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To enhance the transition from key stage two
to key stage three Science
with the Science Passport |
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School: Deanery High School |
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Fellow: Anthea Heaton |
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Email: sheatonac@deanery.wigan.sch.uk |
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During my first fellowship year I visited
a local primary school and worked with year
6 pupils, some of who would be part of our
year 7 intakes this year. I introduced them
to the passport scheme as a way to help them
with the transition to secondary school and
taught science lessons. Pupils were encouraged
to record their science achievements in the
passports, with the purposes of motivating
them personally and providing valuable information
for the secondary teacher. It was hoped that
the information made available to secondary
teachers would give them an increased awareness
of the science knowledge and skills the children
already have as they enter secondary education.
If teachers take account of this knowledge
in the planning and delivery of lessons, the
key stage two and key stage three work will
be bridged more successfully. My second fellowship
year is mainly concerned with continuing the
use of the passport during year seven with
the following aims: |
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To assess the impact the
passport has made on the transition
to secondary school for pupils |
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To find out how teachers
make use of the passport to gain knowledge
about the previous experiences of their
pupils. |
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To continue to develop the passport
to incorporate year 7 work |
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To increase the number of schools
participating in the passport scheme |
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My first difficulty in meeting these aims
was that only 15 pupils from the primary school
I visited now attend the Deanery High. Out
of a year 7 intake of approximately 260 this
is quite a small proportion, and I have the
added difficulty that they are spread across
several different science classes with different
teaching staff. However, on a positive note,
in my own year seven class I do teach one
of those 15 pupils. I held a meeting with
these pupils and discussed how the passport
has helped them to make the transition from
primary to secondary school. All the responses
were positive and it was evident that the
project had really made a difference to the
pupils. The most useful aspect they had found
was an increased familiarity with the science
curriculum, and felt it was now easier to
see the whole picture, and where previous
and current science lessons fit into that
picture. It was the lower ability pupils I
feel that had received the most benefit from
my primary visits. |
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I realised it was going to be difficult
to find out how our secondary teachers could
use the passport when they have so few pupils
in their classes who had been involved with
the scheme. I held a science INSET at the
start of term to ensure all teaching staff
were aware of the project and its aims, emphasising
the importance of valuing the passport and
how it can be used to help them with starting
points for teaching. However, to meet the
aims of my project I felt it was necessary
to devise a way to get all the pupils in year
7 involved, so that staff would feel the passport
project is relevant to everyone and would
therefore be more successful in assisting
the transition across the key stages. |
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To this end, I have made an addition to
my original plan and decided to link the passport
scheme with a new target-setting project we
are introducing to year 7 within the science
faculty. Children have been given an achievable
target to work towards, based on their key
stage two SAT score. The passport will keep
a record of this target and after each assessment
throughout year 7 the results will be compared
to the target, providing a more meaningful
method of assessment than simply recording
percentage scores. The pupils will be issued
with a coloured sheet corresponding to their
achievement, which will be kept in the passport.
This will be an effective way to monitor the
progress of the pupils and will be used as
a way to feedback information to parents after
each assessment. I have therefore re-named
the passport ‘Passport To Progress’
as it is a means of monitoring progression
for both pupil and teacher, and relates specifically
to building on achievements already made at
primary school. I have used my own year seven
class to trial this, and intend in the coming
term to issue passports to the whole of the
year group. |
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My first step over the next few weeks is
to issue each year 7 child with the ‘Passport
to Progress’ and explain how it
can help them to monitor their own progress
and be aware of their potential. I have a
meeting arranged with the Key Stage Three
Manager and Head of Faculty to discuss the
practicalities of implementing the passport
across the whole year group. I will also intend
to meet with the year 7 teachers to explain
how the passport project is being combined
with the target-setting scheme and, as I am
relying on their co-operation for the success
of this project, ask them for regular feedback
to as to whether they feel the scheme is beneficial. |
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To evaluate whether the project has impacted
on pupil progress, I will concentrate my studies
on the 15 pupils who have been involved with
the project for two years, collecting information
regarding their ability to meet their targets,
and their personal feelings about their progress
and the impact, if any, the passport has made.
The opinions of primary teachers and secondary
teachers who have been using the passport
are also vital, and I will look at ways of
including their observations in the evaluation
of the scheme. |
