Subject knowledge and pedagogy in science ... - Wellcome Trust

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Education research Subject knowledge and pedagogy in science teacher training John Holman, Senior Fellow for Education at the Wellcome Trust Background In December 2009, the Wellcome Trust commissioned Roger Lock and colleagues at the University of Birmingham to carry out a study of the subject content of one-year postgraduate training courses for secondary science teachers. Realising that most secondary science teachers are required to teach outside their science specialism, the Trust was interested to know how trainees acquire subject knowledge (as opposed to general teaching skills), and whether there are significant variations between institutions. The study involved more than half of Initial Teacher Training (ITT) institutions in universities in England and Wales. It used a combination of document analysis, questionnaires and interviews with tutors and trainees: in all, 54 per cent of tutors and 245 trainees from six case study universities responded to questionnaires. Respondents were self-selected in the sense that they volunteered to take part in the study, but they were distributed fairly evenly both geographically and by type of institution. Starting out as a science teacher ITT institutions prepare trainees for teaching across all three major sciences: physics, chemistry and biology. Most trainees will end up teaching outside their main degree specialism, at least in Key Stage 3, and it is not uncommon to find trainees teaching (say) physics who have themselves studied no physics beyond the age of 16. Yet effective and inspiring teaching requires the teacher to understand the subject matter in greater depth than the level they are teaching at, so the acquisition of sound subject knowledge and pedagogy is a particularly important part of a science teacher’s training. The report found that among trainees, biology specialists predominate, the ratio of biologists to chemists to physicists being 5:3:2. Moreover, biology specialists tended to have better-quality degrees than physical scientists, and one-third of those with a declared specialism in physics had a limited physics component to their degree – which might, for example, be in engineering or sport science. With so much variability in subject specialism, the challenge of bringing the subject knowledge and pedagogy of all trainees to a level where they can teach science across the breadth of the National Curriculum to age 16 is considerable. In fact the report concludes that it is unrealistic to expect trainees to develop sufficiently secure subject knowledge and pedagogy in both their specialist and non-specialist areas through a one-year course. Subject knowledge and teaching skills The report usefully distinguishes between three categories: • ‘Pure’ science subject knowledge (SK). • Topic specific pedagogy (TSP): the skills and methods needed to teach specific topics within science. • General pedagogy: skills and methods applicable across all subjects (for example, behaviour management). Science subject knowledge is taught through a combination of SK and TSP, with TSP predominating. The majority of SK and TSP are delivered in the trainee’s institution, as opposed to the placement school in which they do their teaching practice. However, the amount of time given to science knowledge, and in particular the relative proportions of SK and TSP, vary widely between institutions. Some trainees take ‘subject knowledge enhancement’ courses before embarking on the ITT year. In such courses, trainees may be taught by specialist scientists or by education tutors. Trainees express a clear preference for learning science knowledge through the latter. While on school placement, trainees are supported by a school mentor, and ITT institutions expect the mentor to monitor and set targets for subject knowledge, though the extent to which this happens in practice is unclear and appears to be very variable.
The National Curriculum for Science expects pupils to have both knowledge and understanding of science content (for example, the laws of motion, the periodic table) and an understanding of the methods and processes of science (‘How Science Works’). The study finds that How Science Works is not identifiable as a major component of ITT courses, which is surprising given the emphasis on this area in the National Curriculum. What do trainees think Faced with a broad science curriculum, much of it outside their specialist area, what is the response of trainees Most ITT institutions require trainees to carry out a ‘subject knowledge audit’ to identify the areas where their knowledge needs improving. However, trainees find the audit process inefficient and the report shows a consensus belief in leaving science knowledge to be learned when it is needed. So trainees normally wait until they know what topics outside their specialism they will be teaching (in their school placement or their first teaching job) before learning the necessary subject knowledge and pedagogy. When they do so, they tend to use books and other material resources to ‘swot up’ SK, but rely more on human resources – especially experienced teachers and ITT tutors – to learn TSP. Trainees also find their own peers a valuable resource for securing subject knowledge. Looking ahead to their Newly Qualified Teacher (NQT) year, trainees realise that they will need continuing professional development (CPD) to complete the process of securing subject knowledge and pedagogy. When asked which topics they believe they will need, physics featured most strongly, reflecting the large numbers of nonphysicists who are expected to teach the subject. However, trainees were more likely to identify generic CPD than science-based courses as their anticipated need, with assessment and behaviour management featuring strongly. Key conclusions and implications for policy Breadth and depth of subject knowledge and pedagogy ITT is expected to prepare trainees to teach science across the National Curriculum, but it is clear that the majority do not have the necessary breadth and depth of subject knowledge and pedagogy to do so, even by the time they finish training. Their expectation is that they will learn the required knowledge at the point they are required to teach it. Given that many trainees will have had no education in their non-specialist sciences since the age of 16, it has to be concluded that many science teachers have subject knowledge that is far from secure at the time they come to teach. Because of the shortage of specialist physicists, this is a particular problem for the teaching of physics, which is already the least popular science, particularly among girls. Two-year ITT courses would allow more time for acquiring science knowledge, but they are not a practical possibility for the foreseeable future. More practical solutions include: • Treating the ITT year as the first stage in a continuous process of professional development extending across the early years of teaching, and providing purposedesigned, extended CPD courses for non-specialists. • Designating trained teachers as ‘specialist’ (qualified to teach a specialist science to A level) or ‘associate specialist’ (qualified to teach to GCSE level) at the end of the training year. • Intensifying the policy drive to recruit physics and chemistry specialists. • Creating a single, authoritative collection of resources to provide accurate and validated science subject knowledge for trainee teachers and NQTs, for all science topics in the National Curriculum. This collection might be hosted and validated by a national organisation such as the Association for Science Education or the National Science Learning Centre. Variability between institutions The study shows wide variation in the amount and nature of coverage of science subject knowledge in training courses, and particular uncertainty about the coverage of subject knowledge in the school-based component of training. With ITT policy placing increasing emphasis on school-based training, there must be concern about how to assure the level of subject knowledge that trainees acquire. Possible solutions include: • Acknowledging the impossibility of securing the entirety of science knowledge required by the National Curriculum, and taking a ‘less is more’ approach. This would define a small common core of topics that are so fundamental to science that all trainees should cover them in depth, no matter what their specialism. • Utilising specialist science teachers in schools to support the development of subject knowledge and topic specific pedagogy at trainees’ ‘point of need’. This is a summary and commentary on the report Acquisition of Science Subject Knowledge and Pedagogy in Initial Teacher Training, by Roger Lock, David Salt and Allan Soares, University of Birmingham, October 2011. This report is available via www.wellcome.ac.uk/About-us/Publications/Reports/Education/.
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