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​Thinking, Doing Talking Science

Thursday 31 May 2018, 5.00PM to 6.00 pm

Speaker(s): Helen Wilson, Oxford Brookes University

This seminar will focus on the Thinking, Doing, Talking Science project, funded by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) and run jointly by Oxford Brookes University and Science Oxford. The efficacy trial ran from 2013 – 2015. It explored the effect of working with a cohort of teachers for five days of professional development spread out over a year, facilitating them to develop primary science lessons characterised by a focus on the encouragement of the pupils’ higher order thinking skills, through practical activity and pupil discussion. The methodology was via a Randomised Control Trial involving over 1200 pupils from 42 Oxfordshire primary schools, measuring the impact on the Year 5 pupils’ attitudes to science and on their attainment in the subject. The findings showed that there was a positive and statistically significant impact on the attainment of the pupils and on their attitudes, both to science as a subject and to school science lessons.  Following the promising results of this efficacy trial, the EEF decided to fund a larger, effectiveness trial to ascertain whether such an impact can be maintained with a more sustainable, ‘train the trainer’ delivery model. Over 200 schools and more than 10,000 pupils are involved across England. Two trainers in each of seven geographical areas have been trained to deliver TDTS by the designers and deliverers of the original project. The results are due in the summer of 2018.  The seminar will include an overview of the overarching project ethos and a range of the strategies used by the participating teachers.  Sign up here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/thinking-doing-talking-science-tickets-44985383493

 

Location: Alcuin Block D, A/D/017