Science and Learning
Consultation Response Form
The closing date for this consultation is: 18
September 2009
Your comments must reach us by that date.
THIS FORM IS NOT INTERACTIVE. If you wish to respond electronically
please use the online or offline response facility available on the
Department for Children, Schools and Families e-consultation website
(http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/consultations).
The information you provide in your response will be subject to the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 and Environmental Information Regulations, which allow
public access to information held by the Department. This does not necessarily
mean that your response can be made available to the public as there are
exemptions relating to information provided in confidence and information to
which the Data Protection Act 1998 applies. You may request confidentiality by
ticking the box provided, but you should note that neither this, nor an
automatically-generated e-mail confidentiality statement, will necessarily exclude
the public right of access.
Please tick if you want us to keep your response confidential.
Name
Organisation (if
applicable)
Address:
Stella Dudzic on behalf of the senior management
team
Mathematics in Education and Industry
Monckton House, Epsom Centre,
White Horse Business Park,
Trowbridge,
Wiltshire
BA14 0XG
If your enquiry is related to the policy content of the consultation you can contact
Rory Gallagher (DCSF) or Alex Morris (BIS):
Rory Gallagher
Telephone: 0207 925 5631
email: rory.gallagher@dcsf.gsi.gov.uk
Alex Morris
Telephone: 0203 300 8723
email: alex.morris@bis.gsi.gov.uk
If you have a query relating to the consultation process you can contact the
Consultation Unit on:
Telephone: 0870 000 2288
e-mail: consultation.unit@dcsf.gsi.gov.uk
Please mark ONE box which best describes you as a respondent.
School
Sector
Employer
Local
Authority
Young
Person
Further Education
Sector
Science
Association/Body
Higher Education
Sector
Union/Professional
Association
Training Provider
Parent
X Other
Please Specify:
Independent curriculum development organisation for mathematics
This response form is split into four different sections - please note that
you only need to complete the section which is relevant to you.
Please only answer:
Section 1 (Questions 1-13): If you are from the schools or further
education sector
Section 2 (Questions 14-23): If you are from the higher education sector
Section 3 (Questions 24-29): If you are an employer
Section 4 (Questions 30-39): For all other respondents
SECTION 4: FOR ALL OTHER RESPONDENTS
30 What are the most effective ways of encouraging engagement, participation
and progression in science/maths, particularly for the most promising students?
Comments:
It is important to emphasise the following:
• The intrinsic interest and enjoyment to be found in studying mathematics
and science.
• The logical structure of the individual subjects and topics within them.
• Connections between different subjects and areas of learning.
• The usefulness of learning about science and mathematics for the
individual student (e.g. for future career or study).
• Science and mathematics provide powerful ways of solving problems
that matter to students.
Some of these aspects will appeal more to some students than to others so it is
important that students are exposed to all of them.
The most important thing is interested, enthusiastic and knowledgeable
teachers. They are the best placed to engage students; engaged students are
more likely to participate and progress than disengaged students.
For the most able, locally available series of masterclasses provide a significant
opportunity to experience the excitement of science and mathematics but these
are not currently available in all areas.
31 What are the major barriers to ensuring that young people feel engaged in
science/maths and that those with the potential progress to more advanced
levels?
Comments:
The emphasis on passing examinations and scoring points for league tables
puts pressure on teachers and students to concentrate on those aspects of
education which will receive recognition in the performance tables. The things
which engage some students are not in the examination and so they can be
missed out with a consequent impoverishment of the curriculum that students
experience. Some schools are concerned about getting enough students to
pass 5 GCSEs at grade C+ so may not give sufficient attention to stretching the
more able leading to their disengagement. Other schools are concerned about
getting high points scores so students are entered for a large number of
qualifications and may be too overburdened to enjoy learning.
Science and mathematics are regarded as difficult subjects that receive less
recognition for a given amount of effort. Students may be put off taking A
Levels in science and mathematics because they believe they will get a better
grade in other subjects.
Fear of failure is a potential barrier for all students, including able students.
Good teachers aim to give their students confidence so that they can overcome
their inate fear of failure.
Some teachers of science and mathematics lack the background knowledge
and experience that would enable them to go beyond the contents of the course
text book to make their lessons more engaging. It is becoming increasingly
difficult for teachers to access CPD which takes place outside their
school/college so it is difficult for teachers to develop their skills and
understanding. The Further Mathematics Network has developed online CPD
to address this need and MEI is increasingly running custom-made courses in
schools and colleges to enable teachers to receive the training they need.
There is a prevalent view in society that science and mathematics are boring,
irrelevant and for nerds only. Young people are influenced by this notion which
makes it less natural for them to be enthusiastic about science and
mathematics.
For students from poorer families, the debt with which they are likely to leave
university will put some potential students off applying. Scholarships and
bursaries for suitable students might encourage some to progress to study.
There is a potential role for employers here in providing sponsorship, paid work
experience and encouraging their staff to engage in further study.
32 Why, and at what stage in a young person's education do you think
engagement of promising young people in science/maths reduces?
Comments:
Engagement can reduce for a variety of reasons; studying mathematics or
science may be insufficiently challenging to stimulate the student’s interest or it
may be perceived to be too challenging, bringing the fear of failure. Sometimes
young people become more interested in other things which take their attention
away from science and mathematics; students who are good at science and
mathematics are often generally able academically and so they may choose to
do something else.
A reduction of engagement can happen at any time but the most critical time is
Key Stage 4 where the approach of GCSE with its consequent emphasis on
exam practice can reduce engagement. The study of science and mathematics
is a compulsory part of the national curriculum until age 16 so there is the
potential for early reduction in engagement to be reversed but if students stop
studying science and mathematics post 16 they are less likely to take it again
up later.
Transition from KS2 to KS3 can be difficult with some students repeating work
which they already understand.
33 What suggestions do you have for overcoming the barriers to improving
engagement, participation, and progression in schools and colleges?
Comments:
Suitable, sustained, effective and accessible CPD to equip teachers to engage
students and promote participation and engagement. MEI’s Teaching
Advanced Mathematics course has been effective in enabling teachers to teach
mathematics at A Level with confidence (see
http://www.mei.org.uk/files/pdf/TAM_Report.pdf ).
The twin GCSEs in Applications of Mathematics and Methods in Mathematics
have been designed to enable more students to engage with mathematics at
KS4. Each has a different emphasis; Applications focuses on the uses of
mathematics whereas Methods focuses on mathematical reasoning,
approaching the subject more formally. It is common for students to find it hard
to see the point of mathematics; Applications of Mathematics emphasises these
aspects of the subject. A greater facilty in using mathematics will also enable
students to engage better with science at GCSE and beyond.
A variety of mathematics courses available post 16 so that students can
continue to study mathematics and so keep more options open for longer.
Dropping mathematics at age 16 closes doors. We regard it as essential that
all young people are encouraged to continue studying mathematics throughout
their time in schools and colleges.
National promotion of study of science and mathematics and increasing
awareness of where they lead. This information needs to be easily available to
teachers, parents and students.
Remove KS2 national curriculum tests to allow concentration on teaching and
learning rather than training for the tests. Improve transition from KS2 to KS3,
ensuring that there is effective communication between primary and secondary
teachers.
34 What skills, qualifications and experience are most important for a
school/college to be able to deliver effective science/maths teaching?
Comments:
Teachers in the school/college need to understand science and mathematics
beyond the requirements of the course they are teaching so that they know
where the course they are teaching leads to. Ideally, they will have
qualifications higher than the level at which they are teaching combined with
ongoing professional development to enable them to teach effectively, engaging
their students. For mathematics teachers, it is also helpful for them to know
what mathematics is used in other subjects and how the approach in these
subjects differs from the approach they are used to in mathematics.
It is important that a school/college knows the potential of its students and
encourages all students to achieve or exceed their potential. This needs to be
in terms of their understanding and enjoyment of science and mathematics as
well as in terms of examination grades achieved. Students’ development
cannot be solely predicted by tracking their progress on the basis of formal
assessments; teachers need experience and insight to see what the potential of
each student is and to help him or her to achieve it.
Students should have access to GCSEs in the three separate sciences and
mathematics as well as A Levels in all three sciences, mathematics and further
mathematics in addition to other suitable courses. They should also have
access to suitable enrichment and information about careers and further study.
35 What are the most effective ways of providing young people with information,
advice and guidance about higher education and careers in science and
engineering?
Comments:
Information should be available electronically in a form which allows students to
find things easily that may be of interest to them, even if they had not thought of
these areas earlier – this can be done by linking information to electronic
questionnaires. Such information needs to include pictures, interviews and
video as well as text so that students can develop a feel for what careers in
science and engineering involve.
In addition to information, advice and guidance from suitable, informed and
accessible adults is needed. Such advice needs to be equally available to
students of all academic abilities. It can be provided by suitably trained
members of staff in schools or colleges or by external bodies such as visiting
careers officers. If students have questions which the advisors are not able to
answer, they need to know where to find out or where to refer the student.
Role models such as undergraduate ambassadors, leaders of enrichment
activities and Further Mathematics Network tutors are important in enabling
students to see where the study of mathematics and science can lead. Former
students from their own or other schools/colleges in the area visiting the school
and talking about their career can help students to see that a career in science
or engineering might be for them. It is important that the visiting speakers are
interesting.
36 What more could be done to improve the skillset of science/maths students to
help them progress successfully to pure science subjects and engineering in
higher education and science-related employment?
Comments:
Lack of mathematical qualifications and understanding holds back many young
people. The importance of mathematical understanding and qualifications for
further study in science and engineering needs to be made more explicit to
teachers and students. Students who are taking science A Levels without A
Level Mathematics may decide that they would like to pursue science-related
further study or employment; they should have access to AS or A Level
Mathematics in year 13 to prepare them for such study.
All students taking science and mathematics A level subjects, and likely to take
STEM courses at university, should be advised of the huge advantages they
can have in their university courses if they take AS or A level Further
Mathematics at school. If they realise at a late stage that they want to take a
STEM course at university, then AS Further Mathematics taken in Y13 would be
very valuable.
It is important that universities are honest in saying what the requirements of
their courses are. If a course does not have A Level Mathematics as an explicit
entrance requirement, students and their teachers will assume that
mathematics is not needed for the course. If mathematics is beneficial for the
course (as it is for all science and engineering degrees) students need to catch
it up at university when there is less time for them to devote to it than there
would have been if they had taken mathematics in the sixth form. This hinders
students’ progress.
37 What skills do you think should be developed further as part of a science
education to enable young people to succeed in employment?
Comments:
Understanding the generality and applicability of the scientific methods they are
using. Learning to find out relevant information and working with others to solve
a problem. Developing a spirit of enquiry rather than just following instructions.
38 What skills do you think society values in science students and graduates?
Comments:
• Ability to analyse problems and come up with possible solutions.
• Basing decision making on appropriate evidence and understanding the
possible implications of such evidence.
• Understanding the ideas that underpin our increasingly technological
world.
39 How could links between schools, colleges, universities, employers and other
institutions be improved to support engagement, participation and progression in
pure science subjects and engineering?
Comments:
Links between schools and universities/employers so that information about
future study and employment is made real to students and employers and
universities understand better what goes on in schools. In addition to formal or
informal links, general information needs to be available to teachers, lecturers,
students, parents and employers. It is not easy for non-specialists to know
where to find such information. Examples of questions that people might wish
to know the answers to include the following:
*What science and mathematics do students learn at GCSE/A Level?
*What qualifications are necessary or desirable for a degree in physics?
*How easy is it fo find a job after taking a chemistry degree and what kind of
career opportunities exist?
It is unhelpful for schools, colleges, universities and employers to operate each
in their own sphere without reference to the others. The links which the Further
Mathematics Network has made with universities are an example of how both
universities and schools can benefit from cooperation. Some universities use
the teaching materials which the FMN has developed and some universitities
provide tuition in further mathematics for students at school or college.
Consultations such as this one and the current QCDA consultation on criteria
for science GCSEs allow responses from employers, university lecturers and
students. Even if they are aware that the consultation is taking place, people
who are not education professionals may lack the background information to be
able to respond to it fully. Even as an education professional, I do not know
whether the GCSEs in Science, Additional Science and Additional Applied
Science currently being consulted on by QCDA can be taken as individual
GCSEs or whether it is intended that the “Additional” GCSEs are not taken
without GCSE Science. Publicity and background information is essential to
ensure wider participation in national consultations. Securing good science and
mathematics education is in everybody’s interests. Not everyone has the same
background knowledge and expertise but if the opinions of employers, parents
and university lecturers are valued then they should be enabled to express
those opinions in an informed way. The structure of this questionnaire, with
different sections for different kinds of respondent, is particularly helpful in this
respect.
Thank you for taking the time to let us have your views. We do not intend to
acknowledge individual responses unless you place an 'X' in the box below.
Please acknowledge this reply X
Here at the Department for Children, Schools and Families we carry out our
research on many different topics and consultations. As your views are valuable
to us, would it be alright if we were to contact you again from time to time either
for research or to send through consultation documents?
XYes
No
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within the Government Code of Practice on Consultation:
Criterion 1: Formal consultation should take place at a stage when there is scope
to influence the policy outcome.
Criterion 2: Consultations should normally last for at least 12 weeks with
consideration given to longer timescales where feasible and sensible.
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process, what is being proposed, the scope to influence and the expected costs
and benefits of the proposals.
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Criterion 5: Keeping the burden of consultation to a minimum is essential if
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If you have any comments on how DCSF consultations are conducted, please
contact Phil Turner, DCSF Consultation Co-ordinator, tel: 01928 794304 / email:
phil.turner@dcsf.gsi.gov.uk.
Thank you for taking time to respond to this consultation.
Completed questionnaires and other responses should be sent to the address
shown below by 18 September 2009
Send by post to: Consultation Unit, Department for Children , Schools and
Families, Area GB, Castle View House, East Lane, Runcorn, Cheshire WA7 2GJ.
Send by e-mail to: scienceandlearning.consultation@dcsf.gsi.gov.uk