How can science and technology be made engaging and relevant in primary education?

This blog post will aim to answer the question “how can science and technology can be made engaging and relevant in primary education?”. During the process of answering this question, this blog will provide definitions of science and technology, with reference to Donaldson’s Successful Futures report, as well as exploring the importance of making learning engaging and relevant in primary education. It will also provide examples of engaging and relevant activities with specific focus on science and technology in primary education.

Our society is filled with science and technology, and in one form or another, it is continually changing and improving the way that we live our lives. It makes and sustains our modern society and will help us to understand and solve the big questions that our world faces. In addition to this, Philip Greenish, the chief executive of the Royal Academy of Engineering reported that "we need about 1.25m science, engineering and technology professionals and technicians by 2020, including a high proportion of engineers, to support the UK's economic recovery” (Naughton, 2014). Therefore it is clear that everyone needs at least a basic level of understanding of it, however, in recent times fewer young people seem to be interested in science and technical subjects (Osborne & Dillon, 2008, p. 5) and often, very limited attention is paid to science and technology in primary education (Martin, Mullis, Foy, & Stanco, 2012). A key problem that hinders the implementation of more appealing science instruction in primary schools is the issue of the often overloaded curriculum (Gresnigt et al, 2014). Another major problem is that primary teachers often avoid teaching science due to factors such as “limited subject knowledge, limited pedagogical content knowledge, inadequate understanding of problem-solving skills and low self-efficacy” (Appleton, 2007). 

Until recently, the ideas of science and technology have been incorporated into primary education as separate subjects, with little or no links made between them during the process of teaching and learning. However, as part of the new Welsh curriculum, they are now seen as “closely linked, each depending upon the other” (Donaldson, 2015, p. 50). This is due to the fact that “science involves acquiring knowledge through observation and experimentation, and technology applies scientific knowledge in practical ways” (Donaldson, 2015, p. 50). Science and Technology is one of Donaldson’s new Areas of Learning and Experience, and it “capitalises on children and young people’s curiosity about our natural, physical world and universe though investigating, understanding, and explaining. They learn to generate and test ideas, gather evidence, make observations, carry out practical investigations, and communicate with others. Children and young people will also have opportunities to learn how technology is used to design products that improve the quality of human life and to apply their scientific and other knowledge to practical purposes and challenges” (Donaldson, 2015, p. 50)

Learning in the Science and technology Area of Learning and Experience will enable many young people to prepare for careers in science, digital industries and technologies (Donaldson, 2015, p.50). However, it has been argued that these lessons are not engaging or relevant to the lives of primary school children. 

A way in which science and technology could be seen as engaging and relevant in primary education is when the learning can be shown to have real-life applications (IET Education, 2018). An example of this can be seen when during a science and technology seminar at university, I was involved in experimenting using objects and substances which are used in real life, and would be seen as engaging and exciting for primary school pupils as they could imitate the same experiments at home. We used objects such as washing up liquid mixed with different food colourings to create different drawings and paintings, as well as creating explosions using Coca-cola and Mentos, and making volcanos erupt using baking powder and vinegar. These experiments may seem simple, and may have already been researched, but they do teach children the process of experimentation, for use in the future, as well as providing them with authentic, engaging learning throughout their primary school lives. During these experiments, pupils will pose a question and come up with a hypothesis, and then choose their research methods to conduct the experiment, gather results and form a conclusion based on their findings. 

Another way in which science and technology could be seen as engaging and relevant is through educational visits to science centres, such as Techniquest. The mission of Techniquest, is to “embed science in Welsh culture through interactive engagement. They provide a range of services to schools and teachers to complement formal education provision in Wales and all programmes are linked to the Curriculum for Wales” (Techniquest, 2018). Educational visits are beneficial to pupils as “the most natural learning is realised through personal experience” (Zoldosova and Prokop, 2006, p. 304). It has been argued that “visiting science centres has increased pupils’ intrinsic motivation as the traditional educational environment is usually not as interesting as the natural environment. That is why it is quite clear to say, that science field centres provide greater resources to increase pupils’ interest in comparison with the traditional school classroom (Zoldosova and Prokop, 2006, p. 311).

In conclusion, it can be seen that interests in science and technology among young people are not very high, but there is a high demand for people to become science, engineering and technology professionals and technicians. Therefore it is vital that engagement in science is improved, starting from the bottom of the scale at primary school level. Primary school teachers have an important role in making science and technology engaging and relevant for pupils as it will enable many young people to prepare for careers in science, digital industries and technologies. I have suggested two ways in which this could be achieved. Firstly, through experiments which are relevant to pupils, involving products and substances which can be found in everyday life. And secondly, through educational visits to science centres such as Techniquest. 

References 

Appleton, K. (2007). Elementary science teaching. In S. K. Abell & N. G. Lederman (Eds.), Handbook of research on science education (pp. 493–535). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Donaldson, G. (2015) Successful Futures. 

Gresnigt, R., Taconis, R., van Keulen, H., Gravemeijer, K., & Baartman, L. (2014). Promoting science and technology in primary education: a review of integrated curricula. Studies in Science Education, 50(1), 47-84.

IET Education (2018) Resources. Available at: https://faraday-secondary.theiet.org/resource-pages/. Accessed: 11/04/18.

Martin, M. O., Mullis, I. V. S., Foy, P., & Stanco, G. M. (2012). TIMSS 2011 international results in science. Chestnut Hill, MA: TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center, Boston College.

Naughton, J. (2014) ‘Our young people need to study science and technology for a brighter future’. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/feb/23/science-maths-engineering-technology-vital-subjects. Accessed: 12/04/18.  

Osborne, J., & Dillon, J. (2008). Science education in Europe: Critical reflections. London: The Nuffield Foundation

Techniquest (2018) Available at: https://www.techniquest.org/education/schools/. Accessed: 12/04/18.