This School Science Review article attempts to summarise the good, bad and (occasionally) ugly aspects of teaching astronomy in UK schools. It covers the most common problems reported by teachers when asked about covering the astronomy/space topics in school. Particular focus is given to the GCSE Astronomy...

The Institute of Physics's Medical Physics Group has produced a set of teaching materials which can be used to teach medical physics at GCSE/Standard level in schools. Much of the material is appropriate to use for A-level medical physics options. The Institute's Teaching Medical Physics resources, that include...

This document gives an overview of how to help pupils for whom English is an additional language access science language and vocabulary. It highlights the challenges these pupils face and how to support them.

A set of tried and tested curriculum resources which aim to improve students' enquiry skills and increase engagement.  

This research, commissioned by the Wellcome trust, was undertaken by an interdisciplinary team led by Ralph Levinson and Dr Sheila Turner at the Institute of Education, University of London between May 1st and December 1st 1999.

The project reports on five main areas:

• The perceived importance...

Produced by the Department for Children Schools and Families and the Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency, this 2010 document lays out the size, nature and procedures around the sample of Key Stage Two science tests that was implemented after testing of all students was discontinued in 2009.

Produced in 1992, this Department for Education and Science and HM Inspectorate document evaluates the response of schools to the National Curriculum requirements for technology since its introduction in 1990. The report is based on the inspection of 884 schools: 438 secondary, 25 middle, 398 primary and 23 special...

Produced in 1993, this National Curriculum Council document was written to respond to the Secretary of State for Education’s proposals to address issues with the National Curriculum for technology at the time.

The key responses to the proposals include:
*The scope of ‘technology’– clarifying the...

Following the establishment of the 1989/90 National Curriculum for Design and Technology, the Secretary of State for Education and Science and Secretary of State for Wales made proposals regarding the revision of the National Curriculum for Design and Technology.

The key proposals were:
*the number of...

Produced in 1982, this Department for Education and Science and HM Inspectorate booklet describes some aspects of technological studies in 90 schools in England and Wales. It gives information about the structure, content and organisation of courses in technology, and about some other ways in which schools...

Written the year after the introduction of the National Curriculum, this report from the Department of Education and Science specifies the Attainment Targets expected of students at all stages of compulsory education in technology. Programmes of Study are described, along with examples of work that students could...

This report, published in 1992 by the Engineering Council, gives an analysis of the development of technology in schools, identifying the problems associated with it at the time.

The report considers how technology fits into the National Curriculum, looks at problems concerning perceived parity with other...

This CS4FN activity from the team at Queen Mary University of London highlights some issues encountered during the design of human-computer interfaces (HCI). It acts as an introduction to HCI, introducing the need to translate problems and to understand how people behave.

The activities include a robot...

This resource contains eight instant maths ideas, designed to provide students with the opportunity to investigate which polyominoes tessellate, which triangles tessellate, which quadrilaterals tessellate, design their own shape that tessellates and find tessellating patterns in art and nature. Student resource...

The Art of the Science Teacher, from the Nuffield Fundation, was published by the Science Teacher Education Project to provide background reading suitable for both student-teachers and serving teachers. Each chapter was written by experienced classroom teachers who had also been involved in teacher education. The...