Alongside his workshop on this topic, NACE Associate Ed Walsh shares five ways to refresh your approach to GCSE science for high-attaining students...

1. Think BEYOND the exams 

First, let me make clear that I’m not arguing for a dilution of effort with students being prepared for examination. Good GCSE grades are important, providing passports to the next phase. There’s also a risk that if highly able students don’t get top grades in science, they may assume this field is not for them and pursue other avenues.

However, focusing your attention beyond the exams – and encouraging learners to do the same – has two immediately obvious benefits. For many students, seeing the subject in a wider context is in fact exactly what they need to engage them whilst working towards exams. Second, if students see science as more than a “hard slog” driven by GCSE exam preparation, it is more likely they will look favourably on science and other STEM subjects when considering options post-16. 

2. Don’t rely on the assertion that “science is everywhere” to convince students they should study it

I often hear words to this effect when interviewing teacher training candidates, and I’m never very impressed. Whilst obviously true, it may not carry much weight with an unconvinced 15-year-old. As the EEF report Improving Secondary Science suggests, there is a difference between students seeing science as generally significant and powerful (which many of them do), and seeing it as personally relevant or “for them”.

There’s scope here for us to rethink the way we “sell” science. While pointing out its prevalence can be useful, we also need to highlight the wide range of skills and ideas it develops – thinking logically, analysing evidence, identifying causal links – which have currency far beyond any narrowly defined scientific context.  Being good at science opens far more doors than just the ones that lead to research labs.

3. Provide opportunities for meaningful science experiences…

Recent research suggests that higher rates of science capital correlate with a stronger likelihood of learners pursuing continuing education, training and employment in STEM subjects. Of the four components of science capital – what you know, how you think, what you do and who you know – the formal science curriculum is generally pretty good at developing the first two. However, it’s in everyone’s best interests for science departments to expand their focus on the latter two – what you do and who you know – particularly where learners have few opportunities to develop these outside school.

To address the “what you do” component, seek out and promote opportunities for learners to engage with science and to see science in action – such as science-related news stories and documentaries, local visits and events, and extracurricular hobbies and interests. Where possible, build on learners’ existing interests and activities.

4. … and inspiring encounters

“Who you know” is also key. It can be incredibly powerful for a young person to have someone say to them, as an individual, that they’d be good at being a scientist, studying engineering, going into technology or taking maths to a higher level. Lots of STEM professionals had this experience – a key encounter with someone from their extended family, local community or through an organised activity. 

For many young scientists these experiences and encounters don’t necessarily happen through school – but for some if they don’t happen through school they probably won’t at all. Examples I’ve seen recently paying dividends in this area are the Greenpower Challenge and, for A-level students, Nuffield Research Placements. The services of a good STEM Ambassador are a real asset too.

5. Reframe the goals of KS3

During secondary science CPD events, I often ask: “Is your KS3 course doing its job?” This starts as a discussion about the role of key ideas and developing enquiry skills in preparation for GCSE. However, we could also make the case for KS3 being judged on its capacity to inspire and engage. Do learners get to see how science not only changes lives but can be engaging, intriguing and rewarding? Do activities make students not just “GCSE ready”, but confident and capable? As Henry Ford said, “Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re probably right.”

With experience as a secondary head of science, county science adviser and a regional and senior adviser for the Secondary National Strategy, Ed Walsh is an independent consultant in science education. With a proven track record in helping schools improve their science provision, he has published widely in the field, and developed and delivered training for teachers and heads of science, including on behalf of organisations such as ASE and AQA. As a NACE associate, Ed designs and delivers training and resources to support effective teaching and learning for the more able in science.

This blog post was originally published in a longer form at SchoolsImprovement.net

Additional reading and resources 

• NACE Essentials: Realising the potential of more able learners in GCSE science
  
• NACE Essentials: CEIAG for more able learners
  
• Webinar: Science capital – putting the research into practice
  
• Webinar: Effective questioning in science

To access these resources, log in to the NACE members’ site.

Ahead of his workshop on this topic, NACE Associate Ed Walsh shares seven key components of a challenging KS3 science curriculum…

“Is our KS3 course doing its job?” This is one of the most powerful questions a science leader in a secondary school can ask.

The new GCSE courses are no longer really new; many teachers are finding their way around the specifications, developing aspects such as the running order of topics, time allocated to activities and applying emphasis to areas that results analyses indicate are deficient.

There, is, of course, a limit as to what can be achieved within KS4. If students are starting on their GCSE courses with limitations in their grasp of science then the more effective solution may lie in KS3. I’d like to share some ideas as to how learners, especially the most able, can be effectively catered for at this stage. It is, of course, relatively easy to pose questions and harder work to identify answers. With this in mind I’ve also included some links to useful references and resources.

1. Talk the (science) talk

What language is being used in lessons? Are students being supported, challenged and expected to ‘talk science’? This needs to go beyond knowing the right names for objects, to also having a command of connectives. Would an observer in your classroom catch use of words and phrases such as ‘because’, ‘therefore’ and ‘as a result of’ – not just by the teacher but by students as they are developing explanations?

Read more: Useful materials on speaking and listening can be found in Session 4 of the National Strategies Literacy in Science Training Materials.

2.  Ensure practical work adds value

What is the role of practical work in your science teaching and learning? Is it exploratory as well as illustrative? Does it prompt questions and ideas? Is it effective at developing the apparatus and techniques skills needed at GCSE so that able learners have, for example, mastered the use of microscopes by the time they start GCSE courses and can then concentrate on other aspects of investigations?

Read more: The newly published ASE/Gatsby report Good Practical Science provides benchmarks to support departments seeking to improve the effectiveness of practical science teaching.

3.  Review your use of questioning and command words

What kind of questions are being asked? A good starting point is to look at the command words used in GCSE specifications and consider whether students are being exposed to these all the way through their secondary science experience. As well as ‘describe’ and ‘explain’, are able learners being asked to evaluate, compare, contrast and suggest? As well as closed and specific questions, are you posing open and exploratory questions?

Read more: Guidance on questioning is provided in unit 7 of Pedagogy and Practice: Teaching and Learning in Secondary Schools (DfES).

4. Develop writing (quality, not quantity)

What is the role of writing? This is not a plea for lengthy, exhaustive (and exhausting) experimental writeups or even necessarily for anything of any length. It’s more that there is a case for getting students producing short pieces of high-quality writing that do a particular job well. This might be, for example, comparing and contrasting different materials for a car body, suggesting and justifying an energy provision plan for a particular location or analysing a graph that shows how different carrier bags respond to loads.

Read more: Useful materials on writing can be found in Session 3 of the National Strategies Literacy in Science Training Materials.

5. Ensure key concepts are covered and revisited

Have the ‘cornerstone concepts’ been effectively introduced and revisited? Is the concept of energy well developed and do students understand what is meant by an ecosystem? Such key concepts can be seen as tools that scientists can reach for when developing explanations; able learners should become more proficient in doing this.

Read more: An overview of how key ideas can be planned for in KS3 is provided in AQA’s KS3 Science Syllabus.

6.  Respond to learners’ needs

How responsive is the teaching to nurturing able learners and focusing on their learning needs? If these students are going to realise their potential at the end of GCSE then their KS3 experience needs to be tailored to areas in which they need a good grounding. For example, if they’re confident with the concept of a chemical reaction but less familiar with different types of reaction, can the latter be made a particular focus? Students who feel they are ‘treading water’ may not perform to the best of their ability.

Read more: A really good reference source on this is Dylan Wiliam’s Embedded Formative Assessment (2011, Solution Tree, 978-1-934009-30-7)

7. Develop science capital

Students are more likely to succeed if they see a purpose to their learning. Are there opportunities for them to see the doors that are open to young people who are competent and keen in STEM subjects? A good example of resources recently published to support this are the Royal Society’s series of videos with Professor Brian Cox – as well as demonstrating how experiments can be done in schools, they also show why these ideas are important and useful in society and highlight the cutting-edge research in each area.

Read more: This blog post from The Science Museum’s Beth Hawkins provides a useful introduction to the concept of science capital and how it can be developed. Plus, watch our webinar on this topic (member login required).

For additional support to develop your provision for more able learners in science, sign in as a NACE member to access Ed Walsh's NACE Essentials guide to realising the potential of more able learners in GCSE science, and recorded webinar on effective questioning in science.

Not yet a NACE member? Find out more, and join our mailing list for free updates and free sample resources.

1. Language: director's edit

Our “script machines” display the script of five key scenes from the play, but with a twist: you have the option of showing the director's edit. This enables you to unpick AO2 more organically with learners, because the interplay between language (Shakespeare's text) and form (a script to be edited for the stage) becomes apparent. For example:

Juliet: O, sweet my mother, cast me not away!
Delay this marriage for a month, a week;
Or, if you do not, make the bridal bed
In that dim monument where Tybalt lies.

• What do the cut lines convey in terms of meaning?
• What does removing them achieve?
  
• What meaning is the director drawing our attention towards, or away from, through this edit?
  

This serves as a reminder that, in any performance text, there is more than one conscious construct at work. Although learners will need to know the whole text, the “meanings and effects” (AO2) has a greater plurality when considered in this light.

Indeed, this can also lead to discussions around the context: the origins of Shakespeare's writing, shaped by the theatre practices of his day, mean that even modern editions of the same, full play-text may differ. What an audience receives, therefore, is already layered with interpretation.

2. Language: literary terms

This part of the resource gives learners the opportunity to identify where certain literary techniques are being used by Shakespeare, across five key scenes. This can be used as a revision tool, but why not use it to model the thought processes in understanding how these techniques work to create meanings and effects? This moves learners away from the fallacy of technique-spotting, and can be adapted for KS3 and KS4.

With this in mind, several techniques in each scene are broken down into a series of questions, on our Teachers’ Notes page. For example:

• Tybalt describes the servants as “heartless hinds”. How does this metaphor show that Tybalt has a low opinion of the servants? Use the questions below to support your thinking.
  
• What possible meanings does the word “hind” have?
  
• How about the word “heartless”? Hint: remember that Shakespeare’s audience would have heard the play; “heartless” could also therefore be heard as “hart-less”. How could this link to “hind”?
  
• Consider the effect of the alliteration in making this link.
  
• How does this contribute to the servants’ definition of masculinity set up in the opening exchange between Sampson and Gregory?
  

To extend the challenge, learners could then create their own questions to deconstruct other techniques. Creating these questions demands higher-order thinking, as learners need to be at Bloom's level of “analysis” before attempting this. To scaffold them up to this level of challenge, they could look at how the same technique is deconstructed in a different scene. This has the added benefit of highlighting the nuanced effects of the same technique used in different parts of the text.

3. Research articles: Brooke versus Shakespeare

Brooke's 1562 poem, “The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet”, served as a key source for Shakespeare. So far, so bolt-on AO3. However, this resource allows learners to compare the differences between Shakespeare's prologue and Brooke's “argument”. It highlights how Shakespeare’s drama occurs over just five days, whereas Brooke’s poem unfolds over nine months, and that Juliet’s age is lowered from 16 to 13.

Drawing out these differences allows for rich exploration of writer's craft that cannot be separated from context, required for the top bands at GCSE.

• Have learners compare the time reference in Brooke's “argument” with Shakespeare's prologue, and discuss what effect this might have.
  
• Next, ask learners to find all the references to time within Shakespeare's version; what patterns do they spot? Why is it that time seems to pass so quickly in the play? Consider this also in light of Shakespeare's younger Juliet.
  
• What meaning is being created through these marked changes to the original source material? If time is compacted and Juliet is younger, what might this suggest about the speed of young love?
  
• How does the adaptation of form – from poem to play – affect how it is received?
  

4. Character interviews

Providing learners with the opportunity to engage with text in performance is a cornerstone of the work we do, and part of this involves providing access to actors taking part in the production.

Although learners wouldn't need to analyse actors' interpretations in their exam, the character interviews provide a window into hearing how someone else arrived at an informed, personal response (AO1). Questions cover: What are your initial impressions of your character(s)? What have you noticed about your character’s language, i.e. the way they speak to others/about themselves?

Characters are interviewed several times across the production, providing learners with opportunities to reflect on the complex nature of interpretation: how this can be revised with each more detailed exploration of the text.

To access these resources, plus a wealth of additional resources to support a challenging curriculum, visit 2019.playingshakespeare.org. Remember: the website tracks the production so please keep coming back to see what else we have added!

Charlotte Bourne is Deputy Head of Learning at Shakespeare’s Globe, with a focus on learners aged 3-18, plus the educators who support them. The Globe’s on-site Lively Action programme welcomes close to 80,000 learners per year, while its international outreach work sends practitioners to China, the US and Europe. A qualified English teacher and AQA examiner for GCSE Literature, Charlotte has worked closely with ITTs and NQTs across multiple subjects.

In this excerpt from the NACE Essentials guide “Realising the potential of more able learners in GCSE science”, NACE Associate Ed Walsh outlines six key steps to improve provision and outcomes for those capable of attaining the highest grades in this subject. 

1. Make effective use of assessment data

While many schools devote a significant amount of time to assembling, applying, marking and grading periodic tests, there’s often scope for these to be used more effectively to diagnose areas for improvement. Question-level analysis can help both teachers and learners identify areas of low subject knowledge and skills gaps (tagged against GCSE assessment objectives) – informing feedback, self-assessment and goal-setting, interventions, evaluation of teaching styles and planning for future lessons.

Similarly, analysis can indicate how learners perform in multiple choice questions, shorter written responses and longer responses. Be prepared: if aspirational students are looking to develop in one of these areas, they’ll expect guidance as to how to do so. Woe betide the teacher who can’t provide a learner chasing a good grade either with more examples or effective strategies in areas identified as weaknesses!

2. Challenge learners to use a range of command words

Each awarding organisation uses a particular set of command words in GCSE science exams. Some of these will already be in common parlance in your science lessons, while others may not be used as often. Familiarising learners with the full range of these terms will prepare them to answer a wider range of questions. 

When revising a topic, prompt learners to suggest the type of questions examiners might ask; this will help them revise more effectively. Elicit the nature of each question, encouraging learners to consider the influence of assessment objectives (AOs) and to use a full range of command words.

3. Develop dialogue with the maths department

The quality of dialogue with colleagues in maths and the development of a whole-school numeracy policy has never been so important. (It may also never have been so tricky, bearing in mind the pressure that both maths and science teams can be under.) It can be tempting for a hard-pressed science department to want the maths team to fit in with their running order of topics. The maths curriculum is also driven by a sense of progression, but not necessarily the same one. Skills demanded in KS3 science may in some cases not be taught in maths until KS4.

Rather than reach an impasse, focus on exploring common ground. Set up a joint meeting and look at maths skills involved in sample science questions. Invite colleagues to explore potential strategies, terminology, likely challenges for learners and how they would deal with these. As well as nurturing specific skills, focus on developing learners’ ability to identify effective strategies and sequencing. More able learners aiming for high grades need to develop problem-solving skills as well as a mastery of individual skills.

4. Review the role of practical work and skills

When carrying out required practicals, ensure learners have access to a range of question types, including questions based on AO2 (application of knowledge and understanding) and AO3 (interpretation and evaluation). It is also important to look at the lists of apparatus and techniques skills in the GCSE specification. Questions relating to practical work are often based on these, even if the context isn’t one learners have met in the required practicals. Assess how good learners are at these skills and whether you can give them more opportunities to develop these. These have a strong relationship with skills used at A-level, meaning those progressing to further study will also benefit.

5. Develop the role of extended writing

Candidates will be expected to develop extended responses, especially on higher tier papers. Look at learners’ performance on such questions to see how it compares with other items. It may be useful to encourage learners to consider what structure to use before commencing writing. Model the drafting of an extended response, demonstrating how you select key words, use connectives, structure a response and check against the answer. AQA, for example, is moving towards the use of generic descriptors for types of extended responses.

6. Link ideas from different parts of the specification

As part of the changes to GCSE science specifications, learners are expected to show that they can work and think flexibly, linking ideas from different areas. Use questions that require this, identifying good examples to use in advance. One of the sample questions uses the context of a current balance, including ideas about magnetic fields and levers. Check out the specification and the guidance it gives about key ideas and linkage. As well as scrutinising the detailed content, look at the preamble and follow-up.

Ahead of her workshop “Challenging more able learners in English (KS3-4)”, NACE Associate Tracy Goodyear shares three steps to review and improve the quality of challenge provided in your KS3 English lessons…
 
Shortly before the half term break, I asked a number of Year 13 students if they could remember the moment that solidified their decision to study English at A-level. The responses were interesting: some of them said it was a particular teacher whose passion for their subject had inspired a love of literature; some said it was one particular lesson that had given them that all-important lightbulb moment.
 
One student recollected an individual lesson that she recalled quite vividly: “It was Year 9 Shakespeare, Miss – we were debating who decides literary value.”
 
This was the response that interested me most. I asked what she valued about that experience and she said that it felt like she had really been forced to think for herself – that she felt unsure at first, but soon found the confidence and the words to argue her point of view on a topic she hadn’t really given much thought to in the past.
 
This conversation was another reminder for me about the importance of the Key Stage 3 diet. It reminded me that KS3 is indeed what some on EduTwitter are dubbing “The Wonder Years” and that key decisions and attitudes towards subjects are decided during this crucial time. It is, therefore, pivotal that the KS3 curriculum is a balanced one – providing a rich and diverse set of experiences that nurture a love for learning and a love for literature.
 
Here are three strategies to step up the challenge in KS3 English:

1. Start by defining the “end product”  

Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool have both conducted extensive research on what defines success and what makes the world’s most successful people achieve extraordinary things. In their book Peak[1] the authors discuss the “virtuous circle” in which “honing the skill improves mental representation, and mental representation helps hone the skill”.
 
This got me thinking about the mental representations teachers have of learners. Are we always clear about where we want our students to “be” at certain times in their school career, beyond reaching centrally determined target grades? Do we always hold a clear vision of what “success” looks like for an individual learner/group of learners?
 
Over the past year, my department has spent quite a lot of time defining a vision for our KS3 “end product”. We met as a team to list attributes we wanted for our learners by the end of the key stage – an opportunity to vent about things they “couldn’t do” and skills they appeared to lack when it came to the start of GCSE. This discussion was about much more than examination criteria or working towards assessment objectives; our ideas about “progress” needed to delve much deeper. We wanted to be clear on the attributes we wanted learners to craft and hone, and we used this information to identify learning opportunities we would habitually offer to ensure success.
 
After some discussion, we decided that our aim for KS3 is to cultivate students who:

• Have a critical eye, so they do not blindly accept things;
• Openly welcome feedback, criticism and differing views and interpretations and do not feel threatened by these;
• Are skilled in planning, showing evidence of deep thinking;
• Will take risks, knowing that the learning they will experience is more valuable than the fear of failure;
• Actively listen to and reason with the ideas and expertise of others;
• Construct meaningful arguments, supporting their ideas with confidence and conviction.

This activity gave us clarity in terms of what we wanted to achieve at KS3 and we were able to action these recommendations when designing a new programme of study. This was well-spent development time – I thoroughly recommend taking the time to define the characteristics you value in your own department, for both your teachers and your learners.

2. Encourage oracy and debate 

I have always been an advocate for the “if you can say it, you can write it” mantra, but in English this is crucial. It’s important to create an environment where talk is both celebrated and expected – and there are several ways to encourage this in lessons and schemes of learning. Some of the best thinking that happens in English occurs when learners have had the opportunity to work with an idea, noticing its flaws/pitfalls and appreciating its various facets. Only then will they be able to show a profound depth of understanding.
 
Here are some ways in which oracy can be promoted in the KS3 English classroom:

• Make thinking visible in your lessons[2] (in the words of Dylan Wiliam, play “basketball”, not “ping pong”[3]). There’s real power in passing an idea around the room; this avoids learners needing to seek your approval of an answer and models thinking “live” in the lesson.
• Model high-level talk: explicitly teach vocabulary and make its various contexts clear. This can be achieved through “word of the week” displays or simply taking some time to discuss vocabulary choices in certain texts.
• Don’t accept mediocre verbal responses – keep expectations high. Give learners time to formulate a strong verbal response. This may include a “think, pair, share” visible thinking routine, or developing purposeful “think time” after a question has been posed.

3. Engage with academic research

One of the most exciting challenges in teaching more able learners is knowing that you have to be several steps ahead in terms of your own knowledge and understanding – I have always enjoyed the intellectual thrill of this. As well as staying up to speed yourself, engaging with research and academic publications is also a great way to show learners the wider relevance of the programme of study and ensure that it also models high-level thinking and reasoning.

• Find academic works/essays that provide alternative views of your topic and work with these as extracts. These could then be useful sources for further investigation and debate. Students will go on to approach their set texts through a different lens. (Recently I experimented with an essay on madness and insanity in Victorian England, and we used this to help gather information for a debate on Dickens’ presentation of Miss Havisham.)
• Make time in department meetings to discuss new learning. Could members of the department take the lead on a certain aspect and be tasked to share updates at team meetings? An expert on 19th century literature perhaps? Or Shakespearean tragedies?
• Encourage learners to engage independently with available materials. For example, there are some excellent resources on The British Library website with scans of original sources, which are invaluable. Last year we introduced an extension activity called “Universally Challenged”, where learners were tasked to research a related topic and to produce a small resource/elevator pitch for others in the group. The activity aims to broaden students’ literary understanding and strengthen their ability to make pertinent links between what they are studying and the contexts within which other texts were produced.