This book documents and explores the ideas of school students (aged 10-16) about a range of natural phenomena such as light, heat, force and motion, the structure of matter and electricity, they are to study even when they have received no prior systematic instruction. It also examines how students' conceptions change and develop with teaching.

Children arrive in their science classrooms with their own ideas and interpretations of the phenomena they are to study even when they have received no systematic instruction in these subjects whatsoever. These ideas and interpretations are a natural result of everyday experience - of practical physical activities, of talking with other people, and of the media. This book documents and explores the ideas of school students (aged 10-16) about a range of natural phenomena such as light, heat, force and motion, the structure of matter and electricity. It also examines how students' conceptions change and develop with teaching. The editors have brought together science educators who come from different parts of the work but whose work is focused on the same determination to bring insight into the conceptual world of children in science classrooms - insight which will be helpful in making science teaching and learning more rewarding for teachers and children alike.

The ideas that children have about science concepts have for the past decade been the subject of a wealth of international research. But while the area has been strong in terms of data, it has suffered from a lack of theory. Children's Informal Ideas in Science addresses the question of whether children's ideas about science can be explained in a single theoretical framework. Twelve different approaches combine to tackle this central issue, each taking a deliberately critical standpoint. The contributors address such themes as values in research, the social construction of knowledge and the work of Piaget in a rich contribution to the debate without claiming finally to resolve it. The authors conclude with a discussion of how a theory can be built up, along with suggestions for ways ahead in the research.

Practical Ideas for Teaching Primary Science is a fun and interactive guide which supports teachers to design and deliver enjoyable science lessons. Peter Loxley explores different scientific topics – from growing plants and nutrition to forces and magnetism – with an emphasis on story-telling and art to help children share their ideas and work collaboratively in the classroom. This practical guide uses a three-stage framework design to encourage and guide sociocultural practice across three levels: KS1 (5–7), lower KS2 (7–9) and upper KS2 (9–11). The ideas for practice are placed in engaging and significant contexts to encourage curiosity and enquiry and, most importantly, promote feelings of pleasure and satisfaction from science learning. Teachers are guided through hands-on puzzles and activities such as role-play and design and technology tasks both inside and outside of the classroom, with health and safety aspects highlighted throughout, to inspire children’s interest in how the world works from an early age and provide them with the skills to apply their new-found scientific thinking in other contexts. Extended subject knowledge to all topics covered in this book can be found in Teaching Primary Science. A companion website is available for both books. Features include: web links to external sites with useful teaching information and resources an interactive flashcard glossary to test students’ understanding Image bank with downloadable pictures for use in the classroom. Practical Ideas for Teaching Primary Science is an invaluable teaching resource for both trainee and qualified teachers.

The popular features from Volume 1 are all here. The field-tested probes are short, easy to administer, and ready to reproduce. Teacher materials explain science content and suggest grade-appropriate ways to present information. But Volume 2 covers more life science and Earth and space science probes. Volume 2 also suggests ways to embed the probes throughout your instruction, not just when starting a unit or topic.

Primary Science: Promoting positive attitudes to conceptual learningis a full colour, core textbook to support, inform and inspire anyone training to teach Science at primary level. This book is a new kind of text linking subject knowledge and pedagogy in one package, rather than treating them as separate entities. The text aims to encourage trainee teachers to teach scientific concepts in contexts which will inspire the children to look at the world in new and intriguing ways, rather than presenting it as a list of facts and definitions. Encouraging critical reflection and offering practical support, this book will help trainee teachers to overcome negative attitudes to Science. The two part structure of the book first presents insights into the nature of science and science education, exploring issues such as the value and purpose of teaching Science in the primary school and the value of scientific enquiry. It then moves on to cover subject knowledge, relating it to pedagogy.

This up to date text addresses primary science teaching in light of the new primary National Curriculum and the latest Teachers’ Standards. Aimed at primary trainees and teachers, it provides creative, inspiring and practical ideas and approaches for teaching the full range of science topics. Each chapter is aligned to an area of the new National Curriculum and provides key vocabulary, details of common misconceptions and how to address them, teaching strategies and activities, cross-curricular links and health and safety points. Throughout there is a strong focus on science subject knowledge development and how to translate this into practice in the primary classroom. The book also encourages readers to reflect on their own subject knowledge of science and challenges them to critically evaluate their teaching in order to become more effective.

This ambitious text is the first of its kind to summarize the theory, research, and practice related to pedagogical content knowledge. The audience is provided with a functional understanding of the basic tenets of the construct as well as its applications to research on science teacher education and the development of science teacher education programs.