Professional Focus Paper
Science in the Environment
1.
Level: National 1
Who is this paper for and what is its purpose?
This paper is for staff who provide learning, teaching and support as learners work towards Science in the
Environment National 1.
Curriculum for Excellence is a unique opportunity to raise achievement and to ensure that all learners are better
prepared than they have been in the past for learning, life and work. This is because the new curriculum gives real
scope to build learning from 3 to 18 in a joined-up, seamless way. As a result, progression in learning can be much
stronger, with a clear focus on knowledge, understanding, skills, capabilities and attributes. These are delivered
through the experiences and outcomes of the 3–15 Broad General Education (BGE) and, at the senior phase,
through programmes that build directly on the BGE, leading to qualifications. Because of a strengthened focus on
the nature and quality of learning experiences and increased learner participation in every aspect of the learning,
teaching and assessment cycle, self-motivation is likely to be increased and learners consequently more engaged
and enthused. To ensure continuity and progression, qualifications at the senior phase have been designed to
embrace this unambiguous focus on high-quality learning.
Curriculum for Excellence has the flexibility to meet the needs of all learners in their local circumstances, enabling
each to achieve their very best. For example, some centres may take the opportunity to offer qualifications over two
years, whereas others may enable learners to work towards qualifications within one year. In both cases, the
advice in this paper is relevant to the learning and teaching approaches that learners will encounter. This paper is
intended to stimulate professional reflection and dialogue about learning. It highlights important features of learning
which are enhanced or different from previous arrangements at this SCQF level.
How will you plan for progression in learning and teaching, building on the BGE, to meet the needs of all learners?
2.
What’s new and what are the implications for learning and teaching?
At National 1, Science in the Environment consists of five units providing learners with relevant experiences to
develop skills for learning, life and work. The units are:
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Energy
Living Things
Materials
Nature and the Environment
Reduce, Re-use and Recycle.
SCIENCE IN THE ENVIRONMENT
At National 1 the units are standalone, and to achieve a Science in the Environment unit at National 1 learners
must be able to achieve the outcome within the unit with the appropriate level of support and resources. At National
1 learning should be relevant to the learner’s everyday life, their overall learning programme and/or work and
leisure. The outcomes across the range of Science in the Environment units at National 1 and other areas of the
curriculum may be linked together to provide personalised achievement opportunities for all learners, for example;
 Science in the Environment: Reduce, Re-use and Recycle could link directly with Creative Arts: Creating
Materials for Display, Creative Arts: Creating Materials for Performance and Practical Crafts: Working with
Materials
 Science in the Environment: Nature and the Environment could link directly to the Personal Achievement Award
National 1 Eco Awareness unit
 Science in the Environment: Living Things could link directly to the Personal Achievement Award National 1 unit
Looking after Animals.
Progression for learners may be to other Science in the Environment National 1 units, Science in the Environment
Course National 2 units, and to further study, employment and/or training. The nature of this progression will
depend on the individual needs of the learner.
What are the key aspects of Science in the Environment National 1?
Integrated approach to experiences and skills development
Science in the Environment units at National 1 build on the experiences and skills developed within the BGE. A
range of contexts, including within the local community, will broaden and extend learners’ experiences and enable
them to apply their skills across a range of curricular areas. Science in the Environment units give learners the
opportunity to learn through practical activities relating to everyday objects and materials, living things and
reducing, re-using and recycling materials. Activities can include, for example, sorting everyday objects into sets by
their type/source of energy used, using the centre and local environment to plant and grow herbs, vegetables and
flowers or support the local birdlife, sorting waste before disposal, using waste paper for shopping lists and upcycling materials for displays and enterprise activities. For some learners, with more complex needs, specific
targets may be set within their individualised educational programmes to ensure skills are developed across
literacy and citizenship. In planning experiences and skill development in Science in the Environment National 1
staff should also take account of the targets set in other curricular areas, including literacy, numeracy, and health
and wellbeing.
Wider range of evidence of learning
There is a clear focus on assessment as an integral part of learning and teaching. Staff will want to use their
interactions with learners to form judgments of how teaching and tasks are to be directed to meet learners’ needs.
At National 1 it is anticipated that most evidence for assessment purposes will be gathered on a naturally occurring
basis. A variety of assessment approaches should be used in order to allow a range of valid and reliable
assessment evidence to be gathered. Such approaches might include:
 observation of evidence demonstrated during an activity (using an observation checklist, visual recording,
photography or equivalent)
 oral questioning before, during and on completion of a task (recorded using audio-visual or audio recording or
using detailed written assessor notes)
 the centre’s own assessment tools
 learning and teaching activities that generate physical evidence for assessment
 identifying opportunities to record evidence within other curricular areas and/or other environments.
SCIENCE IN THE ENVIRONMENT
These examples of evidence could be used by learners and/or staff to build a portfolio to demonstrate progress
across the outcomes in the range of Science in the Environment units. Staff should develop criteria of success
where the focus is placed on small, well-defined steps in learning. In this way the learner with more complex needs
is more likely to achieve success and be able to progress within the level or on to the next level. Staff should
ensure that different approaches to assessment are matched to the individual learner’s needs, including accurate
and regular feedback, as appropriate. Where possible, learners should be at the centre of this process so they
have a clear understanding of what will be assessed and how it will be assessed. They should also be supported
and involved in selecting the assessment evidence that best demonstrates the knowledge, understanding, skills,
capabilities and attributes they have developed and demonstrated. Staff have the flexibility to manage the support
requirements for each learner. They may also keep informal records as part of the learning and teaching
approaches to show how the learner is progressing.
Hierarchy of units
Programmes of learning should be planned to encourage learners to aim for the highest level of achievement.
There is no mandatory content at Science in the Environment National 1 but the general aims of the units provide
learners with opportunities to:
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find out about energy through a range of practical activities
look after living things
explore materials used in everyday objects, for example wood, plastic, glass, metal, fabric and rubber
explore nature and the environment by helping to prepare or maintain an environmental area
appreciate the importance of looking after their environment and to take part in practical activities that help to
support this.
This will help learners to develop and improve their skills in familiar and not so familiar settings and for a range of
purposes. These experiences, skills and knowledge will be developed further in National 2 and beyond, and across
National 1 units in other curricular areas. Careful planning of contexts will be required to ensure learners can move
within and between National 1 and National 2 units and courses, as appropriate.
What are the key features of learning in Science in the Environment National 1?
Active learning
Learners will be expected to take an active role in the learning process, working individually and collaboratively to
develop skills. Learners may require individualised differentiation of tasks and activities to promote their
engagement in learning and to support their achievements at Science in the Environment National 1. Learners will
require varying degrees of support to enable them to achieve the outcomes and assessment standards. Some
learners may take part at an experiential or sensory level, where they require full support. Some may require
frequent direction and support to enable them to take part, while others may take part independently or with
intermittent support. For a few learners, with more complex additional support needs, where the outcomes in a
Science in the Environment National 1 unit may not be fully achievable, the experiences gained in Science in the
Environment units will enhance learning and may contribute to their success within other National 1 units. Using a
variety of different methodologies, active learning approaches and support models will ensure learning experiences
meet the needs of all learners.
Personalised learning and learning independently
At Science in the Environment National 1 learners have real opportunities to develop skills for learning, life and
work in ways that are stimulating, challenging, relevant and enjoyable. These opportunities may be related to their
specific needs, interests and choices, which in turn promote engagement. For example, participating in fun
activities involving bikes, scooters and playground equipment can raise awareness of physical energy. Sensory
SCIENCE IN THE ENVIRONMENT
activities can be used to widen experience of chemical and electrical energies using torches, fans, lights and
musical equipment. Eco activities linked to centre or community initiatives give opportunities for learners to create
their own planted area or tub. Increased motivation and personalisation will lead to improved outcomes for all.
Learners with complex needs will require varying degrees of staff support for all or part of the tasks. Well-defined
assessment tasks will determine the level of support an individual learner may require at any given point within the
learning and teaching environment. Learners should be given the opportunity to use their normal mode of
communication and have access to the appropriate resources identified to support their learning, for example:
 planting bulbs (pictorial representation of gardening tools and personal equipment, step-by-step audio/visual
clues of digging, planting and watering the bulbs)
 adapted gardening tools
 voice output communication aids, signing and pictorial/symbol systems, and switches
 an identified level of staff support to access, participate in and achieve tasks
 an adapted environment.
How will you plan opportunities for learners to learn independently as appropriate?
How will you plan contexts to ensure there is progression without unnecessary repetition of content?
Responsibility for learning
The quality of the relationships of the range of staff supporting the learner and a clear understanding of individual
needs will enhance the learner’s ability to engage in and, as appropriate to individual needs, take responsibility for
their learning. Learners progress at different rates and will require different levels of support depending on the
task/activity to be undertaken. Staff should be aware of the types and range of supports required to enable the
learner to experience success and achievement with the least possible intervention. Personalised learning, with
clear links to previous learning, progress and achievement, ensures that learning, teaching and individual
educational programmes are tailored to the learners’ needs across the contexts for learning. Learners’ preferred
methods of communication and the increasing use of technology will play an important role in allowing learners to
take increased responsibility for learning, for example using switches facilitates learners’ participation in
experiments, activities relating to energies and making choices.
Learners should be encouraged to monitor their own progress, where appropriate. Learners can be guided towards
building their own understanding of the learning process using a range of strategies. For those learners who are at
the earliest stages of reading and writing or who require positive behaviour support strategies the following could
be used:
 visual self-assessment (photographic, pictorial, graphic)
 oral, gestural and signing responses
 an achievement reward system (stickers, certificates).
How will you support learners to take responsibility for and plan their own learning?
What key areas will you communicate with learners to ensure they are making progress with the aims of the
course?
Collaborative learning
Learning and teaching approaches should encourage and develop collaborative working, including learning from
each other. When planning collaborative learning and teaching approaches, staff will want to consider how
individual learners can be encouraged and supported to take on roles that provide appropriate challenge and also
meaningful opportunities to contribute to the group and to experience success. Working collaboratively provides the
SCIENCE IN THE ENVIRONMENT
relevant and real-life contexts and situations that promote knowledge and understanding of life outside home and
the centre. Practical activities in science enable learners to work in different sized groups. Visits to local community
recycling facilities and charity shops will widen learners’ experiences and awareness of how waste can be reduced,
and materials and everyday objects reused. Working in collaboration with organisations such as the Royal Society
for the Protection of Birds, John Muir Trust, local rangers and Scottish Natural Heritage will help learners
experience the natural environment in real-life contexts. Other local organisations and volunteers could lend their
support in working alongside learners if they are, for example, creating a sensory or wildlife area in the centre or as
part of a local community development. Contributing to a team and experiencing different roles and responsibilities
is likely to enhance learners’ confidence, interpersonal skills and awareness of others.
How might you develop collaborative approaches to learning and make effective use of technology?
Applying learning
For learners with complex needs, learning experiences linked to strengths, interests and choices will enable them
to develop practical skills and knowledge within the area of science in the environment and apply these in other
areas of the curriculum and in real-life situations. Staff should ensure that tasks and activities are clearly linked to
outcomes, which in turn will allow learners to demonstrate their knowledge, understanding, skills, capabilities and
attributes, accompanied by whatever support model has been identified for the individual. Learning is enhanced
through the links made between other curricular areas such as creative arts arts, social subjects, practical crafts,
information and communication technology, and literacy and communication. There will be learning opportunities
that develop employability, enterprise and citizenship skills as well as literacy and numeracy skills across the
Science in the Environment units. A central theme is to encourage learners to use their existing and emerging skills
across a range of contexts in school, at home and in the community. Opportunities for learners to apply their skills
across other curricular areas and settings will help to ensure their skills and usual mode of communication are
reinforced and transferrable. Working in partnership with parents/carers and others, staff can ensure that learners
are able to use and practice their skills in as natural a context as possible. For example, exploring the properties of
everyday objects and materials across curricular areas in the community and at home widens leaners’ awareness
of places, objects and surroundings. This enables learners to apply their learning and skills in a meaningful way.
How can you ensure that learners can access opportunities to apply their learning in other curriculum areas?
SCIENCE IN THE ENVIRONMENT
3.
Qualification information
The SQA website provides you with the following documents:
 unit specification
 support notes
 unit assessment support packages.
Full information on arrangements for this qualification is available on the SQA website.
Further information on the developments in National units is available on SQA's National 1 unit web page:
www.sqa.org.uk/national1.
T +44 (0)141 282 5000 E enquiries@educationscotland.gov.uk W www.educationscotland.gov.uk
Education Scotland, Denholm House, AlmondvaleBusinessPark, Almondvale Way, LivingstonEH54 6GA
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