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Michael West: A keen student no longer enjoying lessons
March 16, 2010 – 8:56 PM
Michael West is a Year 11 student who wrote to me following my recent article in The Times’ Eureka magazine. He has given me permission to reproduce the email here: I am a student, aged 16, and in the process...
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Prof. Edgar Jenkins: the search for a holy grail of science education
February 14, 2010 – 7:37 PM
Edgar Jenkins is Emeritus Professor at the School of Education of the University of Leeds The history of the schooling of the three basic sciences is different. Chemistry and physics began to find a place in a few public and...
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Michael de Podesta: Lunatics have taken over the asylum
January 23, 2010 – 4:59 PM
Dr Michael de Podesta is a physicist and Science Ambassador at the UK’s National Physical Laboratory Last week I attended a meeting organised by QCDA. They were apparently ‘seeking input’ from working physicists into the revised Physics GCSE curriculum. However...
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The aims of a good science education
October 25, 2009 – 9:36 AM
Mike, Stuart and Alom spent a lovely day yesterday bashing out what they think should be the aims of a good science education. Here are their initial thoughts: We believe that it is a right (and an expectation) of our...
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What is science?
October 25, 2009 – 9:29 AM
It seems like an obvious question, but perhaps one that we need to address head on when teaching science - what, exactly, is science? Philosophers and scientists have debated the question through history, often violently disagreeing with each other. We’ve...
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Stuart Billington: teachers excluded from important decision making processes
August 15, 2009 – 5:00 AM
Stuart Billington is a Head of Physics Teachers are not aware of opportunities to contribute nationally and positively to science education policies, curricula and assessments. Having spent three years trying to impact on this debate and having talked to various...
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Mike Bell: a manifesto
August 13, 2009 – 10:22 PM
Mike Bell is a Science teacher in St Ives, Cambs Looking back over the decline of science education over 20 years, I think we have to conclude that the only solution is for practicing science teachers to form a new...
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Bernard Dawson: the one size fits all approach leads to a ridiculous compromise for the most able, and for the integrity of the subjects themselves
August 6, 2009 – 5:00 AM
Bernard Dawson is a Head of Science I can only agree with the comments already expressed, that the one size fits all approach leads to a ridiculous compromise for the most able, and for the integrity of the subjects themselves....
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Emma Collins: students feel let down by exams
August 5, 2009 – 5:00 AM
Emma Collins is a science teacher at a comprehensive school in London Science is one of the most important subjects children can learn these days, specifically because everything we have relies on science. The UK is losing scientists at an...
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Roz Fresson: a steady decline over past 10 years in students' ability to work independently
August 4, 2009 – 5:00 AM
Roz Fresson teaches A-level Biology at a sixth form college. Point1: We have steadily seen a decline, over the past 10 years or so (since Curriculum 2000) in the ability of our students to work independently. (This is a generalisation...
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