This cross-curricular activity introduces the concept of vaccination, specifically for COVID-19, using stimulus materials enabling student discussion opportunities. The way in which vaccines work, what they contain and the most common side effects are explained using simple scientific terminology. Some anti-vaccine...

This document presents the executive summary and findings of a report which was carried out by a team from the Institute of Education, University of London, for the Wellcome Trust and published in 2001. It investigates how, and in which curriculum subjects, controversies arising from bioscience are tackled in...

This video is aimed at teachers and shows how to get the best out of a Van de Graaff generator. In the video, Michael de Podesta explains how the generator works and gives some tips on getting consistently good results when using the apparatus. The video concludes with a simple but effective demonstration of charge...

This Double Crossed activity, from the Centre for Science Education and supported by the Astra Zeneca Teaching Trust, is set during World War Two. There is a mystery to solve, following an air raid, and students will need to use both science and history skills to get to the bottom of it. They are expected to...

A podcast from the Planet Earth Online collection and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). The Food Standards Agency advises everyone to eat at least two portions of fish a week, one of which should be oily, because it is good for us.

Unfortunately our appetite for fish and other seafood has...

Work done in this Nuffield 13 - 16 module followed from the B unit called ‘Organisms’. This S unit provided enough material for eight double periods during a single-certificate science course. The teachers’ guide included 14 worksheets to supplement the students’...

Purpose: Providing students with verbal feedback on their work avoids problems some students encounter when interpreting written comments. Using digital technology to record and then provide access to verbal feedback saves the teacher valuable lesson time and can be replayed by the student at will.

Teaching...

Work done in this Nuffield 13 - 16 module followed from the B units called ‘Energy’ and ‘Seeing and light’. This D unit provided enough material for eight double periods during a Further Science course and built on the content of the S units for Single Science. The...

Purpose: Recording a video clip of motion or colour change is an effective means of generating data, but video can also be created to communicate the methods and findings of a practical science activity.

Teaching approach: Still images, and video clips can be imported into a video editing app, where they can...

Purpose: As an alternative to traditional methods of investigating motion in the classroom, such as ticker tape timers or light gates, it is simpler and cheaper to analyse video clips of the movement of objects. Cameras in mobile phones and tablets can record a brief video which when imported into a video analysis...

In this video from the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), engineers explain the technology behind Wii controllers. Micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS) is the technology behind games console controllers and products like air bags. New applications for...

Purpose: Field trips can be difficult to organise in schools and so may be limited in scope and duration. Using virtual reality technology, it is possible to supplement a field trip with observations from other sites, to broaden the context studied.

Teaching approach: Once students have analysed data from...