: Acting like scientists: the power of purposeful practical activities Guiding pupils to work scientifically supports them to deepen their understanding of challenging concepts

Ellie Caple and Rebekah Edwards are evidence advocates at Tudor Grange Research School

‘Miss, someone has stolen my ice!’, claimed the Year 1 child on discovering the disappearance of the precious cold object he had so carefully stored in his coat pocket. The science savvy teacher saw the opportunity to capitalise on this direct scientific experience and turn this into a purposeful discussion about changes of state.

Seeing children discover and explore scientific concepts for the first time is one of the joys of teaching primary science. Children are naturally inquisitive, primed to investigate and discover. Every primary classroom or playground should contain elements that inspire curiosity in budding scientists and spark debates such as the one above. The flower bulbs growing on the windowsill, the caterpillars hatching into butterflies, the bug hotel in the playground all have their place. But, to effectively teach children to work scientifically, practical work needs to be far more than chance discoveries and exciting activities; it needs to be purposeful, with both teachers and students clear on the intent. At Tudor Grange Academy Trust (TGAT) we define purposeful student activities associated with this journey as ​‘acting like a scientist’.

The EEF’s new guidance report, Improving Primary Science, recognises the danger of intended learning outcomes going astray when working scientifically:

This is a theme which is also picked up in Ofsted’s research review of teaching in science:

We love the ​‘wow’ moments, the joy of discovery, the thrill of watching a process in real life. But we understand that without a strong foundation of knowledge, these experiences do not secure lasting changes to scientific understanding. 

On the other hand, carefully connecting substantive knowledge ‑the knowledge produced by science- with disciplinary knowledge ‑knowledge about how to establish and refine scientific knowledge- in the curriculum can deepen children’s understanding of both.

Planning for disciplinary knowledge

1. We identified the disciplinary knowledge that children would need to acquire. We found the research and resources produced by the Primary Science Teaching Trust (PSTT) helpful when ensuring breadth of enquiry experience:

2. To ensure meaningful progression, we planned for enquiry type to be revisited at least once a year, with children drawing on their growing substantive and disciplinary knowledge to tackle increasingly challenging, clearly defined, investigations. When observing over time in Year 1, for example, children record the changes they see pictorially and verbally. Children observing over time in Year 3 record their observations in tables that they have drawn themselves and produce written descriptions of their findings. By Year 6, children can choose the most appropriate method of recording and presenting their observations over time.

3. This progression of disciplinary knowledge, in areas such as measurement and data handling, is carefully matched to the national curriculum expectations in maths, giving precision in the expectations for each year group.

4. Once we were clear about the disciplinary knowledge in the curriculum, we systematically connected this to substantive knowledge, so that practical activities are never stand-alone experiences. Instead, both substantive and disciplinary knowledge are drawn together in scientific enquiries to create a comprehensive curriculum where we teach students to ​‘act like scientists’.

This clear sequencing and mapping of scientific disciplinary knowledge across the primary curriculum is essential if we are to harness the enthusiasm of children and teachers, keen to explore science from an exciting hands-on perspective, and ensure that this deepens learning. The result is students who have a fully developed scientific skills toolkit, able to independently ​‘act like scientists’, and who are ready to continue their scientific journey into secondary school and beyond.