Maths and Science - how we established a common approach
I’m an experienced science teacher who loved getting back into the classroom as respite from the responsibilities of a busy deputy head. I’d listened with interest to the chatter between mathematics and science teachers about similar processes and techniques without ever sitting down to explore how we crossed over, or why some students would make big errors - like drawing a straight line through a very obvious curve rates graph!
In September 2023, I took up a new position in the The Kemnal Academies Trust (TKAT) as Science Strategy Lead which allowed me to focus fully on science. Quickly I discovered that my poor students of yesteryear - and those across our Trust - were being bamboozled by a ‘similar’ approach in maths and science lessons, a necessary evil when we are looking to use data from an alternative perspective. Misconceptions are inevitable - and that's just the teachers (!) - when we use the same tools, but in a different way. Some joined up thinking was required.
Two terms later and as the result of some great investment by our Trust, in strategic support, I attended a ‘Developing shared approaches to maths in science and science in maths conference’ ‘on this very topic, lead by STEM’s Nicola Coe, with my colleague Kev Love from the maths team. Two days later, we were buzzing with ideas and keen to help our learners navigate why an outlier and anomalous result are treated differently, or why an uncertainty was just the range used to discuss the validity of a practical experience.
Our core principle was keeping it simple and accessible to all. If we could instruct teachers to support students with some effective messaging and strategies, we might be onto a winner. By the turn of the year, and with a TKAT Science Conference looming large in January 2024, we felt in a position to drop nine fundamentals on our TKAT Heads of Science.
Ably supported by Nicola, our science leaders enjoyed thinking like maths teachers before going back into their more comfortable ‘science shoes’. Exploring and puzzling the wordy world of science exam questions when maths uses one line. This opportunity gave our leaders the time to step back and appreciate the maths skills, used in science, are pretty straight forward. Application is the key!
To officially launch the strategy we looked to be high profile and so used part of our STEM subsidy to provide teams with placemats and posters.
And now we reach the most important part - our learners. While it’s always frustrating to think ‘why didn't we do this earlier?’ it’s been fantastic to work with year 11 students from across our Trust on two key areas - using graphs effectively and calculation questions.
The initial discussions have led to robust ‘points of entry’ which enable learners to tackle exam questions with confidence. The strategy is adaptable for high and low prior attainers. Intervention conferences have seen students attempt rather than shy away, spot the units conversion and work out what one square of the graph is worth.
Again, timing is everything. As the strategy core team has grown, Jo Scott-Halsey has joined with fresh eyes on student accessibility. SLURP and DESCU are now everyday parlance and even the odd hard to reach pupil has realised making a silly noise can help with their learning!
The most exciting thing is that this is the start of the journey. By embedding these strategies into our revised common curriculum plans, the TKAT STEM family can support each other through shared resources and experience. Language is common and understood, rehearsed during practical experience and becomes more than just tackling exam questions.
