It’s here! The next CogSciSci conference is just around the corner! Join us at Wright Robinson College in Manchester on Tuesday 30th May to discuss all things cognitive science and science education.  CogSciSci prides itself on being truly grassroots. That’s why we would like you to consider if you would like to speak at this year’s event. We are interested in supporting new and established speakers to come and discuss their ideas with like-minded professionals. Last year we had a number of first time speakers who took advantage of our buddy system, with members of the CogSciSci editoria ..read more

We are proud to welcome Dr Sarah Benskin– Assistant Principal: Curriculum, T&L and CPD; Science teacher and lover of educational research to the world of blogging. Here she has a great run down of the virtual offer fro rED Warrington. I am a big fan of ResearchEd and have attended several events, both in person and during the great virtual events.  Listening to so many great speakers and their knowledge around educational research means I always leaves the day with excitement and ideas about what I can take back to school and use and I would say they have had a huge impact on my readi ..read more

A lifetime or so ago, back in 2018, Tom Bennett came to my school to give a talk to staff. I remember it because towards the end of the session, Tom talked about ResearchED and the conference events that were held on Saturdays across the country. I remember reacting with an almost visceral ‘urgh – no way!’ There was no way I could give up an entire Saturday for something like that – the idea seemed like madness. And then something changed. I wasn’t aware what it was exactly that had changed. Not until I read Zoe and Mark Enser’s recent book ‘The CPD Curriculum’. In it, Zoe talks about her own ..read more

It’s here! The next CogSciSci conference is just around the corner! Join us in Tamworth on Tuesday 31st May to discuss all things cognitive science and science education. This year’s theme is on curriculum. Talks will discuss a wide range of issues around the intent, implementation and impact of the science curriculum in a range of contexts. The list of speakers is still being put together so check back to this page or follow us on twitter to discover the latest developments. CogSciSci prides itself on being truly grassroots. Run entirely by volunteers who are active science teachers or academ ..read more

By Ryan Badham At the very end of the previous academic year, we were joined by a team of Ofsted inspectors whom corroborated our own opinions of the strengths and weaknesses of our department and curriculum, namely great retention of substantive knowledge by our students but a weaker retention of disciplinary knowledge by our students. From our own results analysis this area had been pinpointed as our next area of focus. In the Ofsted Subject Science Review substantive knowledge is defined as: “(knowledge of the products of science, such as concepts, laws, theories and models): this is r ..read more

Shelly is here with her first ever blog!! Here is her take on the talks she heard yesterday. It’s great to help teachers find a platform to share their thoughts. We fund Shelly’s to be a great insight for those who were unable to travel. Enjoy! ‘Does anyone have a £2 coin? What is the inscription along the side?’ ‘Standing on the shoulders of giants’ was how Bill Wilkinson kicked off the event at Beechen Cliff School in Bath, and was definitely how I felt as a first time attendee at a CogSciSci event. A serial Twitter lurker, I was excited to meet and hear from people whose work has supported ..read more

James has been kind enough to write up some takeaways for those that could not make it to beautifully rainy Bath yesterday. Click the link above to go to his twitter page and find links to his other blogs. Thanks James! CogSciSci Bath “2020” – Golden Nuggets and Takeaways Like most CogSciSci enthusiasts and followers, I was gutted when the original CogScSci 2020 event in May 2020 had to be cancelled due to the pandemic. Fast forward to 17 months later, the event was reorganised and I had the honour of attending the event at Beechen Cliff School in October 2021. Firstly, a quick thank you to Bi ..read more

We asked the members of the HoDSciSci staff room slack channel what advice they would give new Heads of Department. Here are some of their gems. If you are a new HoD and want to join over 300 others in the staff room just DM @HoDSciSci on twitter. Mike writes: When planning your days as a new HoD, think about how long a task will take and allow at least half again as much time. This covers unexpected interruptions or the job just being harder than you thought. Liam writes: I wish I’d known the importance of saying no, or delegating a task to others. We can’t do everything and if we try we’ll d ..read more

A book review by Matt Ben David a science teacher from London. Greg Ashman’s The Power of Explicit Teaching and Direct Instruction is a 134-page, no-holds-barred, whistle-stop tour of, well, explicit teaching and direct instruction. The book starts by addressing both the importance of, and the main objections to a knowledge-rich curriculum before moving into the difference between Direct Instruction (big D, big I), direct instruction (little d, little i), and explicit teaching. It then applies the latter to education processes, differentiation, and critical thinking, before wrapping it up with ..read more

A book review by Dom Shibli – Senior Lecturer in Secondary Science at the University of Hertfordshire This is a book I read a few months ago. But instead of being returned to the bookshelf for me to look at and reminisce, it is now inundated with Post it notes and used to inform planning of my course for next year. I want to give you a taster as to why you should read this book because I think the valuable time you will put into reading it will be worth it. In starting my book review I want to start at the end. In the final paragraph of the book Dehaene writes: ‘Just as medicine is based on bi ..read more