A Catalyst article about BepiColombo, a spacecraft which will visit Mercury, powered by a revolutionary new rocket engine technology using ion engines and using a slingshot manoeuvre to accelerate it. The development of the spacecraft is an international project and will combine exciting scientific goals exploring...

Published by LSIS, this report describes an action research project conducted by Liverpool Community College. The research looked at the use of mini netbooks utilising the wireless network in the college building to provide a flexible alternative to converting classrooms into IT suites. Therefore retaining the...

A Catalyst article looking at how modern archaeology uses analytical chemical techniques to answer questions about ancient civilisations and animals. Scientists working at the University of Bristol match compounds present in archaeological materials to those in modern plants and animals which were likely to have...

This Catalyst article looks at how the laying of telegraph cables across the ocean bed led to the science of oceanography. Over two thirds of the Earth’s surface is covered in sea which can reach depths of 11 000 metres. The article looks at the challenge of laying cables in this environment and the history of the...

In 2015, the Department for Education published a new report describing a randomised controlled trial of a pilot of the Multiplicative Reasoning Project (MRP). MRP focuses on developing teachers' understanding and capacity to teach topics that involve multiplicative reasoning to Key Stage 3 (KS3) students. The...

Froglife’s My Wildlife Project began in 2011 with an aim of investigating biodiversity and the way children’s interactions with nature have changed over time. This report looks at how the project was undertaken, including case studies of sessions and events. The two year project involved collecting memories that...

This report considers the findings of Froglife’s My Wildlife Project which began in 2011 with an aim of investigating biodiversity and the way children’s interactions with nature have changed over time. The two year project involved collecting memories that older people...

This is a useful and very readable leaflet for an overview of assessment, which helps you to consider how and why you are assessing students.

It is important to ensure that assessment activities are valid: that is, that they assess what you intend to assess.  On page 2 you'll find a good set of things to...

A Catalyst article about nanotechnology, the science of building tiny devices. Opinions differ on the use of nanotechnology, one school of thought is that it will be the answer to many of the biggest challenges in medicine, electronics and defence, another is that it will lead to opening up a dangerous world of...

Following the establishment of the 1989 National Curriculum (NC) for science, the National Curriculum Council made recommendations to the Secretary of State regarding the revision of Attainments Targets (AT) for science. This document sets out the recommendations for the 1991 NC. The key ideas included:

*A...

A report from the National Curriculum Council (NCC). An initial consultation report in November 1988 proposed an ambitious, broad, integrated approach to a range of design and technology-related subjects explored through a wide variety of contexts. It recognised the complex relationship between the knowledge and...

A report from the National Curriculum Council (NCC). During 1991 it became apparent that teachers were struggling to deliver the requirements of the design and technology National Curriculum, primarily in terms of its conceptual intentions, wide and extensive coverage and issues regarding the re-structuring and...

This report, prepared for the Wellcome Trust in January 2008, presents the results of an audit of in-service training accessed by science teachers across regions of the UK. The data gathered provided a picture of what training was available, and the uptake of training.

Key findings showed various causes for...

In 2015-16, the regional Network has been found to have sustained a strong upward trajectory in the amount of CPD that it is delivering, increasing its level of CPD delivery by 45% compared to 2014-15, and surpassing the levels of CPD delivery achieved in previous years.  

The Network has also forged new...

These Department of Education National Strategies resources explore behaviour and attendance, taken from the Core Day 1 training sessions. The files cover: *Advice on whole school behaviour and attendance policy *Tutors notes: session 1 - review policy *Tutors notes: session 2 - implement policy *Tutors notes:...