Subject Knowledge and Misconceptions in Science – Part 2

Part 1 – considering specialist v. non-specialist teaching in science can be found HERE.

Having had my ambitions to explore subject knowledge and misconceptions across the KS2/3 transition with our feeder schools derailed by the pandemic, I settled for a more in depth focus over the last seven months on the KS3 curriculum. As a faculty we have moved forward together to improve our curriculum and ensure it lays the foundations for developing deeper understanding at GCSE.

February to July – Curriculum Review and Improvement

The first phase, between February and July, focused on reviewing the current KS3 curriculum in subject specialist teams. The following key areas were focused on:

• Students need to ‘know stuff’ to be able to understand concepts – so, what do students need to know, and begin to understand, at KS3 to build a detailed, interlinked science schema during KS4?
• In tandem with knowledge students need to develop skills, both Working Scientifically and mathematically – What do students need to ‘be able to’ do from a skills perspective?
• Finally, how should the identified knowledge, understand and skills be sequenced to create a coherent learning journey and help students make links to previous learning and between specialisms?

Once the three strands of the science curriculum had been clarified and sequenced they were framed in a set of Age-Related Expectations and success criteria for each topic. The Age-Related Expectations focus on what students need to ‘know’, ‘understand’ and ‘be able to’. The success criteria are the granular details that enable a student to achieve the AREs – the ‘building blocks’ that will construct a schema.

In constructing AREs and success criteria to frame the curriculum it was essential to make sure that these scaffolds were built in such a way that they would guide non-specialist staff to avoid common pitfalls and misconceptions. Thus, it was crucial that they achieved two key things: 1. A coherent sequence for the learning journey in terms of topic order, while maintaining sufficient teacher autonomy to sequence the lessons of a topic to suit their class, and 2. Correct and consistent use of science specific language at all times.

September – Implementing the Curriculum

The outcome of preparing so thoroughly for September has had a two-fold impact; it has set us up with a coherent and logically sequenced curriculum which we are now delivering across Years 7-9. Secondly, and more importantly, there is a real sense of ownership and responsibility throughout the team to deliver our curriculum to a high standard across all specialisms.

Since September it is now common for a member of staff, when teaching out of specialism, to seek out a specialist to help them sequence and understand the learning journey; to check ‘why a specific order’ and ‘how to explain and model a concept’.

Having no prescriptive lesson order has created a fine balancing act between instilling confidence in staff to design their own sequence while meeting the needs of non-specialists who feel they ‘don’t know where to start’ on an unfamiliar topic. The appreciation of ‘one size does not fit all’ in terms of sequencing is improving, and although it feels like taking away the comfort blanket for the non-specialist, avoiding giving a prescriptive list is driving rich T&L discussion and careful thinking about the learning journey more than ever before. This in turn, is helping us to be better prepared to address misconceptions that we may not anticipate and making sure that we think about the ‘big picture’ of where the learning is coming from and where it is leading to.

November – Moving Forward

The next steps in the journey to improve teaching around misconceptions link closely to our whole school focus this year on Access and Challenge. The EEF Improving Secondary Science Report has been invaluable in helping to frame this, thinking specifically of Strand 1, Preconceptions:

• Developing greater fluency in understanding students’ misconceptions in non-specialist subjects – especially in how to identify preconceptions and why students have these ideas. What is the baseline of each student? How are we going to then construct an accessible learning journey that builds from the baseline and dispels misconceptions?
• Developing a repertoire of techniques to actively address misconceptions – how can cognitive conflict and discussion be used to tackle misconceptions and challenge students to think deeply to further their knowledge and understanding?
• Ensure we provide time for addressing misconceptions and actually change student thinking – a quick correction will not undo a hardwired misconception. If misconceptions go unaddressed, these form barriers to students accessing more challenging learning.