PGCE Primary and Early Years Science

PGCE Primary and Early Years Science:

Developing Subject and Pedagogical Knowledge

Reflecting on your own experience of science:

Make yourself a poster on an A4 sheet entitled ‘My Experience of Science’. This can include experiences as a learner, feelings associated with science, things you know and understand (or not) and the type and quality of teaching you have experienced. These will be shared and discussed at the beginning of the course.

Developing Subject Knowledge:

As an integral part of your development in becoming an effective teacher of science you will be required to take personal responsibility for renewing and updating your subject knowledge and understanding, identifying areas for development, setting personal targets and addressing any areas for development. Science tutors and the science technicians are available to support and guide you in your studies and help you to match materials and resources to your needs.

The purpose of this audit is to identify areas that you are less confident with and need to revise – this serves as a baseline from which we can measure your progress and development over the PGCE course.

Complete the attached science subject knowledge audit.
Grade yourself according to your levels of understanding immediately after the pre-course audit and again after some revision of your weaker areas.
Buy a revision text and complete the exercises e.g.

Devereux, J. (2000). Primary Science: Developing subject knowledge. London: Paul Chapman Publishing.

Developing pedagogical knowledge:

For developing knowledge about teaching and learning in science:

Primary students please purchase and read chapter one of:

Harlen, W. (2005).Teaching, Learning and Assessing Science 5 - 12.London: Sage

Early Years students please purchase and read chapter one of:

Johnson, J (2005).Earlyexplorations in science. Maidenhead: OUP

PG Primary/ Early Year Pre-course Science Audit

Name …………………………………………………..

Initial against each item in the middle column to indicate your current ‘Subject Knowledge’. The list may appear a little daunting at first but our children deserve to be taught by expert teachers of science who have secure subject knowledge.

Use a self-study guide (e.g. PARSONS, R, ed. (1998). KS3 Science The Revision Guide (higher). Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Co-ordination Group Publications.) or online study guides (e.g. BBC Bitesize revision at to revise topics and then initial against items in the right-hand column.

You will be expected to address any remaining topics individually or in your study groups. You can also attend informal workshops in the university, where science technicians will be on hand to help you.

As part of all courses trainees must demonstrate that they know and understand: / Current Knowledge
I already have a thorough and secure knowledge of this topic / Pre-course Revision
I have revised this topic and now have a thorough and secure knowledge
a. life processes
i. functioning of organisms

organisms have the potential to carry out the life processes of nutrition, movement, growth, reproduction, respiration, sensitivity and excretion;
the functions of nutrition, circulation, movement, growth and reproduction in humans;
tissues and organs of a multi-cellular organism carry out specialised functions;

most organisms are made up of cells and almost all cells have a nucleus which controls their activities;
the health of an organism can be affected by a range of factors, for example, in humans, drugs, exercise and other physical, mental and environmental factors;

ii. continuity and change

a species is a group of organisms which can inter-breed to produce fertile offspring;
there is variation within any species;

most biologists believe that variation caused by genetic mutation and re-combination, coupled with interaction between organisms and their environment, leads to natural selection and evolutionary change;

iii. ecosystems

a diversity of organisms exists, and includes bacteria, fungi, plants and animals;
a diversity of organisms is found in most habitats;
the organisms, including humans, in an ecosystem interact with each other and with the physical aspects of the environment;
micro-organisms are widely distributed.

b. materials and their structure
i. materials

the types of particles that make up all materials include atoms, protons, neutrons and electrons;
there are about 100 elements which join together in different combinations to make up all biological and other materials;
when atoms of different elements combine together the resulting material is a compound;
atoms can be held together in different ways;
the properties of a compound depend on the way in which the particles making it up are arranged and held together, such as in molecules and giant structures;
in chemical reactions new substances are formed;
physical changes involve changes in the arrangement and spacing of the particles but no new substances are formed;
the properties of materials can often be predicted from a knowledge of their structures, and vice versa, but can also depend on their shape and size;
most materials can exist as solid, liquid and gas, depending on conditions;
changes of state can be brought about by transferring energy.

ii. particle theory and the conservation of mass

finely divided substances still contain many atoms and molecules;
the movement of particles explains the properties of solids, liquids and changes such as dissolving, melting and evaporating;
during chemical changes bonds joining atoms together are broken and new bonds are formed;
mass is conserved in physical and chemical changes.

c. physical processes:
i. electricity and magnetism

all matter is made up of particles which include electrons; these carry a negative charge;
in good conductors, such as copper, a small proportion of electrons (so called “free electrons”) can move easily; in poor conductors, like wood, movement is very difficult;
“resistance” (measured in ohms) is a measure of the difficulty of flow of electrons in the material;
when a cell (or battery) is attached in a circuit, it provides a “push” which causes electrons to move in one direction around the circuit; this movement (flow) of electrons is called current (measured in amps);
current is not consumed and is the same in all parts of a simple circuit;
voltage (measured in volts) is a measure of the energy per unit charge and this might be considered as driving the current;
energy (measured in joules) stored in a battery is transferred to the circuit as the battery is used;
the power (measured in watts) of a device such as a bulb or motor is the rate at which energy is transferred to the device;
as moving electrons collide with fixed atoms in a circuit they make the atoms vibrate more; this vibration causes components such as bulb filaments to become hot and emit light;
a circuit including its components can be represented by standard symbols in circuit diagrams;
magnets have poles; like poles repel, unlike poles attract; the pole that points northwards is the North-seeking pole;
magnetism can act over a distance, so magnets can exert forces on objects with which they are not in contact;
a current flowing through a conductor produces a magnetic effect.

ii. energy

there is a distinction between energy and force;
there is a distinction between energy and fuel;
particular fuels can be used in the generation of electricity;
transfer of energy is not confined to physics; it is important in chemical and biological processes too;
although energy is always conserved it may be dissipated, reducing its availability as a resource.

iii. light

light travels in a straight line unless something prevents it from doing so, for example, reflection or scattering, and that this can be used to explain the formation of shadows;
light can differ in intensity and wavelength;
the distinction between reflection and scattering and how images are formed in a mirror;
the colour of an object depends on the wavelengths of light that it scatters, e.g. a black object scatters little light, and absorbs light of all visual wavelengths; a green object scatters more green light than other colours which it absorbs more;
objects are seen when light is emitted or reflected from them and enters the eye through the pupil, causing the retina to send messages, carried by nerves, to the brain.

iv. sound

sound travels through a medium from a vibrating source;
sound waves can differ in amplitude and frequency and this leads to differences in loudness and pitch respectively;
sounds are heard when vibrations from an object enter the ears, causing the eardrums to vibrate and impulses to be carried by nerves to the brain.

v. the Earth and beyond

the universe includes galaxies which include stars;
the Sun is one star in our galaxy and is at the centre of the solar system;
the order of the planets in our solar system, their major features and relative distances from the Sun which they orbit;
the explanations for the phases of the Moon and eclipses;
the explanation for the seasons and length of year;
the explanation of day and night and the evidence for it.

vi. Forces and motion

when an object is stationary or moving at a steady speed in a straight line, the forces acting on it are balanced;

balanced forces produce no change in the movement or shape of an object, whereas unbalanced forces acting on an object can change its motion or its shape;

the change in movement and/or shape of an object depends on the magnitude and direction of the forces acting on it;

forces such as friction, air resistance and water resistance oppose the relative motion between an object and what it is touching;

in most situations there are forces such as friction retarding the motion of objects and so a driving force is needed to keep them moving at a steady speed;

frictional force between surfaces can also enable motion, e.g. by opposing the relative movement between shoe and floor or tyre and road;

the SI unit in which forces are measured is the Newton;

the mass of an object is the amount of matter in it; mass is measured in grams and kilograms;

gravitational attraction exists between all objects; this depends on the masses of the respective objects and how far apart they are;

the weight of an object is a force measured in newtons, caused by the gravitational attraction between the Earth and the object and directed towards the centre of the Earth;

the specific object will have the same mass on the Earth and on the Moon because it contains the same amount of matter;

an object will weigh more on the Earth than on the Moon because the Earth is more massive and exerts greater gravitational attraction than the Moon;

objects of different mass dropped at the same instant from the same point will land at the same time unless the air resistance is different;

the relationship between speed, distance and time and the distinction between speed, velocity and acceleration.

What grade would you give yourself after your first pre-course audit? Initial and date below in the right-hand column.

After doing your pre-course revision, what grade would you now give yourself? Again, initial and date in the right-hand column.

Initial and date
A / You have secure knowledge and understanding of all the subject items. You see and understand the links between science concepts, knowledge, language and symbols, processes and strategies and can use that understanding for planning, to respond to pupils’ questions, to unexpected ‘leaps in understanding’ and to address pupils’ misconceptions.
B / You have secure knowledge and understanding of almost all the subject items. You have action planned to address any misconceptions and gaps in knowledge before the end of the course. Your school professional tutor/ class teacher will support the successful completion of your personal action plan and will monitor your subject knowledge during planning, teaching and assessment practices.
C / You have adequate knowledge and understanding of the majority of the subject items. You have action planned to address any misconceptions and gaps in knowledge before the end of the course and view this as a priority during University and school-based training. Your school professional tutor/ class teacher will monitor the successful completion of your personal action plan and will support your subject knowledge during planning, teaching and assessment practices.
D / You have serious weaknesses in knowledge and understanding of a majority of the subject audit items. You will need to provide abundant evidence of you successfully addressing all of your misconceptions and gaps in knowledge before the end of the course. You will need to work very hard to satisfy the requirements for qualified teacher status and for the successful completion of the course.