ASE 2025 Annual Conference

Research provides a means for exploring teaching and learning in classrooms and other contexts, with some studies suggesting new ways of working. Every year many science education Masters, PhD and EdD students develop an expertise in a specific area of science education which can provide useful insights into how science works in the classroom. Come along to this session to hear a range of findings arising from a number of these studies and join in discussions for those that interest you.

Details of these mini-presentations will be made available by December, and will be populated below as we hear from those presenting.

Darren Harman: Secondary science education traditionally adheres to a "teach-test-teach" model, characterised by discrete, discipline-specific units that often lack interdisciplinary connections or adequately prepare students to understand global challenges, such as existential threats. This exploratory case study, informed by Critical Realism, seeks to design and evaluate a novel interdisciplinary framework for Key Stage 3 science. The Wicked Problem-Based Learning (WPBL) framework is rooted in real-world contexts and leverages "wicked questions" to contextualise learning. By integrating the required National Curriculum content with meaningful project, inquiry and aims-based learning, the WPBL framework aims to foster student agency and empower learners, utilising powerful knowledge to help them understand and confront humanity's most pressing challenges.

Christopher Reid:  Learning Science: What's Curiosity Got To Do With It?
Curiosity – the intrinsic motivation to learn – has been the subject of various policy initiatives. While curiosity has been shown to improve factual recall and academic attainment, concerns have been raised that children’s curiosity, as well as its expression within the classroom, undergoes a rapid decline as children age. Ultimately, very little is known about what makes school students curious about science. To rectify this deficit, my research uses the experience sampling method to investigate how curious students feel at different points during their secondary science lessons, and interviews to explore the reasons behind these feelings.

Oria Shuman: A body-based approach to secondary science learning
A growing body of evidence has identified the mind and the body as a symbiotic entity. This in turn has led to a considerable number of studies exploring the use of body-based activities in learning, notably science. Despite this, science is still taught using the traditional disembodied approach. My MA in STEM Education thesis addresses the gap between evidence-based research and practice by critically examining both science teachers' and students' perceptions toward using body-based activities at a secondary school in North London. In this session, I will discuss the findings of my case study and provide recommendations for future research.