Research School Network: Curriculum Design in Primary Science – Part Two In the follow-up to her first blog Jody Chan delves deeper in the construction of primary science curriculum

In continuation of my previous blog on curriculum design in science. There I outlined the core principles for effective curriculum design and discussed then in turn in more detail. Here I continue to delve deeper into those core principles.

Knowledge in Science

Broad and deep factual knowledge is usually the prerequisite for skills such as critical thinking, creative thinking, evaluation and analysis.

Knowledge in science is broken down into two important aspects by Ofsted, both need to be included in your curriculum plans. These two aspects are defined as:

- Substantive knowledge: refers to the established knowledge produced by science, for example, the parts of a flower or the names of planets in our solar system. This is referred to as ​‘scientific knowledge’ and ​‘conceptual understanding’ in the national curriculum.
- Disciplinary knowledge: refers to what pupils learn about how to establish and refine scientific knowledge, for example by carrying out practical procedures. This is distinguished from working scientifically as it emphasises the knowledge base needed for students to be able to work scientifically.

The curriculum needs to be specific about the knowledge that students need to learn. In my experience schools focus much more on the substantive knowledge and less thought is given to disciplinary knowledge. Disciplinary knowledge is more than just practical work, it includes:

1. Knowledge of scientific methods
2. Knowledge of apparatus and techniques
3. Knowledge of data analysis
4. Knowledge of how science uses evidence

Once you have broken down the components of disciplinary knowledge using the National Curriculums working scientifically section as guidance, sequence it out over the curriculum, outlining how it progresses over time and make sure it is embedded within the most appropriate substantive knowledge. This stage will need careful consideration, it is understandably the section most commonly missing from curriculum plans.

The EEF recognises that working scientifically can be challenging for both students and teachers alike as it integrates science content knowledge (substantive knowledge) with an understanding of the nature, processes and methods of science. They have provided a very useful seven-step model to guide pupils to work scientifically, this focuses on explicitly teaching the knowledge and skills required to work scientifically.

A note on practical work
This is a vital components of science teaching and one that is greatly enjoyed by pupils. It is important to note here that the practical work must have a purpose and not just be a fun activity. Clearly define the substantive and/​or disciplinary knowledge it will address and what its purpose is. Check the cognitive load of the task is not too high, as this can be another common pitfall of practical work.

Misconceptions
Building in time to the curriculum for pupils to discuss their ideas relating topics allows the teacher to identify misconceptions, which can then be addressed. Please be mindful that unless misconceptions are addressed, they may become embedded and last into adulthood. Pupils need sufficient understudying of the new knowledge for the misconception to be overcome. There are books and websites such as from the Primary Science Trust that describe common misconceptions and how to address them. https://pstt.org.uk/resources/common-misconceptions/

Within your science curriculum include the common misconceptions that students hold so that staff are aware of them and can address them, using some of the ways discussed in the link above.

Scientific Vocabulary

New tier two and tier three vocabulary should be incorporated into curriculum planning.

How the EEF defines these words is below, along with examples

The EEF recommends explicitly teaching science-specific vocabulary to help pupils articulate their understanding, participate in their learning and distinguish between every day words and those words in a scientific context. The EEF recommends:

- Identifying scientific vocabulary divided into tier 1,2,3 and polysemous (words that have an everyday meaning)
- Explicitly teaching the new words and their meanings and create opportunities for repeated engagement and use over time.

Within your curriculum identify the scientific vocabulary for each topic, it should be a manageable list and staff have guidance on how to use them. The vocabulary should be used by staff during their discussions with pupils and they should be giving pupils opportunities to use them in their verbal and written work, rather than just seeing them as checklist of words to go over.

Template

Below is a model template of how you could organise your curriculum, this could all be on one page. Alternatively, if there is too much to fit in you could separate it by year group and add in a section on prior and future learning so that each of the topics builds on prior learning.

Achieving all of the above is a large, likely daunting task, it is possibly too large to be achieved in one year, even after finding and tweaking online resources. If that is the case start with the key substantive and disciplinary knowledge for each year group then build on your curriculum plans the following year to include the other sections.

Once you have written your science curriculum and then had a cycle of using it, take the time to review and tweak it, so that it is even better for the following year.

Bringing the curriculum to life

Learning and performance should not be confused. Curriculum design should support real learning which requires durable changes to long-term memory.

The most important aspect of all is the teaching of the curriculum. Having a teacher that can clearly explain the scientific concepts, building upon what the students already know is the most important factor to successful learning of science. Research points to teacher led rather than discovery-based learning as being the most effective way for pupils to learn the complex subject matter in science.

Time needs to be built in to the curriculum for students to practice what they had learnt in order to remember it and for teachers to assess their understanding. Build time in the curriculum to consolidate what has been learnt and to address misconceptions. The focus of the curriculum should be on checking the content has been learnt rather than just a check list of what content should be covered.

Finding ways to contextualise the content helps more students engage with science and helps build their science capital. UCL in their Science Capital Approach give more guidance on how to achieve this. Fundamentally, it involves bringing real world examples to the classroom that relate to the students’ everyday lives.

Curriculum, teaching and assessment are inextricably linked. When all three are aligned and of the highest quality, they should facilitate effective learning for all students, irrespective of their starting points. In turn, this should translate into all students making good progress and achieving strong academic outcomes. This matters, because it gives them the best possible life chances.