Nuffield secondary science: an evaluation
The Schools Council initiated this evaluation of Nuffield Secondary Science at the point when school trials of the materials were largely complete. As a result the evaluation focussed on the early adoption of the project by schools.
Three aspects, which were thought to be characteristic of the project were chosen for study. They were:
* the concept of 'significance' as defined in Schools Council Working Paper No. 1
* the concept of active student involvement in science lessons;
* the possibility of changes of a favourable kind in students' attitudes towards science.
The findings of the evaluation were very mixed at the very early stage of implementation of the project. In their discussion of the results, the authors wrote:
“To sum up, the positive factors emerging from this investigation indicate that, after one year of use, the teachers' interest in the secondary science materials has been maintained; the pupils' attitudes towards their teachers has improved and the teachers' style of teaching has been modified. However, teachers normally react more quickly to changes of content than they do to changes of approach and one year is probably too short a time in which to effect major changes in attitudes of either pupils or teachers.”
Show health and safety information
Please be aware that resources have been published on the website in the form that they were originally supplied. This means that procedures reflect general practice and standards applicable at the time resources were produced and cannot be assumed to be acceptable today. Website users are fully responsible for ensuring that any activity, including practical work, which they carry out is in accordance with current regulations related to health and safety and that an appropriate risk assessment has been carried out.
