The ASE is delighted to be hosting its Annual Conference, generously sponsored by AQA, at the University of Nottingham from 9th to 11th January 2025. International sessions are incorporated throughout the event’s 3 days and we will have a great exhibition with lots of exclusive Conference offers. Post-16 focus-day and for those involved in leading and delivering professional development, the Teacher Developers’ Group programme is Thursday. Friday is the dedicated Technicians day, kindly sponsored by Philip Harris, and Early Career Teacher day. Sessions for both Primary and 11-19 are threaded throughout all 3 days with a focus on Research on Saturday.
Book your tickets now at https://ase2025AnnConf.eventbrite.co.uk - and remember, if you are an ASE member you will benefit from hugely discounted prices! Check out our membership here - it’s free for Early Career Teachers and only £25 for Technicians!
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Changing seasons, changing states, growing and decaying all provide rich learning opportunities for pupils in the EYFS. This session looks at engaging activities for observing over time enquiries spanning minutes, hours, days and weeks.
I'm a primary teacher, PSQM Hub Leader and independent consultant based in West Yorkshire. I'm also a PSTT College Fellow and Chartered Science Teacher.I have particular interests in effective links between science and literacy, including teaching science with stories and using drama... Read More →
Friday January 10, 2025 08:45 - 09:35 GMT
Physics A01
DNA is a fundamental principle in biology and it is never too early to get students talking about it!
Yourgenome.org is a one-stop shop for information about DNA, genes and genomes. Recently updated it offers a great range of teaching resources suitable for primary science.
This session aims to introduce and demonstrate a selection of resources from yourgenome.org that can be easily applied to the teaching of topics around variation, evolution and living things, as well as some great Science Week Activities!
The presenters will walk participants through a selection of resources, highlighting curriculum links and how they can be applied in the classroom. From this session participants will be able to: - Locate a range of resources on the Yourgenome.org website - Understand how to integrate teaching resources into teaching plans - Deliver different DNA-related content in their teaching
From biodiversity loss to the impacts of climate change, classification is a foundational skill for understanding many ecological problems. Based on work from the Natural History Museum's Urban Nature Project, participants will classify insects in real samples and explore how classification helps people understand ecological problems and find better solutions. This practical session also gives participants a taster of some of the lab work which often follows summer biology field work, presenting a range of resources and ideas for use in the classroom.
This session uses insects collected in light traps, which many nature reserves and biologists use to monitor moth populations. These traps also collect a wide range of small flying insects which are often simply released or discarded. One of the main barriers to scientists being able to tap into this potential source of information is lack of time to sort through samples. While identification of individual species can be very difficult, classification of specimens to the much broader order level is much more accessible (piloted with students as young as year 4). Classification to this level is still a valuable contribution, allowing samples to get to the right specialist much more quickly.
This session also presents a vision for how schools might partner with local nature reserves and biologists. Schools would be able to provide engaging, real-world, science practicals for their students, while also contributing to scientists’ understanding of the biodiversity and ecology of their area.
