[The resources] reveal the depth of [students’] understanding - including misconceptions - which allow teachers to re-teach certain areas.
[The resources] have the potential to motivate and engage students who are usually disaffected by the science curriculum... they seem to encourage a different section of the class to engage with the content.
We have done work on big questions and this has helped me to frame lessons with a big question, in order to get more engagement and be more inclusive.
They provide fertile ground for class discussion, which gives me an opportunity to promote their oracy skills such as answering in full phrases and referring to ideas their other classmates have said. This skill then makes their writing in exams more coherent and nuanced. Getting students to ask better questions is every teacher's dream as it reveals their understanding of a topic and also promotes curiosity and ownership of their learning. Having these questions as exemplars helps them see what deep questions look like. The ideas are accessible to all levels, which means everyone can get involved. What has been nice is seeing some of the less engaged learners furiously leap to disagree with a classmate and thereby involve themselves in lessons.
If you have used the resources in your classroom, we would love to hear from you! Please give feedback here. It should only take a couple of minutes.
Alternatively, we welcome feedback by email: thinking-science@bristol.ac.uk.
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