Thinking & Working
Scientifically
Year 8 & 9 Parent Night
2014
Interactive Science Notebooks
• http://mrsmorrittscience.weebly.com/intera
ctive-science-notebooks.html
Thinking Science Australia
What is it?
Thinking Science is a special program that
is designed to improve student thinking
skills.
It is based around Science, but will improve
your general thinking skills, this means that
it will benefit you in other subjects as well.
What's involved
Students will participate in 30 ‘lessons’
spaced over years 8 & 9.
This works out to be about one lesson
every two weeks.
The Theory
The program has been developed by
scientists who are experts in student learning
and ‘Thinking’
One of its concepts is the ‘Zone of Proximal
Development’
The Theory
Think back to when you learnt the recorder
or another instrument in primary school.
If you only ever learnt/practised the same
simple songs eg ‘Silent Night’,
then you would never
get better.
The Theory
 If you had to learn a really hard song, you would
have no chance and would probably give up.
 What the music teacher would have done was
try and get you to learn songs that were a little
bit harder then what you could already play but
not so hard that you couldn’t do it.
 What your teacher was doing
was getting you into your
Zone of Proximal Development.
The Proof
Thinking Science has been taught in
England for many years. (It is called
CASE).
What they have been able to show is that
students who completed the program in
year 7 & 8 (Year 8 & 9 in Western
Australia) achieved higher grades in their
year 11 GCSE (Year 12 WACE in WA).
Mean
GCSE
7.5
Grade
Year 11
A
1999 GCSE science
St. Albans
J
6.5
Chatham Girls
J
B
George Abbott
JJ
E E
Sharnbrook
5.5
C
Downend
Downham Market
J
E
D
3.5
E
E
J E
E
Rokeby
J
E
E
St. Edmunds
J
Clapton
B
E
J
J
Sion Manning
4.5
E
E
E
South Camden
E
J
E
E
E
2.5
J
CASE Schools
E
Control Schools
B
National average
F
20
30
40
50
60
Mean Year 7 School Intake (Percentile)
70
The Transfer Effect
The researchers were also able to show
that the Thinking Science program also
improved the students grades in other
subjects as well.
The following graphs illustrate this ‘transfer
effect’.
The Transfer Effect
7.5
A
Mean GCSE
Grade
7.5
Maths 1999
St. Albans
J
A
GCSE English 1999
Mean
Grade
St. Albans
Chatham Girls
J
J
6.5
6.5
Chatham Girls
J
B
B
George Abbott
George Abbott
J
5.5
J
C
J
J
4.5
St. Edmunds Downend
J
J
Sion Manning
J
E
J
J
E
St. Edmunds
J
C
J
Clapton
J
E E B
E
E
J
E Control Schools
J CASE Schools
E
B National Average
EE
E
H
EE
E
E
Rokeby
E
E
E
D
E
J E
J
Downend
Downham Market
E
4.5
E
E
Rokeby
South Camden E
EE
J
Downham Market
Clapton
D
Sion Manning
5.5
E
Sharnbrook
3.5
Sharnbrook
ESouth Camden
J
E
3.5
E
E
E
2.5
2.5
20
30
40
50
60
70
Mean Year 7 School Intake (Percentile)
20
30
40
50
60
70
Mean Year 7 School Intake (percentile
Assessments
• Bringing the right materials
• Being prepared
• Reading and using a program