There is a tradition in primary classes of using rich authentic activities to teach science. The idea of pupils learning science through experiment and discovery is appealing. But this is not how children are taught in other subjects. When children learn to read, there are tiny steps, mastering each one before moving onto more challenging books.…

There is broad agreement in the literature (e.g. Furtak et al., 2012; Harlen and Qualter, 2018) that the purpose of primary science is for children to develop: (1) scientific skills; (2) knowledge and understanding of some scientific concepts; (3) positive attitudes to science; an understanding of the nature of science; and (4) an appreciation of…

Assessment for learning (AfL) is different from other forms of assessment because it has the specific purpose of promoting children's learning, rather than summarising or measuring what has been learnt. A key aspect of this is recognising that it is only "formative" when the information gleaned is actually used to move learning forward. It is not…