Anne Qualter

ABSTRACT In initial teacher training and when providing in‐service training for teachers we hope to make a contribution to science education by preparing people to become very good teachers of pupils. Recent Circulars produced by the Department for Education prescribing the content of teacher training courses in England include an explicit assumption that ensuring strong subject knowledge in teachers is the major contributor to good teaching and hence high standards in pupil achievement. This article reports on a small‐scale research project designed to look at the characteristics of good primary science teachers. The question is raised as to how these teachers came to be good teachers of science in the primary school. The findings call into question the efficacy of an approach to initial teacher education that focuses so much on the development of subject knowledge.

... EDWARD BOYES Environmental Education Research Unit, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK L69 3BX ANNE QUALTER Centre for Research into Primary Science and Technology, Department of Education, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK L69 3BX ...

ABSTRACT This article reports on the findings of a study of the views of 115 children, between the ages of 7 and 11, about where electricity comes from. The evidence indicates that, although there is a correlation between age and awareness that electricity is generated, and that it has to travel through wires, many children have a very limited understanding of the source of electricity. There are also gender differences associated with this understanding, with girls being less likely than boys to identify a source of electricity and connections between the generation of electricity and electrical appliances. It is argued that unless children are helped to develop their understanding of how electricity is generated they will not benefit from studies of alternative energy sources, nor will they be in a position to make appropriate decisions about associated environmental issues in later life.

ABSTRACT This paper describes the findings of a secondary analysis of data from the Assessment of Performance Unit (APU) Science. APU science data had indicated that there were differences in performance between girls and boys on tasks requiring the application of physics concepts. The analysis discussed here was carried out in order to explore these differences further, and to explore the evidence for a shift in the gender gap between the ages of 13 and 15 years. The questions used were classified in a number of ways; in particular questions were considered in terms of the different physics concept areas. The very detailed analysis of these data revealed a strong relationship between gender differences and the context in which the question was set. However, although levels of performance were undoubtedly related to the particular physics concept being assessed no differential effect of concept was observable with respect to gender. All data are presented with the permission of the Assessment of Performance Unit, now part of the Evaluation and Monitoring Unit of the School Examinations and Assessment Council. The APU reports are Crown Copyright and should not be reproduced without the permission of the controller of HMSO. This paper represents the views of the named authors which are not necessarily those of APU members or of past members of the teams

This article reports on a study of the influence of different approaches to teaching units from the Jordanian science curriculum to over 600 students from grades 6, 9 and 10 in elementary schools. A small sample of male and female teachers was trained in the use of co-operative learning approaches and in lecture-demonstration approaches to teaching particular units adapted for this purpose from the prescribed curriculum. The aim was to determine how far achievement and attitudes towards science are influenced by the different approaches. A qualitative and quantitative methodology was adopted including tests of achievement and interviews with the participants. The findings of the study are not straightforward, with different methodologies suiting different groups and teachers. However, the implications for teacher training and the advantages of providing teachers with the opportunity to adopt a mixed methodology to suit their students are clear.

This paper argues that school professionals' attitudes to continuing professional development (CPD) fall into identifiable types, which influence their involvement with CPD. In order to consider appropriate support for staff to take up relevant CPD, this paper aims to identify what these attitudes are. To this end, a model developed as an outcome of a Wellcome Trust funded project is applied to the experiences of school professionals in a networked CPD context. The Wellcome Trust model presents four categories—believers, ...

Previous literature has demonstrated that networks can be valuable sources of professional learning. In 2005 all Liverpool schools formed into ten Learning Networks with the aim of improving the quality, and entitlement of, continuing professional development (CPD) for staff as part of a whole-scale local authority initiative. The Liverpool Learning Networks Research explored professionals’ CPD experiences following this organizational change

ABSTRACT This study represents an analysis of data obtained from a national questionnaire designed to find out what science topics are of interest to 13‐year‐old pupils. The topics were presented in two ways: as abstract statements, and as statements of the application of a concept. Using cluster analytical techniques, the pattern of pupils’ responses was used to group the topics. It was found that topics which were of interest to girls were mainly stated as applications, and that these same topics were of interest to boys. Girls’ lack of interest in abstract statements of physical science concepts, and the very limited interest shown by the boys in these statements, is also noteworthy. These findings have important implications for the way the science curriculum is presented to pupils if we are to retain their interest and raise standards.

... At KS3, the process science most frequently in evidence was in class practicals for purposes ... characterized as a top-down affair, the best guess of well-informed science educators, with ... To date, the summative assessment in the National Curriculum has tended to be something ...

... At KS3 an increasing proportion of schools organised pupils into different teaching sets by ... The thirteen schools involved in the differentiation study broadly reflected the national picture. The view that setting enabled teachers to provide science experiences that matched pupils ...

This article draws upon the work of two researchers who facilitated practitioner research with school professionals in Liverpool. The researchers themselves had not been involved in practitioner research before. In this account, the researchers reflect critically upon their own experience. The discussion presents the learning curve that the researchers underwent as well as what they discovered about the relationship between practitioners and researchers when engaged in school‐based research. Crucially the issue of practitioners' ...

... Simon: '1 think bigger and harder sugar will take longer to dissolve because I think bigger and harder sugars will take longer.' Billy: '1 think icing sugar will dissolve because it's fluffy and fine, because it's made to dissolve.' ... lan: 'The caster sugar sprinkles.' ...

This article seeks to explore the "fit" of "the network" as an organizational form being implemented in schools in England. It considers current trends within education policy, pedagogy and educational technology in the context of these new service delivery models and relates these to the ...

... View all references; O'Brien et al., 200821. O'Brien, M., Varga‐Atkins, T., Burton, D., Campbell, A. and Qualter, A. 2008. How are the perceptions of learning networks shaped among school professionals and head teachers at an early stage in their introduction?. ...