Making the Case for Science Works New KS3 Science Resources

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Making the Case for Science WorksNew KS3
Science Resources
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• There are a number of reasons we need to invest
  in a new KS3 course.
• The following presentation outlines our reasons.

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• Eight Good Reasons to Invest in a new KS3 Science
  Course

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• 1. Support the revisions to the Programme of
  Study
• Revisions introduced by QCA for September 2008
  offer us the flexibility to refresh and renew our
  programme of study, making it broader and more
  relevant in ways that will inspire and engage
  learners. Some of the key themes that underpin
  the revisions include

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• 1a. Increased flexibility and personalisation
• We feel that in many ways, the curriculum has
  been handed back to us as teachers.
• QCA have not published a new scheme of work for
  Science, for example.
• We now have the flexibility to create a new
  curriculum in school which meets the needs of all
  our learners and continues to drive up standards
  for all our pupils.
• Having put in a lot of effort at KS4 to generate
  a new GCSE curriculum we are keen to inject new
  life at KS3, too.

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• 1b. A slimming down of the content as well as
  some new topics
• To some degree the curriculum has been slimmed
  down. This allows for more careful teaching of
  difficult concepts to build student confidence
  and allow for an emphasis on key scientific
  concepts and processes.
• Science Works provides us with a carefully
  planned curriculum where content is matched to
  the programme of study and appropriately
  introduces new topics such as psychology and
  animal behaviour which are new to us at KS3.

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• 1c. A central focus on How Science Works
• Our KS3 science teaching has to change in order
  to support a more appropriate balance between
  science process and factual knowledge.
• Just as we have made amendments to the GCSE
  curriculum we need to fully embed the principles
  of How Science Works in the KS3 classroom.
• We need to ensure that pupils are engaged in
  more active thinking and exploring of the world
  around them so that they see Science as a
  relevant and interesting subject rather than one
  where they have a shopping list of facts to
  learn for an exam.
• We know that Science Works supports us in this
  by including a How Science Works double page
  spread at the end of every unit as well as making
  many other pages and activities relevant to the
  world around us.

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2. Improve standards at KS3

• National results prove that Science struggles to
  keep up with Maths and English and many other
  subjects at KS3. Figures for 2007 show the
  percentage of pupils achieving level 5 or above
  to be

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• We feel that we have maximum impact on improving
  these results, by focusing on two key areas
• a. Assessment for learning
• With Science Works, we know we will get very
  practical help with assessment for learning. We
  are provided with end of unit test material with
  associated mark schemes (for both teacher and
  pupil), sub-level boundaries and pupil target
  sheets.
• The electronic resources include quick
  interactive tests for use during the teaching of
  a topic which allow for automatic marking and
  reports to give us an instant snapshot of pupils
  grasp of their learning. This sort of diagnostic
  testing will help us analyse strengths and
  weaknesses in pupils learning and spot
  inconsistencies across the department.
• Pupils can also complete diagnostic tests where
  they are given instant feedback they find this
  enormously motivating and it can really help
  target areas of difficulty. It also provides
  teachers with information we can discuss with
  parents when talking about their childrens
  progress.

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• 2b. Making science fun so that more pupils feel
  confident of achieving their potential!
• Which leads me into the third good reason

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• c Engaging more pupils with science
• We want to maintain our focus on ensuring that
  pupils experience of Science at Key Stage 3 is a
  positive one.
• Revisions to the curriculum by QCA will help us
  guarantee that pupils find Science fun and that
  they appreciate its central element in
  contemporary culture.
• Pupil engagement and motivation is far more
  likely to be successful throughout our KS3
  lessons if we can make use of up-to-date,
  engaging resources which look to uphold the best
  classroom practice.

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• 4. Differentiate our teaching
• Meaningful personalisation of the curriculum is
  achievable if we can seek to ensure that pupils
  are provided with material and activities which
  are carefully targeted at their learning needs.
• Within Science Works, we have seen subtle
  differentiation of the content and activities
  through traffic light signalling. Three levels
  of red, amber and green help us to ensure that
  there is material at an appropriate level for all
  pupils all provided in one manageable book.

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• 5. Help with progression to KS4
• Weve made significant change at KS4 and now
  need to be able to build on this success by
  creating a more solid foundation at KS3.
• We want a seamless continuation through to KS4
  and feel that we can trust the Science Works
  resources from Oxford to support us in this
  transition.

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• 6. Pupils have cost effective resources to work
  from home
• Within every students book provided by Science
  Works, a CD is provided for each pupil. We think
  this is particularly cost effective for pupils to
  be able to take home each evening instead of
  taking the print version.

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• Maximise the use of ICT in KS3
• The software element of Science Works is really
  simple to use and will therefore encourage
  effective use of ICT within our department.
  Unlike many other newly published software
  packages, it is just a one off cost rather than
  an annual subscription.
• Although there is a range of new resources that
  have been developed for teaching of KS3 Science
  there are very few which provide such a wealth of
  material in one place just one click away!
• Oxfords Science Works OxBox electronic
  resources provide interactive activities,
  animations and PowerPoints for use in class time.
  

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Maximise the use of ICT in KS3 cont

• In addition to the resources that are already on
  the OxBox, we can easily import our own favourite
  resources onto the OxBox and use them in lessons
• Ready made lesson plans feature on the OxBox and
  we can easily customise these or completely
  rewrite them as we become more familiar with the
  new curriculum.
• Another attractive feature of this OxBox
  technology is that it can be used on our network
  or on a VLE.

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• 8. Move to two-year KS3
• Making a move to a two-year KS3 condensed
  curriculum requires a reshaping of our scheme of
  work.
• Although no new resources have been specifically
  designed to cater for this curriculum model, we
  do know that Science Works has been developed so
  that it can be adapted to this situation. We
  could, if necessary, deliver our entire KS3
  curriculum within two years by resourcing the
  department with materials designed for years 7
  and 8.