This Impact Summary, published in 2015, showed how for the previous ten years the National Science Learning Network had provided teachers, technicians and other educators with high impact, subject-specific professional development in science and other STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and mathematics...

A Catalyst article about Darwin's beetle collection - an early step in his scientific career. Beetle-collecting was something of a craze in the early 19th century; at the same time, scientific understanding of these creatures grew rapidly. The well illustrated article looks at Darwin's work in this field.

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A Catalyst article about how the scanning by an electron microscope of pollen grains shows up their structure, and can help scientists understand why some people suffer from an allergic reaction - hay fever. The article describes how the images were made and how they are used in scientific research.

This...

Published in 2006 by the Scottish Government, this report looks at the progress towards a Curriculum for Excellence. It was designed to present ideas and stimulate discussion between stakeholders in education within Scotland.

The Curriculum for Excellence considers how and what children and young people...

This Catalyst article is devoted to brine shrimps. It examines their life cycle and food chain and also provides some advice on how to keep and care for them.

This article is from Catalyst: GCSE Science Review 2003, Volume 13, Issue 4.

Catalyst is a science...

This Catalyst article describes a film which has been made to provide a range of reasons for students to study science. During the film high profile scientists, writers and teachers describe how science provides the technologies which are used in everyday life, how it can protect the environment and how it protects...

A Catalyst article examining the UK’s electricity supplies, twenty per cent of which come from nuclear power stations. Many of these power stations are approaching the end of their working lives. The article looks at the future prospects for nuclear power bearing in mind their safety record and environmental...

This pilot version of the Recommended Code of Governance for Schools was published by the Wellcome Trust in October 2012. It is aimed at providing school governors and senior leaders with a robust yet flexible framework they can use to set the strategic direction for their school, and that governors can use to hold...

This Catalyst article examines malaria which is one of the world’s top ten diseases but an effective vaccine to combat it is yet to be discovered. Scientists in the Malaria Vaccine Group at Oxford are trying to overcome some very difficult problems using a new approach to vaccines.

This article is from...

Published by the Wellcome Trust in October 201, this report looks at how one-year postgraduate Initial Teacher Training (ITT) courses in England and Wales support trainees’ acquisition of subject knowledge and topic specific pedagogy across the sciences.

The study, which was the first of its kind to look...

A Catalyst article about using the ISIS accelerator to study the structures of materials. ISIS is one of the UK's world leading research centres and this article explains how the centre uses neutrons to study materials at an atomic level. Acting as a super microscope the ISIS accelerator can be used for physics,...

A Catalyst article about the life and ideas of Albert Einstein. He is most famous for his ideas on relativity which formed the theory of general relativity, in which he showed that gravity could be explained as the effect of large masses on space. After the Second World War he also worked with other scientists and...

A Catalyst article about alchemy, the study of eternal life, salvation, and the answer to the ultimate questions about life, the universe and everything. It flourished for more than 1500 years until, in the late 1600s, the beginnings of modern, scientific chemistry edged it aside. The article looks at what was...

Alternatives for Science Education was produced and published by the Association for Science Education (ASE) in 1979. Its sub-title, A Consultative Document, indicates its aim and status. In addition to being a document of considerable historical interest, it contains arguments of continued relevance.

The...

A Catalyst article about aluminium, a shiny silvery metal, which is extracted from its ore by electrolysis. Further addition of other metallic elements results in an alloy, which can be cast into various shapes using moulds. The article looks at the processes of extraction, casting, patterns, moulds and finishing...