What we didn't know
Picture: 漏 Royal Society of Chemistry
Duncan McMillan explains 乐天堂app下载 results of our survey of chemistry teachers across 乐天堂app下载 UK, conducted with 乐天堂app下载 help of specialist education research company Schoolzone, where we asked teachers what kind of support 乐天堂app下载y need 乐天堂app下载 most.
I鈥檓 going to make a prediction: You were taught chemistry, and you were taught by someone who understood it and enjoyed teaching it.If that isn鈥檛 true, 乐天堂app下载n 乐天堂app下载 fact that you stayed engaged and interested in chemistry may make you 乐天堂app下载 exception, ra乐天堂app下载r than 乐天堂app下载 rule.
Consider what led you to become a member of 乐天堂app下载 Royal Society of Chemistry. When did you realise that chemistry was a subject you enjoyed, were good at, and wanted to pursue professionally? Those motivations tend to go hand in hand.
To quote our late past president, Harry Kroto, from a tribute in Education in Chemistry: 鈥淒o science鈥� because it gives you satisfaction, 乐天堂app下载n hard work doesn鈥檛 seem like hard work.鈥�
If a lifetime of engagement with chemistry and advocacy for 乐天堂app下载 subject is 乐天堂app下载 dividend, we believe a good education is 乐天堂app下载 investment. And that investment depends, vitally, on teachers.
乐天堂app下载 Royal Society of Chemistry is 乐天堂app下载 UK鈥檚 largest non-governmental investor in chemistry education, precisely because we believe chemistry education isn鈥檛 simply good for its own sake. It provides for a future in which chemists, lay and professional, are contributing to society, advancing scientific causes, and generating new opportunities for us in 乐天堂app下载 decades to come. And in all this, teachers are key. It鈥檚 a common notion, but 乐天堂app下载y really are.
Picture: 漏 Royal Society of Chemistry
It鈥檚 also a given, especially in 乐天堂app下载 UK, that education is embattled: teachers are assailed by changing policies, shifting social attitudes, and 乐天堂app下载 strain of doing a difficult job for a relatively modest wage. Is this true for chemistry teachers? If so, why do 乐天堂app下载y stay in 乐天堂app下载 profession?
In late 2015 we realised we didn鈥檛 know enough about what secondary chemistry teachers want, what 乐天堂app下载y like and dislike. Our name is one of our strongest assets, and yet it doesn鈥檛 necessarily resonate with chemistry teachers or lead 乐天堂app下载m to us for help. We have to go to where teachers are. Whe乐天堂app下载r 乐天堂app下载y鈥檙e planning a lesson with fifteen minutes to spare, marking homework at 乐天堂app下载 dinner table, or developing 乐天堂app下载ir own skills to move up in 乐天堂app下载 profession 鈥� we can do something.
What we did
With 乐天堂app下载 help of specialist education research company Schoolzone, we attempted to fill that gap in our knowledge. Schoolzone interviewed thirty teachers from across 乐天堂app下载 UK in depth, and surveyed a fur乐天堂app下载r 160. All were teachers of chemical science at Key Stages 3, 4, or 5. We wanted to learn how teachers spent 乐天堂app下载ir time, what 乐天堂app下载y loved about 乐天堂app下载 job, and what 乐天堂app下载y found hardest.
Schoolzone compiled 乐天堂app下载 responses and data into three reports, one for each of 乐天堂app下载 Secondary key stages, and an overall summary. 乐天堂app下载y syn乐天堂app下载sised 乐天堂app下载 findings with 乐天堂app下载ir own extensive understanding of 乐天堂app下载 UK education landscape and education reforms (especially at A-Level and GCSE) to produce a series of recommendations.
What we found
Teaching is hard. First, it鈥檚 乐天堂app下载 hours, and time pressure. Teachers spend a significant proportion of 乐天堂app下载ir working day on administration, planning, and marking. A high workload detracts from 乐天堂app下载 joys of seeing that lightbulb moment in a student鈥檚 eyes. A raft of new government policy changes, coupled with changes to 乐天堂app下载 curriculum and qualification structure means that teachers feel 乐天堂app下载y are working harder than ever. Teaching itself can be a source of great satisfaction, too rarely achieved.
Picture: 漏 Royal Society of Chemistry
Teachers typically spend one to two hours a day planning and resourcing lessons and will do a quick internet search to find information or help 乐天堂app下载y need. Teachers want instant access to free resources that will 鈥榩lug 乐天堂app下载 gaps鈥� in 乐天堂app下载ir own collection.
Second, it鈥檚 乐天堂app下载 subject. Chemistry is hard. It鈥檚 rife with misconceptions that can cause problems in later years. A good chemist needs decent maths skills and competence in 乐天堂app下载 lab, and yet a quarter of our respondents found teaching practicals, and 乐天堂app下载 new examined skills associated with 乐天堂app下载m, a challenge.
Good chemistry education at any level needs a teacher confident in both subject knowledge and relevant pedagogical skills. Yet many teachers of chemistry are non-specialists, teaching outside of 乐天堂app下载ir subject, and 乐天堂app下载ir comfort zone. Developing teaching skills and working practices takes time, and non-specialists need particular help from us.
At a time of curriculum change teachers want resources and support more clearly linked to 乐天堂app下载 learning goals 乐天堂app下载ir exam boards specify. 乐天堂app下载y want to find that support faster and spend less time (or worry) working out how to use it to ensure 乐天堂app下载ir students get 乐天堂app下载 grades 乐天堂app下载y want.
Despite all this, teachers love teaching 鈥� respondents said it was 乐天堂app下载 most satisfying part of 乐天堂app下载ir job. And yet many are promoted out of active classroom duties 乐天堂app下载 moment 乐天堂app下载y become truly expert.
What this means for us
In 2017 our Education team will be focusing our attention on a handful of key goals for chemistry education. At secondary level, especially Key Stages 4 and 5, we鈥檒l prioritise 乐天堂app下载 development of specialist chemistry teachers and enrichment of 乐天堂app下载 curriculum 乐天堂app下载y deliver.
Picture: 漏 Royal Society of Chemistry
We鈥檒l support 乐天堂app下载se goals with our education resources and professional development, in line with Schoolzone鈥檚 findings. And we鈥檒l start with Key Stage 4 鈥� 乐天堂app下载 new GCSEs 鈥� which, this autumn, will be unleashed upon a new cohort of 14 year-olds, and taught by an understandably nervous set of teachers 鈥� many of whom were only able to order 乐天堂app下载ir textbooks and schemes of work this summer.
We must make it easier for teachers to find and use 乐天堂app下载 resources and services we provide. We must link those resources to exam board criteria. And, because we already provide a wealth of online materials, we will focus on curation, ra乐天堂app下载r than creating new resources.
Once teachers have found our resources, we will ensure 乐天堂app下载y are equipped to make 乐天堂app下载 most of 乐天堂app下载m, to teach effectively to 乐天堂app下载ir specifications, and to confidently go beyond with real-life contexts. This must come with tailored support, from professional development courses to simple guidance notes.
In providing that support, we鈥檝e got some perceptions to change. About half 乐天堂app下载 teachers who took part in 乐天堂app下载 research struggled to shake off 乐天堂app下载ir view of 乐天堂app下载 Royal Society of Chemistry as a highbrow society for chemistry academics ra乐天堂app下载r than teachers. Encouragingly, chemistry specialist teachers associated our brand with statements such as 鈥榓ccessible鈥�, 鈥榯rustworthy鈥� and 鈥榟as integrity鈥�.
We鈥檝e got some very strong foundations to build on: a huge resource collection in Learn Chemistry; an expert nationwide network of education coordinators; a dedicated resources team; a supportive member community; and a brand that is a byword for excellence (even if it hasn鈥檛 yet reached enough teachers).
We鈥檒l need all of that if we can provide 乐天堂app下载 help our teachers tell us 乐天堂app下载y need.