In September 2013, I wrote for The Conversation about the way reform of A-level exams was being conducted and the worrying implications for subject content and assessment. These concerns were echoed by…
We prefer experimenting on our food, rather than cooking it.
Neil Munns/PA Archive
The number of girls taking A-level physics has remained stagnant for the past 20 years or more, and the UK has the lowest proportion of female engineers in the EU. Progress on gender equality in science…
Origin of life, lesson one. Big bang, or God’s creation?
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Should discussion of religious beliefs be banned from the science classroom? Specifically, should evolution be taught without reference to religious beliefs? There are concerns that some faith-based academies…
GIFs can help show the effects of climate change.
Patrick Kelley
The use of “GIFs” has exploded in recent years. They are used for news, views and entertainment but are most commonly seen as a light-hearted medium. Now scientists are beginning to see how GIFs can be…
How many R&D teams does it take to fix a lightbulb?
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There is a tired old mantra that periodically echoes along the corridors of Whitehall. It goes something like: “The UK is great at science but poor at turning it into innovation”. Yet since the Conservative…
Under pressure over Ofsted.
Joe Giddens/PA Archive/Press Association Images
As the old saying goes, there is only one thing more useful in politics than having the right friends. That’s having the right enemies. The education secretary, Michael Gove, has been highly skilled in…
Kids need to know that curiosity didn’t kill the cat.
Julien Behal/PA
Science gives young people the tools to understand the world around us and the ability to engage with contemporary and future issues, such as medical advances and climate change. That is why science should…
Students learning the skills to ‘do’ science could be under threat.
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Science is as much about knowing, as it is about having the skills to learn. But with time in the lab shrinking as universities try to tighten their budgets, students may be getting the opportunity to…
Young people are harbouring misconceptions about climate change. But what can be done about it?
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The next generation will be the ones to feel the increasing effects of climate change. But how much do they really know about it? After all, it’s one thing to say: yes, I believe in climate change. But…
The right people are not in the room in reform talks.
WahTee
The government is undertaking an ambitious programme to reform qualifications in schools, with significant changes being made to GCSEs and A-levels over the next few years. This, in theory, is a positive…
Studies suggest around 30% of people are “generally unengaged” with science.
Suarez Leandro
Like many Australians, you may have recoiled in horror or laughed heartily when the results of the Australian Academy of Science’s science literacy survey surfaced last month. You may have had a similar…
There’s a public appetite for more science … so how should it be sated?
London Permaculture
Why is science not delivered as part of our routine news bulletins in the same way as, say, business and sport? Enter a group from the University of Queensland, who yesterday posted an open letter to radio…
Understanding how the world works as a system is vital.
Rigmarole
When the email notice for The Weekend Conversation landed on Saturday, I was intrigued and slightly startled by the opening teaser from the site’s Science + Technology editor, Paul Dalgarno. He got one…
The survey results are in … but what do they tell us?
twm1430
Perhaps the only positive note that can be sounded on the Australian science literacy survey results, released on Wednesday by the Australian Academy of Science (AAS), is they are somewhat better than…
“If we don’t evaluate our impact we risk becoming our own worst enemies.”
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Public concerns about issues such as wind farms and vaccines have led to a discussion about why some people have strong fears or adverse reactions, and why their perception of risk doesn’t align with those…
Research breakthroughs such as new cancer drugs can take decades of research, Professor Cory said, and long term funding plans are needed.
AAP Image/David Crosling
Australia must boost its research and development investment to at least the level of other OECD and Asian competitors, the chief of the Australian Academy of Science said today, warning that inaction…
Children are getting their (mis)information about some scientific concepts from mass media sources.
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“DNA is your blood in you, we can use DNA as evidence if someone’s been stabbed. We can run tests in suspects.” (Girl, 12, central Queensland) “DNA has to do with blood types and fingerprints, it helps…
Science, like the benefits stemming from it, is international and should be viewed that way.
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The Australian government’s ironic and perverse decision to better fund schools at the expense of already-promised university funding would make for a good episode of the 1980s sitcom Yes, Prime Minister…
Getting the mix right: we need to take a closer look at the future of science education.
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Every now and then we manufacture a crisis in Australian school science. People write reports. These recommend change, including curriculum change, and point out the ways in which current patterns of school…
If you want to improve science education, standardised science literacy tests is not the way to go.
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The federal Labor government’s proposal to expand the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) franchise and include science literacy is not a surprising move. Once national testing…