Boosting primary school access to science – can tech help?
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Following a report from the Wellcome Trust that revealed primary school pupils have limited accessto science, do we need to have a more serious discussion about the role tech can play in increasing accessibility?
The report outlined that teachers often feel apprehensive about teaching science, due to the fear
that children will ask a question that they do not have the answer to.
As a result, the subject often receives less attention, with research carried out by the University of
Manchester and CFE Research showing that primaries dedicated an hour and 24 minutes each week to the subject.
The average is a little below the 2‐hour international weekly average, and that is something that
Explorify is hoping to amend through the introduction of their digital resource.
Not only has it been designed to appeal to children, but also to reinvigorate passion for the subject
among teachers.
Having been developed with both partners and teachers, it is hoped that by providing teachers with
easy to do and accessible resources, they will be more comfortable teaching the subject.
Hilary Leevers, Head of Education and Learning at Wellcome, said: “Explorify is free and easy to use,
and requires almost no preparation. It relies on sparking questions and conversations among pupilsand developing thinking skills through creative activities.”
Science has a vital role to play in helping primary school pupils to learn and develop their
investigative skills, which can become essential for their time in secondary education and future
learning.
In addition, research from the Economic and Social Research Council – which tracked the
development of young people's science and career aspirations from age of 10 to 14 – shows that
children often work out whether science is ‘for them’ early on in their school careers.
Teachers from the UK who have already used Explorify in the classroom have found that there
sources have not only developed pupil’s scientific awareness, but have also improved their
language skills.
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