Published in 1989 by Her Majesty's Inspectorate (HMI), this report looks at the changes in science teaching from the mid-seventies to the late-eighties and discusses how further improvements could be achieved. It is based on observations made by HMI during the inspection of 300 primary schools in England, and from...

The aim of this Children’s Learning in Science Project (CLIS) research study was to describe aspects of secondary school students’ ideas about light and to set these in the context of results from other studies in the area and of the history of ideas about light and...

The report from the Children’s Learning in Science Project (CLIS) gives an account of a number of aspects of students’ ideas about energy including:

*Do students use ideas about energy spontaneously to help them interpret phenomena?

*When students are ‘cued’ that energy is involved in a situation,...

The report from the Children’s Learning in Science Project (CLIS) gives an account of a number of aspects of students’ understanding of plant nutrition including:
*To what extent do students understand that plants carry out autotrophic nutrition and not...

The report from the Children’s Learning in Science Project (CLIS) gives an account of a number of aspects of students’ ideas about particles including:
*What do students understand about the particulate nature of matter?
*Do they understand the scientific...

This case study explores the intention of a provider to engage young learners in engineering and technology. Key to the project was the involvement of parents, employers and a range of STEM Ambassadors. Information on career pathways in engineering being the focus, an innovative approach in making engineering...

Published in December 2013.  The ASPIRES study sought to shed new light on our understanding of how young people’s aspirations develop over the 10-14 age period, exploring in particular what influences the likelihood of a young person aspiring to a science-related career.

This report presents key findings...

In this ASE SYCD: Science Year Primary resource, a Year 3 teacher shares her experience of organising and planning a class assembly on sound. This assembly was presented to the whole school in celebration of the class's ideas and findings during a half-term's topic on sound. The planning and text are detailed here...

These assembly materials, provided by the Association for Science Education (ASE), considers viewpoints for and against human cloning. The aim is to make students more aware of their need for scientific understanding in the world outside school. Teachers could time the assembly to coincide with classes studying...

This assembly activity, provided by the Association for Science Education (ASE), focuses on the controversy surrounding mobile phones. The aim of the SYCD assembly series is to make students more aware of their need for scientific understanding in the world outside school.

This assembly resource from the Association for Science Education (ASE) aims to take a light-hearted look at why some science fiction ideas become reality and others do not. The assembly emphasises the importance of a basic understanding of science, in order to enter...

This assembly resource, from the Association for Science Education (ASE), focuses on whether we need to explore space at all, particularly in view of the vast cost involved. This material is part of the SYCD: Science Year Is There Life? collection.

The aim of the assembly series is to make students more...

This assembly resource, from the Association for Science Education (ASE) is based on zoos, and it aims to make students more aware of their need for scientific understanding in the world outside school.

There are three ways in which this resource could be used:

*A headteacher, head of year or science...

This report, published in 2009, is based on a seminar held in London in 2008 at the Nuffield Foundation. It discusses why teaching ethics in science is important and examines approaches to the assessment of ethics in science considering key issues, such as the importance of ethical debate in science classes, the...

Assessing Nuffield Co-ordinated Sciences was written in the early days of the GCSE and balanced science qualifications as a guide for the many teachers involved in teaching Nuffield Co-ordinated Sciences. The book was part of a series about assessment commissioned by...