ISE 5-14 Support Materials - Overview Advice

For full information regarding the ISE 5-14 Support materials see the pdf file for the booklet (2.2 Mb) which accompanied the pack sent out by Learning & Teaching Scotland. 

The support materials set out to help teachers answer the following questions.

• What are the learning intentions?

• What do the pupils already know? How am I going to challenge the pupils' present conceptions?

• How will I take the pupils' learning forwards?

• How will I develop the pupils' scientific vocabulary?

• How can I use ICT effectively in science?

• How will I determine that pupils' learning has progressed?

To help teachers address these questions the support materials offer advice under the following broad headings. The first page on each Exemplar Word file provides hyperlinks to the relevant areas on the file where that heading is discussed. You can get to any of these sections by clicking on the e.g. Title, Key question(s) etc. or select View - Document Map and choose any heading from this.

• Title - taken from a key question, for example 'Moving Earth'.

• Key question(s) - the question(s) attempt to address the underpinning scientific idea(s) behind a coherent group of attainment targets.

• Key ideas behind the key question(s) - this explains several of the accepted scientific principles behind the group of attainment targets.

• Table of attainment targets

• Finding out pupils' present understanding - strategies are identified that enable pupils' present ideas to be determined so that present understanding can be challenged and developed as appropriate.

• Strategies for teaching key ideas - strategies are identified that challenge pupils' present understanding (introducing cognitive conflict) and further develop their thinking (social construction).

• Innovative homework

• Developing informed attitudes

• How do we know that understanding has progressed? - strategies identified that clearly allow pupils to demonstrate that their learning has progressed.

• Key words - it is important that pupils are given the opportunity to use scientific vocabulary correctly in context.

• Related science concepts already covered - this identifies related concepts covered by pupils' prior experience.

• Future learning - this allows the teacher to set the scene for future learning suggested in science 5-14 or, where appropriate, National Qualifications.

• Effective use of ICT - innovative ICT approaches are identified.

• Checklist for formative assessment - checklist to ensure formative assessment strategies are consistent with the national `Assessment is for Learning' project.