EP2329 Greater Bristol Pedagogy package (invite Only) RN913 / B03

The following CPD package is available to science departments in Bristol and South Gloucestershire schools and .

This could be the same member of staff attending all four session or the sessions could be attended by different members of the department.

Session 1: Teaching science for post-Covid catch up - 25.1.23 from 15.30-17.00

This session will focus on strategies for helping students to bridge gaps in their knowledge, and how working scientifically skills can be developed when students’ experience of practical and investigative work has been limited. We will particularly think about how to diagnose knowledge gaps in teaching groups within which there is a range of prior attainment and attendance. We will also explore the way that knowledge gaps will contribute to misconceptions and look at practical strategies for combatting those.  

Session 2: Enhancing literacy skills in science lesson - 23.2.23 from 15.30-17.00

This session will primarily focus on developing students’ reading and oracy skills in science lessons. Reading scientific texts is a skill that needs to be taught and practised and requires a very different approach to reading fiction texts, so we will look at strategies and resources that will help with that. In terms of oracy, the focus will be on promoting small group and class discussion in science lessons – speaking and listening, how to encourage and support students to ask questions, and how talk can be used to develop scientific vocabulary.

Session 3: Using models in physics teaching - 21.3.23 from 15.00-17.30

Teachers frequently use models and analogies in their physics teaching to help students develop mental pictures of physical phenomena and to gain conceptual understanding. This session will help teachers to think about which models are of particular use, how to go about using them and explore the conceptual understanding that is being developed. We will be particularly focusing on the use of models in teaching electricity and energy.  

Session 4: Teaching the mathematical skills required for GCSE science 4.5.23 from 15.30-17.00

This session aims to provide aims and guidance for teaching the mathematics content required by the GCSE sciences. It will consider what grounding needs to take place at KS3, how skill development can be integrated so that lessons don’t just become “maths lessons”, and examine strategies for dealing with “mathematical anxiety” and developing positive attitudes towards numerical work.