20Inglis.pdf)

“youseethemwhentheyarriveataconferenceandbytheendoftheconferencethey’reaboutsix

foottallerandthey’vegotallthecommunicationskillsandtheconfidence,they’vegotthe

vocabulary,andthey’rethencommunicatingtheirscienceandtheyarethescientistsforthe

moment…givesthemsomethingtotalkaboutwhentheygotointerviewsandapplyforcolleges

anduniversities”

22

IBInternalAssessment

PaulMcDaid

HeadofScience

TonbridgeGrammarSchool

Projectdescription

OpenendedinvestigativeprojectworkiscarriedoutaspartoftheIBDiplomaProgrammein

whichstudentsarerequiredtocompleteinternalassessment.Thisisbasedononescientific

investigationlastingapproximately10hours,whichtheschoolschedulesinadayoff-timetable

followingyear12exams.Lunchtimeandafter-schoolsessionsareofferedtohelpcomplete

laboratorywork.Studentsareabletopursuetheirowninterests.Projectshaveincludedan

investigationintothedifferenceinwaterhardnessacrosstheUK(thestudentreceivedpostal

watersamplesfromrelativesacrossthecountry)andthecreationoflab-basedmodelofocean

acidificationbyinvestigatingtheimpactofpHonrateofdecompositionofcalciumcarbonate.

Whoparticipates?

Almostallsixthformstudents.Theinternal

assessmentformostoftheIBDPgroup4

subjectsisanopen-endedinvestigativeproject

worth20%oftheirmarkforthesubject.


Paulwouldlikehisstudentstolearn“howto

conductpracticalworkusingmanualdexterity”.

Healsowantsthemtogain“planningand

organisingskills,abilitytomanipulatedata,

reachconclusionsandevaluateprocesses.”


Paulseeshisroleassupportingstudentsto

pursuetheirowninterestsbutatthesametime

ensuringthattheprojecttheydesignisfeasible.

Paulgivesstudentsthechancetopractise

researchdesignanddatahandling,andgives

feedbackonearlyplans.



● Allowstudentstheopportunitytocome

upwiththeirownideas.

● Providestudentswithalistof‘triedand

tested’practicalsandencouragethem

tomanipulatethevariables.

Abouttheschool

TonbridgeGrammarSchoolisaselective

grammarschoolwithacademystatus,

educatinggirlsaged11-16,andgirlsandboys

inthesixthform.Teachersteachwithintheir

specialism.TheIBistaughtexclusivelyatsixth

form.


AccordingtoPaul,themainoutcomesarethat

studentscan“thinkindependently,theyhave

theabilitytoapproachaproblemandfinda

waythroughittoseewhetheritactually

works.”

Schoolsupport

Paulidentifiedarangeofsupportthatthe

schoolprovides,mostnotably

providingextendedtimetabledtimeinthe

summertermforinvestigativework.

“Ithinkthere’llbeaknock-oneffectto

researchersinthefuture.Yes,notallofour

schoolchildrenaregoingtobescientists,butfor

thatpercentagethatareIthinkit’simportant

thatwegivethemanopportunitytodevelop

theirhandlingskills,todeveloptheirskills,but

alsotounderstandwhatthey’redoing,and

why.”

23

Summerwithwoodlice

SimonMoore

BiologyTeacher

WymondhamHighSchool

Projectdescription

Open-endedinvestigativeprojectworkonwoodlousebehaviouriscarriedoutinsummertermat

theendofYear12.Studentsspendapproximatelysixweeks(15-18lessons)conductingan

investigationintowoodlousetaxisandkinesis.Simonintroducedtheprojectsbecausehe

believedthatstudentsweremissingimportantlearningopportunitiesfollowingthemoveaway

frominvestigativeworkinexaminationspecifications.Studentsinvestigatethesamesubjectarea,

butaskdifferentresearchquestionsanddesigningprojectsindifferentways.

Whoparticipates?

AllALevelBiologystudents


Simonwantsstudentstolearnthevalueof

ownershipofaresearchquestion,andto

appreciatethechallengeswithdoing

research.Hethinksitisimportantfor

studentstolearntheneedforalarge

volumeofdata,howtocontrolvariables,

andhowtousestatistics.


Simonsetstheprojectupbyintroducing

sometheoreticalbackgroundtothe

behaviourofwoodlice.Heprovides

studentswithmethodsandanalytical

techniques,butstudentsarenotprovided

withthequestionorproblemtheywill

investigate,althoughtheycanuseexamples

ofinvestigationsfrompreviousyearsas

inspiration.



Simonencouragesinterestedteachers

tofindatopicthatintereststhemand

justgetstarted.

Aboutthecollege

WymondhamHighSchoolisan11-18co-

educationalacademyinNorfolkwithapproximately

1600studentsonroll.Post-16,WymondhamHigh

offersALevels.


Simonbelievesthattheprojectsenablestudentsto

understandhowtoaskagoodresearchquestion,

i.e.tounderstandthescientificcontextandfind

outwhatisalreadyknown.Simon’sstudentslearn

howtomakedecisionsaboutexperimentaldesign.

Simonfeelstheprojectsallowstudentstogetto

gripswithscientificreferencing,andtolearnthe

relativevalueofinternetreferencesandreferences

frombooks.

Schoolsupport

Theschoolofferstechnicalsupportfortheproject

(technicianslookafterthewoodlice).Post-16

resultsaregood,studentsenjoytheinvestigations

andtheyareperceivedtobeagooduseoftime,

whichreleasesthepressuretostartteachingthe

year13courseafteryear12exams.

“Idoitbecauseit’stheonlyopportunitythatthey

gettodoanyrealscience:totakeaproblem,find

outaboutitandthencomeupwithananswer.

Whatmattersistheygiveitagoandit’sareal

questionthatnobodyknowstheanswerto.”

24

Redoxtitrations,Salters’style

LisaNiven

Chemistryteacher

AllSaintsRomanCatholicSchool

Projectdescription

Redoxtitrationsinvolvingiron.Open-ended,butlimitedstudentchoice-teachersetscontext,

studentsworkingroupsandareassignedafoodgroup,afterwhichtheychoosetheirownspecific

foodtoinvestigateindividually.Bake-Offstyleinformation/recipeprovidedtostudents,including

balancedequation(s)forstoichiometry.Curriculumtime,fortwotothreeweeks,allocatedjust

beforethesummerholidayinyear12.Studentsmayspendadditionaltimeinthelabduringfree

periods,lunchandafterschool,dependingonlabspaceandsupervisionavailability.

Whoparticipates?

AllAlevelChemists,eveniftheydonot

pursuethefullAlevel;someofthosedrop

outduetoASresultsandtheirfutureplans.

Abouttheschool

AllSaintsRomanCatholicSchoolisa

comprehensiveschool,co-educationalfor

studentsaged11-18.


Lisawantsstudentsto“learntobe

resourceful”,andtogetagoodtasteof

collaboration,talkingthroughproblems,and

intheprocessofwritingaboutexperimental

work.Thereshouldbeopportunitiestolearn

frommistakes,andtogainanunderstanding

thatthatisacommonandusefultraitin

scientists.


BuildacommunityofA-levelstudents,fromwhat

weredisparateandseparateclasses.Students

buildconfidence,become“morewillingtoask

questions”.Potentialforpositiveimpactonthe

students’CPACendorsementandthesubstanceof

aUCASreference.Openssomestudents’eyesto

otheroptionsoutthere(e.g.dieticianratherthan

scientistordoctor).


Facilitator,withminorscaffolding,

sometimesreferringtostudents’labbooks

ofearlierwork.Signingoffplans,including

riskassessments.Guidanceprovidedonthe

kindsofquestionsthatneedtobeanswered

inareport,butencouragingpeerdiscussion

aboutallaspects.

Schoolsupport

Headtechnicianoutlineshealthandsafety

expectationsatstart,showspossibleequipment,

supportswithrestockingsupplyofchemicals.A

supportivedepartment,willingtomovearound,

allowsforonelabdedicatedtotheprojects,as

longasitcanbesupervisedbyachemistanddoes

notoverruncapacity(“oneout,oneinpolicy”).



Probablyunwisetotrybeforethesummer

terminyear12,asyouneedtoknowyour

studentsfairlywell.Itwouldmakesenseto

haveanexample,sayfromSaltersor

Nuffield,andexpandthat.“Don'treinvent

thewheel.”

“Don'tbeafraidtotryit.Ithinkthatwouldbethe

bigthing,isthatit'sveryscarytotrysomethingas

bigasthis,particularlyifyou'veneverdoneit

beforeandyoudon'thavesomebodytosupport

you.ButthegainsfaroutweightherisksIthink.”

25

AlegacyofAdvancingPhysics

beforethelinearexams

SimonPoliakoff,HeadofPhysicsandSpecialist

LeaderinEducation

DameAliceOwen’sSchool

Projectdescription

FollowingthelossofcourseworkfromtheAlevelspecification,thePhysicsdepartmentdecidedto

reintroduceopen-endedprojectsduringtheweeksbeforethesummerholidaysattheendofyear

12.Studentschosefromaroundadozenprojectsonwhichtobasetheirowninvestigations,from

newcontextsforunderstandingsimpleharmonicmotiontotheHalleffect.Theyworkindividually

orasapair.Studentshaveanhourlongintroductorysession,fivehoursofpracticalwork

supplementedbyhomeworkthentwohourstocreateaconference-styleposter.

Whoparticipates?

AllA-levelphysicistsparticipate.Theschool’s

biologyandchemistrydepartmentsdonot

havealegacyofopen-endedcourseworkas

partoftheirearlierspecification,anddonot

currentlyoffersimilarprojectswithbiologyor

chemistrystudents.

Abouttheschool

DameAliceOwen'sSchoolisapartiallyselective

mixedacademysupportedbyTheWorshipful

CompanyofBrewersoftheCityofLondon.The

sixthformcurriculumcomprisessolelyofAlevels

andteachersteachwithinspecialism.


Simonintendsstudentstolearnhowto

managetheirtimeovermultiplepractical

sessions,howtoprogressaninvestigation

beyondaninitialplan,howtochoosesuitable

graphstoplotandtestrelationshipsandhow

topresentaconference-styleposter.


Examplesofoutcomescorrespondedwithwhat

studentsneededtosucceedatAlevel,butmore

besides.Simonfeltthatstudentsgained

experienceinmakingdecisionsabouttheir

projectandmanagingtheirtimeoveralonger

project.


Simonstartsstudentsoffwithaquestionand

somesuggestedreferences.Heseeshisroleas

aguidethroughtheproblemsthatmightcrop

up,eitherfromasub-optimaldesignorfrom

sub-optimalresults.Simonsharespossible

projectsviaGoogledrive,readsplansin

advance,speakstostudents,providestraining

whereneeded,troubleshootsandteaches

relatedpracticalssothatstudentscanplan

theirownmethodforarelatedquestion.

Schoolsupport

Allphysicsteachersareinvolvedwiththeopen-

endedprojects,workingtogethertopreparethe

projectsandsupervisestudentswithsupport

fromagoodspecialisttechnician.RemovalofAS

examshasprovidedatimeforstudentstodo

theirinvestigationsandfreedomfromhavingto

doinvestigationsascourseworkhasenabled

teacherstosupportawiderrangeofprojects,

andgivenmorescopeforstudentstoiterateand

greaterflexibilityinhowfindingsarepresented.



Itiseasiertostartbyhavingalistof10-12

suggestedtitlesandreferences,because

studentsoftenstagnatewhengivena

completelyopenchoice.

“It'snownolongeracoursework,thoughwe

wereusingitasfurtherevidenceoffeedback

criteriaastheinvestigativeskillsasthepractical

endorsement.”

26

Plantingideasinplantbiologyand

psychology

RichardSpencer

HeadofScience

MiddlesbroughCollege

Projectdescription

Richarddoesdifferentprojectseachyear,dependingonhisinterestsandopportunitiesavailableat

thattime.TheprojectthatranthisyearwaslinkedtoavisittoDilstonPhysicGardenwiththeRoyal

SocietyofBiologyandtheSAPSplantsummerschool.Ittookplaceforanhouraweekoveraperiod

ofabout4months,inparallelwithfieldworkplanning.Studentsweregivenexperienceof

experimentaldesignandopen-endedinvestigativeworkinthecontextofherbalteas,oilsor

tincturesandtheninvestigatedtheeffectofherbalessentialoilsonmemory.Richarddesignedthe

projectincollaborationwithDrNicolettePerry,apharmacognosistanddirectoratDilstonPhysic

Garden,followingadiscussionaboutmemoryandplantessentialoils.

Whoparticipates?

Alevelbiologystudents.


Richardwantshisstudentstolearnabout

“realscienceandtoexperiencehowresearch

raisesfurtherquestions,howtodesigna

researchprojectthatisfeasibleandhowto

processdata”.


Richardsaysthat“firstandforemostyou

havetobeenthusiasticaboutityourself.”To

dothat,Richardfeelstheneedtohavegood

backgroundknowledgehimself.Richard

presentsstudentswithabriefandarelated

researchstudy,andthenstudentsdecideon

theirquestion,methodandallthatfollows.

Richardshareshisexperienceinresearch

sciencewithstudents,empathisingwhen

theyexperienceproblems.



● “Taketheriskandtheresultswill

speakforthemselves.”

● Useopen-endedprojectstodevelop

CPACrelatedskills.

● Workinpartnershipsothatyouhave

somebodytohelpwiththe

developmentandshareideas.

Aboutthecollege

MiddlesbroughCollegeisalargefurthereducation

collegeforstudentsagedover16.Thereare14,000

studentsonroll.Awiderangeofpost-16science

coursesareoffered,includingAlevels,vocational

coursesandapprenticeships.Richardteacheswithin

thesixthformdirectorate.


Richardidentifiedarangeofgainsforstudents

includingdevelopinganinterestinandenthusiasm

forscience(particularlyplants),tounderstanding

howresearchworksandmakingAlevelcontent

moremeaningful.Richardalsoidentifiedmore

instrumentalgains,includingdistinctiveexperiences

thatcanbeusedinUCASapplications.

Schoolsupport

Richarddoesnothaveprotectedtimeforcarrying

outprojects:hesqueezesprojectsintohisspare

timeandclasstime.Techniciansprovidesupportin

designingnewapproachestopracticalworkand

adviceonhealthandsafety.

“Tobeagreatteacheryouhavetobeagreat

learnerandyourstudentsneedtoseethatyou’re

learning…that’soneofthemostimportantthings

aboutinvestigativework.You’renotjustdoingan

experiment:you’reexploring;you’refindingout

togetherandyoudon’tknowwhattheresultswill

show.”

27

RealWorldChemistry

StuartStrathdee

GreenheadCollege

Huddersfield

Projectdescription

OpenendedinvestigativeprojectworkisofferedthroughRealWorldChemistry,anenrichment

projectopentoallyear12and13students.Studentsranktheirpreferredprojectsfollowingshort

presentationsfromtheUniversityofHuddersfield’sSchoolofAppliedSciences.Stuartthen

matchesupstudents’interestswitharesearchgroup,payingattentiontomakingsureeachgroup

hasstudentsindifferentyeargroupswithdifferentstrengths.Studentsworktogetherwiththe

universitystafftoreviewresearchandsomecarryoutdatacollectionintheirareaofinterest.

Theseincludedprojectsoncarboncaptureandindustrialprocessesandsafety.Projectstypically

involvestudentsworkingacrossdisciplines,forexampleaprojectonsolarcellsinvolvedapplying

knowledgeofelectronics,organicchemistry,andpolymers.

Whoparticipates?

Sixthformstudentsinyears12and13workin

groups.In2017/18,28studentsparticipated.Of

these,24arenowstudyingforSTEMrelated

degrees.UsingALPS,thesestudentsmade

outstandingprogress(highgrade2).

Aboutthecollege

GreenheadCollegeisasixthformcollege

educatingyoungpeopleaged16-18,primarily

offeringAlevelaswellastheExtendedProject

Qualification.Therearecurrentlyabout880

studentsstudyingAlevelchemistry.


Stuartwantsstudentstolearnresearch,

analytical,presentationandteam-workingskills,

aswellastogainanappreciationof

interdisciplinarityandofchemistryintheworld,

inrelationtothepolitical,economic,social,

technological,legalandenvironmentalcontext.


Stuarthasseen“massiveboostsin

confidence”andhashadmanystudentsgoon

toSTEMdegrees.Stuartreportsthatthe

projectshelpstudenttoworkaspartofa

group,topresentfindingsinaprofessional

settinganddevelopemployabilityskills.


Stuartseeshisroleasafacilitatoroftheprojects,

makingsurethattheyaremakingprogresseach

weekandliaisingwiththeuniversity.Stuart

teachesstudentshowtofindabstractsusing

publicdomainsearchengines,howpeerreview

works,andhowtojudgethevalidityand

reproducibilityofresearchstudiesandsupports

studentstointerpretscientificpapers.

Collegesupport

Thecollegedaycurrentlyallowssomeextra

non-contacttimeforstafftodevelopnew

enrichmentactivities,andallteachersare

expectedtocontributetoanextracurricular

activity.Theintellectualspacetofocusonthe

projectcomesfrombeingabletospecialiseas

ateacherofchemistryandtodiscussideas

withchemistryspecialistcolleagues.



● Organiseregulartimetabledmeetings.

● Involveacolleaguetoshareworkand

ideas.

● Sharegoalswithpartnerorganisations.

“Ithinkit’sreallyimportanttheyrealisehow

collaborativeandhowinterconnectedallreal

researchis.[RealWorldChemistry]didmake

themrealisehowmanypeopleandhowmany

differentfieldscontributetoadvances.”

28

Meetingthechallengesassociatedwithopen-endedinvestigative

projects

Teachersinallschoolsandcollegesidentifiedchallengesthattheyhadexperiencedthemselves,or

thatcolleagueshadsharedwiththeminrelationtodoing(ornot)open-endedinvestigativeprojects.

Thesefellintothreemaincategories:challengesassociatedwiththeexternalpolicycontext,the

studentexperience,andschoolinfrastructure.Theteacherswespoketotendedtofocuson

solutionswhentheywereaskedtoidentifybarriersorchallenges.Thechallengeshavebeen

matchedwithresponsesfromteacherswithinthesample,demonstratingdifferentapproachesto

overcomingperceivedandactualchallengesassociatedwithofferingopen-endedprojects.

Challengesassociatedwiththeexternalpolicycontext

Challenge Response

Curriculumandassessment

Open-endedinvestigationsarenot

thoughttobevaluedintheway

scienceisexamined.Teachers

reportedthatassessmentregimes

oftenencourage‘spoonfeeding’and

asaresultstudentsstruggletothink

criticallyandunderstandscientific

methods.

● Teachacurriculumthatvaluesopen-ended

investigativework(e.g.theIBorBTEC).

● Valueinvestigativeworkbytimetablinglessons

leadingtoarecognisedaward(e.g.CREST).

● Useopen-endedinvestigationsasevidencefor

students’practicalendorsement.

● Encouragecriticalthinkingandengagementwith

scientificmethodsinalow-riskcontextthrough

open-endedinvestigativeprojects.

Healthandsafety

Manymorestudentswantto

participateintheprojectsthana

singleteachercancopewithforsome

projectswhereproceduresare

hazardous.

Projectswhichgivestudentsfree

choiceovertopicanddesignrequire

individualriskassessments,whichis

anadditionalworkloadforteachers.

Newinvestigationareasrequire

triallingandnewriskassessments.

● Carryoutsomestepsasanextra-curricular

activitywithasmallnumberofstudents

● Constrainchoicee.g.toasmallnumberof

techniques.

● AskCLEAPSSandequipmentmanufacturersfor

supportwherebeyondtheusualscope.

● Moreexperiencedcolleaguessupportedless

experienced.

● Testideasoutaloneorwithatechnicianduring

theholiday.

● AsktechniciansorPGCEstudentstosearch,test

andrefineprocedures.

Fundingforstafftime

Lackofacknowledgementor

recognitionforteacherandtechnician

timeindepartmentalandinstitutional

workloadmodels,andfundingmodels,

includingschoolfundingandgrantsfor

projectworkinschools.

● Teachersrespondedbyworkingvoluntary

beyondtheirtimetabledhours.

● Oneteacherhadbeeninvolvedinalargerscale

projectthatpaidforteachertime.

● Treatopen-endedprojecttimeasanyother

timetabledsubject.

● Encouragestudentstowriteaboutopen-ended

investigationsinUCASapplications.

● Relieveteacherswhorunopen-ended

investigationsfromduties.

29

Challengesassociatedwiththestudentexperience

Challengeidentified Response:whatteachersdid

Theacademicdemandof

projectscanbeseentobea

distractionfrommeetingexam

specificationrequirements.

● Treatinvestigationsasameansbywhichstudentscan

applyknowledgeanddevelopadeeperunderstanding

ofspecificationcontent,particularlyinrelationtothe

examinationof‘requiredpracticals’.

● Useprojectstodemonstratethatstudentshavemet

theCPACfortheirpracticalendorsement.

● Teachersarguedthatopen-endedinvestigative

projectshadapositiveimpactonattainmentatAlevel

andontheirabilitytomakemoreinformedcareer

decisions.

● Useschooldatasets(e.g.ALPS)tocomparecohorts

doingprojectworkwiththosewhoarenottomonitor

impactonattainment.

Itcanbechallengingfor

studentstocopewithand

interpretunexpectedresults.

Somestudentsfindthisdifficult,

orevendemoralising.

● Empathisebysharingtheirownexperienceof

investigationsinindustryoracademia.

● Demonstratethattheyarelearningoutsidetheir

comfortzonetoo.

● Explainthisasacharacteristicofdoingrealscience.

Thelevelofmathematicalor

statisticaldemandwasoften

greaterthanhadbeentaught.

● Provideworkbooksapplyingmathematicsandstatistics

inscientificcontextsfromthebeginningofthecourse.

● Teachstatisticsandaskstudentstoapplyinnew

sciencecontextsthroughopen-endedprojects.

Studentssometimesstruggleto

understandscientificmethods.

● Useopen-endedinvestigativeprojectsasawayof

teachingaboutrealscience,researchdesign,data

handlingandanalysis.

● Encouragecollaborationbetweenstudentsindifferent

yeargroupsbyofferingafter-schoolsupport.

Motivationattheendofyear12

insummer.

● Offeranopen-endedprojectwherestudentshave

freedomtoinvestigatesomethingofinteresttothem.

Instrumentalapproachesto

learning,somestudents

reluctanttolearnbeyondthe

specification.

● Useopen-endedinvestigationsasevidencefor

students’practicalendorsement.

● Modelenthusiasm,loveoflearningandinterestin

findingoutabouttheworldorsolvingaproblem.

Studentsareverygoodatrecall

buthavehadlittlepracticeat

handlingdataatGCSE.

● Createopportunitiesforstudentstoexperiencedata

handlingthroughlow-riskopen-endedinvestigative

projects.

Notallstudentscanaccess

extracurricularprojectwork.

● Createopportunitiesforprojectworkinclasstime,

particularlyattheendofyear12.

30

Challengesassociatedwithinfrastructure

Challenge Response:whatteachersdid

Scientificliteratureandothersources

areofteninaccessibletostudentse.g.

recentpapersarebehindpaywalls.

● Collaboratewithuniversitycolleagues,who

providedaccesstostudents.

● SubscribetojournalssuchasChemistryReview.

Accesstoexternalpartners. ● ThoseincitieswereabletodrawonSTEM

Ambassadorsanduniversityscientists.

Equipmentavailableinschool

constrainsstudents’approach.

● Seekinternal(e.g.PTA)andexternal(e.g.Royal

Society)funding.

● Liaisewithalocaluniversity.

● Askforequipment(e.g.ex-displaymodels.)

Space.Manyschoolsandcolleges

werepreviouslyabletouseaspare

laboratoryforprojectwork.

● Designateasinglelaboratoryasa‘projectlab’

forpartoftheyear;protectthisinthetimetable.

● Redeploysmallclassroomsnolongersuitablefor

largerclasssizes.

Time-boundedness.Fittingextended

investigativeworkintotimetabled

lessonsischallenging.

● Requestadditionaltimetablinginthesummer

termwhenstudentsareoftenoutofclassdoing

exams,ontripsorconductingfieldwork.

● Encourage‘kitchen’orhomescience,with

studentsbringingdataorsamplestoschool.

Studentnumbers.

Open-endedprojectsgeneratealotof

(different)questionsfortheteacher;

specialistequipmentcannotbeused

bylargenumbersatonce;

consumablesareexpensiveforlarge

cohortsofstudents.

● Startsmallbyofferinganoptionalprojector

club,moveintotimetabledtimeasexperienceis

gained.

● Allocateaweeklyslotwhenstudentsarefree

andinvolveothercolleagues.

● Involveotherteachersofthesamesubjecttoco-

planandsharesupervisionduties.

● Enlisttechnicians,visitingstudents,PGCE

studentsandNQTstosupportstudents’projects.

● Constrainchoice:identifyfamiliarprocedures

thatcanbeadaptedtonewcontexts.

● Allowpairorgroupwork.

● Rotateprojectworkwithothernon-practical

workduringthesummerterm.

Technicians:someschoolshavefew

technicians,orahighturnover.

● Trainstudentstodotheirowntechnicalwork.

● Makethecaseforgreatertechnicalsupport.

Teacherinexperienceorlackof

expertiseinstudents’areasof

interest.

● Shadowamoreexperiencedcolleague

● Seeksupport,e.g.fromlocaluniversitiesviaan

outreachofficerorSTEMambassador.

● Modellearningalongsidestudents.

● Transferresponsibilityformostoftheworkto

students-adoptaresponsiverole.

31

Subject-specificobservations

Mostteachersinthesampletaughtwithintheirspecialismatkeystage4andabove,andthe

projectstheyofferedpost-16tendedtobewithinspecialism.Here,subject-specificconsiderations

arediscussed.Teacherswhoofferedprojectsthatcutacrossspecialismstendedtoworkwithothers

withcomplementaryexpertise,whetherresearchersworkinginauniversitycontextorteacherswith

adifferentscientificbackground(mostnotablypsychology).

Biologyprojects

Adistinctivefeatureofsomebiologyprojectswasthattheyinvolvedworkingwithlivingorganisms

includingbacteria,flies,woodliceandhumansubjects.Thisraisesanumberofissuesforteachers,

mostnotablytheethicalissues,andthehealthandsafetyconsiderationsneededinordertohouse

andcarryoutresearchonlivingorganisms.Someprojectshadresultedinnovelsolutionstodealing

withhealthandsafetyissuesthathadarisenduringopen-endedinvestigativeprojectwork.Having

ownershipofalabwasanimportantenablerofbiologyprojectsasthisallowedtheteacher

responsibletostoreresourcessuchasapparatusbetweenusewithstudents.Teachersidentified

students’statisticalknowledgeasaconceptualdemandofbiologicalprojects.

Chemistryprojects

Forchemistryprojects,thelegacyofspecificationsrequiringopen-endedinvestigativeprojectswas

evident,withteachersdrawingontheirexperiencesofsuccessfulSACprojects.

Althoughhealthandsafetyconsiderationswereimportantacrossallprojects,thiswasmostnotable

inchemistryprojects.Indeed,thedemandofriskassessmentsforopen-endedprojectswas

identifiedasoneofthekeyreasonswhychemistryprojectswerenothostedinaschoolwherethey

wereofferedinothersciences.Chemistryteachersinthesampledealtwithworkloadassociated

withriskassessmentsinanumberofways,forexamplebyconstrainingstudents’choiceof

procedureandreagent,orinvolvingtechniciansandotherteachersinprojects.Similarly,accessto

specialist(andoftenexpensive)analyticalequipmentwasimportantforchemistryprojects,and

universitiesplayedaroleinprovidingaccesstoequipmentorofferinganalysisofsamplesforschool

studentsconductingopen-endedinvestigativework.Forprojectsusingonlyschoolequipment,the

set-upandclear-awaytimeneededforwetchemistryprojectswasanimportantconsiderationgiven

timetablingconstraints.

Mathematicaldemandappearedintheseprojects,mostnotablyforstoichiometriccalculationsand

logarithms,andsometeachershadbuiltappliedchemicalmathematicsintotheirAlevel

programmesasaseparate,independentstrandofwork.

Physicsprojects

Thelegacyofexamspecificationsrequiringopen-endedinvestigativeprojectswasevidentforsome

physicsteachers,whowerebuildingonthelegacyofSHAP.Theyconstrainedchoice,allowing

studentstoselectprojectsofvaryinglevelsofdemandintermsofsubjectknowledgeor

manipulativeskill.Alsoimportantforthephysicsprojectswasmathematicalcompetence.

32

Conclusionsandlimitations

Thisreportdrawsoncasestudiesasmallsampleofteachersdoingopen-endedinvestigativeproject

work.Open-endedinvestigativeprojectsaredefinedastasksinwhichstudentsdesignan

experimenttotestagivenquestion,carryitoutandinterprettheresults,allwithinafixedtime

period(Gatsby,2017).Allteachersinthesamplevaluedopen-endedinvestigativeprojectworkto

theextentthattheywerewillingtodedicatetheirownnon-directedtime,andindeedpersonaltime,

tosupportingit.Teachersallowedallstudentsintheirschooltoaccessopen-endedinvestigative

projects,regardlessofpriorattainment.

Howdoscienceteacherapproachestopractical,open-endedandextendedinvestigativeprojects

vary?Allprojectswereuniqueinoneormoreofthefollowingdimensions:subject,extentofopen-

nessforstudents,useofexternalsupport,durationoftheproject,amountofclasstimededicatedto

theproject,involvementoftechnicalstaff,useofresearchliterature,assessment,andpresentation

offindings.Wheretheycould,teachersfoundwaystoformallyrecognisetheirstudents’work.

Whatdoteacherswantstudentstolearnbycarryingoutopen-endedinvestigativeprojectsin

science,andhowdotheybringthisabout? Teachershadclearintendedlearningoutcomesfor

open-endedinvestigativeprojectwork,mostsignificantly,learningtodo‘real’science,

understandingthestateofthefield,researchdesign,datahandlinganditeration.Eachteacherhad

additionallearningoutcomescorrespondingtotheirspecificproject.Preparationforuniversityand

theUCASprocesswasalsoimportant.Teacherstendedtointroducethecontextattheoutsetand

movetowardsahands-off,responsivemodeofteaching.Someteachersscaffoldedpracticalwork

overyear12towardsindependentinvestigativework.

Howdoteachersseetheirroleinsupportingstudentstocarryoutopen-endedinvestigative

projectsinscience? Teacherssawtheirprimaryroleinplanningandintroducingtheproject,

facilitatingstudentchoiceandlearning,ensuringriskswereminimisedandthattheworkcomplied

withhealthandsafetyrequirements,networkingwithexternalorganisationsandrespondingto

students’needs.

Whatenablessuccessfulprojectworkinschoolsorcolleges,andwhatbarriersexist? Common

barrierstoopen-endedinvestigativeprojectworkincurriculumtimewereteachertime(requiredof

teacherstoplanprojects,assessrisksandsupportstudentsonanindividualorgroupbasis),school

timetabling,thelevelofdemandforstudents,studentmotivation,andinstrumentalattitudes,

wherebyactivitieswerevaluedinrelationtohowlikelytheyarethoughttoinfluenceexamination

success.Forsome,lackofteacherexpertisewasconsideredabarrier.Resourcessuchasaccessto

literature,labspace,equipment,technicalsupportandexternalexpertisealsoactedasbarriers,

particularlyinsomelocations.Allteachersinthisstudyhadfoundwaysofnegotiatingbarriers.

Enablersofopen-endedinvestigativeworkrelatedtotheteacher(experience,freedom),the

department(availabilityoftechnicalsupport),seniorschoolleadership(resources,policies,

deploymentofstaffandspace),specifications,andexternalsupportandrecognition(STEM

ambassadors,CRESTAwards,grantfunding).

33

Itwasdifficulttofindteacherswhocarryoutprojectworkinclasstime,andasaresultthereport

drawsonasmallnumberofteacherswhowerecurrentlydoingopen-endedprojects.Noteachersin

thesamplediscussedopen-endedinvestigationsinthecontextofoutdoorlearningorfieldwork;nor

basedlargelyinuniversityoutreachlaboratoriesnorascontributingtoanEPQ.Onlyteachersin

stateschoolswereincludedinthesample,andallwereworkingininstitutionsgraded‘good’or

‘outstanding’byOfsted.Allhadatleast5years’experience,withthemajorityhavingmorethanten.

Alloftheteachershadnegotiatedchallengessuccessfullytogreaterorlesserdegrees.Thereare

likelytobeteachersinmorechallengingcontexts,withlessexperiencewhoexperiencedifferent

barriers.

34

Recommendations

Teachers

Practicalsuggestionsformakingopen-endedinvestigativeprojectspossible:

● Useopen-endedprojectsasawayofteachingrequiredpracticalsandproviding

opportunitiestomeettheCPAC.

● Planinadvance:identifygoodcandidatepracticalsthatcanbemadeopen-ended.Aska

PGCEstudentorNQTtohelpwiththiswork.

● Takeitslowly-tryitwithonegroupandworkthroughanyteethingproblems.

● Enlisttechnicalsupportinrefiningprocedures.

● Whenyougetstuck,contactascientist-universitiesaregenerallywillingtohelpteachers.

● Students’workcanberecognisedwithCRESTAwards-thiscanhelpconvinceschool

leadershipthatopen-endedinvestigationsarevaluable.

● Requestdifferenttimetablingarrangementsforthesummertermtofacilitateextended

investigations.

Schools

Schoolscantakeanumberofstepstomakeopen-endedinvestigativeworkpossible:

● Adoptcurriculathatrequireopen-endedinvestigativework.

● Ensurethestaffing,estateandfundingofsciencedepartmentsisadequatetoprovide

opportunitiesforopen-endedprojectwork.

● Givescienceteachersautonomy,particularlyafterexaminations(wheretheyexist)inthe

lowersixth(year12).

● Valueteachertimebytimetablingopen-endedinvestigativeworkandcountinginworkload

models.

● Adoptflexibletimetablingmodels,e.g.allowingforperiodiccollapseddaysforopen-ended

projectworkandreleasingteacherstoplanandsuperviseprojects.

● Fundtechnicalsupportforopen-endedinvestigativework.

● Encourageteachingwithinspecialism,andspecialisttechnicalsupport.

Systems

Anumberofsystemicchangesarelikelytosupportmakingopen-endedinvestigativeprojects

possible:

● Teacherandtechnicianbuy-outforcollaborativeprojectscouldbefunded.

● Inclusionofopen-endedandextendedinvestigativeworkinexaminationspecifications.

● Extend/formalisenetworks(ofpeople,portableequipment)acrossEnglandtoensurethat

schoolsinallareashaveaccesstoSTEMexpertise.

● Workwithexaminationboardstodevelopexemplarmaterialfordemonstratingstudents

meettheCPACthroughopen-endedinvestigativework.

● Commissionresearchtoinvestigatetheimpact(ifany)ofopen-endedinvestigativeworkon

post-16attainment.

35

References

Bennett,J.,Dunlop,L.,Knox,K.J.,Reiss,M.J.,&TorranceJenkins,R.(2018).Practicalindependent

researchprojectsinscience:asynthesisandevaluationoftheevidenceofimpactonhighschool

students.Internationaljournalofscienceeducation,40(14),1755-1773.

BuckL.B.,BretzS.L.andTownsM.H.,(2008),CharacterizingtheLevelofInquiryinthe

UndergraduateLaboratory,JournalofCollegeScienceTeaching,38,52-58.

Cramman,H.,Kind,V.,Lyth,A.,Gray,H.,Younger,K.,Gemar,A.,Eerola,P.,Coe,R.&Kind,P.(2019)

'Monitoringpracticalscienceinschoolsandcolleges.',ProjectReport.DurhamUniversity,Durham.

TheGatsbyFoundation(2017)GoodPracticalScience.London:TheGatsbyCharitableFoundation.

Gott,R.andDuggan,S.(1995)InvestigativeworkintheScienceCurriculum.Buckingham:Open

UniversityPress.

Loughran,J.,Berry,A.,&Mulhall,P.(2012).UnderstandingandDevelopingScienceTeachers’

PedagogicalContentKnowledgeVol.12.SpringerScience&BusinessMedia.

36

Appendix1Questionnaire

Teachingthroughopen-endedinvestigativework

(AdaptedfromGoogleForms)

AresearchteamfromtheDepartmentofEducationattheUniversityofYorkiscarryingoutaproject

ontheteachingofopen-endedinvestigativeprojectworkwithpost-16students.Weareinterested

infindingoutwhatteachersintendstudentstolearn(andhowtheydesignlearningexperiencesto

achievethis)whentheydoopen-endedinvestigativeworkwithpost-16students.Byopen-endedwe

meanthatalthoughtheoutcomesmaybeknowntotheteacher,theyarenotknowntothe

students.

Theresearchwillinvolvethefollowingbriefsurveyincombinationwithsemi-structuredinterviews

tobeheldlaterthisyear.Ifyoudoopen-endedinvestigativeworkwithyourstudentsandareableto

helpbytakingpartinaninterviewlaterthisyear,pleasewouldyouanswer(briefly)thequestionson

thissurveyusingshortsentencesorbulletpoints.PleasedirectquestionstoDr.MariaTurkenburg

([email protected])orDr.LyndaDunlop([email protected]).

1. Whatconceptsorideasisitimportantforstudentstoknowinordertodosuccessfulopen-

endedinvestigativework?

2. Whatdoyouintendstudentstolearnthroughopen-endedinvestigativework?

3. Pleasestatewhetherornotyouprovidethefollowingtothestudent(s)whenyoudoopen-

endedinvestigativeworkwiththem.Forexample,ifstudentswereresponsiblefor

developingtheirownprocedures,select‘NOTprovidedtostudents’for3.Below.

Providedtostudents NOTprovidedtostudents

1.Problem/Question

2.Theory/Background

3.Procedures/Design

4.Analysisofresults

5.Communicationofresults

6.Conclusions

4.Ifyouarehappyforustoinviteyoutoafollow-upinterview,pleaseselect'Yes'below.

● Yes

● No

Thankyouforyourtime.Yourresponsestothesequestionswillinformtheinterviewquestionswe

asklaterintheyear.Ifyouwouldbecomfortabledoingso,pleaseforwardthelinktothissurveyto

anyoneyouknowofwhocarriesoutopen-endedinvestigativeworkwithstudents.

37

Appendix2Interviewguide

Contextualquestions

● HowlonghaveyoubeenteachingAlevelscienceinEngland?

● Whatdoyouconsideryourspecialism?WhatisyourhighestqualificationintheAlevel

sciencesubjectyouareteaching?

● Whatexamboardspecificationdoyoufollow?Why?Doyouhaveexperienceofothers?

Questionsaboutwhatteachersdotosupportlearning(foreachkeyideaidentifiedfromthepre-

interviewquestion:‘real’science;datahandling;researchdesign;stateofthefieldanditeration)

● Whyisitimportantforstudentstolearnthis?

● [Howdidyoulearntodothis?Wherewouldyougotofindoutmoreaboutthis?]

● Whatelsedoyouknowaboutthisthatyoudon’tintendstudentstoknowyet?

● Whatarethedifficultiesorlimitationsforateacherassociatedwithteachingthisidea?

● Whatknowledgeaboutstudents’thinkinginfluenceshowyouteachthisidea?

● Whatteachingproceduresorstrategiesdoyouuse?Whatareyourreasonsforusingthese?

● Whatotherfactorsinfluencehowyouteachthisidea?Forexample,knowledgeabouthow

studentsthinkorhowtheylearnscienceinfluenceshowyouteachthisidea?

● Whatstrategiesdoyouusetoascertainstudentunderstandingorconfusionaroundthis?

Questionsaboutthepracticalopen-endedextendedinvestigativeproject

● Pleasedescribethenatureofthepracticalopen-endedextendedprojectsyoudowithsixth-

formstudents.

● [askforexamplesofstimulusorothermaterialsprovidedtostudents]

● [Remindofresponsestolevelsofinquiryquestion]

○ Forthedimensionsthatwereprovided,howaretheyprovided?

○ Forthosethatarenotprovided,howarestudentssupportedtodothis

independently?

● Howlonghaveyoubeendoingthese?

● [ifinan11-18school]isprojectworkcommoninscienceatKS3andKS4?

● Whydidyoustartdoingthese?Whydoyoucontinue?

● Doyouexpectthewholeyeargrouptoundertakeprojectsorjustsome?Ifitisoptional

whichstudentstendtochoosetodothemandwhy?

● Isthereanyconceptualknowledgerequiredforstudentstoparticipateintheproject?How

dotheygainthis?

● Howdoyouseeyourroleinpracticalopen-endedextendedinvestigativeprojects?

● Howdoyousuperviseandmanagethese?

● Howdoyouworkwithothermembersofthesciencedepartment,orschool,todeliverthis

(teachers,technicians)?

● Howdoyouknowtheextenttowhichyouhavebeensuccessfulinpromotinglearning?

[probehowtheyassessstudents’knowledgeorpractice–ifyoudoassessstudents]

38

Concludingquestions

● Whatadvicewouldyougivetoateacherconsideringdoingtheseprojects?

● Whatconditionsdoyouthinkareneededforpracticalopen-endedextendedinvestigative

projectstobesuccessful?[mightneedsomeprobeshere–facilities,technicians,teacher

CPD,expectationsofawardingorganisations…]

● What,ifany,challengeshaveyouexperienced?(How)didyouovercomethese?

● Whatcanstudentsdodifferentlyasaresultofcarryingoutpracticalopen-endedand

extendedinvestigativework?

● Howdoyouseepracticalopen-endedextendedinvestigativeprojectscontributingtothe

aimsofpost-16scienceeducation?

● Isthereanythingelseyouwouldliketotellusaboutpracticalopen-endedextended

investigativeprojects?

Notesonkeyideas

Thesearethekeyideasthatteacherswhoparticipatedinthequestionnaireidentifiedasintended

learningoutcomesofopen-endedinvestigativeprojectwork.

Realscience

Thisideareferstothesensethatopenendedinvestigativeprojectsgivestudentsthechancetofind

outabout‘real’science,orworkmoresimilartothethingsscientistsdo.

Datahandling

Thisideareferstoseveralaspectsofdatahandlingthatareimportantforstudentstolearnabout

includingevaluationofdataandclaimsbyothers,decisionsaboutdatacollection(includinghow

decisionsaremadeaboutthesuitabilityandadequacyofdata),dataanalysis,interpretationand

datapresentation(forexamplestatisticsandgraphs).

Researchdesign

Thisreferstothedecisionsstudentsmakeaboutthemethodstheywillusetocarryoutaproject

thatanswersaresearchquestion.Thisincludesdecisionsaboutexperimentaldesign,themethodsof

datacollectionandanalysis,equipment,safetyandethics.

Stateofthefield

Thisidearelatestolearningabouthowknowledgeiscreatedinthediscipline,includinghowto

search,andreviewtheresearchliteratureandunderstandhowtheirworkcontributesto

understandingthestateofthefield.

Iteration

Thisreferstotherepetitiveandrecursive(ratherthanlinear)processlinkingdatacollectionand

analysisduringwhichstudentsmightnoticeunexpectedresults,testprocedures,gainexperienceof

trialanderror,ormakeamendmentstotheirmethods.

Practical, open-ended and extended investigative projects ...

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