Supporting pupils in writing in science Comments Writing will support pupils’ learning in science when: Pupils can find writing in science a chore because the purpose is clear they do not see the point. You should be clear about why setting a writing task will help pupils to develop their understanding of science further. Some types of writing help pupils to learn by organising the writing helps pupils their thinking (e.g. writing an explanation on how organise their scientific digestion takes place, or constructing an argument thinking about what the evidence is for a spherical Earth). Currently these happen infrequently. More opportunities should be provided to do this. pupils are challenged to think Some types of writing do little to challenge and merely let pupils mark time (e.g. copying notes). Research has and make decisions about their writing shown that learning does not take place if pupils merely copy. The rule of thumb is: if the writing task does not require pupils to make decisions do it. – don’t pupils are asked to write for a Giving pupils little variety in their writing can be variety of purposes and audiences demotivating (e.g. answering the questions in the textbook or writing up the experiment). the writing is well chosen to Think carefully how writing can help pupils to learn the support the point of the lesson science. If you are teaching pupils how to record observations in a particular format, waste time don’t asking them to write up the whole experiment. This distracts pupils from the point. This is a case where less means more. To write well, pupils need to understand the pupils are clear about the characteristics of different text types. For example, they characteristics of the writing expected need to be taught how to structure a conclusion, how to frame an argument when considering ideas and evidence, and how to construct an explanation. There are differences between explaining how and explaining why. Pupils need models for their writing. Just as a picture paints a thousand words, so examples achieve the same. Reflection What are the implications? How well do your writing tasks support learning in science? pupils’
Writing will support pupils’ learning in science when: Comments the purpose is clear Pupils can find writing in science a chore because they do not see the point. You should be clear about why setting a writing task will help pupils to develop their understanding of science further. the writing helps pupils organise their scientific thinking Some types of writing help pupils to learn by organising their thinking (e.g. writing an explanation on how digestion takes place, or constructing an argument about what the evidence is for a spherical Earth). Currently these happen infrequently. More opportunities should be provided to do this. pupils are challenged to think and make decisions about their writing Some types of writing do little to challenge and merely let pupils mark time (e.g. copying notes). Research has shown that learning does not take place if pupils merely copy. The rule of thumb is: if the writing task does not require pupils to make decisions – don’t do it. pupils are asked to write for a variety of purposes and audiences Giving pupils little variety in their writing can be demotivating (e.g. answering the questions in the textbook or writing up the experiment). the writing is well chosen to support the point of the lesson Think carefully how writing can help pupils to learn the science. If you are teaching pupils how to record observations in a particular format, don’t waste time asking them to write up the whole experiment. This distracts pupils from the point. This is a case where less means more. pupils are clear about the characteristics of the writing expected To write well, pupils need to understand the characteristics of different text types. For example, they need to be taught how to structure a conclusion, how to frame an argument when considering ideas and evidence, and how to construct an explanation. There are differences between explaining how and explaining why. Pupils need models for their writing. Just as a picture paints a thousand words, so examples achieve the same. Reflection What are the implications? How well do your writing tasks support pupils’ learning in science? Supporting pupils in writing in science
37611-Supporting_pupils_in_writing_in_science.docx