What the resource is:
This is a research summary from the National Teacher Research Panel, which reports on a project to teach science to Foundation Stage and KS1 children using a cross curricular approach through music. The report is hosted on the Department for Education and Skills’ website. The NTRP is an independent group of practising teachers who have the following aims:
- To ensure that all research in education takes account of the teacher perspective;
- To ensure a higher profile for research and evidence informed practice in government, academic and practitioner communities;
- To increase the number of teachers engaged in and with the full spectrum of research activity.
The aims of the resource:
The aim of this action research project was to explore the impact of innovative teacher methods on both attainment/achievement and attitudes in primary science. The project used a cross curricular approach to teach the topic of science through music in one infant school, with particular focus on eighteen children. It was hoped that the results of the project would encourage more teachers to teach science in a creative and dynamic way and that this in turn would result in more interesting and engaging activities for children.
Key findings or focus:
This action research project was based on concern for the quality of science teaching in England; barriers to high quality teaching perceived as being an over reliance on QCA schemes of work and inflexible lesson plans. It is argued that science teaching should have more emphasis on investigative skills and child-initiated and open-ended activities. The children worked with a musician who came into the school using a water drum as a focus for investigation and exploration. Year Two children did further child-initiated investigations using the idea of the water drum. For example, one of the activities investigated what happened to the water when the drum was played, another explored the effect of the size of the drum on the sound it made. All of the activities that the children did enabled them to explore sound in a variety of meaningful ways. After the activities were completed the children were interviewed about their experiences during the project. It is argued that the project had the following consequences:
- There was a major improvement in the children’s attitude to science;
- After the project the majority of the children used the word ‘excited’ in relation to their feelings about science;
- There was a perceived improvement in the achievement of the children.
- The children had a deeper knowledge of sound across the ability range.
- The cross curricular nature of the project improved learning in both science and music
- After the project the children could speak about their learning in a much deeper way.
In conclusion it is argued that the teaching of science through music can have a positive effect on both attitudes and on attainment in science.
The quality, authority and credibility of the resource:
This is a timely report into the promotion of a creative, child-initiated science education. Science education has been an area which for too long has been subject to fact-based, didactic teaching. This report is intended as an example of effective action research. It does suggest tentative generalisations, for example within the report it is argued that the children had a deeper knowledge of science, however this is hard to justify with the limited sample and methods used. Much more important and transferable are the findings regarding improved motivation and the excitement generated by the activities.
The implications for ITE tutors/mentors:
This report could easily be used by tutors and mentors as an example of planning creative and motivating units of work for primary science education. Creativity is a particular buzzword at the moment in education and is a difficult theme to explain to students in a purely theoretical manner. It is best exemplified in terms of examples the students can use within their teaching experience and this report highlights a successful case study of planning for creative investigations. The report also provides a way into a critical discussion of the use of a cross curricular approach and the promotion of child-initiated investigations.
The relevance to ITE students
Students are always looking for a way to bridge the gap in converting theory into practice and this report gives a really good example of this conversion. It is argued that effective science teaching should be child-initiated and exploratory and this report clearly shows that this can be planned for and implemented in the classroom. This example of science teaching shows that these theories can be utilised in a cross curricular approach and have the effect of increasing excitement and motivation in children’s learning.
Reviewed by:
Graham Parton
The following might be useful to read in conjunction with this resource:
Frost, J. (1997) Creativity in Primary Science Buckingham: OUP
Johnston, J. (1996) Early Explorations in Science Buckingham: OUP