• Question: Do you think the way science is taught in schools should be improved? If so, how should it be improved on?

    Asked by anon-249968 on 16 Mar 2020.
    • Photo: Ioana Grigoras

      Ioana Grigoras answered on 16 Mar 2020:

      That is a very good question! I’m afraid I didn’t go to school in the UK, so I’m not very sure how things are done here. When I was in school in Romania, I would have liked there to be more experiments and hands-on lessons, where you could discover how things worked rather than be told how things work. Another thing that would also help would be to explain how different chemical reactions and laws of physics are used in everyday life, so that they are not abstract concepts, but things that you actually use on a day-to-day basis. Additionally, I think teachers could make more use of edu-tainment (education & entertainment) as a resource and teach students that science is not just lessons and texts, but cool astronomy videos, maths stand-up comedy and physics puns.

    • Photo: Nuru Noor

      Nuru Noor answered on 17 Mar 2020:

      Really good question 👍 I would like to see more videos, electronic learning and practical skills – as I am a very visual learner! But I think science is taught well – we just need more people to choose this as a career after school because there is still so much to learn and find out about!

    • Photo: Sophie Arthur

      Sophie Arthur answered on 17 Mar 2020:

      Great question. I think science education in schools can benefit from more practicals rather than just reading from textbooks. I think having scientists come into your science classrooms either in person or via Skype or something will not only benefit your education, but also provide support for science teachers too – most of which do a fantastic job anyway.
      I think using the expertise and skills of scientists and science communicators to help design lesson plans and activities, but also as extra resources where students can learn more and ask more questions of these scientists using their digital devices at school in lessons or at home via social media, virtual events like stand up comedy gigs or YouTube videos and the live videos for example.

      But I think we also need to change the way science is taught so it isn’t seen as just remembering a bunch of facts. Science is a way of thinking and being curious to ask the right questions and come up with ways to seek those answers.

      As you can tell I am quite passionate about science education 😛

    • Photo: Paige Chandler

      Paige Chandler answered on 17 Mar 2020:

      I think almost everything can be improved upon. Education isn’t funded nearly as well as it should be. I think the best way to learn science is through doing experiments yourself, so if schools could get more money for materials I think that would help!

    • Photo: Kate Mitchell

      Kate Mitchell answered on 17 Mar 2020:

      I don’t know how it is taught in your school now, but when I was at school, the best science teaching I had was when we were encouraged to be curious and ask questions, even if the teacher didn’t know the answer and even if the question wasn’t going to be on the exam. The worst was when we were given lists of facts to remember – that’s nothing like real science, and also I found it really boring! I also found visual illustrations and experiments really helpful.

    • Photo: M S

      M S answered on 17 Mar 2020:

      I think we can make it more interactive! Using virtual reality in schools would be great! Maybe for a session to see things in a different way!

      Also using more technology and more practical lessons!

      I learnt the most when I actually did things rather than staring at a powerpoint slide

    • Photo: Robyn Kiy

      Robyn Kiy answered on 18 Mar 2020:

      I think the way science is taught in schools prepares students well for exams, but not so well for a career in science. It would definitely be great if schools had more funding for science lessons, to allow more practical lessons!

      I also think having interactive sessions with people who have a range of scientific careers would be really helpful. This could help students see how interesting science is ‘in the real world’, and would show how many potential careers pursuing science could lead to.

    • Photo: Sarah Clarke

      Sarah Clarke answered on 18 Mar 2020:

      I think there are always ways to make things better. I think finding ways to make science more relevant to everyday life is really helpful. For example photosynthesis (biology) and deforestation (geography) are so relevant to climate change, and lots of example of physics is relevant to renewal energy.

    • Photo: Andrea Kusec

      Andrea Kusec answered on 19 Mar 2020:

      Great question! I think education should be hands on as much as possible, but also to individual needs. It’s really hard to create an education program that will work for everyone, so I think regular reviews of students’ learning and feedback from students on what they benefit from the most would really help improve education.

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