Consistency counts- or does it?

All stake holders in competency based teacher training systems share an interest in the consistency of assessment outcomes and practice. Assessment data from more than 200 trainees participating in Initial Teacher Training/Education (ITT/E) programmes and partnerships at a Higher Education (HE) provider in the Northwest of England were analysed during the academic year 2014-15. At four formal review points the overall teaching grades received by trainees were compared across five ITT/E programmes leading to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). Several statistical approaches were employed and compared. All the methods indicated consistency of outcomes across the programmes for the final summative assessment. Two statistical methods were used to investigate the strength of correlations between grades awarded for individual teaching standards and the trainees’ overall teaching grades. Both demonstrated that all individual standards were positively correlated with overall teaching grades. The second and qualitative phase of the study is ongoing and uses Q-Analysis to illuminate these initial findings by seeking to identify clusters of subjectivity amongst mentors and tutors when prioritising statements about assessment. It is too early to report any results from this phase

Chemistry: The essential spark for engagement

Living in a socially deprived area can be tough. At least, that’s what several recent reports looking at the secondary school experience of teenagers in this demographic have indicated. it is recognised that the UK economy needs a highly skilled workforce and, in the North West, we have a large employer base of biochemical and chemical companies (see www. chemicalsnorthwest. org.uk), so we need school pupils from all backgrounds to be scientifically literate. Those who grow up in a socially deprived group are less likely to pursue careers involving science than the general population

Teachers’ perception of chemistry outreach work, especially in the context of children’s social demography

The aim of this current research is to investigate teachers’ perceptions of the purpose and impact of chemistry/science outreach work. Considering views of educators, both in training and practice, is an important area to explore as teachers are the gatekeepers to these experiences and consciously or subconsciously have their own views about the value of these programmes. In addition, the teacher can influence a child’s view of their scientific ability which can potentially inform an individual’s decisions and perceptions regarding science as a career. It is necessary for a teacher to be aware of their pivotal role within the classroom and how their own ‘habitus’ may have an impact on those whom they teach. This pilot study was an illustrative exercise to analyse a small sample of data and provide a focus for a subsequent main data collection where the level of response will be much higher. The study sought to answer the following question; what do teachers in the North-West of England think about chemistry based outreach programmes, especially in the context of children’s social demography? However, no ‘conclusions’ or generalisations are derived from this small sample itself, only emerging themes are discussed. These themes highlight how teachers may perceive chemistry/science outreach to be of greater importance the higher the educational level and how these programmes may provide experiences and opportunities for students from a lower socio-economic background

Research Focus: Nurturing socio-economically challenged learners' curiosity in chemistry

It is understood that ‘active learning’, in which students participate in their own learning, is effective in developing understanding (Michael & Modell, 2003). Students are likely to engage well in lessons that require participation and that challenge them to develop their understanding through hands-on experience (Koballa & Glynn, 2007). Learning outcomes are enhanced when enjoyment is high. This has been a cornerstone of Liverpool John Moores University’s programme of interventions delivered for the Royal Society of Chemistry project, Chemistry for All (CfA)

Exploring the Implementation of A Professional Learning Communities in Malaysian’s Schools

Part of the Malaysian Education Blueprint 2013-2025 outlines teachers’ transformation into their profession of choice. To enable this transition, Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) has been established to assist in developing high quality teachers who can achieve their full potential. One of the key elements of PLCs is peer coaching. However, even though the implementation of PLCs spans a large number of schools across the country, findings show shared values and practice dimensions contained within peer coaching as a core element only show moderate to low levels of engagement among teachers (Abdullah et al., 2014; Ismail et al., 2014). Therefore, this ongoing study will investigate whether peer coaching benefits teachers and contributes to their professional development. This mixed method approach study will consider teachers’ perspectives on peer coaching implementation, commitment and self-efficacy using questionnaires (Mowday et al, 1979; Rajab, 2013; Schwarzer et al., 1999). Teachers' observation on the implementation of peer coaching will be collected through semi-structured interviews with the teachers to explore the role of supporting the peer coaching programme in schools and to consider how the findings relate to the use of peer coaching as a PLCs strategy. This study will also explore how peer coaching is practised by secondary schoo

Working towards evidence based practice in science teaching and learning

High performing international education systems integrate evidence based practice into their initial teacher education programmes (BERA-RSA 2014). It is the authors’ experience that the usefulness of education research to education practitioners is not always easy to judge and this leads to justifiable caution towards evidence based practice amongst trainee science teachers and their mentors in schools. A subject knowledge module was taught separately to 22 undergraduate students in their final year of a Primary/Secondary Education Honours degree with Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) and to 50 students following Graduate Diploma Subject Knowledge Enhancement courses in Chemistry and Physics preparing to take up places on Science Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) courses. An example of informal practitioner research is described and discussed. This involved using a science in society or socio-scientific approach to deliver a science subject knowledge module with two different cohorts of intending science teachers. The aim was to demonstrate strategies for facilitating the development of critical thinking and scientific literacy in school science lessons. The use of anonymous voting devices during sessions indicated a polarisation of opinions amongst participants rather than a more considered or critical response to the scientific questions. This discussion seeks to illustrate the value and drawbacks of informal practitioner research and how this evidence based approach might be beneficial to teaching and learning in science

ONE EFFECT ON PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS’ SELF-EFFICACY SCORES LINKED TO CHANGES IN ANTI-COVID-19 MEASURES AS THE PANDEMIC PROGRESSED IN SCHOOLS IN THE NORTHWEST OF ENGLAND

Previous International Academy of Technology, Education and Development (IATED) conference proceedings papers [1] [2] [3] have reported the quantitative and qualitative findings from anonymous online surveys conducted by a Higher Education (HE), qualified teacher status (QTS) provider in the northwest of England. The surveys invited pre-service teachers qualifying to teach in England during the Covid-19 pandemic to volunteer demographic data, ascribe self-efficacy scores to pedagogy, behaviour management and student engagement teaching skills [1] and submit open responses to expand upon the reasons for their scorings [2]. The importance of Bandura’s [4] framework of major self-efficacy influencing factors and utility of Korthagen’s [5] onion model for reflection in theorising explanations for the findings have also been discussed [3]. Further statistical analysis of the self-efficacy scores was conducted to investigate the relationship between the different experiences of anti-Covid-19 measures and the respondents’ self-efficacy scores for individual teaching skills. In-school training was curtailed for respondents from the 2019-2020 initial teacher education (ITE) programmes during the last phase, whilst the 2020-2021 respondents experienced more unpredictable local closures and absences and a range of changed procedures due to anti-Covid-19 measures [1] [2] [3]. Chi squared analysis using contingency tables [6] compared the numbers of respondents from the two groups that returned self-efficacy scores 10, 9, 8, 7 and 6 and below, higher scores indicating more confidence. Where differences were significant, the second group ascribed more higher scores and less lower scores than expected. This was assumed to be linked, at least in part, to the different experiences of anti-Covid-measures and their impact on the respondents’ ITE programmes. The chi squared calculations for individual skill statements were related to qualitative differences between the self-efficacy skill statements. Although all the statements describe skills which can be improved through professional knowledge, experience, and practice, some rely more on context and underlying teacher attributes [5] than others. Bandura’s [4] and Korthagen’s [5] perspectives were useful when applying theory to findings

Subject knowledge enhancement (SKE) courses for creating new chemistry and physics teachers: do they work?

During extended subject knowledge enhancement (SKE) courses, graduates without chemistry or physics bachelor degrees prepared to enter a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) programme to become chemistry or physics teachers. Data were gathered from the exit survey returned by Liverpool John Moores University SKE students about to start their science PGCE course. Lesson analysis and final report forms from the PGCE course and an early survey of first destinations were also analysed. Findings suggest that the 2011–12 SKE students valued their course highly. Many issues encourage caution when interpreting PGCE assessment information but, on summative assessment of subject knowledge and overall teaching, there was no statistically significant difference between the frequency of grades awarded to 2011–12 PGCE trainees who had followed a SKE route and those who entered the science PGCE directly. Early indications were that their employment rates in teaching were also similar

Subject knowledge enhancement courses for creating new chemistry and physics teachers: the students’ perceptions

Subject knowledge enhancement (SKE) courses are one option open to graduates with a science background whose first degree content is judged to be insufficient to train to become chemistry or physics teachers. Previous articles in School Science Review have discussed the structure of one type of extended SKE course offered at Liverpool John Moores University, and its impact on outcomes for students. This article focuses on the qualitative responses collected from the anonymous exit questionnaire surveys returned chemistry and physics SKE students about to continue on to their science Post Graduate Certificate in Education course. The main positive course characteristic cited was student support. The main positive outcomes perceived were improved subject knowledge and skills and increased confidence

Insights from a Subject Knowledge Enhancement Course for Creating New Chemistry and Physics Teachers

A recent Government response to shortages of new physics and chemistry teachers is the extended subject knowledge enhancement (SKE) course. Graduates without a physics or chemistry bachelor degree are prepared by an SKE course to enter a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) programme to become science teachers with a physics or chemistry specialism. SKE courses challenge common assumptions about the nature of subject knowledge for teaching and who should teach it: school science educators or scientists? This article shares the SKE course model developed and taught by the Science Education team at Liverpool John Moores University, and some early insights into supporting subject knowledge development