Research School Network: Curriculum Design in Primary Science The first of two blogs in which Research School Associate Jody Chan considers the primary science curriculum

Crafting an effective science curriculum requires not only a deep understanding of scientific concepts but also a strategic approach grounded in evidence-informed practices.

The EEF in the Primary Science Guidance Report and Ofsted in their Science Reports; Science Research Review and Finding the Optimium provide invaluable guidance for educators looking to enhance their science curriculum.

I recently ran a CPD session for primary science leads and there was much discussion about primary curriculums. It made me reflect and think deeply about how I support colleagues in designing their curriculums, particularly as I know in primary schools that those responsible for the task do not always have a background in science over and above other subjects. In this blog I focus primarily on designing a primary science curriculum, though there will be common themes that are applicable to secondary science as well.

Core principles for effective curriculum design:

- The curriculum must provide a map that directs what knowledge should be taught and when it should be taught.
- The curriculum must be taught in a coherent and step-by-step sequence that allows for the incremental development of knowledge within each subject/​topic.
- When possible, each new unit of learning should build upon the previous unit.
- Broad and deep factual knowledge is usually the prerequisite for skills such as critical thinking, creative thinking, evaluation and analysis.
- New tier two and tier three vocabulary should be incorporated into curriculum planning.
- Learning and performance should not be confused. Curriculum design should support real learning which requires durable changes to long-term memory.

I will discuss each of these points in turn during the blog.

Steps for effective curriculum design in science:

Spiral Curriculum

A spiral curriculum provides that map that directs what knowledge should be taught and when it is taught. A spiral curriculum is particularly useful in planning a science curriculum, where key themes are revisited and built upon each year and new learning is linked to previous learning. To aid this it is necessary to first identify key themes that cover the National Curriculum (NC) content, for example, Living things and their Environment, Materials, Forces and Energy. This allows an overview of the curriculum to be created and makes it easier to plan for progression each year. This approach is possible at KS3 as well, though it is likely that there will be more key themes.

An example of a spiral curriculum is down below, this is taken from William Byrd School.

Knowledge in each Key Theme

The curriculum must be taught in a coherent and step-by-step sequence that allows for the incremental development of knowledge within each subject/​topic.

When possible, each new unit of learning should build upon the previous unit.

Once the key themes have been identified the knowledge being covered each year needs to be decided. This will be a more detailed document that sits behind the overview, showing what content will be covered for each year group.

It is important at this stage to make sure that there is coherence in the curriculum so that students have the necessary prior knowledge to access new learning and that new learning builds incrementally from their prior knowledge. It is also worth mentioning that in their review Ofsted found that some schools taught topics that was not on the NC or pitched at too high a level, without students having the necessary prior knowledge to access it. This is worth bearing in mind when planning your curriculum, as it could save you valuable time. Check if the content you are including is ​‘need to know’, i.e. is in the NC or ​‘neat to know’- what you feel would be interesting but not compulsory for students to learn. If it is ​‘neat to know’ then remove it if you are tight on time.

There is a wealth of information available to support planning your curriculum online, some schools have published their curriculum plans or organisations such as Plan for Assessment, have shared free curriculum plans. Use and adapt the resources that are freely available to you rather than reinvent the wheel, as in education we are all short of time.

I will continue this article in another blog, where I will discuss the different types of knowledge in science and how to embed them in the curriculum. I will also provide a template for a science curriculum along with how to bring the curriculum to life.