Thread by @DrHSkelton

@AlwaysLearnWeb @DrWilkinsonSci I don't have a quick answer or a magic bullet so I'm going to attempt an answer in a thread - a few pointers with links to useful blogs, I could have chosen so many more... Hope it helps! 1/x

@AlwaysLearnWeb I've have been introducing and am still working/thinking about various things which I believe are making/will make a difference... definitely not claiming to have the finished product or to be an expert in any of this, but these are the things I believe to be important... 2/x

@AlwaysLearnWeb 1. Curriculum planning - what? Discuss what you're teaching across the whole department to get buy-in from all. Even if you're following a KS3 scheme and GCSE specs, still talk about the examples, the stories, the 'extra' things you might want to include... 3/x

@AlwaysLearnWeb to give all students a high quality science education. Think about the hinterland - it will bring your lessons to life. @adamboxer1 wrote about this: achemicalorthodoxy.wordpress.com/2019/02/01/cor… 4/x

@AlwaysLearnWeb @adamboxer1 2. Curriculum planning - when? Sequencing is crucial. The hierarchical knowledge structure of Science means that knowledge needs building up in layers.
@Rosalindphys introduces knowledge structure here:
rosalindwalker.wordpress.com/2018/12/22/who… 5/x

@AlwaysLearnWeb @adamboxer1 @Rosalindphys Discuss what you teach when and why - there's no one correct answer, but talking it through will throw up new ideas and give a better result than just following someone else's sequence. See a great example from @FabPhysics
fabphysics.wordpress.com/2020/02/03/goi… 6/x

@AlwaysLearnWeb @adamboxer1 @Rosalindphys @FabPhysics It's also worth thinking about interleaving - can you sequence topics to ensure prior learning is regularly revisited after a period of time in a way which supports the new learning - not just randomly cutting a topic in half for the sake of 'interleaving'. 7/x

@AlwaysLearnWeb @adamboxer1 @Rosalindphys @FabPhysics 3. Curriculum planning - how? My department has detailed SoW with centralised key resources to ensure a consistent approach and give all students equity of experience - this also helps when changing teachers from one year to the next, or teaching split classes. 8/x

@AlwaysLearnWeb @adamboxer1 @Rosalindphys @FabPhysics Booklets are another excellent way to ensure equity for all students. @adamboxer1 writes about how he uses them here
achemicalorthodoxy.wordpress.com/2019/06/30/boo… 9/x

@AlwaysLearnWeb @adamboxer1 @Rosalindphys @FabPhysics Discuss what makes good science teaching - share ideas for introducing and explaining new concepts. A great place to start is talking about Rosenshine's principles and how they can be applied in Science.
aft.org/sites/default/… 10/x

@AlwaysLearnWeb @adamboxer1 @Rosalindphys @FabPhysics 4. Retrieval practice - regular, intentional low stakes quizzing has really helped to build students confidence in core knowledge. We provide key questions and answers along with a knowledge outline for each topic and students are quizzed on these regularly. 11/x

@AlwaysLearnWeb @adamboxer1 @Rosalindphys @FabPhysics Read the #CogSciSci symposium on retrieval practice for more practical ideas on this. @cogscisci
cogscisci.wordpress.com/2020/01/23/ret… 12/x

@AlwaysLearnWeb @adamboxer1 @Rosalindphys @FabPhysics @cogscisci 5. SLOP - give students plenty of opportunity to practice, again and again and again. Great resources from @adamboxer1 @rosalindphysics @dredmundscience all available from @cogscisci cogscisci.wordpress.com/resources/ 13/x

@AlwaysLearnWeb @adamboxer1 @Rosalindphys @FabPhysics @cogscisci 6. Assessment - often and with purpose. I wrote a couple of weeks back about how I'd done assessment badly elementsoflearning.home.blog/2020/01/25/ass… 14/x

@AlwaysLearnWeb @adamboxer1 @Rosalindphys @FabPhysics @cogscisci I'm now trying to do much more formative assessment regularly rather than big topic tests which aren't very helpful... I might try to write more about this when I get time!
Sorry - that was longer than I planned, I should have written a blog!! 15/15!