Head of Department: Dr R Butler

 

Science Curriculum Overview

We’ve framed our science curriculum around 14 big ideas.

Big ideas are statements that describe the major ideas and understandings of science that we believe our students should develop over time.

The big Ideas have provided a framework to help us organise the most powerful knowledge of science in a way that helps our students to make links in their minds as it is this linking that helps to create a deeper understanding of these ideas. We do this by grouping related ideas and understandings together and sequencing the curriculum so that these ideas are revisited multiple times.

Linking of ideas in students’ minds can take time and does require them to engage in lots of practice and a certain degree of struggle when solving scientific problems.  To create enough time for struggle we use a learning pathway when delivering the key concepts to our students in lessons.

We use experiments to develop their understanding of the scientific approach to enquiry and are confident in using mathematical skills to make predictions and explain events.

We encourage our scientists to make informed decisions that could affect their own and others’ health and wellbeing and about matters such as energy use and how we care for the environment. Being able to describe the natural world in which they live using specialist vocabulary is a key focus for us here at TKASA.

We want all students to feel that they ‘can do’ science and are successful when learning in science. We plan and deliver our lessons so that they are inclusive.
We believe all students can and should be challenged in science and that it is our responsibility to reduce any barrier to learning.