Literature Review in Primary Science and ICT

REPORT 5:

FUTURELAB SERIES

Colette Murphy, Graduate School of Education, Queens University, Belfast

FOREWORD

This review focuses on the developmentof primary science since it was firstintroduced in 1989 as a compulsory, coresubject in the primary curriculum inEngland and Wales. It considers theimpact of ICT in primary science inrelation to the role of teacher and learner,teachers subject knowledge, the balancebetween process skills and sciencecontent, and the application of formativeassessment. It also provides a criticalevaluation of ways in which ICT iscurrently being used to promote goodscience teaching.

While the importance of informal learningis recognised, this review focuses on thedevelopment of science learningparticularly in primary schools.

It should be noted that Futurelabspartner publication Science Educationand the Role of ICT (2003) provides aguide to the history, principles, debatesand practices of science teaching in the 21st century and explores thedevelopment of science in secondaryschools. A further Futurelab report, to bepublished in early 2004, will address the key role of informallearning in science education.

We are keen to receive feedback on the Futurelab reports and welcomecomments at research@futurelab.org.uk.

Martin OwenDirector of Learning Futurelab

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CONTENTS:

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2

SECTION 1INTRODUCTION 8

SECTION 2SCIENCE IN THE PRIMARY SCHOOL 10

SECTION 3RESEARCH INTO CHILDRENSLEARNING IN SCIENCE 13

SECTION 4CURRENT USE OF ICT IN PRIMARY SCIENCE 21

SECTION 5IDENTIFICATION OF RESEARCHAREAS TO EXPLORE HOW ICT USE CAN ENHANCE PRIMARYSCIENCE LEARNING 30

CONCLUSION 33

BIBLIOGRAPHY 34

Literature Review in Primary Science and ICT

REPORT 5:

FUTURELAB SERIES

Colette Murphy, Graduate School of EducationQueens University, Belfast

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This review focuses on the development of primary science since it was firstintroduced in 1989 as a compulsory, coresubject in the primary curriculum inEngland and Wales.

In a review of the first ten years ofcompulsory primary science, Harlen (1998)identified current concerns as: theteachers role in constructivist learning,teachers subject knowledge, the balancebetween process skills and sciencecontent, and the need for greaterunderstanding and application of formativeassessment. Harlen also anticipated thatthe foremost foreseeable change in thelearning and teaching of primary scienceover the next ten years would be theimpact of information and communicationstechnology (ICT).

This review will consider the impact of ICTin primary science in relation to the areasidentified by Harlen (1998) and provide acritical evaluation of ways in which ICT iscurrently being used to promote goodscience teaching. It will reflect on thescience and ICT 5 year-old children oftoday need to learn in order to enablethem to become scientifically andcomputer-literate by the time they are 20.It will argue, after Yapp (2003), that primaryeducation should provide children withmore languages, scientific andtechnological awareness and confidence,cultural sensitivity and media awareness.The skills these children develop shouldinclude team working, creativity, innovation and learning how to learn.

Informal learning should be valued asmuch as formal learning (Yapp 2003).

SCIENCE IN THE PRIMARY SCHOOL

Primary science is concerned with threebroad areas: energy and forces; materials;and living things, which lay the foundationsfor physics, chemistry and biologyrespectively. Whilst these are the broadareas of study, primary science is not justconcerned with knowledge, but moreparticularly with the scientific method andthe effect of the use of this method on theindividual child 1. It is child active,developing both manipulative and mentalactivity. It is child focused, concentratingon an aspect of the world the childexperiences and in which the child candisplay an interest.

Primary science has three aims: to develop scientific process skills, to foster the acquisition of concepts and to develop particular attitudes.

Science is currently one of the three coresubjects in the primary curriculum and,together with English and mathematics, isformally assessed at the end of primaryschooling in England and Wales, and it ispart of the Transfer Procedure Test, whichis taken in the final year of primary schoolby those pupils who wish to attendgrammar schools in Northern Ireland.

2

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1 See the partner Futurelab publication Science Education and the Role of ICT: Promise, Problems and Future Directions Osborne and Hennessey (2003) for a full discussion of the debates surrounding the role of science education in

UK schools, in particular the relative emphasis on scientific content versus scientific thinking.

RESEARCH INTO CHILDRENS LEARNING IN SCIENCE

Research on childrens learning in scienceover the past 30 years has been influentialin primary science teaching in the UK,particularly since the introduction ofcompulsory science for all childrenbetween the ages of 5 and 16.

The National Curriculum for England andWales, 5-14 National Guidelines inScotland and the Northern IrelandCurriculum were all introduced in the late1980s and early 1990s. These defined forthe first time what aspects of scienceshould be taught at primary level.Decisions regarding the content andpedagogy of primary science were madeusing evidence from major researchprojects. The Assessment of PerformanceUnit (APU) surveyed childrens scienceknowledge at the ages of 11, 13 and 15during the 1970s and 1980s, and outlinedwhat these children should be expected to do in science.

Two other projects were influential. TheSPACE (Science Processes and ConceptsExploration) project (1990-98) investigatedchildrens scientific ideas and the STAR(Science Teaching Action Research) projectstudied classroom practice in relation toprocess skills. Harlen (p25 in Sherrington,1998) has discussed the impact of theseprojects. In summary, they - together withother international projects - generatedmajor interest in childrens own scientificideas, which has given weight toconstructivist approaches towards learning in science.

Constructivism has its roots in psychology,philosophy, sociology and education. Itscentral idea is that human learning is

constructed learners build on thefoundations of previous knowledge.Learning is therefore an active, ratherthan a passive process. Constructivismhas major implications for scienceteaching; it calls into question thetraditional, utilitarian practices andplaces the child at the centre of thelearning process. The popularity ofconstructivist approaches to scienceteaching has been steadily increasing over the past 30 years.

Many criticisms have been levelled againstthe constructivist approach to scienceteaching in the primary school. The mostfrequently quoted of these is that, whilstthe research advises that teachers identifychildrens alternative frameworks andalready existing knowledge, there is littleadvice for teachers regarding specificstrategies to develop these ideas so thatthey become more scientific, particularlyin a class in which there might be up to 30alternative frameworks for each concept!

Harlen (1996) commented that it mightappear too difficult to find out about theideas of all the children in a class in sucha way as to plan activities to accommodatethem. In addition, traditional ideas ofteachers, school boards, principals andparents are also deep-rooted and difficultto change. Implementation ofconstructivist approaches in the classroommay therefore be subject to someresistance. Indeed Cohen et al (1996)claimed that the constructivist view oflearning totally turned its back on theview of progression embedded in theNational Curriculum, which assumes thatall children learn in the same sequence.Solomon (1994) claimed that construct-ivism is not congruent with the kind oflearning that takes place in most

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REPORT 5LITERATURE REVIEW IN PRIMARY SCIENCE AND ICT

COLETTE MURPHY, GRADUATE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION, QUEENS UNIVERSITY, BELFAST

classrooms, whilst Harlen (1996) reportedthat quite often everyday events do, in fact,conform to non-scientific ideas. Keoghand Naylor (1996) revealed that analysis ofthe hands-on approach indicated thatpupils spent little or no time planning andinterpreting their findings, and suggestedthat a minds-on approach is also requiredto enable the children to make sense of a concept by relating it to their ownexperience. Osborne (1997) askedprovocatively: Is doing science the best way to learn science?

In spite of these criticisms the construct-ivist approach to science teaching inprimary and post-primary schools is widelyadvocated and promoted worldwide. Indeed,the South Australian Curriculum Standardsand Accountability Framework, from birthto year 12, uses a conception of learningwhich is drawn from constructivist learningtheories to guide the formulation of itsnew curriculum framework (SACSA 2000).

Childrens interest in science is also vitalfor effective science learning, particularlyin developing their confidence in dealingwith science in terms of curiosity andmethodical inquiry. When children reachthe post-primary school, they will haveexperienced seven years of schooling andby this stage will have developed their ownattitudes to science. Murphy and Beggs(2003a) carried out an extensive survey ofprimary childrens attitudes to science andfound that most of the older pupils (10-11 years) had significantly less positiveattitudes than younger ones (8-9 years)towards science enjoyment, even thoughthe older pupils were more confident abouttheir ability to do science.

The effect of age on pupils attitudes wasfar more significant than that of gender.

Girls were, however, more positive about their enjoyment of science and werea lot more enthusiastic about how theirscience lessons impacted upon theirenvironmental awareness and how theykept healthy. There were also a fewsignificant differences in the topics liked bygirls and boys generally girls favouredtopics in the life sciences and boyspreferred some of the physical sciencetopics. In an attempt to improve childrensexperience of science in primary school,Murphy, Beggs and Carlisle (2003, inpress) report that increasing the amount ofpractical, investigative work in science,particularly when children are using ICT,had a marked, positive effect on theirenjoyment of science. They demonstrateda highly significant reduction in the effectsof age and gender on childrens scienceattitudes.

Other research into childrens learning inscience being carried out in the lastdecade has focused on the role of theprimary teacher. Many findings, forexample Harlen et al (1995), have pointedtowards problems linked to primaryteachers insufficient scientific knowledgebackground and their lack of confidence inteaching science. Some studies havecriticised the level of the content of someareas of primary science. Murphy, Beggset al (2001) showed that even third levelstudents, including those who experiencedcompulsory school science from the agesof 11-16 and some with post-16 sciencequalifications, could not correctly answerquestions in some primary science topicsin tests, which had been written for 11 year-olds.

These problems, when taken together withthe emphasis of national tests on contentknowledge, may have contributed to

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

science frequently being taught as facts oras a body of knowledge in the final twoyears of primary school. Teachers feel theneed to prepare children for the tests byensuring that they can recall the requiredcontent knowledge. Attention to construct-ivist theories of learning science and toscientific enquiry has diminished by thisstage. Ponchaud (2001) indicated thatfurther pressures on UK primary teachersthat militate against their delivery of goodscience teaching may include the recentgovernment initiatives in literacy andnumeracy, which have resulted in thetimetabling of science as short afternoonsessions in many schools.

When considering the role of ICT inenhancing childrens science learning,recent studies of the brain, such asreported by Greenfield (2000), have led tonetwork models of learning. Such modelsconsider ways in which computers appearto think and learn in relation to problemsolving. They describe the brain behavinglike a computer, forging links betweenneurons to increase the number ofpathways along which electric signals cantravel. When we think, patterns ofelectrical activity move in complex routesaround the cerebral cortex, usingconnections we have made previously viaour learning. The ability to makeconnections between apparently unrelatedideas (for instance the motion of theplanets and the falling of an apple) lies atthe heart of early scientific learning interms of both creativity and understanding.As children explore materials and physicaland biological phenomena, physicalchanges are taking place in their brains(McCullough, personal communication).These physical changes taking place in thebrain help to explain Ausubels assertionover 35 years ago that the most important

single factor influencing learning is whatthe learner already knows (Ausubel 1968).

This model of learning predicts that activelearning, such as that promoted byconstructivist teaching approaches, inwhich children are engaged in knowledgeconstruction, enables more pervasiveneural connectivity and hence enhancedscience learning. The use of ICT canfacilitate more constructivist teaching inthe primary school. One of the principalproblems a teacher faces when usingconstructivist approaches to scienceteaching is the consideration of the uniqueideas and experiences 30 individuals bringto each new science topic. How can theteacher elicit and challenge all of these toensure that children develop the desiredscientific concepts? How can s/he ensurethat each child is involved in scienceinvestigation? How can s/he promote groupwork with limited science resources and/orspace so that children can co-operate inscience projects?

CURRENT USE OF ICT IN PRIMARY SCIENCE

The term ICT embraces a range oftechnologies broadly concerned withinformation and communication. Thepopular idea of ICT hardware in theclassroom or computer suite includes oneor more multimedia desktop computers orlaptops and a combination of the following:digital camera, printer, scanner, CD-writer, data projector, interactivewhiteboard, robot and, in science classes,data loggers and perhaps a digitalmicroscope. There will be a range ofsoftware available on the hard drive of thecomputers and as add-ons (usually asfloppy discs or CD-Roms). The machines

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active learning,such as thatpromoted byconstructivistteachingapproaches, inwhich childrenare engaged inknowledgeconstruction,enables morepervasive neuralconnectivity andhence enhancedscience learning

may or may not be networked or haveaccess to the Internet. How these facilitiesmight improve the learning and teaching ofprimary science in terms of thedevelopment of the scientific skills,concepts and attitudes outlined in Section2.1 is summarised below in Table 1.

ICT can support both the investigative(skills and attitudes) and more knowledge-based aspects (concepts) of primaryscience. The more recent approaches toscience learning, particularly the socialconstructivist methodologies (see section1.2 on childrens learning in science),highlight the importance of verbal as wellas written communication as being vital forchildren to construct meaning. ICT use cangreatly enhance the opportunities forchildren to engage in effectivecommunication at several levels.

Communication, however, is only one usefor ICT in the primary science classroom.Ball (2003) categorises four ways in whichICT is used in primary science: as a tool,as a reference source, as a means ofcommunication and as a means forexploration. There is, however, littlesystematic research on the use of ICT inprimary science teaching other thanreports of how it has been used to supportspecific projects, for example, thoseincluded in the ICT-themed issue of thePrimary Science Review in Jan/Feb 2003.

Perhaps it is early days. Primary sciencehas only been part of the NationalCurriculum in the UK for little more than adecade, so most teachers who qualifiedbefore its introduction will have receivedno science training in their initial teachereducation and perhaps only minimal INSETscience training. Many teachers, therefore,have yet to come to grips with how to teach

Table 1: Summary of the goals of primary science learning

Skills observation communication measurement experimenting classifying interpreting data making hypotheses inference prediction controlling & manipulating variables

Concepts time life cycles weight interdependence of living things length change volume adaptation energy properties of materials

Attitudes perseverance originality co-operation responsibility curiosity independence of thinking self-criticism open-mindedness

science effectively before they canconceptualise how using ICT can enhancethe teaching of good science in the

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ICT can supportboth the

investigative(skills and

attitudes) andmore knowledge-

based aspects(concepts) of

primary science

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

primary school. Researchers also havelittle access to classrooms where they can carry out systematic investigation of practice.

IDENTIFICATION OF RESEARCHAREAS TO EXPLORE HOW ICT USECAN ENHANCE PRIMARY SCIENCELEARNING

Some of the questions raised in this reviewpoint towards gaps in the research intoprimary science and ICT. For example insection 3.3 on primary teachersknowledge of science, the question israised as to whether aspects of primaryscience are too difficult for the teachers,let alone the children. More research isneeded to determine which aspects ofscience are appropriate for primarychildren to learn. Clearly, if not taughtproperly, children can enter post-primaryeducation more confused than informedabout some science topics. This leads togreater learning and teaching problems atsecondary level than if children had neverbeen introduced to such topics previously.

In relation to the role of ICT enhancingchildrens science learning (section 3.5)the question is raised about how ICT usecan aid the constructivist approach toscience teaching. Most particularly, thereis a huge dearth of research into whichtypes of application might enhancedifferent aspects of science learning. Iscontent-free software most useful inhelping children to construct andcommunicate ideas? If so, whichapplications are best suited (and how?) forthe construction of ideas and which forcommunication, or is it the case thatpresentation software, for example, canenhance both processes?

In section 4.1, in which ICT as a tool isconsidered, are the use of spreadsheetsand databases creating conceptual gaps inchildrens development of graphing andkey construction skills respectively?Indeed, do we need to acquire such skillsin order to interpret, interrogate andmanipulate data successfully? This is ahuge question and a vital one in relation tothe use of ICT in primary science. If, forexample, graph drawing skills are foundnot to be required for successful graphicalinterpretation, then ICT use can substitutefor less exciting aspects of scientificinvestigation, such as the manual plottingof data. If not, then the two must be usedin tandem, so that children canconceptualise how the data record (graph, for example) was produced.

When exploring the use of ICT as areference source, section 4.2 presentsreactions of student teacher users to avariety of CD-Roms. A more systematicsurvey of attitudes of teacher and childusers towards CD-Roms might lead to theincorporation of particular genericfeatures, which should be included in allsuch packages to facilitate the uptake ofinformation from a computer screen.

CONCLUSION

This report summarises research inprimary science and in the classroom useof ICT. It highlights the separation of theseareas and the lack of research into how,when, how much and how often ICT can beused to enhance the development ofchildrens science skills, concepts andattitudes. It calls for specific and system-atic research into various applications andtheir potential for enhancing childrenslearning in primary science.

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is content-freesoftware mostuseful in helpingchildren toconstruct andcommunicateideas?

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1 INTRODUCTION TO REVIEW

This review focuses on the development ofprimary science since it was firstintroduced as a compulsory, core subjectin the primary curriculum in England andWales (1989). In a review of the first tenyears of compulsory primary science,Wynne Harlen (1998) identified currentconcerns as: the teachers role inconstructivist learning, teachers subjectknowledge, the balance between processskills and science content, and the needfor greater understanding and applicationof formative assessment. She anticipatedthat the foremost foreseeable change inthe learning and teaching of primaryscience over the next ten years would bethe impact of information andcommunications technology (ICT).

This review will consider the impact of ICTin primary science in relation to the areasidentified by Harlen (1998) and provide acritical evaluation of ways in which ICT iscurrently being used to promote goodscience teaching. It will reflect on thescience and ICT 5 year-old children oftoday need to learn to enable them tobecome scientifically and computer-literate by the time they are 20. Yapp (2003)considered this issue and suggested thatprimary education should provide childrenwith more languages, scientific andtechnological awareness and confidence,cultural sensitivity and media awareness.The skills these children develop shouldinclude team working, creativity, innovationand learning how to learn. Informallearning should be valued as much asformal learning (Yapp 2003).

SCIENTIFIC LITERACY

There is much debate about whatconstitutes scientific literacy and about thenature of science that should be taught atschool (Murphy et al 2001). The termscientific literacy has been used variouslyas a definition, a slogan or as a metaphor(Bybee 1997). As a definition, the termscientific literacy may be used to facilitatediscourse, for description and explanation,or to embody a programme of action(Scheffler 1960). When used as a sloganscientific literacy serves to unite scienceeducators behind a single statementrepresenting the purpose of scienceeducation. As a metaphor, the termscientific literacy refers to being welleducated and well informed in science, asopposed to merely understanding scientificvocabulary.

Bybee (1997) suggests a broad framework,which describes certain thresholds thatidentify degrees of scientific literacy (Fig 1). Within that framework an individualmay demonstrate several levels of literacyat once depending on the context, theissue and the topic.

While the term scientific literacy has beenused for the past 40 years in the USA, it isnot so common in the UK. Hurley (1998)states that scientific literacy is known aspublic understanding of science in theUK. In this report the term scientificliteracy refers to the minimal scientificknowledge and skills required to accesswhatever scientific information andknowledge is desired. For primarychildren, therefore, scientific literacy refersto the knowledge and skills required togain a basic knowledge and understandingof science as exemplified by thedevelopment of a range of process skills,

8

SECTION 1

INTRODUCTION TO REVIEW

for primarychildren,

scientific literacyrefers to the

knowledge andskills required to

gain a basicknowledge and

understanding ofscience

the acquisition of various scientificconcepts, and the formation of particularattitudes (See Section 2.1). In additionchildren should have the knowledge andskills to attain the required targets laiddown in national curricula. In Bybeesframework, therefore, scientific literacy forprimary children would be demonstratedmostly at the functional with elements ofthe conceptual levels.

The issue of what science should betaught has been debated widely over thepast 15 years. In 1985 the AmericanAssociation for the Advancement ofScience (AAAS) launched a long-termeffort to reform science, mathematics andtechnology education, referred to asProject 2061. It was so named because theprojects originators were considering allthe science and technology changes that achild entering school in 1985 the yearHalleys comet was in view would witnessbefore the return of the comet in 2061(Nelson 1998). This project set out toidentify what was most important for the

next generation to know and to be able todo in science, mathematics and technology that is, what would make themscientifically literate. Some of its guidingprinciples were that:

science literacy consists of: knowledgeof certain important scientific facts,concepts, and theories; the exercise ofscientific habits of mind; and anunderstanding of the nature of science,its connections to mathematics andtechnology, its impact on individuals,and its role in society

for students to have the time needed toacquire essential knowledge and skillsof science literacy, the sheer amount ofmaterial that todays science curriculumtries to cover must be significantlyreduced

effective education for science literacyrequires that every student be frequentlyand actively involved in exploring naturein ways that resemble how scientiststhemselves go about their work.

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In Bybeesframework,scientific literacyfor primarychildren wouldbe demonstratedmostly at thefunctional withelements of theconceptual levels

Nominal token understanding of science concepts which bears little or no relationship to real understanding

Functional can read and write passages using simple and appropriate scientific and technical vocabulary

Conceptual demonstrates understanding of both the parts and the whole of science and technology as disciplines. Can identify the way new explanations and inventions develop via the processes of science and technology

Multi- understands the essential conceptual structures of science and Dimensional technology from a broader perspective which includes, for example,

the history and philosophy of science. Understands the relationship of disciplines to the whole of science and technology and to society

Fig 1: Degrees of scientific literacy (adapted from Bybee 1997)

The contemporary science curricula in theUS were considered to be overstuffed and undernourished (Nelson 1998). A prescriptive set of specific learning goals(benchmarks) from kindergarten to year 12 was recommended in Benchmarks forScience Literacy (AAAS 1993) whichsuggested reasonable progress towardsthe adult literacy goals laid out in a sisterreport Science for All Americans (AAAS 1990).

In the UK it has also been recognised thatthere is still an over-emphasis on contentin the school science curriculum. Much ofthis content is isolated from the contexts,which could provide relevance andmeaning. Further problems include thelack of an agreed model for thedevelopment of pupils scientific capabilityfrom the age of 5 upwards, and the factthat assessment in science is gearedtowards success in formal examinations(Reiss, Millar and Osborne 1999). A two-year study, Beyond 2000 (NuffieldFoundation 1998), made tenrecommendations regarding theimplementation of the Science NationalCurriculum in England and Wales.Essentially, it is suggested that thecurriculum should be re-designed toenhance general scientific literacy asopposed to the current curriculum, whichis geared towards the small proportion ofpupils who will become scientists. A recent report from OFSTED (1996) stated that:

Most pupils acquire a sound factualknowledge of the material in theProgramme of Study but theirunderstanding of the underlying scientificconcepts often remains fragmentary as the content of science becomesconceptually more demanding, there is a

progressive polarisation of pupilsachievement, with the least able often becoming confused and holdingincorrect ideas.

2 SCIENCE IN THE PRIMARY SCHOOL

2.1 WHAT IS PRIMARY SCIENCE AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

Primary science is concerned with threebroad areas: energy and forces; materials;and living things, which lay the foundationsfor physics, chemistry and biologyrespectively. Whilst these are the broadareas of study, primary science is not justconcerned with knowledge, but particularlywith the scientific method and the effect ofthe use of this method on the individualchild. It is child active, developing bothmanipulative and mental activity. It is child focused, concentrating on an aspectof the world the child experiences andsomething in which the child can displayan interest.

Science is currently one of the three coresubjects in the primary curriculum and,together with English and mathematics, isformally assessed at the end of primaryschooling in England and Wales, and it ispart of the Transfer Procedure Test, whichis taken in the final year of schooling bythose pupils who wish to attend grammarschools in Northern Ireland.

Primary science has three aims: to developscientific process skills, to foster theacquisition of concepts, and to developparticular attitudes.

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the curriculumshould be re-

designed toenhance generalscientific literacy

as opposed tothe currentcurriculum,

which is gearedtowards the

small proportionof pupils who will

becomescientists

SECTION 2

SCIENCE IN THE PRIMARY SCHOOL

SkillsThe process skills are:

1 Observation - a fundamental skill inwhich children select out informationusing all five senses.

2 Communication - the ability to sayclearly through many media, eg written, verbal, diagrammatic,presentation software, what has been discovered or observed.

3 Measurement - measurement isconcerned with comparisons of size,time taken, areas, speeds, weights,temperatures and volumes.Comparison is the basis of allmeasurement.

4 Experimenting - children oftenexperiment in a trial and error way. Toexperiment means to test usually bypractical investigation in a careful,controlled fashion.

5 Space-time relationships - ideas oftime and space have to be developed.Children have to learn to judge the timethat events take and the volume or areaobjects or shapes occupy.

6 Classifying - children need torecognise, sort and arrange objectsaccording to their similarities anddifferences.

7 Interpreting data - the ability tounderstand and interpret theinformation a child collects.

8 Making hypotheses - a hypothesis is a reasonable guess to explain aparticular event or observation - it isnot a statement of a fact.

9 Inference - based on the informationgathered and following careful study, achild would draw a conclusion that fitsall the observations he or she has made.

10 Prediction - foretelling the result of aninvestigation on the basis of consistent,regular information from observationsand measurements.

11 Controlling and manipulating variables- the careful control of conditions intesting which may provide a fair testand give valid results.

While it is desirable that children acquirethese skills, it must be said that it isunlikely any of these skills can be taughtor acquired in isolation but are involvedand developed in many, if not all scienceactivities.

ConceptsExamples of concepts fostered by primaryscience learning are:

time life cyclesweight interdependence of living thingslength changevolume adaptationenergy properties of materials

Children will gradually acquire the aboveconcepts through practical, scientificactivities.

AttitudesScience can also develop a child'scharacter. Specific attitudes which arehighly treasured by teachers and societyand which can be achieved through hands-on, discovery-based investigations include:

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perseverance

originality

responsibility

independence of thinking

co-operation

curiosity

self-criticism

open-mindedness

Attitudes

The National Curriculum documentationfor primary science in England and Walesinterprets these skills, concepts andattitudes in the four sections of theProgramme of Study as: Sc1 - ScientificEnquiry, Sc2 - Life Processes and LivingThings, Sc3 - Materials and theirProperties and Sc4 - Physical Processes(DfEE 1995). The skill areas are identifiedas: planning experimental work, obtainingevidence, and considering evidence. There are variations in the Programmes ofStudy for Northern Ireland and Scotland:the Northern Ireland Programme of Studyfor primary science has reduced to twoattainment targets: AT1 Exploring andInvestigating in Science and Technology,and AT2 Knowledge and UnderstandingDENI 1996). The skills areas are: planning,carrying out and making, and interpretingand evaluating. In Scotland, science is acomponent of the national guidelines forEnvironmental Studies (SOED 1993). Herethe skills are categorised as: planning,collecting evidence, recording andpresenting, interpreting and evaluating, and developing informed attitudes.

2.2 HOW DO CHILDREN ACQUIRE THESE SKILLS, CONCEPTS AND ATTITUDES?

What these processes might mean interms of the childs way of working can be explained as:

1 Observing - looking, listening, touching,testing, smelling.

2 Asking the kind of question which can beanswered by observation and fair tests.

3 Predicting what they think will happen from what they already know about things.

4 Planning fair tests to collect evidence.

5 Collecting evidence by observing and measuring.

6 Recording evidence in various forms -drawings, models, tables, charts,graphs, tape recordings, data logging.

7 Sorting observations andmeasurements.

8 Talking and writing in their own wordsabout their experiences and ideas.

9 Looking for patterns in theirobservations and measurements.

10 Trying to explain the patterns they find in the evidence they collect.

The teachers roleThe teacher has a vital role in this processand this can be developed by:

1 Helping pupils to raise questions and suggest hypotheses.

2 Encouraging children to predict and say what they think will happen.

3 Encouraging closer and more carefulobservation.

4 Helping children to see ways in whichtheir tests are not fair and ways to make tests fairer.

5 Encouraging pupils to measurewhenever it is useful.

6 Helping pupils to find the most useful ways of recording evidence so that they can see patterns in their observations.

7 Encouraging children to think abouttheir experiences, to talk together and to describe and explain to others.

8 Helping children to see the uses they can make of their findings.

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SECTION 2

SCIENCE IN THE PRIMARY SCHOOL

The teachers role in facilitating childrenslearning in science is explored more deeplyin the next section, which reviews theresearch into various aspects of childrensscience learning.

3 RESEARCH INTO CHILDRENSLEARNING IN SCIENCE

Research on childrens learning in scienceover the past 30 years has been influentialin primary science teaching in the UK,particularly since the introduction ofcompulsory science for all childrenbetween the ages of 5 and 16. The NationalCurriculum for England and Wales, 5-14National Guidelines in Scotland and theNorthern Ireland Curriculum were allintroduced in the late 1980s and early1990s. These defined for the first time whataspects of science should be taught atprimary level. Decisions regarding thecontent and pedagogy of primary sciencewere made using evidence from majorresearch projects. The Assessment ofPerformance Unit (APU) surveyedchildrens science knowledge at the ages of11, 13 and 15 during the 1970s and 1980s,and outlined what these children should beexpected to do in science.

Two other projects were influential. TheSPACE (Science Processes and ConceptsExploration) project (1990-98) investigatedchildrens scientific ideas and the STAR(Science Teaching Action Research) projectstudied classroom practice in relation toprocess skills. Harlen (p25 in Sherrington,1998) has discussed the impact of theseprojects. In summary, they - together withother international projects - generatedmajor interest in childrens own scientificideas, which has given weight to construct-ivist approaches towards learning in science.

3.1 CONSTRUCTIVISM ANDCHILDRENS ALTERNATIVECONCEPTIONS

Constructivism has its roots in psychology,philosophy, sociology and education. Itscentral idea is that human learning isconstructed learners build on thefoundations of previous knowledge.Learning is therefore an active, rather thana passive process. Constructivism hasmajor implications for science teaching; itcalls into question the traditional,utilitarian practices and places the childat the centre of the learning process. Thepopularity of constructivist approaches toscience teaching has been steadilyincreasing over the past 30 years.

The constructivist teaching approaches arebased on the work of psychologists andeducators such as Rousseau, Dewey,Piaget, Bruner and Vygotsky, all of whobelieved that children build on theirexperiences as they mature and that thechild is the centre of the learning process.Rousseau (1712-1778) proposed that thecurriculum should be built around thechilds interests perhaps a more feasibleproposal in the days before massschooling. Rousseau suggested thatchildren learn best by direct experience,activity and discovery and that theteachers role is one of facilitation. Dewey(1859-1953) also stressed the importanceof hands-on experience to childrenslearning. He believed that the natural,spontaneous activities of children could bedirected towards educational ends and thatthis was most successful when childrenwere given problems to solve.

Piaget and Bruners work contributedtowards the cognitive constructivismparadigm, whereas Vygotsky is associated

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children learnbest by directexperience,activity anddiscovery

SECTION 3

RESEARCH INTO CHILDRENS LEARNING IN SCIENCE

more with social constructivism. Cognitiveconstructivism refers to the developmentalstages identified by Piaget that childrenpass through as they construct meaningbased on their experiences.

Bruners studies built on Piagets develop-mental stages and postulated that childrenbuild on what they already know in a spiralmanner he suggested there was no limitto what they can learn. Social construct-ivism embraces the importance of peersand teachers in childrens learning.Vygotsky proposed the concept of the zone of proximal development, whichdescribed the gap between what a childcould do or learn alone and what s/hecould do or learn with help. The role of theteacher, according to Vygotsky, is elevatedbeyond facilitator to that of an activeparticipant who guides, encourages andsupports children as they engage inproblem-solving activities.

The constructivist view of learning suggeststhat children come to class with alternativeframeworks (already formed ideas andways of thinking) about a range of scien-tific phenomena. Their learning dependsnot only on the learning environment asset up by society, school and teachers, but also on their prior knowledge, attitudesand aspirations. Learners already have avocabulary of words with meanings whichcan frequently be at variance with thoseused by scientists, for example: animal,flower, living, force and energy.

In a study of concept formation by 5-7 year-old children, Murphy (1987)recorded the responses of 280 childrenfrom 33 schools to 25 terms commonlyused in science. They were asked todescribe a word (without using it) so thatthe other children in the class might guessthe correct word. A few of these responsesare presented in Table 2.

14

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Table 2: Young childrens conceptions of various terms used in science

Word Childs response

Animal A giraffe, a lion, a tiger or a sheep They make different noises from us and they are a different shape. They have four legs. (5/6 years old)

Its not like us. Its something else different from us. Some can be hairy or woolly. It can be black and white or brown. (6/7 years old)

A pig, a cow. Im not one of these. I havent got four legs. (6/7 years old)

Its horses and cows and sheep and dogs and pigs it has four legs and we have two. (6/7 years old)

Flower It has a stem, petals, a root, nice smell. (6/7 years old)You grow it with seeds. The shoots come up. Comes up in the spring. You plant it in winter. They are yellow, purple, red, blue. (5/6 years old)

Authors interpretation

No conception of humans beinganimals childrenemphasisedifferencesbetween peopleand animals.

Flower is thewhole plant.

There is much evidence to suggest thatsome of these alternative frameworkspersist, even in individuals who havestudied science to degree level andbeyond. Wandersee, Mintzes and Novak(1994), in their review of research onalternative conceptions in science citeseveral examples, for instance, a film A Private Universe which revealed thepersistent fundamental misunderstandingof Harvard graduates about the solarsystem (Pyramid Film and Video, 1988). A familiar example in life sciences is plantnutrition. Wandersees (1983) survey ofsome 1,400 subjects showed that 60% ofschool and 50% of college students statedthat plants obtain most of their food fromthe soil.

Millar and Driver (1987) pointed out theimportance of the teachers role in

introducing scientific concepts. Theyreiterated the view that many of thedifficulties experienced by studentslearning science had their origins withinparticular areas of subject matter.

Children and students can learn by rote to memorise enough information to pass atest, or they can be trained to recogniseparticular diagrams or systematicrepresentation and to respond in theappropriate manner. This type of learning,however, does not lead to sufficientunderstanding of the material to beapplied outside the classroom; nor does itenable the level of understanding requiredto explain the phenomenon to otherlearners. Activities such as enquiry,investigation and problem solving whencarried out collaboratively andaccompanied by effective teacher dialogue

15

activities such as enquiry,investigation andproblem solvingwhen carried outcollaborativelycan bring aboutunderstanding of scientificconcepts

Word Childs response

Living You do this in your house. (5/6 years old)You eat, watch television; a bed to sleep in. You play with your toys. (5/6 years old)

People do this in a house. Bird in a cage. Dog in a kennel. (5/6 years old)

Energy You have this in your legs to run fast to lift a weight you have to have it if youre climbing a building youd have to have it in your hands. Cats have it in their eyes. (6/7 years old)

Use it to power car/lorries/tractors. Comes through electric wires into houses. (6/7 years old)

Force You make somebody do something they mightnt want to do and you just make them do it If the door was stuck you would try to do this to make it open. (6/7 years old)

Gravity is a force that pulls you to the ground There are forces in spacecraft and you float. (6/7 years old)

Authors interpretation

Has resonancewith the biologicalconcept of aniche, which isactivity within ahabitat.

Energy as anentity.

Force as power.A force acts tomake youweightless

can bring about understanding of scientificconcepts. It is in the enhancement of thesetypes of activities promoted by aconstructivist approach to scienceteaching, as opposed to the drill andpractice type of computer-based learningthat will be most beneficial for the primaryscience classroom.

Criticisms have been levelled against theconstructivist approach to science teachingin the primary school. The most frequentlyquoted of these is that whilst the researchadvises that teachers identify childrensalternative frameworks, there is littleadvice for teachers regarding specificstrategies to develop these ideas so thatthey become more scientific, particularlyin a class in which there might be up to 30alternative frameworks for each concept!Harlen (1996) commented that it mightappear too difficult to find out about theideas of all the children in a class in sucha way as to plan activities to accommodatethem. In addition, traditional ideas ofteachers, school boards, principals andparents are also deep-rooted and difficultto change.

Implementation of constructivistapproaches in the classroom maytherefore be subject to some resistance.Indeed Cohen et al (1996) claimed that theconstructivist view of learning totallyturned its back on the view of progressionembedded in the National Curriculum,which assumes that all children learn inthe same sequence. Solomon (1994)claimed that constructivism is notcongruent with the kind of learning whichtakes place in most classrooms, whilstHarlen (1996) reported that quite ofteneveryday events do, in fact, conform tonon-scientific ideas. Keogh and Naylor(1996) revealed that analysis of the

hands-on approach indicated that pupilsspent little or no time planning andinterpreting their findings, and suggestedthat a minds-on approach is also required to enable the children to make sense of the concept by relating it to their own experience. Osborne (1997) asked provocatively: Is doing science the best way to learn science?

In spite of these criticisms, theconstructivist approach to science teaching in primary and post-primaryschools is widely advocated and promotedworldwide. Indeed, the South AustralianCurriculum Standards and AccountabilityFramework, from birth to year 12, uses a conception of learning which is drawnfrom constructivist learning theoriesto guide the formulation of its newcurriculum framework (SACSA 2000).

3.2 CHILDRENS INTEREST ANDATTITUDES TOWARDS SCIENCE

Childrens interest in science is also vitalfor effective science learning, particularlyin developing their confidence in dealingwith science in terms of curiosity andmethodical inquiry. When children reachthe post-primary school, they will haveexperienced seven years of schooling andby this stage will have developed their ownattitudes to science.

Murphy and Beggs (2003a) carried out anextensive survey of primary childrensattitudes to science and found that most ofthe older pupils (10-11 years) hadsignificantly less positive attitudes thanyounger ones (8-9 years) towards scienceenjoyment, even though the older pupilswere more confident about their ability todo science.

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childrensinterest in

science is vitalfor effective

science learning

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The effect of age on pupils attitudes wasfar more significant than that of gender.Girls were, however, more positive abouttheir enjoyment of science and were a lot more enthusiastic about how their science lessons impacted upon theirenvironmental awareness and how theykept healthy. There were also a fewsignificant differences in the topics liked bygirls and boys generally girls favouredtopics in the life sciences and boyspreferred some of the physical sciencetopics. In an attempt to improve childrensexperience of science in primary school,Murphy, Beggs and Carlisle (2003, inpress) report that increasing the amount ofpractical, investigative work in science,particularly when children are using ICT,had a marked, positive effect on theirenjoyment of science. They demonstrateda highly significant reduction in the effectsof age and gender on childrens scienceattitudes.

A study by the Institute of ElectricalEngineers (1994) showed a decline in thelevel of interest in science in Englandbetween the ages of 10 and 14. Osborne,Driver and Simon (1998) found that positiveattitudes towards school science appearedto peak at or before the age of 11 anddecline thereafter by quite significantamounts, especially in girls. They revealedthat science attitudes and interests aredeveloped early in primary school andthese are carried into secondary schooland adulthood.

There has been concern over the low levelof uptake of science by post-16 pupils fornearly half a century. Several researchershave indicated that part of the reason forthis is that pupils are turned off scienceat school when they are quite young. Mostagree that the erosion in pupils interest in

school science occurs between the ages of 9 and 14 (for example, Hadden andJohnstone 1983, and Shibeci 1984), even though they retain positive attitudestowards science generally and acknow-ledge its importance in everyday life.

The problem of declining interest in schoolscience is international and many reasonshave been put forward to explain it,including the transition between primaryand post-primary schooling, the content-driven nature of the science curriculum,the perceived difficulty of school scienceand ineffective science teaching, as well ashome-related and social-related factors. It is hoped that the development of ICT inprimary science will add to pupil interestand motivation so that childrens curiosityand desire for understanding will enhancetheir science learning.

3.3 TEACHERS SUBJECTKNOWLEDGE

Other research into childrens learning inscience being carried out in the lastdecade has focused on the role of theprimary teacher. Many findings, forexample Harlen et al (1995), have pointedtowards problems linked to primaryteachers lack of confidence in teachingscience and their insufficient scientificknowledge background. Some studies havecriticised the level of the content of someareas of primary science. Murphy, Beggset al (2001) showed that even third levelstudents, including those who experiencedcompulsory school science from the agesof 11-16 and some with post-16 sciencequalifications, could not correctly answerquestions in some primary science topicsin tests, which had been written for 11 year-olds.

17

the problem ofdeclining interestin school scienceis international

These problems, when taken together withthe emphasis of national tests on contentknowledge, may have contributed toscience frequently being taught as facts oras a body of knowledge in the final twoyears of primary school. Teachers feel theneed to prepare children for the tests byensuring that they can recall the requiredcontent knowledge. Attention toconstructivist theories of learning scienceand to scientific enquiry has diminished bythis stage. Ponchaud (2001) indicatedfurther pressures on UK primary teachersthat militate against their delivery of goodscience teaching may include the recentgovernment initiatives in literacy andnumeracy, which have resulted in thetimetabling of science as short afternoonsessions in many schools.

Is some of the primary science curriculumtoo hard for teachers, never mind pupils?Some findings from the Office forStandards in Education (OFSTED 1995)were that:

Some teachers understanding ofparticular areas of science, especially thephysical sciences, is not sufficiently welldeveloped and this gives rise tounevenness of standards, particularly inyears 5 and 6 (age 10 and 11).

In the upper years of Key Stage 2 (whichrepresents age 7-11 year-old children)shortcomings in teachers understandingof science are evident in the incorrect useof scientific terminology and anoveremphasis on the acquisition ofknowledge at the expense of conceptualdevelopment.

Harlen (1997) was also concerned aboutinternational findings, which reported pupildifficulties within certain concept areas.

She summarised findings from a largenumber of studies and concludes thatpupil difficulty is chiefly due to theinsufficient explanations given by primaryteachers. It is interesting to note thatvirtually all the published evidence citesdifficulties with the physical sciences,whereas in the Murphy and Beggs (2003a)study, which asked children for their views,the flower was most frequently cited asthe most difficult part of science. Thiscould be due to a concentration onlearning the parts as opposed to learningabout the process. Osborne and Simon(1996) demonstrated that primary pupilsexplanations of how we see wereconsiderably better when a sciencespecialist had taught them.

We advocate that the content of theprimary curriculum is changed to enableteachers to give an exciting,comprehensible introduction. Primaryteachers should work with children in theobservation and description ofphenomena such as evaporation andgravity but save any explanation for post-primary science. In the life sciences,primary children could be introduced tothe lives of plants and animals, usingchallenging examples to stimulate theirinterest and curiosity, as opposed tonaming relatively obscure flower or bodyparts (for example, ovule and scapula).The author of this report stronglyrecommends that primary children shouldnot be taught aspects of science that aretoo difficult for their teachers.

Primary teachers look towards aspects ofICT to help them with their scienceteaching. Indeed, during a Becta (BritishEducational Communications andTechnology Agency) Science CD-Rom roadshow, teachers were asked to evaluate the

18

we advocate thatthe content of

the primarycurriculum is

changed toenable teachers

to give anexciting,

comprehensibleintroduction

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resources which were available fordemonstration. Issues relating to CD-Roms which were aimed at Key Stage 2children (7 to 11 years) that werecommented upon included: most suited toindividual use rather than the wholeclass, would need to be supported byworksheets to direct pupils, detailedknowledge required to use. limitedinteraction for pupils. Frequently itappears that insufficient formativeevaluation of courseware products iscarried out during the design andimplementation phases, resulting insoftware which is less suited to the targetaudience than it is to the developer.

3.4 THE PRIMARY SCIENCECURRICULUM AND ITS ASSESSMENT

The current primary science curriculumand the way it is taught and assessed hasbeen criticised by many as constrainingchildrens science learning as a body offacts rather than as a method of enquirywhich requires innovation and creativity.Ponchaud (2001) was concerned thatscientific enquiry has diminished in manyprimary schools. He pointed out thatteachers should capitalise on the flexibilityof the primary curriculum to carry outlonger-term experiments, which would bemore difficult to do in the timetable-constrained post-primary school.Campbell (2001) and Ponchaud (2001) alsofound that, when asked about what theyliked best in science, primary childrenmost frequently replied doingexperiments and finding out new things.Bricheno (2000) cited the importance ofsmall group practical work and using ICTin promoting positive attitudes to science.The Murphy and Beggs (2003a) study alsofound that children liked doing

experiments best in science. The reasonsgiven included that doing experiments wasfun, that they found out things and thatthey were learning whilst enjoyingthemselves. One 11 year-old boycommented that when doing experimentshe could do things for himself, whichhelped him remember new things. A girlof the same age stated that practicalscience was a better way to understandthings rather than just writing themdown. Even an 8 year-old suggested thatdoing experiments encourages yourmind. Children, therefore, were telling ushow important practical, experimentalscience was for their learning.

Preparation for national science tests inprimary school could also impactnegatively on childrens learning inscience. Ponchaud (2001) reported thatanxiety about performance in nationaltests sometimes leads to excessive routinetest preparation in the final years ofprimary school. Children have reported theboring and repetitive nature of suchpreparation (Murphy and Beggs 2003a) andcommented negatively on aspects ofcurriculum content which they founddifficult, such as:

The flower remembering parts, likeovule and ovary I kept getting theseterms mixed up (11 year-old girl)

Forces pushing, colliding, hard to understand where the force is actingfrom (10 year-old boy)

Evaporation I was confused by all the long words, like evaporation,condensation (11 year-old girl)

19

doingexperiments was fun, theyfound out thingsand werelearning whilstenjoyingthemselves

3.5 THE ROLE OF ICT IN ENHANCINGCHILDRENS SCIENCE LEARNING

Recent studies of the brain, such asreported by Greenfield (2000), have led tonetwork models of learning. Such modelsconsider ways in which computers appearto think and learn in relation to problemsolving. They describe the brain behavinglike a computer, forging links betweenneurons to increase the number ofpathways along which electric signals cantravel 2. As we think, patterns of electricalactivity move in complex routes around thecerebral cortex, using connections we havemade previously via our learning. Theability to make connections betweenapparently unrelated ideas (for instancethe motion of the planets and the falling ofan apple) lies at the heart of earlyscientific learning in terms of bothcreativity and understanding. As childrenexplore materials and physical andbiological phenomena, physical changesare taking places in their brains(McCullough, personal communication).The physical changes taking place in thebrain help to explain Ausubels assertionover 35 years ago that the most importantsingle factor influencing learning is whatthe learner already knows (Ausubel 1968).

This model of learning predicts that activelearning, such as that promoted byconstructivist teaching approaches, inwhich children are engaged in knowledgeconstruction, enables more pervasiveneural connectivity and hence enhancedscience learning. The use of ICT canfacilitate more constructivist teaching inthe primary school. One of the principal

problems a teacher faces when usingconstructivist approaches to scienceteaching is the consideration of the uniqueideas and experiences 30 individuals bringto each new science topic. How can theteacher elicit and challenge all of these toensure that children develop the desiredscientific concepts? How can s/he ensurethat each child is involved in scienceinvestigation? How can s/he promote groupwork with limited science resources sothat children can co-operate in scienceprojects?

McFarlane (2000a) illustrated therelationship between the use of ICT andthe development of childrens scienceskills (see Fig 2).

McFarlanes (2000a) scheme alreadyseems dated due to the absence ofreference to PowerPoint or interactivewhiteboards, both of which have becomeused routinely in many classrooms overthe past three years. Perhaps theapproach towards integration of ICT intoprimary science should focus more ongeneric, as opposed to specific ICTapplications, for example: content versuscontent-free software, data logging,information handling and controltechnology. Which types of application arebest suited towards the development of therange of skills, concepts and attitudesoutlined in Section 2.1?

OConnor (2003) describes a methodologyfor implementing ICT into the primaryscience classroom which is rooted inconstructivist pedagogy, where thechildren are agents of their own

20

the ability to make

connectionsbetween

apparentlyunrelated ideaslies at the heart

of early scientificlearning

2 See Futurelab partner publication Thinking Skills, Technology and Learning (Wegerif, 2002) for a discussion of similar technology-inspired models of learning, and for a discussion of the role of technologies in teaching thinking skills.

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development. She describes howmultimedia is most effectively used as atool to construct knowledge with, asopposed to learning from. She argues thatthe effective use of content-free softwareenables children to assume control of theirown learning and illustrates this with adescription of 10-11 year-old childrencreating PowerPoint presentations todemonstrate and communicate theirunderstanding of electric circuits. The following section evaluates differentways ICT is currently being used to supportprimary science in terms of how effectivelyICT promotes good science in terms ofskill, concept and attitude development.

4 CURRENT USE OF ICT IN PRIMARY SCIENCE

4.1 WHAT IS THE ROLE FOR ICT IN PRIMARY SCIENCE?

The term ICT embraces a range oftechnologies broadly concerned withinformation and communication. Thepopular idea of ICT hardware in theclassroom or computer suite includes oneor more multimedia desktop computers orlaptops and a combination of the following:digital camera, printer, scanner, CD-writer, data projector, interactive

21

1. Ask questions,predict andhypothesise

2. Observe, measureand manipulatevariables

3. Interpret theirresults and evaluatescientific evidence

Using ICT in prior research ona topic (CD-Roms, databasesor internet, for example)

Word processing in planning

Data logging in measurement and control

Organising, presentingand recording results, eg spreadsheets, datalogging, databases

Comparing results with other peoples,

eg with CD-Roms,databases, and

the internet

Word processing or desk-top

publishing inpresenting an

investigation orwriting up

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CURRENT USE OF ICT IN PRIMARY SCIENCE

Fig 2: The relationship between the use of ICT and the development ofchildrens science skills (McFarlane 2000a)

whiteboard, robot and, in science classes,data loggers and perhaps a digitalmicroscope. There will be a range ofsoftware available on the hard drive of thecomputers and as add-ons (usually asfloppy discs or CD-Roms). The machinesmay or may not be networked or haveaccess to the internet. How these facilitiesmight improve the learning and teaching ofprimary science in terms of thedevelopment of the scientific skills,concepts and attitudes outlined in Section2.1 is summarised in Table 3.

ICT can support both the investigative(skills and attitudes) and more knowledge-based aspects (concepts) of primaryscience. The more recent approaches toscience learning, particularly the socialconstructivist methodologies (see section1.2 on childrens learning in science),highlight the importance of verbal as wellas written communication as being vital forchildren to construct meaning. ICT use cangreatly enhance the opportunities forchildren to engage in effectivecommunication at several levels.Communication, however, is only one usefor ICT in the primary science classroom.Ball (2003) categorises four ways in whichICT is used in primary science: as a tool,as a reference source, as a means ofcommunication and as a means forexploration.

There is little systematic research on theuse of ICT in primary science teaching,other than reports of how it has been usedto support specific projects, for example,those included in the ICT-themed issue ofthe Primary Science Review in Jan/Feb2003. Perhaps it is early days. Primaryscience has only been part of the NationalCurriculum in the UK for little more than adecade, so most teachers who qualified

Table 3: Summary of the goals of primary science learning

Skills observation communication measurement experimenting classifying interpreting data making hypotheses inference prediction controlling & manipulating variables

Concepts time life cycles weight interdependence of living things length change volume adaptation energy properties of materials

Attitudes perseverance originality co-operation responsibility curiosity independence of thinking self-criticism open-mindedness

before its introduction will have receivedno science training in their initial teachereducation and perhaps only minimal INSET

22

ICT is used inprimary science:

as a tool, as areference source,

as a means ofcommunicationand as a means

for exploration

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CURRENT USE OF ICT IN PRIMARY SCIENCE

science training. Many teachers, therefore,have yet to come to grips with how to teach science effectively before they canconceptualise how using ICT can enhancethe teaching of good science in theprimary school. Researchers have littleaccess to classrooms where they can carryout systematic investigation of practice.

The following section therefore comprisesan account of instances of practice derivedfrom different sources in which usage ofICT in various primary science contextshas been reported. The author providescommentary on these from twostandpoints. First, from working withstudents and teachers from a range ofscience backgrounds in the role of primaryand secondary teacher educator. Second,from directing a research project funded bythe AstraZeneca Science Teaching Trust(AZSTT) in which science specialist studentteachers co-planned, co-taught and co-evaluated science lessons with classroomteachers. Whilst there was not anemphasis on using ICT in the AZSTTproject, we audited student and teacherconfidence in their use of ICT foradministration, planning and teaching atvarious stages in the project. The datafrom these audits indicated a highlysignificant increase in students confidencein ICT use during the project but not so forthe teachers. We surmised that thescience students had more opportunity todevelop their ICT skills in the classroomscience context by participation, whereasteachers focused more on developing theirscientific knowledge and skills. A similarproject, in which ICT, rather then science,was the focus for the teamwork, wouldundoubtedly result in increasing teachersconfidence to use ICT in their scienceteaching (Murphy, Beggs and Carlisle, in preparation).

4.1 ICT AS A TOOL

Spreadsheets Spreadsheets are mainly used in primaryscience for data entry, tabulation andgraph production, and form an essentialelement of fair testing and seekingpatterns. Children at primary level areexpected to use spreadsheets but not tocreate them for themselves, enablingconcentration on the science aspects (Ball2003). Poole (2000), however, warns thatprimary children have used spreadsheetswithout going through all the preliminarystages such as selecting axis scales anddeciding on the best type of graph toexplore patterns in the data. He suggeststhat the key issue is the pupils ability tohandle and interpret the data, so that theuse of ICT for graphing needs to be part ofa well-coordinated programme forteaching graphical skills. When the use ofspreadsheets is considered in terms of theskills, concepts and attitudes summarisedin Table 2, however, it appears that theonly added value of using a spreadsheet interms of primary science is the speed withwhich the data can be presentedgraphically. This could indeed prove to beproblematic because if the children are notdrawing the graphs for themselves, theymay experience a conceptual gap betweenmeasurements and their graphicalrepresentation. McFarlane (2000b),however, argues that using the graphingapplications of spreadsheets can allow datahandling exercises to focus on presentationand interpretation rather than simpleconstruction. The issue could be analogousto that of children using calculatorsroutinely instead of mental arithmetic.

DatabasesBall (2003) is fairly dismissive of the valueof databases in primary science, especially

23

in relation to the fact that data or samplescollected by the children are not oftensuitable for effective interrogation of thedatabase.

Feasey and Gallear (2001) provide someguidelines for using databases in primaryscience and illustrate two examples. In thefirst, 10 year-olds are building up adatabase about flowers. Much of the datacollected seems inappropriate for childrenof this age (length of anther, length offilament, length of carpel). It raisesquestions as to the benefits of such anexercise in terms of scientific under-standing or indeed for the development ofICT skills for children in primary school.The second example was a similar activityfor infants who were creating a database oftheir class. This exercise could be viewedas more relevant and it enables children toproduce bar charts and histograms forinterpretation more quickly than by hand.

The most exciting use of a database withyoung children (6 and 7 year-olds) theauthor has observed was an instance inwhich children were able to interrogate aprepared database of dinosaurs, whilstworking with a science specialist BEdstudent. The children were fascinated to discover that some of these hugedinosaurs were vegetarian! They werestimulated to ask questions and wanted tofind out more. In this context the childrenwere using a database as a means ofexploration.

As such, working with databases candirectly enhance childrens classificationskills and, indirectly, could develop theirpowers of inference. Their conceptualknowledge could be potentially improved,depending on the context of the database,for example, using a leaf database foridentification, children could develop a

higher level of understanding of leafstructure which could be valuable at alater stage in their study of biology.

Data logging Data logging is a highly versatile ICT toolfor use in experimental science at anylevel. Higginbotham (2003) describes 6-7 year-old children playing with atemperature sensor and discovering thatthey could find out whether it was in hot orcold water by watching the screen theywere effectively interpreting graphical data. Ball (2003), however, argues that manyprimary teachers are not confident enoughto use data loggers effectively in theirscience lessons. From my own experienceof facilitating data logging sessions withstudent teachers, I would add that manysensors are not sufficiently robust for usein the normal classroom. Sensors thatseem to work perfectly well in onesession may prove entirely useless in thenext. That apart, the potential value ofusing sensors in primary science isconsiderable in terms of the developmentof the skills of observation, measurement,experimenting, space-time relationships,interpreting data, inference, prediction andcontrolling and manipulating variables.The concepts of time and change can alsobe developed via the process of datalogging, as can the attitude of curiosityand, if working in groups, children canlearn to be co-operative in their approach.

4.2 ICT AS A REFERENCE SOURCE

CD-RomsThe most common ICT reference sourcesused in primary science classrooms areCD-Roms. These range from encyclo-paedic resources, such as Encarta, to theASE Science Year CD-Rom, which contains

24

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25

working withdatabases candirectly enhancechildren'sclassificationskills and,indirectly, coulddevelop theirpowers ofinference

Table 4: BEd science students comments on primary science CD-Roms

Name Positive Negative Suggestions

Light andSound

Mad aboutScience -Matter

Mad aboutScience - 2

I Love Science

My FirstAmazingScienceExplorer (5-9)

My AmazingHuman Body

Magic SchoolBus

ScienceExplorer 2

Science: Forces,Magnetism andElectricity

Diagrams and animations

Good graphicsGames and rewardsFlash questions wouldkeep childrens interest

Voice-oversGood explanation ofterms

Interactive diagramsSafety messagesReward system

Incentives and rewardsPersonal record andprogress chartVarying difficulty levelsClues given to helpanswer questionsFull explanation ofcorrect answers

Secret file section

Entertaining andenjoyableLinks body organs

3D graphicsAnimations Virtual labs book facilityWebsiteSafety warnings

Graphics and music

Not very exciting startWritten explanations complex

Upper class English accentChildren would need relativelygood knowledge of materialsto benefit

No differentiation for differentability levelsNo instructionsNo second chance to answerquestions in games

Too difficult for 7-11 age rangeWord attack confusing

Some parts too advanced forage rangeCould not find purpose for theworksheets

Too advanced for 6-10 year-olds some questions difficultfor a BEd science student!

Too much clicking of iconsrequiredDifficult navigation

Difficult animation; lack ofinstructionsBoring voice-overSome investigations toocomplicated

No explanation ofexperimental resultsLittle variety

More interactionIntegrate assessment ofpupil learning

Voice-over to readquestionsUse for only short timeperiods games becomerepetitive

Different levelsSecond chance optionfor questions

Programme adapted totake account of pupilsunderstanding beforeawarding badges

Include an interactivecharacter as guide toinvolve childrenMore colour, excitementand interactionUse only with smallgroup of children

Only use for five minutesor so becomes boring

a wealth of science-related activities(reviewed by Sutton 2003). CD-Roms arerelatively permanent, physical entitieswhich can be catalogued and stored likebooks. As such, schools and otherinstitutions have banks of CD-Romsavailable for use. Undergraduate studentteachers in a Northern Ireland UniversityCollege who were science specialistspreparing to teach in primary schoolsevaluated several of the most popular CD-Roms which were used in primary schools.Their comments were most interestingsince they were asked to evaluate in termsof their own enjoyment as well as from ateachers perspective (Beggs and Murphy,in preparation). Table 4 summarises someof the student views which could be usefulfor both developers and teachers whendesigning and using CD-Roms.

The students comments highlight thepedagogical issues surrounding the use ofdifferent CD-Roms as reference sources.In terms of the skills, concepts andattitudes primary science aims to developin children, the use of CD-Roms has thepotential both to enhance and to inhibitchildrens learning. The developers have avital role in this regard to ensure that theyprovide a learning experience whichensures that children are highly motivatedby the courseware to enable thedevelopment of specific skills, conceptsand attitudes. For example, difficultnavigation and lack of clear instructionsare immediate turn-offs for both teachersand children. All software developmentshould include several phases of formativeevaluation by the target audiences. In myown experience of courseware develop-ment, I can state that packages wouldhave looked, sounded and run completelydifferently in the absence of input from thechildren at whom they were aimed.

The internet The internet is used in primary scienceboth as a reference source and as a meansof communication. Problems of lack ofaccess to the internet in primaryclassrooms restrict its use in lessons butteachers are able to download and usemany excellent resources with thechildren. It is also common for children touse the internet as a reference source athome. Indeed it appears that children usethe internet more than teachers. A surveyof more than 1,500 primary children andover 100 primary teachers (November2001) reported a highly significant differentmean response (p

availability of specific URLs, might have astrong effect on developing the attitude ofperseverance! More recently Becta (2002)produced guidance for using web-basedresources in primary science. As anenhancement of investigative sciencelearning, however, it is unlikely this type of internet-based learning is of significant use.

An example of internet use for a primaryscience investigation involving hundreds ofschools took place in Northern Ireland inMarch 2002. Over 5,000 children took partin a Science Year project in which theyused the internet to enter and analysetheir data. Children (or the teacher)entered either R or L into a prepareddatabase to indicate which side they usedfor the following tasks: writing their nameand throwing a tennis ball into a box (forhandedness); kicking a tennis ball andhopping on one leg (for footedness);identifying a quiet sound in a box(earedness) and looking at a friendthrough a cardboard tube (eyedness).Children could obtain immediate feedbackas to how their data fed into the total setand an update on the analysis. The studyconcluded that handedness did not relatedirectly to footedness, earedness oreyedness (Greenwood, Beggs and Murphy 2002).

4.3 ICT AS A MEANS OF COMMUNICATION

E-mail and online discussionThe use of e-mail in primary sciencelearning and teaching is restricted becausenot all classrooms are online. Thepotential for children to exchange a widevariety of experiences and information with

those from other schools, both locally andglobally, via e-mail is, however, huge,particularly for environmental projects. Acurrent difficulty with teaching aboutglobal environmental issues is thatchildren feel powerless to do anythingabout them and consequently do notchange their behaviour in ways whichcould alleviate problems (Murphy, 2001).Greater communication with children fromother areas of the world would enablepupils to empathise more and consider thewider implications of their actions in anenvironmental context.

Using e-mail has the potential forenhancing childrens communication skillsin primary science, particularly as itenables children to communicate aboutscience directly and informally with theirpeers. There is much progress to becompleted in terms of connectivity inprimary classrooms before this facility canbe exploited on a wide scale.

Digital camera, PowerPoint andinteractive whiteboardApart from the more obvious e-mail andinternet applications, the digital camera,PowerPoint and interactive whiteboardshave proved to be highly versatile inhelping children develop a range ofcommunication and other skills. Lias andThomas (2003) described their use ofdigital photography in childrens meta-learning. A class of 8 and 9 year-oldchildren used photographs of themselvescarrying out science activities to describewhat they had been doing, their reasonsfor doing it, what they had found and why.The childrens responses to thephotographs (displayed on an interactivewhiteboard) generated far more confidentand fluent descriptions which needed a lotless prompting and support than had ever

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greatercommunicationwith childrenfrom other areasof the worldwould enablepupils toempathise moreand consider the widerimplications oftheir actions inan environmentalcontext

been observed previously. In addition, theirresponses were more detailed andcomplete. When tested several monthslater, the childrens recall of the activityand their understanding of the associatedscientific concepts were significantlyimproved when they were shown thephotographs. Lias and Thomas (2003) aimto extend this work by using digitalphotography to help children to criticallyevaluate their own progress, identify waysto improve what they have done and torecognise the usefulness of what they havelearned.

Presentation tools such as PowerPoint andinteractive whiteboards provide excellentopportunities for children to consolidateknowledge, assume responsibility for andownership of their learning, engage inhigh-level critical thinking andcommunicate their learning to peers,teachers and wider audiences. OConnor(2003) illustrates slides developed bychildren as part of a presentation onelectricity which she describes as anexample of how ICT and primary sciencecan be integrated and linked successfully.

In terms of skills, concepts and attitudes,presentation tools have enormouspotential for enhancing childrens learningin primary science. By preparing apresentation, children could be involved incommunicating all aspects of planning andcarrying out experiments, rehearsinghypotheses, describing methods anddiscussing their recording procedures.They might then be involved with datainterpretation, inference and drawingconclusions, which would be required forthem to tell the story of their work to

their peers. The attitudes of co-operation,perseverance, originality, responsibility,independence of thinking, self-criticismand open-mindedness can all be fostered.Having to communicate their under-standing of scientific concepts andperhaps answer questions based on thatunderstanding from less informed peers,enables constructivist learning in its mostadvanced form (Vygotsky 1978). I wouldargue that it is in the area of presentingscientific information, as reported byOConnor (2003), that childrens learning inprimary science might benefit most bytheir classroom use of ICT.

4.4 ICT AS A MEANS FOR EXPLORING

Control technologyICT can be used in an experimental andexploratory manner allowing children asafe and supportive context in which towork (Dorman 1999). Children can use ICTdevices such as Roamer and Pixie as atool for investigation. Dorman (ibid) claimsthat by this means learning has moved farfrom a simple model of Computer AidedInstruction and much closer to ComputerExtended Thinking in which computersbecame objects to think with (Papert1980). He illustrates this point with adescription of young children (3/4 year-olds) sitting in a circle and playing with aRoamer, sending it to each other. Onechild secretly programmed the robot sothat before it reached the child opposite, it bleeped and came back. Soon after this,other children were programming theRoamer to perform all manner ofelectronic dances (Dorman 1999) 3. The children had begun to collaborate

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attitudes of co-operation,

perseverance,originality,

responsibility,independence of

thinking, self-criticism

and open-mindedness can

all be fostered

3 See again Futurelab Publication Thinking Skills, Technology and Learning (Wegerif 2002) for an extended discussion of the use of these tools in learning.

SECTION 4

CURRENT USE OF ICT IN PRIMARY SCIENCE

seriously to get the most enjoyment from the robot and were learning fromeach other.

Simulators and virtual realityProbably the least exploited use of ICT inprimary science classrooms currently isexploration using simulators and virtualreality. An example of simulator use isillustrated in the TTA guidelines for usingICT in primary science (TTA 2003). Theteacher used a program that simulated the speed of fall of different sizes ofparachutes. She scheduled groups to usethe program on the classroom computersover a week. She emphasised that theywere to predict the results of their virtualexperiments before carrying them out andasked each group to write a briefcollaborative report on what they hadlearned from using the program. Theteacher did not intend the virtual lab workto replace the practical activities, but feltthat carrying out experiments on thecomputer was a good way to enable thechildren to predict and hypothesise usingtheir knowledge of air resistance. Theywould get instant feedback to reinforcetheir learning of how air resistanceoperates.

4.5 CASE STUDY OF INTEGRATING ICT INTO PRIMARY SCIENCE

The Teacher Training Agency has producedexplicit guidelines and exemplificationmaterials for using ICT in primary scienceaimed at mentors and initial teachertraining institutions working with primarystudent teachers (TTA 2003). Theyillustrated their guidance with reference tothree case studies in the areas of:

grouping and changing materials (6/7 year-olds)

the environment and invertebrateanimals in their school grounds (8/9 year-olds)

forces (10/11 year-olds)

Each of the case studies indicates links tothe curriculum documents and givesbackground information and notes aboutthe context and computer resources. Forexample in the first case study:

There were two computers linked to acolour printer in the classroom, and theschool had a separate ICT area equippedwith ten computers linked in a networkand a large screen for demonstration tothe whole class. The teacher had someexperience of working with computers andwas supported by the schools ICT co-ordinator. The teacher was also supportedby the schools science co-ordinator inplanning this work... The teacher alsodiscussed the project with a colleague whowas doing a similar unit of work at anotherschool. They agreed to set up e-mailcommunication between the pupils in theirclasses.

The case studies follow the investigationsstep by step, indicating teacher decisionsabout what, how and when to use differentICT applications, for example:

The teacher found that the internet andCD-Roms did not provide as muchuseful information as the book sourcesshe used. In addition, the books wereportable and she was able to use themoutside.

The teacher knew that temperature andlight levels could be measured usingsimple devices such as a thermometer

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carrying outexperiments onthe computerwas a good wayto enable thechildren topredict andhypothesise

or a light meter, but she wanted pupilsto appreciate the way in which eachhabitat changed over a longer period.This was most easily done using a datalogger. The teacher used a data logger,which did not need to be connected to a computer, to take readings of light,temperature and moisture over a 24-hour period.

She decided to allow the use of thedigital camera to take photographs ofeach animal because she realised thatpupils would enjoy having photographsfor use later in their work. She restrict-ed each child to a single image tosupplement their hand-drawn pictures.She felt that printing out each image 32times (one for each child) would take toomuch time, be expensive and have littleor no educational value. In retrospect,she felt that even this limited use of thedigital images had little educationalbenefit especially since the quality of theclose-ups was not good.

She decided not to let pupils wordprocess their writing this time, sinceshe only had two computers availablefor this work and realised that it wouldtake too long for each child to write hisor her account using a computer. In anycase, the two classroom computerswere being used for searching forinformation and printing the images.The teacher wanted pupils to use theinformation from books and CD-Romsselectively so she showed pupils how tomake brief notes rather thanindiscriminately using a whole entry.

Although clearly idealised and extensive,these case studies do provide a usefulsource of information about ways to useICT in primary science. Comments relatingto childrens responses and classroom

restrictions could provide valuable insightsfor software developers in the design ofcourseware for primary science.

5 IDENTIFICATION OF SPECIFICRESEARCH AREAS TO EXPLORE HOWTHE USE OF ICT CAN ENHANCEPRIMARY SCIENCE LEARNING

Some of the questions raised in this reviewpoint towards gaps in the research intoprimary science and ICT. For instance insection 3.3 on primary teachersknowledge of science, the question iswhether aspects of primary science aretoo difficult for the teachers, let alone thechildren. More research is needed todetermine which aspects of science areappropriate for primary children to learn.Clearly, if not taught properly, children canenter post-primary education moreconfused than informed about somescience topics. This leads to much greaterlearning and teaching problems atsecondary level than if children had neverbeen introduced to such topics previously.

In relation to the role of ICT enhancingchildrens science learning (section 3.5),the question is raised about how ICT usecan aid the constructivist approach toscience teaching. More particularly, thereis a huge dearth of research into whichtypes of application might enhancedifferent aspects of science learning. Iscontent-free software most useful inhelping children to construct andcommunicate ideas? If so, whichapplications are best suited (and how?) forthe construction of ideas and which forcommunication, or is it the case thatpresentation software, for example, canenhance both processes?

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how can ICT use aid the

constructivistapproach to

scienceteaching?

SECTION 5

IDENTIFICATION OF SPECIFIC RESEARCH AREAS TO EXPLORE HOW THE USE OF ICT CAN ENHANCEPRIMARY SCIENCE LEARNING

In section 4.1, in which ICT as a tool isconsidered, are the use of spreadsheetsand databases creating