Northern Ireland

Young need chance to practise science, not just learn facts, says expert

Science courses from English awarding organisations will have no marks for practical assessments
Science courses from English awarding organisations will have no marks for practical assessments Science courses from English awarding organisations will have no marks for practical assessments

CHILDREN need to have opportunities to practise science, rather than simply learning to regurgitate facts, an expert has said.

Practical science can be overshadowed by factors such as a need to learn a "mountain" of information, a focus on English and maths and a lack of specialist teachers, according to Katherine Mathieson, chief executive of the British Science Association.

She likened learning science to playing football, saying you would not expect to a child to learn to play the sport by reading about it in a textbook.

Schools in the north can buy new science GCSEs from English boards, which are assessed solely through a written exam.

The decision by former education minister Peter Weir to maintain an `open market' was at odds with the views of scientific experts.

Science courses from English awarding organisations will have no marks for practical assessments. Exams from the north's Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment still include assessment of practicals that count towards overall grades.

In a blog for the Times Educational Supplement (TES), Ms Mathieson wrote: "What is science? Is it a body of facts, to be memorised and regurgitated? Or is it a method for finding out facts and testing and refining ideas?

"Most philosophers of science would argue it is the method, rather than the facts, that is science's distinctive feature."

The current curriculum said children must learn how to think scientifically - applying scientific method to solve a problem, she noted.

But she added: "How do we learn how to think scientifically and, perhaps more importantly, how do we teach it?

"Other subjects emphasise experiential learning - getting your hands dirty and finding out through trial and error what approach works best in a given situation.

"No-one believes that you learn to play football, for example, by reading a textbook day after day - you get outside and play.

"Even at a young age, when their skill levels are still very low, children are encouraged to play music, act, draw and write stories."