Children are naturally inquisitive and want to explore and investigate; in doing so they make sense of the world around them. Piaget (Pound, 2006) suggests children make sense by themselves, by making choices and taking opportunities. Through exploration and investigation they also make sense of themselves through sensory, firsthand experiences.…

Classrooms, which were once a place of safety and stability, have changed in many ways due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They have been deep cleaned, rearranged, closed, reopened and, for many, moved online. But just how does the classroom environment impact on pupils' health, wellbeing and ability to learn? Ground-breaking research by Professor…

The atom is science's biggest idea! And now it is known that even children from 4 years of age can grasp it, creating science education's biggest worldwide opportunity. Dr. Jenny Donovan and Dr. Carole Haeusler of the University of Southern Queensland conducted multiple studies to show that primary-age children, mostly aged 7-9 years in their…

Children offer a range of views when they begin to discuss healthy lifestyles, often connected to things they believe people should or should not do and foods to avoid. This article shares the author's reflection on recent conversations with six children who were asked to consider what people do and what they eat to have a healthy lifestyle.

Despite the pivotal role that science now plays in everyday life, and countless viable future career options for children, in many cases it is still considered less of a 'core subject' than its curriculum relatives -- namely English and maths. While this has been helped in recent years with a greater emphasis on STEM subjects, there is still some…

Just because food packaging, the textbooks, and teachers, all say food contains energy, students do not have to believe them. The author uses "The tale of the tortoise and his nose," which is available to read on this blog: https://oxygen-energy-life.blogspot.com, as a context for teaching about oxygen. This article outlines the adult…

Since the Primary Science Teaching Trust (PSTT) launched its Cutting-edge Science in Primary Schools Project a little over a year ago, the authors have written 30 "I bet you didn't know…" articles for primary teachers and children. Accompanying teacher guides describe related activities and investigations that children can carry out in…

Primary schools have always embraced visitors and visits covering a wide range of contexts. In his 14 years of teaching the author cannot remember a year without two or three topic-linked trips and numerous visitors carrying out a wide variety of activities with classes. There were collaborations with other schools, community activities and many…

The COVID-19 pandemic has been one of the greatest challenges faced for a very long time. However, it has also presented educators with novel opportunities for teaching, none more so than in science. There are the obvious links between COVID-19 and the body of scientific knowledge that curriculum designers think educators should help students to…

From the beginning of the September 2020 school year, in an effort to engage children in school life again after a lengthy absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Rebecca Towner-Yates' school has adopted a 'quest' approach to learning. The concept has its roots firmly embedded in Dorothy Heathcote's 'Mantle of the Expert' (MoE) (Heathcote and…

Within the 'normal' English National Curriculum for science it is usual in Rebecca Price's school for year 6 children (ages 10-11) to investigate how animals have adapted to suit their environment. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, everyone has had to adapt, in an international team effort, to an ever-changing environment. Full immersion in…

The authors think it is likely that there is no 'right' way to teach. They believe that some teaching approaches work better in some situations to achieve some goals. In this article the authors are proposing that the best way to improve primary science is for colleagues with different views to talk more -- and listen more. Specifically, the…

Engaging children with science, sparking curiosity, encouraging questioning and hands-on exploration are among the top priorities for educators at Nicola Saporita-Clark's primary school in Lancashire, and something they have worked hard to engage the whole school community with over a number of years. They recognise that not all families have the…

In this article, the authors discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic completely changed the way one project communicated with children, parents, and teachers. The authors describe how they developed Science Gateways out of the need to handle the limitations of the Science Open Doors program that was developed prior to COVID-19. Science Gateways serves…

"Dungeons and Dragons" is classified as a table-top role-playing game (TTRPG) and it is not surprising that TTRPGs exist for every genre and period that can possibly be imagined. TTRPGs are, as the name suggests, played around a table and benefit from not relying on some of the potential barriers players may perceive when playing…