Children’s Learning in Science Project

The Children’s Learning in Science Project (CLIS) set out to explore children’s own ideas around the science topics they cover in school science lessons, and use this to help improve the way teachers develop students’ scientific understanding. The project was largely focused on the early years of secondary education, and most of the examples cited in the publications were derived from studies with this age-group.

Methods and outcomes
From 1984, CLIS team members worked with teachers to research, develop and trial teaching schemes in the areas of energy, particle theory and plant nutrition; and publish any findings. The whole process took approximately three years.

The aim was to discover how to use a constructivist approach to teach the selected topics, and translate this into materials which could be used by other teachers. Also developed were professional development resources (‘workshop packs’) that modelled the approach to teaching by revealing the misconceptions of the participating teachers

Background
The research and development work led on from the work of the Assessment of Performance Unit (APU) of the Department for Education and Science. The APU reported on the understanding shown by learners in different areas of science, based on sources of evidence such as written work in test items written specifically for the research, and through discussion with children.