Transcript Document

GCSE Science:
Ideas about Science and
Science Explanations
Equal assessment weighting
Science explanations
‘Breadth of study’
Ideas about Science
‘How science works’
2
Science
Explanations
Modules
Ideas about
Science
etc.
3
Implications

GCSE Science: equal assessment weighting of
Science Explanations and Ideas about Science

Links between modules:
–
within and across subject areas
–
identifying links
–
possibility of over-teaching
–
implications for rotation teaching
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IaS3 Developing explanations
P1 Earth in the Universe
B3 Life on Earth
Ideas about Science page 91
Ideas about Science page 203
Activities
AP1.5 to AP1.7, plus
AP1.17, AP1.23, AP1.36
Activities
AB3.1, AB3.13, AB3.14,
and AB3.26 to AB 3.28
GCSE Science book pages 66, 6869, 80-81
GCSE Science book pages
187
184-
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Exemplars of the links between
Science Explanations and Ideas
about Science

P2 Radiation and life

B1 You and your genes
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P2 Radiation and life
Ideas about Science
–
Distinction between correlation and cause (IaS2) is introduced in
Module C1 Air quality, e.g Activity AC1.20 When do hay fever
symptoms appear? (the hay fever / ice cream activity).
The big Idea about Science in Module P2 is ‘risks and benefits’, in
the context of the electromagnetic spectrum.
– See for example Activity AP2.15 ‘A safe place to live?’
–
Science Explanations
–
Module P2 introduces the electromagnetic spectrum in terms of
photons.
–
The electromagnetic spectrum is taken up again in module P6
‘The wave model of radiation’.
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B1 You and your genes
Ideas about Science
–
This module is the first introduction to ethical decision-making
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Big idea is outlining basic framework which can be used to
discuss ethical decision-making throughout the course
–
Decision-making throughout the course covers personal, socioscientific and government policy examples.
Science Explanations
–
Inheritance is treated in terms of genes in B1 ‘You and your genes’
and DNA in the Additional Science module B5 ‘Growth &
development’
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C3 Food matters
IaS6: Making decisions (personal, cost/benefit analysis,
government regulation)
P2 Radiation and life
IaS6: Making decisions
(personal  society)
B1 You and your genes
IaS6: Making decisions
(personal, frameworks)
B1 You and your genes
SE: variation, fertilization,
gene (dominant/recessive),
gender, asexual reproduction,
cloning (stem cells)
C2 Material choices
IaS6: Making decisions
(cost/benefit analysis)
B5 Growth and development
SE: cell cycle, mitosis/meiosis
protein synthesis, stem cells,
meristems, gene switching
plant growth
B3 Life on Earth
SE: natural selection, mutation,
evolution
Teaching and assessing Ideas
about Science

Put the information cards in order of
persuasiveness.

Be able to explain reasons for your order.

Suggest other information you might like to have
to increase your confidence in ranking a card.
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Teaching the nature of science

If developing a scientifically literate populace,
... is to be an aim of science education,
then teaching about the nature of science is
not an indulgence but an essential act,
fundamental to a contemporary science
education.
[Osborne, J. (2002). In R. Boohan & S. Amos (eds).
Aspects of Teaching Secondary Science. p. 237.]
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A view of scientific literacy?
Knowledge
of
Science
Explanations
Knowledge
of
Ideas about
Science
Skills: critical thinking,
development of argument …
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Teaching and assessment
Assessment of
critical thinking, argument …
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Case study - conclusions
Aspect of
performance
2
4
6
8
a comparing
opposing
evidence and
views
Information is
unselectively
reported without
taking any clear
view about any
course of action.
Claims for a
particular idea,
development or
course of action
are reported
without critical
comment.
Claims and
arguments for and
against are
reported, but with
little attempt to
compare or
evaluate them.
Details of opposing
views are evaluated
and critically
compared.
b
conclusions
and recommendations
A conclusion is
stated without
reference to
supporting
evidence.
A conclusion is
based on
evidence for one
view only.
Some limits or
objections to the
conclusion are
acknowledged.
Alternative
conclusions are
considered, showing
awareness that
different
interpretations of
evidence may be
possible.
Internal Assessment Guidance
Blackpool
Secondary
Science
2006-2007
for OCR C21 Science A
produced by Blackpool Secondary Science
Case study – 20% [24 marks]
Data analysis – 13.3% [16 marks]
Damian Ainscough, Secondary Science Consultant
[please send any ideas for addition/improvement to [email protected] ]
With thanks to Blackpool Science teachers and in particular
Katie Rawcliffe – Bispham High School – an Arts College
Mark Sergeant – St Mary’s Catholic College
Doreen Chadwick – Montgomery High School – a Language College
A definition for Ideas about Science?

The kinds of knowledge science produces.

The methods used to get this knowledge and check
its validity.

The social processes of science that provide ‘quality
assurance’ of its outcomes.

How science influences society and vice versa.
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Terminology
evidence
correlation
experimentation
explanation
argument
outcome
cause
observation
factor
data
ethics
creativity &
imagination
risk
reliability
model
validity
variables
decision
making
scientific
community
A view of how science works?
REAL WORLD
Observation/
Experimentation
THEORY
A view of how science works?
Confidence in explanation
increases/decreases
REAL WORLD
Observation/
Experimentation
EXPLANATION
Negative / Positive
evidence evidence
DATA
Reasoning/
Calculation
PREDICTION
Agree/Disagree
Adapted from Giere, R (1991). Understanding Scientific Reasoning (3rd ed.).
Fort Worth, TX: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
correlation
cause
model
evidence
argument
creativity &
imagination
Confidence in explanation
increases/decreases
REAL WORLD
EXPLANATION
Observation/
Experimentation
Negative / Positive
evidence evidence
Reasoning/
Calculation
risk
outcome
scientific
community
factor
DATA
validity
reliability
PREDICTION
Agree/Disagree
variables
decision
making
ethics