ASE 2025 Annual Conference: Full Schedule

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!

09:45 GMT

Keynote selected by Teacher Developers' Group: Welcoming diverse pre-service science trainees: transformational practices

Thursday January 9, 2025 09:45 - 10:35 GMT

Pope LT C17

In response to a crisis in recruitment of physics teachers, the DfE expanded those eligible for a bursary enrol on teacher education courses to include international candidates applying for physics teacher education courses. By 2024 the expansion of the physics bursary resulted in a exponential increase in the number of international candidates applying to science PGCE programmes. This significant increase masks the decline in home students applying for courses that lead to qualified teacher status as a science teacher
.
These changes highlight a major shift in the diversity of our preservice teachers, mirrored across all institutions involved in this project.

This shift compels us to reflect on and address the impact of our colonial heritage on our teaching practices. Yet, recent policy developments such as the Core Content Framework and the Early Career Framework require us, as teacher educators, to prioritize research-informed methods, which risk perpetuating a white westernised curriculum.

To gain new insights that ensure our practices as teacher educators are inclusive and welcoming of diverse pedagogies, we summarize the findings of two research projects:
In the first half of our presentation, we discuss a research project led by Dan Cottle which investigated the experiences of international preservice teachers on PGCE courses across England. We include ECTs on this proposal to centre their voices and gain greater insight into their experiences on their teacher education courses and ECT positions. We as teacher educators proactively use this research to construct ongoing conversations which informs our ongoing practice and support.
Consequently, in the second half of our presentation, we will explore how these discussions prompted us as a group of teacher educators to construct a collaborative self-study to critically examine our practice as a group of science teacher educators. In creating this project, we aim to discover how adopting self-study research techniques could improve our practice as white teacher educators in British universities. As an outcome of our self-study research we construct a guidance document for fellow teacher educators supporting a diverse cohort of preservice teachers.

By attending this presentation, delegates will:
•Gain a deeper understanding of the experiences of international students during their PGCE and ECT courses.
•Examine how to effectively support international students succeed in UK as a science teacher.
•Discuss inclusive strategies when working with a diverse cohort of students.
•Reflect upon the value self-study research, as a technique that can revolutionise any teaching practice.
Due to current government initiatives aimed at addressing the science teacher recruitment crisis, it is imperative that the entire teaching community critically reflect on how they welcome and support an increasingly international audience of preservice teachers.

Speakers

Caroline Neuberg

Leeds Trinity University, Senior Lecturer in Secondary Education Twitter, Leeds Trinity University

Robert Campbell

Course Lead PGCE Secondary Science, St Mary's University Twickenham

I am a lecturer in secondary and primary science, having recently spent 10 years teaching in secondary.As a chemistry teacher I am particularly interested in the understanding of symbolism in science education. I completed my masters in how students justify organic chemistry mechanisms... Read More →

Dan Cottle

Associate Professor Physics Education, University of Birmingham

After spending 15 years teaching physics in secondary schools in the West Midlands area, Dan is now Associate Professor of Physics Education at the University of Birmingham as well as a DPhil research student at the University of Oxford. Dan works on widening access to physics at... Read More →

Rachel Davies

Lecturer Science Education, Kings College London

Thursday January 9, 2025 09:45 - 10:35 GMT
Pope LT C17

All

Theme Research
Key Stage / Audience Type Teacher Developers, Selected by Research Group, Global, Advisors/Consultants, ITEs, Trainees, Selected by Teacher Developers' Group
Twitter feed @CaroScienceEd; @stmaryssecsci