Rachael Sharpe - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Rachael Sharpe
Shaker Verlag eBooks, Oct 17, 2016
This article reviews how practical work, including practical skills, is currently summatively ass... more This article reviews how practical work, including practical skills, is currently summatively assessed in school science in a number of countries and makes comparisons with how other subjects, such as music and geography, summatively assess skills. Whilst practical skills in school science are clearly valued as being of importance, there is a lack of clarity as to what these skills actually are and how they might, most effectively, be validly assessed. Countries vary greatly in the extent to which they employ what we term ‘Direct Assessment of Practical Skills’ (DAPS) or ‘Indirect Assessment of Practical Skills’ (IAPS). Each of these approaches has advantages and disadvantages but we conclude that too great a reliance on IAPS reduces the likelihood that practical work will be taught and learnt as well as it might be.
Continuum eBooks, Dec 1, 2011
Practical work and the reality of practical work - what do we really mean by practical work?!
Chronic Illness, Sep 27, 2021
Education 3-13, Jan 18, 2022
The School science review, 2018
In England, there is a growing need to improve the attainment in, and attitudes towards, science ... more In England, there is a growing need to improve the attainment in, and attitudes towards, science among disadvantaged secondary school pupils. This project was designed to support disadvantaged year 11 pupils (age 15–16) by pairing them with an undergraduate STEM student mentor throughout the final year of their compulsory science General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) examinations course. The project found that mentored pupils did statistically significantly better in terms of attainment in both mock and actual GCSE examinations and also showed a statistically significantly greater improvement in their attitudes to science than un-mentored pupils.
International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, 2021
Ireland’s government placed a renewed focus on the teaching and learning of numeracy with the pub... more Ireland’s government placed a renewed focus on the teaching and learning of numeracy with the publication of a national strategy in 2011. Whole-school planning for numeracy was already a requirement for disadvantaged schools also known as Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) in Ireland. This single site case study explored how a disadvantaged school was teaching numeracy across the curriculum. It was discovered that teachers were unclear about the difference between numeracy and mathematics. Teachers’ life experiences of mathematics shaped their views towards numeracy. Leadership played a role in shaping teachers’ views of the importance of numeracy. Whilst all teachers could see the relevance of teaching numeracy in their subject area, the majority were unaware of what the school improvement plan for numeracy contained. The findings suggest the need for teachers to understand the concept of numeracy, the need for professional development to address this, in addition to developing teachers’ identities and pedagogical practices in this area. Schools need to consider how leadership can put support in place to enable teacher learning. Policymakers need to consider, and distinguish between mathematics and numeracy, and support schools’ engagement with cross disciplinary, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches to embedding numeracy across the curriculum.
Report to the National STEM Centre Evaluation Advisory Group. Report commissioned by the Gatsby C... more Report to the National STEM Centre Evaluation Advisory Group. Report commissioned by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation. York: University of York, Department of Education
Research in Science & Technological Education, Apr 3, 2019
Within England there has been a growing recognition of the need to increase students’ attainment ... more Within England there has been a growing recognition of the need to increase students’ attainment in science especially amongst disadvantaged students whose schools receive additional state funding to support their education. There is, in England, currently no paired mentoring programme in which undergraduates, studying STEM subjects, are paired up with disadvantaged students (aged between 15-16) while they are studying towards their science GCSEs (public examinations). This peer-mentoring project in which students, from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds, are paired with undergraduate students was designed and implemented in order to help improve both their academic achievement in science and their attitudes towards studying science and related subjects in the post compulsory phase of their education up to, and including, university level. The project is a comparative study involving a control (n=42) and intervention (n=42) group from across four state secondary schools in...
Research in Science & Technological Education, 2014
ABSTRACT Background: Despite the widespread use of practical work in school it has been recognise... more ABSTRACT Background: Despite the widespread use of practical work in school it has been recognised that more needs to be done to improve its effectiveness in developing conceptual understanding. The ‘Getting Practical’ CPD (Continuing Professional Development) programme was designed to contribute towards an improvement in the effectiveness of practical work through initiating changes in teachers’ predominantly ‘hands-on’ approach to practical work to one which manifests a more equitable balance between ‘hands-on’ and ‘minds-on’. Purpose: To evaluate the impact of the Getting Practical: Improving Practical Work in Science CPD programme on teachers’ ideas and practice in science practical work in primary and secondary schools in England. Programme description: The CPD programme was designed to improve the effectiveness of science practical work in developing conceptual understanding in primary and secondary schools in England. Sample: Ten teachers of primary science and 20 secondary science teachers. Design and methods: The study employed a condensed fieldwork strategy with data collected using interviews, observational field notes and pre- and post-CPD training observations in practical lessons within 30 schools. Results: Whilst the CPD programme was effective in getting teachers to reflect on the ideas associated with the Getting Practical programme, it was much less effective in bringing about changes in actual teaching practice. Conclusion: The findings suggest that if change, rather than only an enhanced awareness of the issues, is to be brought about in established teaching practice then there is a need for ongoing support over an extended period of time. Furthermore, the impact of such CPD is more likely to be effective if it is undertaken by a senior member of a department or school with the full support of the SMT.
Research in Science & Technological Education, 2015
R et al. (1 more author) (2015) A comparative cross-cultural study of the prevalence and nature o... more R et al. (1 more author) (2015) A comparative cross-cultural study of the prevalence and nature of misconceptions in physics amongst English and Chinese undergraduate students. Research in Science & Technological Education, 33 (1).
The 2012 conference has two main aims: 1. To share current science education research in the UK 2... more The 2012 conference has two main aims: 1. To share current science education research in the UK 2. To discuss future plans and opportunities for science education research in the UK. CONFERENCE TIMETABLE Monday July 2nd Morning-research students' presentations. All very welcome to attend 9:00-10:00 am Coffee Atrium 10:00-11:30 am 0A Science teaching and learning strategies LT1 • Cukurova, M., An investigation of the effects of a novel teaching approach on students' learning of chemical ideas, and their views of chemistry as a subject at undergraduate level • Monge, H., Heritage Education for improving the learning of scientific concepts • Turkenburg-van Diepen, M., How Science Works in the UK secondary school science curriculum: effects on teachers 11.30-11.45 coffee break Atrium 11:45am-1:15pm 0B Conceptual Development LT1 • Thorley, D., Girls' Physics Choices-A Case Study of Two Schools • Bulpin, K. Learning identity in relation to 'making' in synthetic biology • Riga, F., Interpreting Three Students' Developing Ideas about Eclipses: coherent theory or knowledge-in-pieces? 1:15-2:15 pm Lunch-Quarks restaurant-Start of main conference 2:30-3:30 pm Building on a research legacy-Key note presentations LT1 Professor Phil Scott (1953-2011) was an exceptional science education researcher with research activity which spanned pupils' conceptual development, classroom teaching strategies and teachers' professional development. Professor Robin Millar, Dr Jaume Ametller and Dr Jenny Lewis discuss Phil's research, their links with his research and the future direction of research in these areas. 3:30-4:00 pm Coffee break Atrium 4:00-5:30 pm Parallel discussion sessions on developing and future avenues of science education research
School Science Review, 2011
The findings from the Improving Practical Work in Science (IPWiS) evaluation suggest that the pro... more The findings from the Improving Practical Work in Science (IPWiS) evaluation suggest that the project can, and did, bring about noticeable improvements in the effectiveness of practical work in school science. However, the extent of these improvements varied widely and appeared to be dependent on the departmental seniority of the person undertaking the training, their commitment to the project and the extent of support from the school's senior management team. It was also found that the IPWiS project had a much ...
School Science Review, 2011
Practical work is an essential feature of good science teaching. The aim of science is to find ex... more Practical work is an essential feature of good science teaching. The aim of science is to find explanations that are supported by evidence for the events and phenomena of the natural world. So teaching science involves 'showing' students things, or putting them into situations where they can see things for themselves. Simply 'telling' them is unlikely to work. Practical work also gives students a sense of what is distinctive about science as a 'way of knowing' about the world. There is, however, much evidence from research that practical work often does not lead to effective learningand is also less than motivating for many students. We need to improve the effectiveness of practical activities. This is what the Getting Practical: Improving Practical Work in Science (Getting Practical) programme has been all about. It has not set out to develop a collection of new 'effective practicals' that come with success guaranteed. These do not exist. Instead it has encouraged teachers to reflect on the learning objectives of the practical activities they currently use or are thinking of using-to analyse the kinds of thinking these require of students, and think about how the activity is designed, and how they will 'stage' it within a lesson sequence. A key aim has been to try to make practicals 'minds on' as well as 'hands on'-so that students understand why they are carrying out the practical activity, and are thinking about what they are doing and finding out as they do it. One short professional development programme cannot transform practice in a matter of months. However the evaluation of the Getting Practical programme has shown how systematic reflection on practice, focusing on aspects of the design of practical activities that research suggests are critical to effectiveness, can stimulate significant changes in practice. The challenge now is to build on this, by supporting more teachers in systematic reflection on their current practice, and building up a professional community of science teachers who reflect critically on their practices and evaluate the impact of changes and new developments. We need to ensure that improvements are not local and short lived, but widespread and sustained. Getting Practical has provided a model on which to build.
Research in Science & Technological Education
Within England there has been a growing recognition of the need to increase students' attainment ... more Within England there has been a growing recognition of the need to increase students' attainment in science especially amongst disadvantaged students whose schools receive additional state funding to support their education. There is, in England, currently no paired mentoring programme in which undergraduates, studying STEM subjects, are paired up with disadvantaged students (aged between 15-16) while they are studying towards their science GCSEs (General Certificate of Secondary Education (public examinations)). This peer mentoring project in which students, from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds, are paired with undergraduate students was designed and implemented in order to help improve both their academic achievement in science and their attitudes towards studying science in the post compulsory phase of their education up to, and including, university level. The project is a comparative study involving a control (n=42) and intervention (n=42) group from across four state secondary schools in England. Unlike previous evaluations of mentoring projects, that relied solely upon participants' (mentors, mentees and programme coordinators) self-evaluations, this study uses student school test and public examination data as a measure of academic achievement in addition to questionnaires to investigate their attitudes towards science. This paper reports on the way that this project was designed, issues arising in its implementation, as well as results regarding its effectiveness.
School Science Review, Dec 1, 2010
Shaker Verlag eBooks, Oct 17, 2016
This article reviews how practical work, including practical skills, is currently summatively ass... more This article reviews how practical work, including practical skills, is currently summatively assessed in school science in a number of countries and makes comparisons with how other subjects, such as music and geography, summatively assess skills. Whilst practical skills in school science are clearly valued as being of importance, there is a lack of clarity as to what these skills actually are and how they might, most effectively, be validly assessed. Countries vary greatly in the extent to which they employ what we term ‘Direct Assessment of Practical Skills’ (DAPS) or ‘Indirect Assessment of Practical Skills’ (IAPS). Each of these approaches has advantages and disadvantages but we conclude that too great a reliance on IAPS reduces the likelihood that practical work will be taught and learnt as well as it might be.
Continuum eBooks, Dec 1, 2011
Practical work and the reality of practical work - what do we really mean by practical work?!
Chronic Illness, Sep 27, 2021
Education 3-13, Jan 18, 2022
The School science review, 2018
In England, there is a growing need to improve the attainment in, and attitudes towards, science ... more In England, there is a growing need to improve the attainment in, and attitudes towards, science among disadvantaged secondary school pupils. This project was designed to support disadvantaged year 11 pupils (age 15–16) by pairing them with an undergraduate STEM student mentor throughout the final year of their compulsory science General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) examinations course. The project found that mentored pupils did statistically significantly better in terms of attainment in both mock and actual GCSE examinations and also showed a statistically significantly greater improvement in their attitudes to science than un-mentored pupils.
International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, 2021
Ireland’s government placed a renewed focus on the teaching and learning of numeracy with the pub... more Ireland’s government placed a renewed focus on the teaching and learning of numeracy with the publication of a national strategy in 2011. Whole-school planning for numeracy was already a requirement for disadvantaged schools also known as Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) in Ireland. This single site case study explored how a disadvantaged school was teaching numeracy across the curriculum. It was discovered that teachers were unclear about the difference between numeracy and mathematics. Teachers’ life experiences of mathematics shaped their views towards numeracy. Leadership played a role in shaping teachers’ views of the importance of numeracy. Whilst all teachers could see the relevance of teaching numeracy in their subject area, the majority were unaware of what the school improvement plan for numeracy contained. The findings suggest the need for teachers to understand the concept of numeracy, the need for professional development to address this, in addition to developing teachers’ identities and pedagogical practices in this area. Schools need to consider how leadership can put support in place to enable teacher learning. Policymakers need to consider, and distinguish between mathematics and numeracy, and support schools’ engagement with cross disciplinary, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches to embedding numeracy across the curriculum.
Report to the National STEM Centre Evaluation Advisory Group. Report commissioned by the Gatsby C... more Report to the National STEM Centre Evaluation Advisory Group. Report commissioned by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation. York: University of York, Department of Education
Research in Science & Technological Education, Apr 3, 2019
Within England there has been a growing recognition of the need to increase students’ attainment ... more Within England there has been a growing recognition of the need to increase students’ attainment in science especially amongst disadvantaged students whose schools receive additional state funding to support their education. There is, in England, currently no paired mentoring programme in which undergraduates, studying STEM subjects, are paired up with disadvantaged students (aged between 15-16) while they are studying towards their science GCSEs (public examinations). This peer-mentoring project in which students, from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds, are paired with undergraduate students was designed and implemented in order to help improve both their academic achievement in science and their attitudes towards studying science and related subjects in the post compulsory phase of their education up to, and including, university level. The project is a comparative study involving a control (n=42) and intervention (n=42) group from across four state secondary schools in...
Research in Science & Technological Education, 2014
ABSTRACT Background: Despite the widespread use of practical work in school it has been recognise... more ABSTRACT Background: Despite the widespread use of practical work in school it has been recognised that more needs to be done to improve its effectiveness in developing conceptual understanding. The ‘Getting Practical’ CPD (Continuing Professional Development) programme was designed to contribute towards an improvement in the effectiveness of practical work through initiating changes in teachers’ predominantly ‘hands-on’ approach to practical work to one which manifests a more equitable balance between ‘hands-on’ and ‘minds-on’. Purpose: To evaluate the impact of the Getting Practical: Improving Practical Work in Science CPD programme on teachers’ ideas and practice in science practical work in primary and secondary schools in England. Programme description: The CPD programme was designed to improve the effectiveness of science practical work in developing conceptual understanding in primary and secondary schools in England. Sample: Ten teachers of primary science and 20 secondary science teachers. Design and methods: The study employed a condensed fieldwork strategy with data collected using interviews, observational field notes and pre- and post-CPD training observations in practical lessons within 30 schools. Results: Whilst the CPD programme was effective in getting teachers to reflect on the ideas associated with the Getting Practical programme, it was much less effective in bringing about changes in actual teaching practice. Conclusion: The findings suggest that if change, rather than only an enhanced awareness of the issues, is to be brought about in established teaching practice then there is a need for ongoing support over an extended period of time. Furthermore, the impact of such CPD is more likely to be effective if it is undertaken by a senior member of a department or school with the full support of the SMT.
Research in Science & Technological Education, 2015
R et al. (1 more author) (2015) A comparative cross-cultural study of the prevalence and nature o... more R et al. (1 more author) (2015) A comparative cross-cultural study of the prevalence and nature of misconceptions in physics amongst English and Chinese undergraduate students. Research in Science & Technological Education, 33 (1).
The 2012 conference has two main aims: 1. To share current science education research in the UK 2... more The 2012 conference has two main aims: 1. To share current science education research in the UK 2. To discuss future plans and opportunities for science education research in the UK. CONFERENCE TIMETABLE Monday July 2nd Morning-research students' presentations. All very welcome to attend 9:00-10:00 am Coffee Atrium 10:00-11:30 am 0A Science teaching and learning strategies LT1 • Cukurova, M., An investigation of the effects of a novel teaching approach on students' learning of chemical ideas, and their views of chemistry as a subject at undergraduate level • Monge, H., Heritage Education for improving the learning of scientific concepts • Turkenburg-van Diepen, M., How Science Works in the UK secondary school science curriculum: effects on teachers 11.30-11.45 coffee break Atrium 11:45am-1:15pm 0B Conceptual Development LT1 • Thorley, D., Girls' Physics Choices-A Case Study of Two Schools • Bulpin, K. Learning identity in relation to 'making' in synthetic biology • Riga, F., Interpreting Three Students' Developing Ideas about Eclipses: coherent theory or knowledge-in-pieces? 1:15-2:15 pm Lunch-Quarks restaurant-Start of main conference 2:30-3:30 pm Building on a research legacy-Key note presentations LT1 Professor Phil Scott (1953-2011) was an exceptional science education researcher with research activity which spanned pupils' conceptual development, classroom teaching strategies and teachers' professional development. Professor Robin Millar, Dr Jaume Ametller and Dr Jenny Lewis discuss Phil's research, their links with his research and the future direction of research in these areas. 3:30-4:00 pm Coffee break Atrium 4:00-5:30 pm Parallel discussion sessions on developing and future avenues of science education research
School Science Review, 2011
The findings from the Improving Practical Work in Science (IPWiS) evaluation suggest that the pro... more The findings from the Improving Practical Work in Science (IPWiS) evaluation suggest that the project can, and did, bring about noticeable improvements in the effectiveness of practical work in school science. However, the extent of these improvements varied widely and appeared to be dependent on the departmental seniority of the person undertaking the training, their commitment to the project and the extent of support from the school's senior management team. It was also found that the IPWiS project had a much ...
School Science Review, 2011
Practical work is an essential feature of good science teaching. The aim of science is to find ex... more Practical work is an essential feature of good science teaching. The aim of science is to find explanations that are supported by evidence for the events and phenomena of the natural world. So teaching science involves 'showing' students things, or putting them into situations where they can see things for themselves. Simply 'telling' them is unlikely to work. Practical work also gives students a sense of what is distinctive about science as a 'way of knowing' about the world. There is, however, much evidence from research that practical work often does not lead to effective learningand is also less than motivating for many students. We need to improve the effectiveness of practical activities. This is what the Getting Practical: Improving Practical Work in Science (Getting Practical) programme has been all about. It has not set out to develop a collection of new 'effective practicals' that come with success guaranteed. These do not exist. Instead it has encouraged teachers to reflect on the learning objectives of the practical activities they currently use or are thinking of using-to analyse the kinds of thinking these require of students, and think about how the activity is designed, and how they will 'stage' it within a lesson sequence. A key aim has been to try to make practicals 'minds on' as well as 'hands on'-so that students understand why they are carrying out the practical activity, and are thinking about what they are doing and finding out as they do it. One short professional development programme cannot transform practice in a matter of months. However the evaluation of the Getting Practical programme has shown how systematic reflection on practice, focusing on aspects of the design of practical activities that research suggests are critical to effectiveness, can stimulate significant changes in practice. The challenge now is to build on this, by supporting more teachers in systematic reflection on their current practice, and building up a professional community of science teachers who reflect critically on their practices and evaluate the impact of changes and new developments. We need to ensure that improvements are not local and short lived, but widespread and sustained. Getting Practical has provided a model on which to build.
Research in Science & Technological Education
Within England there has been a growing recognition of the need to increase students' attainment ... more Within England there has been a growing recognition of the need to increase students' attainment in science especially amongst disadvantaged students whose schools receive additional state funding to support their education. There is, in England, currently no paired mentoring programme in which undergraduates, studying STEM subjects, are paired up with disadvantaged students (aged between 15-16) while they are studying towards their science GCSEs (General Certificate of Secondary Education (public examinations)). This peer mentoring project in which students, from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds, are paired with undergraduate students was designed and implemented in order to help improve both their academic achievement in science and their attitudes towards studying science in the post compulsory phase of their education up to, and including, university level. The project is a comparative study involving a control (n=42) and intervention (n=42) group from across four state secondary schools in England. Unlike previous evaluations of mentoring projects, that relied solely upon participants' (mentors, mentees and programme coordinators) self-evaluations, this study uses student school test and public examination data as a measure of academic achievement in addition to questionnaires to investigate their attitudes towards science. This paper reports on the way that this project was designed, issues arising in its implementation, as well as results regarding its effectiveness.
School Science Review, Dec 1, 2010