Science teaching jobs 'should place quality before quantity'

Secondary teachers in science-based education jobs should ensure that they prioritise pupil engagement as much as covering all the required elements, it has been claimed.

Ian Richardson, national advisor for the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted), told a Westminster Education Forum Keynote Seminar entitled Raising the Profile of Science in Schools and Society, that teaching quality is vital to effective science tuition.

Mr Richardson said: "The science curriculum is impoverished where it is simply considered to be a list of knowledge.

"The 'what' of teaching has dominated, leaving the 'how' as a lesser consideration."

He added that science departments where those in teacher jobs share knowledge regarding best practice tuition methods, and ensure that pupils enjoy classes and have a firm understanding of the basics tend to be the most academically successful.

The Westminster Education Forum Keynote Seminar was hosted by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, London.

Posted by Tim Colman

Published On 04/03/2010