Blog 5 - How can science and technology activities be made engaging and relevant in primary education?

 How can science and technology activities be made engaging and relevant in primary education?

In Wales, a new curriculum is being introduced into schools that will change education in Wales for the better (Donaldson, 2015). Graham Donaldson (2015, p. 38) identifies six Areas of Learning and Experiences that define the breadth of the new curriculum. One of these is Science and Technology. Science and Technology are very closely linked and depend on one another (Donaldson, 2015; Arthur, Crick and Hayward, 2013). Science has been a core subject of the curriculum since 1990 and allows children to acquire knowledge through the use of observation. Technology, allows them to then apply that knowledge in practical ways (Donaldson, 2015; Arthur, Crick and Hayward, 2013). This duo has been created to inspire children’s interests in our natural, physical and universal world through investigating, understanding and explaining (Donaldson, 2015). It gives them the ability to test and create new and exciting ideas, collect evidence, observe practical situations, and in turn carry them out themselves and communicate with others (Donaldson, 2015). For young children, being able to learn in the Science and Technology AoLE will enable them to prepare for careers in science, digital industries and technologies (Donaldson, 2015). Due to the world we live in, being the 21^stcentury, technology is constantly growing so equipping children with these skills is essential if we wish for them to be successful members of the future workforce (Donaldson, 2015; Sager, 2013; Arthur, Crick and Hayward, 2013). All six of the AoLEs, including Science and Technology, should not be seen as singular subjects and rather a means of organising the curriculum. However, there is a clear need and value of Science and Technology within a child’s education (Donaldson, 2015). But, it is equally important to make this a blended subject that is engaging and knowledgeable whilst linking in with other areas of the 6 AoLEs (Donaldson, 2015). 

This can all be linked in with the Welsh Governments ICT Steering Group report published in 2013, that outlines the vision of Wales becoming an ‘Agile-Digital Nation’ which discusses the need for talented technological innovators, leading software engineers, successful entrepreneurs and other related roles capable of becoming world leaders and contributing successfully to the digital side of Wales (Donaldson, 2015; Arthur, Crick and Hayward, 2013). To achieve this there must be a clear sense of engagement between education and industry embedded within the curriculum and in lessons to allow children to develop current practices and skills. Current technology in schools is outdated, prescriptive and documentation heavy – this suggests it is not future proof and there is a dependency on transient and specific technologies (Arthur, Crick and Hayward, 2013). 

Theorists such as Sagar and Mehli (2013), Lombardi (2007), Crawford (2007) and Rule (2006) believe that what science and technology lessons are lacking is the knowledge of the authentic professional culture within science and technology. Generally, a teacher will focus on what they are familiar and comfortable with (Sagar and Mehli, 2013; Crawford, 2007). This means that, to successfully engage these children with these lessons, we need to create an authentic and entrepreneurial learning environment (Sager and Mehli, 2013). This essentially is an environment that students can link to real-life and real-world scenarios (Leffler, 2009). The authentic context of this identifies subject matter and skills and relates things to students resembling real-life situations (Sagar and Mehli, 2013; Sagar, Pendrill and Wallin, 2012). This is likely to emerge collaborations for the children between the school and the surrounding world (Sager and Mehli, 2013; Sagar, Mehli, Pendrill and Wallin, 2012). Also, the assignments and assessments that are given to the children need to resemble real-life scenarios. This means they need to be open-ended and require analysis and reflection (Sagar and Mehli, 2013). 

This also allows for child led-learning, which is a massive part of the new curriculum and often referred to as pupil autonomy (Donaldson, 2015; Sagar and Mehli, 2013). Children are much more likely to be engaged if they feel that they have led a lesson, or if the lesson has come from something that has sparked an interest within the class (Donaldson, 2015). The children will be encouraged to take responsibility for their own learning, decision making and collaborative learning (Donaldson, 2015; Sagar and Mehli, 2013). For example, when carrying out volunteering work the teacher had discussed her plan for the lesson which was a Science lesson, she wanted to firstly go outside with the IPads and look for different types of insects and take pictures of them. She then had a plan for them to come back and research them ect. However, when we went outside into the woodland area, a couple of children started asking a lot of questions about the different plants that were surrounding the area. This then encouraged other children to get involved and they then started to ask more. The teacher decided to lead the rest of the lesson focussing entirely on the different plants, age of the plants and which ones grew where and why. This was an example of a child led lesson and an example of how much more engaged and enjoyable the children found the lesson. It also focuses hugely on creativity and both teacher and student initiatives (Sagar and Mehli, 2013). This is a perfect example of how while a teacher is providing the learning environment, it is he or she’s role to move away from the direct and teacher-led approach and move towards a more scaffolding and coaching one (Sagar and Mehli, 2013). However, it is important for the teacher to not fall for children choosing their easiest option and the teacher must ensure that the choices they make are appropriate for their level of learning For teachers to provide a more authentic science and technology teaching, they must develop an insight into ‘real-life’ applications in association with science and technology education (Sagar and Mehli, 2013). 

Here is a video going into more detail about Science and Technology in the new curriculum by Professor Tom Crick - 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=RPJcb44P4h4  

References

1.     Arthur, S., Crick, T., and Hayward, J. (2013) The ICT Steering Groups report to the Welsh Government. Wales: Welsh Government

2.    Crawford, B (2007) 'Learning to Teach Science as Inquiry in the Rough and Tumble of Practice' Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 44(4), p. 613-642

3.  Donaldson (2015) Successful Future: Independent Review of Curriculum and Assessment Arrangements in Wales. Wales: Crown

4.    Leffler, E (2009) 'The many faces of entrepreneurship: a diverse battle for the school area', European Educational Research Journal, 3(3), 219-227

5.     Lombardi, M (2007) 'Authentic Learning for the 21^stcentury: An Overview', Educase Learning Initiative, 2(8), p. 1 -12    

6.    Rule, A.C (2006) Editorial: The Components of Authentic Learning, Journal of Authentic Learning, 3(1), p. 1-10. 

7.  Sagar, H. and Mehli, H (2013) Expanding teachers competences in authentic and entrepreneurial teaching issues in science and technology, Nordina,9(2), p. 171 – 191

8.    Sager, H., Pendrill, A-M., and Wallin, A (2012) Teachers’ Perceied Requirements for Collaberating with the Surrounding World. NorDiNa, 8(3), p. 227-243