Science Club

On my most recent professional practice I organised and ran an after school Science Club for children between the ages of 4 and 11 to explore different exciting investigations with the other student in the school. We decided to explore fun experiments which may not necessarily link to the national curriculum to get children engaged in their learning. We catered 16 children in the club and each week looked at different activities. The science club ran for 4 weeks after school on a Thursday and we looked at experiments ranging from making slime to the Coca-Cola and mentos investigation.

Running the after school activity for the children was beneficial to my own development as prior to this practice I had not taught any science lessons to a group of children on previous practices, so felt uncomfortable teaching the subject. It helped to build my confidence when teaching the subject and encouraged me to become more familiar with the science strand of the National Curriculum.

Attached below is a copy of the lesson plan for the first Science Club session:

25.01.2016 Science Club lesson plan

How it meets the standards:

• TS1: Parts A and C of standard 1 are met in this piece of evidence because I had to make sure it was safe and a non hazardous learning environment for the children to learn in. Also, I feel as though I have demonstrated  positive attitudes, values and behaviour which are expected of pupils throughout the Science Club sessions which we held. 
• TS2: I feel as though I can show working towards part D of this standard because I had to demonstrate my own knowledge and understanding of how children learn and how this can impact on the teaching of an after school club, which need to be approached differently from ordinary national curriculum based lessons.
• TS3: I feel that this piece of evidence shows that I have been working towards part A of standard 3 because I had to understand and have a secure knowledge of science investigations and curriculum areas, in order to maintain pupils’ interests in the subject, and address any misunderstandings the children may have.
• TS4: I have been able to impart my own knowledge of maths into the sessions and develop understanding through effective use of lesson time, as well as promote a love of learning in sessions which shows I am working towards sections A and B of this standard. The out of school hours club shows I am securely working towards section C as I have arranged and ran an out-of-class activity to extend the subject knowledge children have in Science. i also feel as though this shows I am contributing to the design and provision of an engaging curriculum within science, working towards part E.
• TS5: I feel as though this piece of evidence shows that I have been working towards all parts of standard 5, A, B, C and D because I had to differentiate the sessions due to it being available for children between the school years of 1 and 6, covering two key stages where the children would have different understandings in Science. I had to have an understanding as to how all of the children in the group would be able to learn with their capabilities and support them through their different stages of development. I also had to have a clear understanding of the needs of all pupils, including those with special educational needs, as two of the older children in the group suffered from cases of SEN/D and needed extra support when learning in a classroom environment.
• TS7: Running an out of school club for children to access and enjoy shows that I am working towards parts A, B, C and D of standard 7 because I had to manage the behaviour of the children who attended the club and have high expectations of all, especially the older children who should have been setting a good example for the younger children attending the club. I also had to maintain good relationships with all children in the club in order for it to run smoothly and effectively.
• TS8: Parts A and E of this standard have been met with this piece of evidence because I made a contribution to the wider school community by providing the experience of an out of school science club for the children and I had to communicate with the parents of the children to inform them of the club or any concerns with any of the children after each session.

National Space Centre School Trip

Whilst on my final Professional Practice, the school went on a school trip and I was lucky to be asked to go with a group of children from Year 3, a class I wouldn’t have usually worked with due to them being in a different Key Stage to my class. The trip was to the National Space Centre and all year groups from Year 2 to Year 6 went. The Space Centre was busy with lots of different schools visiting, ranging from college students to toddlers with their parents. We set the task for all of the children to learn as much as possible whilst on the trip, about space which was the Topic for Key Stage 2 at the time. We wanted the children to do as much of their own learning as possible, engaging with the exhibits and taking a lead in their own learning. While at the Space Centre, we were able to see a show in the Planetarium about how Night and Day are formed, as well as looking at the stars and the different constellations which they make. I personally found it very engaging and interesting to learn about an area of Science which I am interested in, and many of the children were amazed about what they learnt throughout the day.

Below is a map of the Space Centre and the different exhibits which were on offer:

Map of the exhibits in the National Space Centre

 

Throughout the trip,, I was responsible for 9 Year 3 children, who all had exceptional behaviour throughout the day and were excellent role models to the younger Year 2 children who were a part of our larger group. They showed enthusiasm throughout the whole day, even towards the end when it was tiring for all after walking around.

Below is a link to the National Space Centre website and I would truly recommend a visit with or without a class of children as it was accommodating and showed age appropriate content and exhibits throughout.

http://spacecentre.co.uk/

How it meets the standards:

• TS1: I am working towards sections A and C of this standard because I had to ensure the environment was safe for the group of children I was working with on the day, and remind the children that they were representing the school so they had to be well behaved throughout the day.
• TS7: Throughout the trip I feel that I was showing elements of sub sections A, B, C and D of this standard because throughout the day I had a duty of care for the children, and had to make sure their behaviour was good, as to not damage the reputation of the school. Even though I was working with a group I would not usually work with in school, I had a strong connection with the children and all were able to follow tasks whilst having a good behaviour and attitude towards what they were learning.
• TS8: Section B of this standard was what I had been working towards for this standard with this evidence because I was working with two other colleagues with their small groups throughout the day, and each of us in turn helped the other groups as we explored the exhibition. We were able to navigate the centre and enhance the childrens learning throughout the day.

Good to be Green Behaviour Scheme

The ‘Good to be Green’ behaviour scheme was implemented throughout the school on my final placement. It proved to be effective for all of the children as they knew it was school wide and the more green days which they could achieve throughout the term meant that they would score a point towards an end of term treat. In each of the classrooms there was a ‘Good to be Green’ chart and each of the children had a set of cards: 1 red, 1 yellow and 1 green (see below). All of the children would start on a green card at the start of the day and the aim was for them to have good behaviour, meaning that they would stay on green for the entirety of the day. However, if a child had poor behaviour during one of the lessons, at break time or lunch time, then the child would be told to change their card to a yellow, provided their behaviour did not harm another. The children could also get a red card. They could get this card by either getting another yellow card, or if they had harmed another child, or used inappropriate language, for example, it could go straight to red. There is also the possibility for a child to gain another red card if their bad behaviour continues and they would have to miss 5 minutes of their break time for each red card gained in that particular day.

Wall chart for each classroom, from the Primary Teaching Services store.

If the child was on a yellow card and showed a significant improvement in their behaviour and learning, there is the possibility for the child to change back to green provided a member of staff agreed.

I really liked using this scheme throughout my final teaching placement because it provided a clear visual representation of how the children were behaving, lending to a visual learner. It was quick to implement in the lesson, providing minimal disruption and the children all understood how it worked. I would favour using a scheme like this throughout my teaching career as it was beneficial for all members of staff using it and clear for the children to see how they were working in terms of behaviour.

How it meets the standards:

• Ts1: I think that this piece of evidence meets section C of this standard because I have been praising children for good behaviour, looking for positive attitudes, values and behaviour which the children have towards their work and each other during school time.
• TS7: This evidence shows that I am working towards sections A, B and C of this standard because I have been using the behaviour scheme put into place by the school whilst in my own teaching, and modelling good behaviour in and out of school. I follow the protocol for bad behaviour by using the ‘Good to be Green’ scheme to ensure good behaviour is taking place throughout the class.