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VIRTUAL EVENT: Beyond ‘fun’ primary science: building science engagement for social justice
04 October 2021, 12:00 pm–1:00 pm
This event showcases the Primary Science Capital Teaching Approach, designed to support every child’s engagement and identification with science.
This event is free.
Event Information
Open to
- All
Availability
- Yes
Cost
- Free
Organiser
-
Emma Wisby
Through this presentation, you will learn how the Primary Science Capital Teaching Approach (PSCTA) works with any curriculum, supporting teachers to reflect on their teaching and then ‘tweak’ their practice in line with a set of core principles. The impact of the approach on learners and teachers and how schools can adapt it will also be covered.
This event is part of T4’s World Education Week. This event will be particularly useful for those interested in science education, STEM education, social justice approaches.
About the PSCTA
Researchers from the UCL Institute of Education and King's College London co-developed the Primary Science Capital Teaching Approach (PSCTA) with teachers across England.
It is designed to help teachers use science teaching to value the identities, experiences, histories and ideas of all children in the class; and support children’s ‘voice’ and agency. It is a reflective practice framework for teachers and schools to help better support every child’s engagement and identification with science.
Rather than simply providing children with ‘more’ science, the PSCTA seeks to change how science is represented, taught and experienced.
At its core, it is about changing practice to make school science more inclusive and equitable rather than changing learners. The approach supports teachers in adopting a social justice mindset: thinking critically about the power relations in classrooms and identifying and understanding inequalities that may go unnoticed.
Links
- Tweet with #WorldEduWeek
- Primary Science Capital Project
- Department of Education, Practice and Society
Image: Monstera via Pexels
About the Speakers
Professor Louise Archer
Karl Mannheim Professor of Sociology of Education at the UCL Institute of Education
Author of over 100 publications to date, Louise’s research focuses on educational identities and inequalities (particularly concerning social class, ‘race’/ethnicity and gender) across educational sectors. She has directed numerous extensive, funded research studies focusing on inequity in STEM participation.
Current projects include:
- The 13 year, longitudinal ASPIRES study of young people’s science and career trajectories, age 10-23 (ESRC-funded).
- UK/US Youth Equity+STEM project (funded by the Wellcome Trust).
- Making Spaces study (funded by Lloyds Register).
- Primary Science Capital Teaching Approach project (co-funded by Primary Science Teaching Trust (PSTT) and The Ogden Trust).
Louise enjoyed working with teachers and educators and was awarded the 2018 BERA Impact prize and a 2019 ESRC Impact prize.
More about Professor Louise ArcherDr Heather King
Reader in Science Education at King’s College London
Heather's research examines how educators foster learner engagement with science with a particular focus on supporting equitable practices.
Heather has researched teacher understanding and implementation of science capital-informed approaches in secondary and primary contexts and has also applied the lens of science capital to educator practices in informal science learning settings such as museums and maker spaces.
Her work addresses both the development of learners’ science identities and the selection of pedagogical practices on the part of teachers. Heather leads MA modules in STEM Leadership and practice, STEM Making and PGCE Science.
Dr Meghna Nag Chowdhuri
Research Fellow at the UCL Institute of Education
Meghna's current research explores ways of incorporating a social justice mindset into primary science teaching. Her PhD study explored how primary school teachers in government-run schools in Delhi interpret and use reformed mathematics textbooks to make mathematics inclusive and accessible for all children.
She completed her MPhil in Mathematics Education at the University of Cambridge and MSc in Applicable Mathematics at the LSE. Her research interests include social justice issues in science and mathematics education, primary school education, international education and curriculum development.
More about Dr Meghna Nag Chowdhuri