Sequencing In Science: A New Project
(Signup form: https://forms.gle/xU4jRJQSuQhuEB7g9)
PUBLISHED BLOGS
Francesca Tyms (@pedagoguesci) – How I Sequence: Radioactivity
During ‘this difficult time’, I’ve found it really tough to engage in writing and have felt (naturally) pretty isolated. I want to start a new project to bring together a whole bunch of voices from Chat Biology, Chat Chemistry, Chat Physics and CogSciSci as well as any other teachers that are interested to think about sequencing in science.
I’ve been thinking a lot about sequencing during the COVID crisis — some of it enforced by the crisis itself (switching certain topics to better suit remote learning) but also wandering what we should revert back to when ‘normal service’ resumes. I’ve read lots of excellent blogs about individual’s approaches to sequencing, but wanted to see if we could create something built more collectively and utilise lots of different peoples ideas and arguments.
In this series, we’ll explore some of the principles behind good sequencing and we’ll look deeply at the rationale behind certain sequencing decisions. There will likely be a lot of (polite and healthy) debate about “what goes first and why” and this will be the whole point of working collectively. I’d like to show people the variety of reasoning that you might use to change the structure of your science curriculum.
Hopefully, sequencing will be explored at different scales from people willing to take on bigger ‘adventures’ in their curricula (complete restructuring of the spec across key stages) to smaller ‘strolls’, simply tinkering with the order within a specific topic of one key stage. The main focus is likely to be GCSE, but people can voice their thoughts, opinions and ideas on any key stage at all.
This project will likely develop over time but I’m hoping we start with a few blogs and possibly some video discussion panels. The blogs may be written by individuals who are sharing something they’ve already done or written collectively by teachers that have only ever met on the internet as they explain and debate their order of choice.
I’d also love to hear some completely new voices. You don’t need to have blogged before (or even want to blog) to get involved – you might have one idea about one bit of sequencing that you think is too good not to share or you might just want to be involved with a bit of intellectual debate to further develop your own ideas. We had some great new people at the CogSciSci Curriculum Event during the previous lockdown and lots of them have gone on to catch the blogging bug.
If you have an idea and would like to register your interest, please fill in this very short form so I can get in contact with you and start planning (you won’t be obliged to do anything, and you can happily be removed at a later date if you change your mind).
