Earth Science/Geology in UK Schools today

1
Earth Science/Geology in UK Schools today

• Prof Chris King
• Education Dept, Keele University
• Director, Earth Science Education Unit
• Chair, Earth Science Teachers Association
  Secondary Working Group

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Earth Science/Geology in UK Schools today

• A-level entry
• GCSE entry
• England Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland
• What the educational research shows
• The Earth Science Education Unit
• What HE could do

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England and Wales - A-level

• A-level entry was falling steadily - it
  plateaued but fell again last year

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England and Wales - A-level

• as a percentage of all A-levels - similar

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England and Wales - A-level
UK 1971 - 2004

• Falls in comprehensive schools - a plateau in
  sixth form colleges

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England and Wales - A-level

• Having overtaken Geology, Environmental Science
  A-level has fallen below Geology recently

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E W - AS-level

• New AS-level looked promising - but it is
  falling too - particularly boys

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E W - AS- A- level figures

• 2004 A-level Geology - 1689
• 2004 AS-level Geology - 2148
• 2004 Environmental Science - 1215 (around 1/4
  geology)
• 2004 GCSE Geology - 709
• In 2000, 367 centres were teaching A, AS or GCSE
  Geology
• 2 Awarding Bodies (Exam Boards -WJEC, OCR) offer
  A and AS-level
• 1 Awarding Body (WJEC) offers GCSE Geology

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E W GCSE - 2005(14 - 16 year olds)

• 92 (583,1000) examined in Science ) Double
• 71 (450,900) examined in Add Science) Award
• 7 (46,000) examined in Biology, Chemistry
  Physics (- triple award)
• 30 (188,400) examined in Geography full courses
  and 2 (36,200) in short courses
• lt 1 examined in Env. Science (water cycle,
  supply and conservation) - AQA (a total of 7,600
  students took other sciences, that include Env.
  Science and Geology)
• lt1 examined in Geology WJEC (709)

• Earth science difficult to calculate
• Around 1/4 ES/geology
• All ES/geology

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England and Wales

• Earth Science education is supported by
• The Earth Science Teachers Association, since
  1969
• The Earth Science Education Forum (England and
  Wales), since 2002
• Earth Science Education Forum - Cymru, since 2006
• The Education Committee of the Geological
  Society, since 2006
• The Earth Science Education Unit, since 1999

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Scotland

• No Earth science is found in the science
  curriculum
• However, Earth science is found in the 5 - 14
  Geography and Science curricula - taught by
  primary teachers and Geography specialists
• Geology is taught at Higher level - at about 40
  centres - this number is falling
• Because of major concern about the low level of
  Earth science in Scottish schools, the Scottish
  Earth Science Education Forum (SESEF) has been
  formed
• A full time Development Officer has been
  appointed - supported by Scottish Heritage funding

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Northern Ireland

• The Earth science in the NI National Science
  curriculum was removed during one of the
  curriculum revisions
• Earth Science in the NI National Geography
  Curriculum is very limited
• The ES2K group has been formed to lobby for
  geology, first in Northern Ireland and now across
  all Ireland

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Earth science educational research

• Most teachers teaching Earth science are biology,
  chemistry or physics specialists

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Earth science educational research

• Their background is poor

• Most use, as their main
• resource, science textbooks
• written for pupils or use
• their own colleagues

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Earth science educational research

• The government Council for Science and Technology
  survey supported these findings
• Use of information by
• secondary science teachers
• Third party material
• used by teachers

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Earth science educational research

• The mean error level in the
• Earth science content of
• science textbooks - 1 per page
• Major errors shown by
• teachers - pre-workshop

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Earth science educational research

• The results of an analysis by Joyce and Showers
• of 200 studies of the effectiveness of staff
  development amongst teachers
• (Effective have some measurable effect on
  pupils)

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The Earth Science Education Unit

• 90 minute workshops presented to
• secondary science departments across England and
  Wales
• upper primary teachers in Scotland
• PGCE science students in teacher training
  institutions
• in order to
• enhance their background Earth science knowledge
• showcase a variety of engaging Earth science
  activities
• enhance effective use of practical activities in
  science
• develop critical thinking and investigational
  skills in pupils

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The Earth Science Education Unit

• Small central team, Director, Administrator,
  Researcher
• Facilitators appointed, trained and available
  across Great Britain
• 38 in England/Wales
• 12 in Scotland
• facilitators paid only for workshop delivery
• low fixed costs great flexibility

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The Earth Science Education Unit

• Workshops
• more than 4,400 teachers -
• teaching more than 1,080,000 pupils
• more than 3,200 trainee teachers

• Ambassadorial events
• more than 5100 adults
• more than 4700 children

www.earthscienceeducation.com
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ESEU progress

• Evidence for impact on the day

Most common responses from 2601 workshop
questionnaires 2003-2005
www.earthscienceeducation.com
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ESEU progress
Comments from teachers I was made to feel
enthusiastic about earth sciences, which I never
thought would happen. the activities were
simple enough to use in lessons without major
resource implications. Gave me ideas for
teaching what can be a 'chalk and talk'
subject. good activities will give me much
more confidence in classroom An introduction
to something I know nothing about. I won't
think rocks are so boring in future. I am
appalled that I have been teaching Earth sciences
incorrectly - as I got my references/ideas from
published science books! This workshop gave me
the opportunity to learn more The best INSET
day I have ever had. bloody hell - it's
clicked, wow!
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ESEU progress

• Change in classroom practice (2005)
• 47 schools contacted a year after workshop
• 15 responded to questionnaire
• 12 had rewritten their Scheme of Work (SoW) to
  include ESEU activities
• 2 were in the process of revising their SoW
• 1 does not have SoW, but were using new ESEU
  activities
• On analysis of levels of use of individual
  activities
• 6 schools showed significant increase
• 4 schools showed moderate increase
• 5 schools showed modest increase

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What can HE do?

• Not
• galvanise the Earth Science Teachers
  Association (ESTA)
• But
• support the Earth Science Teachers Association
  (ESTA) and its work with the Earth Science
  Education Unit
• And the best method of support is ..

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What can HE do?

• to encourage your local secondary schools to
  invite ESEU to present one or more of the free
  ESEU INSET workshop to them
• You could do this through
• a schools loan scheme (Leeds)
• an undergraduate ambassador scheme (Cambridge)
• including an Earth science communication module
  in your degree (Edinburgh) - and testing it on
  local schools
• employing a part-time person to link to local
  schools (Derby?)
• . WITH THE MAIN OBJECTIVE OF INTRODUCING ESEU TO
  THE SCHOOLS

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What can HE do?

• Attending the ESTA Seminar for Schools Liaison
  Officers in HE
• Bristol University
• Friday 15th September
• Part of the meeting a joint one with A-level
  teachers - to promote a dialogue
• Focussed on sharing ideas
• 50 for the day
• For more details, contact the Conference
  Organiser, Martin Whiteley - mjwhiteley_at_yahoo.co.u
  k

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Earth Science/Geology in UK Schools today

• Prof Chris King
• Education Dept, Keele University
• Director, Earth Science Education Unit
• Chair, Earth Science Teachers Association
  Secondary Working Group