Forces and Motion through the Key Stages

Within a large-scale report commissioned by the Wellcome Trust [1], primary school teachers were described as facing barriers in teaching science. The top barriers described were the lack of budget and resources, lack of time and curricular importance as well as other issues such as a lack of subject knowledge or confidence and concerns relating to space and resource access. Teaching science is just one part of a primary teacher’s complex role and is a subject in which most primary teachers do not have a degree or A level qualification [2,3]. There is little Microbiology content within the National Curriculum, however, schools can introduce additional scientific content within the Primary Key Stages. Within this context, a Microbiology, Genomics and Bioinformatics researcher in association with Key Stage 2 classes in a Norfolk Junior School carried out a joint project for Microbiology-related science in conjunction with Norwich Research Park facilities in May 2017 and the Microbiology Society. Here we report on the findings from teacher and pupil’s perspectives and consider how Microbiology/Hygiene could be presented to this age group in a classroom setting. 1. ‘State of the Nation’ report of UK primary science education. S. Leonardi et al. CFE Research, Leicester LE1 5TE. September 2017. 2. The Royal Society (2010) Science and mathematics education 5–14. A ‘state of the nation’ report. London: the Royal Society 3. ASE Guide to Primary Science Education (Serret and Earle, 2018), reviewed in https://tdtrust.org/cpd-primaryscience

The analysis considers two key questions relating to pupil progress. First, whether the ‘route’ or pattern of ‘steps’ a pupil takes between Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 matters in terms of their performance in the Key Stage 2 assessments. Secondly, whether such progress is influenced by the primary school a pupil attends. The research draws on a unique data‐set with data on the performance of over 3000 pupils in over 300 primary schools at Key Stage 1, Key Stage 2, and in optional tests at the end of Years 3, 4, and 5. The analysis identifies four broad patterns of pupil progress between the two key stages—equal‐sized, increasing or decreasing, and variable steps. Pupils taking the ‘equal‐sized’ route made most progress in terms of Reading, but the differences between this route and the least successful one were comparatively modest, amounting to not more than 3 months progress. In Maths, by contrast, the differences were more substantial with pupils on the ‘decreasing’ steps route making most progress and those on the ‘increasing’ steps route lagging increasingly behind, eventually by around half a level. The research confirmed, in line with previous studies, that the primary school attended was a substantial influence on pupil progress. Multi‐level modelling suggested that some schools were boosting pupil progress by as much as half a level (roughly 1 year of nominal progress) in comparison with others. However, when schools were characterized according to the main ‘routes’ their pupils had taken, the differences between routes were neither substantively nor statistically significant. Additionally, it was found that primary schools varied quite substantially in terms of their relative ‘effectiveness’ from one cohort to the next and the main routes their pupils took between the two Key Stage assessments.

The feasibility of equating marks on national tests in Science set at Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3 is explored, using data from a final trial of the 1995 tests. Problems arise from curricular differences between key stages which lead to infringements of assumptions implicit in equating. Tests at different key stages are not strictly parallel and equatings valid for pupils from one key stage do not hold for the other. Moreover no single equating model seems likely to work in all contexts. However equating tests set in different years for a given key stage appears less problematic. The feasibility of equating is discussed in the wider context of setting standards for national tests and it is suggested that, for science at least, it is likely that comparability between key stages is likely to become of less concern than maintaining national test standards from year to year.

Background Gendered grouping practices and curriculum provision are matters of long-standing contention and debate in physical education (PE) policy, research, and practice internationally. In England, there is a long tradition of single-sex grouping in PE in secondary schools, with accompanying gendered patterns of staffing and many boys and girls taught different activities in the curriculum. Research on the incidence of single- and mixed-sex grouping in PE is however scarce, dated, and limited in scale. At a time when education, sport, and society are challenged to move beyond binary discourses and critically review structures and practices that uphold stereotypical and established gendered power relations, this study sought to provide an evidence base and stimulus for researchers, policy-makers, and PE professionals to (re-) engage with grouping practices in PE. Specifically, the study was designed to provide a national picture of current single- and mixed-sex grouping arrangements in PE in secondary schools in England. Method Data were collected by a web-based survey of all 2873 mainstream state-funded co-educational secondary schools in England. The survey was addressed to Subject Leaders of PE and was open between September and October 2021. A total of 818 surveys were completed giving an overall response rate of 28.5%. Results The responses indicated that single-sex grouping is the most common arrangement in core (compulsory, non-examination) PE in Key Stage 3 (Years 7–9) and Key Stage 4 (Years 10–11), whilst mixed-sex grouping is dominant in General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) and/or Business and Technology Education Council (BTEC) PE in Key Stage 4. It was noticeable, however, that very few schools were using the same arrangement for all PE lessons in Key Stages 3 and 4, and some were using single-sex grouping within mixed-sex PE lessons, particularly in physical contact activities such as rugby and football. The responses highlighted that single- and mixed-sex grouping decisions in PE are complex and contingent on several interrelated factors, including curriculum content and structures, school timetabling, staffing arrangements and preferences, the nature of the student cohort, and specific considerations relating to safety in some sport contexts. Data indicated that in many instances grouping arrangements in secondary school PE in England serve to reproduce and legitimate restrictive binary gender discourses. There was some but limited evidence of grouping approaches positively supporting gender diversity within PE, with a small number of schools organising PE in mixed-sex classes to be more inclusive of transgender and non-binary students. Discussion and conclusion This study highlights the role that grouping approaches play in either impeding or advancing work to strengthen gender equity and inclusion in PE and identifies teachers’ knowledge, skills, and understandings relating to grouping approaches and gender diversity as an important focus for initial teacher education and professional learning. The paper also calls for engagement from research and professional communities internationally to inform future policies and practices regarding the use of grouping approaches in PE.

This study, based on ten primary and five secondary schools, uses 1032 pupil questionnaires, and interviews with primary pupils, primary teachers and secondary teachers, to explore pupils’ and teachers’ perceptions of RE over the transition from primary to secondary education, and compare them with other school subjects. It indicates that in general RE was perceived less well in terms of enjoyment, achievements and progress than many other subjects and there was little change in attitude over time, although there was a slightly less positive view by pupils of RE at the end of Year 7. There were significant inconsistencies between schools and classes within schools, and clear gender differences in responses. Problems affecting better liaison and continuity included structural problems, lack of assessment information, and possible differences of teaching style. The paper suggests that further debate is still needed about pupil attitudes to RE, issues relating to liaison, and general standards of RE at Key Stage 3.

I receIved a letter this month, page 11, that highlights a problem in our school admissions system that often gets overlooked, and that adds to the pressure our PvI settings are facing. The letter also goes straight to the heart of a much bigger problem in our education system, and one which I have touched on before, namely its artificial nature. Take some time to look at theories of child development. What do you notice? do you notice that they are divided into four chunks – early, primary, secondary, higher? No. You won’t find those terms or divisions anywhere. They have no relevance to how a child develops. Now turn your attention to theories (or your own experience) of how children learn and think? any sign of the four horsemen? No. again, no relevance. So, what point am I trying to make here? Simple, how we structure our education system does not have any direct bearing or relevance on what our best knowledge tells us of how children grow, learn, play, develop, experience or thrive. They do not do so in chunks. But that is how we teach them, and that is how we separate them, and that forms the basis of every tinkering, tailoring and candlestick making of every policy that tells us how and when and what to teach children. The more you look at it, the more peculiar our education system becomes. Leaving content aside – and I was shocked recently to hear panel members and civil servants talking of teaching ‘knowledge’; really, makes you wonder why all children aren’t high achievers – it is the very nature of these artificial faultlines that cause so much, if not the most (controversial?) trouble in the education experience of our children, and parents, and even schools and settings themselves. When we talk of transitions, we should be talking about transitions of learning – whether styles or experiences – not buildings, key stages and types of education, our system should not be in conflict with itself. We should be talking of learning journeys, not which type of setting a parent feels pressured into putting their child in, scared that they might miss out on a primary school place. We should be talking about the richest experiences we can offer children, not the continued under-funding of the early years sector. Yet there has never been the political will, the financial backing or the collective knowledge in the corridors of power to effect real and lasting change. The Cambridge Review recommended extending the influence of the eYFS into key stage 1. In my opinion, the reception year should replace year 1, it should form a key stage 1 transition for children whose bodies and minds are developing towards a time when they are ready for different challenges. In an ideal world, the walls of the artificial boundaries between key stages would be broken down forever, leaving one continuous learning journey from birth to adulthood and beyond with an education system that supports and complements the development of each unique child. daydreaming perhaps, well, if it’s not broke... see Latest developments (page 10) and Foundation framework (page 20) for the government’s vision of a revised eYFS. Editor Neil Henty MSc

The concepts of force and motion are essential material in physics. However, students experience many difficulties in the concept of force in rotational dynamics. This research was conducted to measure students’ concept acquisition of the rotational dynamics through Interactive Demonstration assisted by Free-body diagram. The mixed research method was chosen through the use of test instruments in the forms of 10 multiple-choice with open ended questions. The subjects of the research were 35 students XI IPA Senior High School 2 Sungai Penuh-Indonesia. Students’ concept acquisition was measured before and after the intervention to be analyzed quantitatively. The obtained N-gain score was 0.47, and it showed that there was a moderate improvement in students’ concept acquisition, while the effect size value was 1.82 showing that the intervention strongly affected students’ concept aquisition. The data were also supported by the results of the qualitative analysis of the students’ answers and worksheets given during the intervention process.

This chapter applies the theory of ‘Whiteness’ to examine the aims and contents the Key Stage 2 primary school history curriculum (Department for Education, ‘History programmes of study: key stages 1 and 2’. National curriculum in England, In: The national curriculum in Britain framework document. DfE, London, 2013). A discussion is presented on how ‘Whiteness’ as a cultural belief of supremacy seen in the story of Britain’s past has been given political endorsement in the present. ‘Whiteness’ as the central perspective of the national history curriculum ‘Purpose of Study’, aims and contents can be reproduced socially as cultural hegemony. White-British trainee-teachers of Key Stage 2 primary school history were asked: What does British history mean to you? Their background histories, experiences of socialisation and their responses to the question indicate that the biggest challenge to decolonising the primary school history curriculum through teaching and learning may be in attempting to reframe Eurocentric mindsets; the default position from which trainee-teachers of White-British mono-ethnic background and socialisation begin to think about teaching the story of Britain’s past.

What Primary Teachers Should Know About Music for the National Curriculum by d'Reen Struthers, Louise Spooner Arranger/Composer. Primary Bookshelf Series, London: Hodder & Stoughton Education, 1994. £14.99 book & cassette tape, 128 pp. - Three Singing Pigs – making music with traditional stories by Kaye Umansky. London: A & C Black, 1994. £7.99, 64 pp. - Teaching Non-Western Music at key Stage 2/4 edited by Chris Naughton. London: Rhinegold Publishing Ltd. £3.50, 70 pp. - Bohemia to the Balkans by Andrew Watts of the Carnival Band Sound Bites Series. London: Boosey & Hawkes [price not supplied], 44 pp. - Music File Series 6 1993/4 Series Editor Michael Burnett. Gloucestershire: Stanley Thornes, 1993/4. £59.95 + VAT. - Music Box For Acorn RISC OS Software Design: Marshal Anderson; Coding: Andrew Hersee. Topologika Software. £35 +VAT. - Volume 12 Issue 2

The demands on the primary school teacher in delivering the National Curriculum in England and Wales at Key Stage 2 (KS 2) for children aged 7‐11 years are considerable. Public debate concerning teacher subject knowledge and understanding, particularly in science, has raised the issue of the need for increased specialism in the primary school. A core element of this debate has focused on how to develop teacher subject knowledge for the effective delivery of the Programme of Study (POS) at KS 2 for practising teachers. This has resulted in the increased provision of in‐service courses in higher education and has also impacted significantly on course content in initial teacher training. This paper relates to the ‘The Earth and Beyond’ POS exploring factors which contribute to developing teachers’ understanding of basic astronomical events. Results indicate that providing teachers with the necessary skills and confidence to teach this aspect of science effectively is much more complex than simply explicating science content knowledge. The findings suggest that what is needed is the explicit recognition of key features in supporting learning. These are identified and the implications for teacher education are discussed.

This study examines Finnish and English primary student teachers' ideas when planning to teach a physics topic during their science education studies. Many primary student teachers lack sufficient subject knowledge, which prevents them from constructing the scientific pedagogical content knowledge that enables them to concentrate on pupils' thinking and process skills needed in a physics topic. Therefore they will have problems constructing learning environments that encourage pupils to take active control of their learning. In order to develop effective pedagogical content knowledge it is of the utmost importance that the science educators responsible for physics courses pay special attention to the promotion of favourable attitudes towards the teaching of physics topics. This can be done by focusing on how to teach some basic familiar topics. Quality, not quantity, is important in focusing on both subject knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge. The construction of pedagogical content knowledge is a complex interrelationship of attitudes, subject, and pedagogical knowledge. All three of them need to be developed to enable students to confidently and effectively teach young children.

YOUR NEWS WANTED The news section gives updates on what has been happening in physics education worldwide. Items included show how events in one country could be relevant to good practice elsewhere in the world. Contributions are welcome from all our readers and should be about 200 to 300 words and can include a picture.

The force concept is one of the important concepts that should be mastered by the student. The most common approach to understand this concept is by using the pictorial representation. The pictorial representation often used is the free-body diagram. Students who can draw the free-body diagram correctly indeed be able to solve the problems well. However, drawing this free-body diagram is still difficult for many students. This study aimed to analyze the students’ skill in drawing free-body diagrams and find out the difficulties. There were twenty-two high school students participated in this research study. The instrument used was an essay test consist of four problems. Students were asked to draw a free- body diagram of the objects in each problem. Students’ answer was analyzed descriptively. The results of this study showed that the students’ ability to draw the free-body diagram was not good enough. The difficulties experienced by students in drawing free-body diagrams were: (1) unable to identify the forces acting on objects; (2) inaccurate in determining the action point of the force; (3) inaccurate in determining the direction of the force vector; and (4) inaccurate in determining the length of the force vector.

Nuevos enfoques en el estudio y diagnóstico de la infertilidad masculina. Aportaciones de la investigación básica al conocimiento de la función espermática

We first summarize wing development during metamorphosis of Drosophila and identify four critical steps in the conversion of a folded single layered wing disc to a flat bilayered wing. Each step occurs twice, once during the 12 hour prepupal period and again during the 84 hour pupal period. (1) Apposition in which basal surfaces of dorsal and ventral epithelia come close together. (2) Adhesion in which basal junctions form between the apposed basal surfaces. (3) Expansion in which wing area increases as a result of cells flattening. (4) Separation in which dorsal and ventral epithelia are separated by a bulky extracellular matrix but remain connected by slender cytoplasmic processes containing the microtubules and microfilaments of the transalar cytoskeleton. Disc ultrastructure is correlated with the distribution of the beta chain of integrin, laminin A, and filamentous actin for each key stage of pupal development. Integrin and laminin exhibit a mutually exclusive distribution from the adhesion stage onwards. Integrin is present on the basal surface of intervein cells but not on vein cells whereas laminin A is absent from the basal surfaces of intervein cells but is present on vein cells. We conclude that laminin is not a ligand for integrin in this context. During apposition and adhesion stages integrin is broadly distributed over the basal and lateral surfaces of intervein cells but subsequently becomes localized to small basal foci. These foci correspond to basal contact zones between transalar processes. The distribution of filamentous actin is dynamic, changing from an apical distribution during hair morphogenesis to a basal distribution as the transalar cytoskeleton develops. Basal adherens-type junctions are first evident during the adhesion stage and become closely associated with the transalar cytoskeleton during the separation stage. Thus, basal junction formation occurs in two discrete steps; intercellular connections are established first and junction/cytoskeletal connections are formed about 20 hours later. These observations provide a basis for future investigations of integrin mediated adhesion in vivo.