Learning Pathways

You may have noticed in the odd blog post that I do think a little about learning pathways. How is the science linked through the years? What do middle and senior classes do to build on science experiences in the junior rooms? How much science or how should the science look for the Juniors?
One big focus can be the science capabilities and this gives a lot of freedom for teachers. It doesn't really matter what the context is as the children are developing how they observe, explain, critique and communicate. Because of this,the contexts are simply that! Contexts for students to develop science thinking so it doesn't matter if they only do floating and sinking at Y2 or the solar system at Y7.
My worry about this approach is that it's the depth of the science context that will build a greater development of the capabilities and the above approach may end up having children stuck at Gathering and Interpreting Data as each new concept taught probably needs a Level 1/2 approach before extending to Levels 3/4. In fact sometimes the children may never get past that early level.
Imagine if there were particular topics the school thought were vital (and I don't think one of those would be Floating and Sinking), for example, sustainability or an estuary study. It would be advantageous if these were local contexts that connect to the children's lives. The Rocky Shore may be a great one off topic for children who might visit there once in a while but a River study happening often would be good for a school where a river is a part of the community.
By carefully mapping out what the study might look like at different years, how each level will build on capabilities and content knowledge and topics, children won't get the sense of déjà vu! Junior classes may simply explore the river, looking at flora and fauna and learning the names of some of the creatures that live in, on, and around the river whilst middle levels may go into a bit more depth looking at how life around the river might depend on each other, how the ecosystem works. The seniors might monitor different aspects of the river, connect with scientists and explore various issues such as pollution. Of course, this is just an idea but the thought of ensuring different levels have different stuff to teach as well as different foci are very important
It's funny when teachers suggest they can't do a particular topic because it has already been done at a younger level or senior teachers couldn't possibly do butterflies as the juniors already have. When I get told this I think about whether there are scientists exploring the topic such as a lepidopterist (a butterfly scientist!) -are they still working at Level 1 or 2? What on earth could they be doing to still be interested in butterflies when most children (and some teachers) state they've 'done' butterflies by Y2! I think there's a real richness in revisiting some of those previous topics as well as having some topics that children will revisit. This way they can jump straight into the learning!
A few times with my PLD in schools, we've got teachers to share what they're doing with their respective classes. This is so valuable just in terms of connecting with one another and exposing each other to schoolwork that they otherwise may never have seen. I also hear teachers saying Oh, I wonder if my class think that! What an interesting opportunity to see if the children have developed further!
Finally, what about from your school to the next level up? It might be the local intermediate or college. What do those teachers teach in terms of topics? How do they view the capabilities? Are there particular skills that the children could be introduced to earlier? Particular vocab? Are there topics that it could be beneficial for the children to have at least been exposed to?
There's a lot to think about here but I think it's an essential topic to discuss with the staff. As we move towards the end of the year and start thinking about topics for next year, are there some 'essentials' that the school thinks is important? Is there a chance to revisit a topic?

Thanks for reading
Paul