Supporting young people as they begin to engage with and understand a subject is one of the most rewarding parts of being a teacher. The way students form their own identity as learners, it is argued, can have a profound impact on attainment and future prospects.
But when it comes to science, with a curriculum full of abstract topics and historically lacking in diverse representation, how can teachers ensure that all students form a real connection to the subject?
In this edition of the Tes podcast, senior editor Simon Lock meets two educators who are boosting engagement in science through developing a sense of learner identity.
Genevieve Bent is an assistant principal and former head of science who has a particular interest in diversity and equity within science, technology, engineering and maths (Stem) subjects. She is the founder of Young Gifted and Stem, an initiative designed to improve the experiences and engagement of black, Asian and minority-ethnic young people with Stem subjects.
“I would define [learner identity] as the process of becoming and being a learner, and picking up the views and opinions about how an individual learns. [It is] also how an individual feels about themselves as a learner, and how that contributes to the learning process.”
Building resilient learners
This process of becoming and identifying as a learner, according to Bent, is key to building resilience and perseverance. But also, it allows students to see themselves within the context of a curriculum, therefore boosting engagement. Surely this would be a huge advantage in any subject. So, would science, in particular, benefit from such an approach?
According to the Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa), “identity outcomes (and the extent to which young people feel meaningfully connected to science, as critical consumers and producers of science in their daily lives) are crucial for supporting agency and active citizenship in a rapidly changing world”.
These outcomes include “young people achieving a meaningful connection with science, feeling that science is ‘for me’, finding science to be useful and relevant to their everyday life, experiencing science as valuing and inclusive of diverse people and experiences”.
The issue of young people feeling like science isn’t “for them” is, according to Bent, having an impact on the science and technology industry as a whole.
“There’s been a shortage within the Stem workforce for quite some years now,” she explains. “And that shortage just continues to grow, year upon year, and the uptake of Stem subjects, particularly within key groups, such as women or ethnic minorities, we see the gap of that continuing to increase.
“We know that there’s been a lack of representation over time in science and Stem fields; they tend to consist of white men and the curriculum reflects that. But actually, there’s so much more that we can do to try and showcase to students that there are different groups, there are different contributions that have been made over time, and there are people to look up to that have similar backgrounds and stories to themselves.
A new-look science curriculum
Martin Saunders is the key stage 3 lead for the science department at Chichester High School. Over the past year, Saunders has been working with Oxford University Press, trialling a new science curriculum with his Year 7 and 8 classes. The curriculum places a focus on learner identity and it is something that is already having an impact in his classroom.
“Once we started feeding into the learner identity, they started seeing themselves as ‘I’m here to learn, I’m not here to be told’”, explains Saunders. “Suddenly, me keeping them engaged wasn’t an issue anymore. If anything it was trying to rein them in if they go off on a tangent.”
Allowing students more agency in their learning is key to boosting engagement, according to Saunders. Asking more able students to teach others in small groups is one way he’s seen real success, another is sparking class debates.
“If I talk about climate change, everyone’s got an opinion. I might start a lesson and say, ‘we should ban all planes’. And, suddenly, they have to take ownership of their own learning, because they’re going to use it to argue against someone. It really was like almost a silver bullet. Suddenly, they loved it.”
Listen to these conversations in full via the Tes podcast:
This podcast is sponsored by Oxford Smart Activate, a newly-launched curriculum service for key stage 3 science, published by Oxford University Press.
Oxford Smart Activate gives you an evidence-based curriculum and connects it with resources, assessment, next steps and professional development - powered by Kerboodle - enabling you to provide a personalised and adaptive pathway for each of your students.
Find out more about Oxford Smart Activate
