ERIC Number: EJ1157780
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015-Jan
Pages: 3
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0269-2465
EISSN: N/A
A Fossil-Based Enquiry Day Stimulates Children to Think Scientifically
Balmer, Denise
Primary Science, n136 p23-25 Jan 2015
SATRO (Science And Technology Regional Organisation), a charity based in Surrey that seeks to inspire young people about their future careers, received a call from a local junior school just before Easter last year from a science coordinator who was in tears. Her school had just been made a "failing school" and science was a disaster; no one enjoyed it and no one wanted to teach it. They were asking for help. She had attended a continuing professional development (CPD) session the author had run about primary science some weeks previously and felt SATRO was her only hope. The job landed on the desk of the author, who arranged to meet the teacher to try to find some way of getting the fun and impetus back into science teaching and learning. The teacher was extremely depressed--she was not a scientist and was very much at sea. She wanted a whole day devoted to science, preferably an enquiry-based day, for the four key stage 2 year groups (ages 7-11). There were three classes in each year group, so some 360 children in all had to be provided for--quite a tall order. The author suggested something on fossils and perhaps dinosaurs (as all children love them). In this article, the author presents a fossil based enquiry day to stimulate children to think scientifically.
Descriptors: Science Instruction, Elementary School Science, Foreign Countries, Student Motivation, Paleontology, Inquiry, Science Activities, Program Effectiveness, Science Process Skills
Association for Science Education. College Lane Hatfield, Herts, AL10 9AA, UK. Tel: +44-1-707-283000; Fax: +44-1-707-266532; e-mail: info@ase.org.uk; Web site: http://www.ase.org.uk
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: Teachers
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom (England)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A