This book provides a range of insights into pupils’ learning relevant to the use of information and communications technology (ICT) in primary science. The contributors, who are all experts in their field, draw on practical and theoretical perspectives and:
- Provide specific examples of software and hardware use in the classroom
- Consider innovative and creative uses of technology for pupils engaged in science activity in the primary and early years
- Indicate future possibilities for the use of computer-based technologies
Key themes running through the book include: setting the use of ICT in primary science within theoretical perspectives on learning and on pedagogy; the importance of using ICT in developing talking and listening opportunities in the science classroom; and the potential of learning through ICT enhanced science investigations. Contemporary issues such as inclusion, creativity and collaborative learning are also examined, making
Teaching and Learning Primary Science with ICT essential reading for students in science education, and for teachers who want to use new technology to improve learning in their science classrooms.
Paul Warwick is a lecturer at the Faculty of Education University of Cambridge (UK) and is engaged in a range of research and teaching activities that link directly with his interests in primary science education and to the professional development of trainee and beginning teachers. Previously he was a primary school deputy head teacher and an adviser for science for a local education authority. He is a member of the editorial board responsible for developing web-based materials associated with `Reflective Teaching’ (Pollard 2005). His recent publications include work on procedural understanding, data interpretation and the scaffolding of speech and writing in primary classrooms. His interest in the learning affordances of new technologies for primary science can be traced to his work in the 1990s on data logging in the primary classroom and has been stimulated by recent work on a Gatsby-funded research project with a primary school cluster in Cambridgeshire.
Elaine Wilson has taught secondary science in a range of schools. She is now course leader for secondary science at the Faculty of Education University of Cambridge and is involved in initial teacher education and early careers professional development. She has published work on activity theory and on classroom based action research projects. Her current research involves working with new teachers in their early years of teaching. Elaine is a Higher Education Academy National Teaching Fellow and is using her prize money to develop a science education website.
Mark Winterbottom taught science in upper schools in England for five years. During that time he was head of biology, ITT mentor, newly-qualified teacher mentor and lead-teacher responsible for developing interactive learning activities across the school using ICT. Mark has written a variety of textbooks and a handbook for newly qualified teachers of biology. He joined the Faculty of Education at the University of Cambridge (UK) in 2002 and teaches on the Science/Biology secondary PGCE course and on the BA in educational studies. His research interests are in ICT and the psychology of education.
