Science and Maths

The struggle to establish school science in England

• Edgar Jenkins

Science for All is a thoroughly researched account of the long battle to establish school science in England, from its introduction to the classroom in the mid-nineteenth century to the launch of the National Curriculum in 1989. It addresses the underlying question of what school science is for and reveals when, how and why the answer has changed.

Implications for teachers’ knowledge and practice

• Alison Clark-Wilson
• Celia Hoyles

This report summarises the outcomes of the Nuffield Foundation funded 2014–17 project ‘Developing teachers’ mathematical knowledge for teaching and classroom use of technology through engagement with key mathematical concepts using dynamic digital technology’. The Nuffield Foundation is an endowed charitable trust that aims to improve social well-being in the widest sense. It funds research and innovation in education and social policy and also works to build capacity in education, science and social science research.

Implications for teachers’ knowledge and practice

• Alison Clark-Wilson
• Celia Hoyles

This report summarises the outcomes of the Nuffield Foundation funded 2014–17 project ‘Developing teachers’ mathematical knowledge for teaching and classroom use of technology through engagement with key mathematical concepts using dynamic digital technology’. The Nuffield Foundation is an endowed charitable trust that aims to improve social well-being in the widest sense. It funds research and innovation in education and social policy and also works to build capacity in education, science and social science research. The full Final Report is available as a separate publication, ISBN 9781782772217.

Development and individual differences

• Richard Cowan

Contrary to public perceptions, the differences in number skills between children in the same class taught by the same teacher are greater than differences between schools or countries. This inaugural lecture considers the factors that may be influential, drawing on findings from research projects funded by the ESRC and the Nuffield Foundation.

Student ambassadors and equality in higher education

• Clare Gartland

More skilled young people are urgently needed in science, technology, engineering and mathematics in the UK. This book indicates how policy can be developed to encourage young people to consider STEM careers. It challenges widely held assumptions about how role models help raise aspirations and support progression to Higher Education.

• Tom Corner

Designed for primary school teachers who seek to ensure success in mathematics for all their pupils when they follow the most recent version of the National Curriculum. It is particularly suitable for beginning teachers with information on new and effective methods to teach and assess.

Classroom Mathematics for Equality and Justice

• Sharan-Jeet Shan
• Peter Bailey

This book illustrates how current teaching methodology and school management and the bias in existing textbooks can and often does disadvantage black, working class and girl students, and how often this might be changed. The authors have gathered their mathematics from sources across the world and from a multiplicity of disciplines: from global statistics, from architectural principles and from art forms. They will keep students and their teachers fascinated, motivated and learning the mathematics that our technological age – and the national curriculum – demands. For in maths lessons the students are the Multiple Factors in the equation of the world’s economy, resources and growth.

• Jennifer Smyth

The early experiences children have of science are crucial in determining later attitudes to learning about it. This work is an introduction for trainee Early Years teachers, and one which helps practising teachers to make science interesting to young children. It provides strategies to help maintain the impetus all through primary school.

Taking a scientific approach

• Andy Tolmie

In this lecture, Professor Andy Tolmie explores what lies behind recent research findings in science learning that have shown how pupil discussion during group work plays an important role in promoting conceptual understanding and reasoning in science.

• Michael J. Reiss

This lecture examines what the boundaries of science are and how it should be represented in schools.