Strictly speaking, Key Stage 3 lasts for three years: spanning Years 7 to 9. But over the last decade, an increasing number of schools have switched to offering a two- or two and a half-year KS3 programme. This has allowed schools to redress the difficulty of covering the lengthy GCSE specification content in only Years […]
Read moreAuthor: Oxford Science Team
A quick search to find and compare the figures for young people taking STEM subjects at further and higher education paints a somewhat ambiguous picture. On the one hand, the DfE suggests record numbers of young people are being accepted onto STEM undergraduate courses1; significantly up from similar figures a decade ago. On the other […]
Read moreCognitive load relates to the amount of information that a person can hold in their working memory at any one time. During learning, information is held in your working memory until it has been processed enough to transfer into your larger capacity long-term memory. If new information is not transferred, it will most likely be […]
Read moreAs every learner is unique, so is every science teacher. Each with their own specialisms and areas of interest, there are always going to be parts of the science curriculum in which science teachers are more-confident and others in which they need more guidance. Adding to that, teacher recruitment and retention being an increasing concern […]
Read moreWhat was happening in the UK in 2015? Justin Bieber was storming the charts with not one, not two, but three Number 1 hits. Dinosaurs were running amok again in Jurassic World. The polls opened for the general election. As all this was happening, school were preparing to update their KS3 science curriculum, in line […]
Read moreNew to Oxford Smart Activate. Find out more Oxford Smart Activate is the next evolution of the best-selling KS3 series, Activate. From the initial discussions of the Curriculum Development group, through to the testing phase with over 20 Pioneer Schools working with Year 7 groups, the development of Oxford Smart Activate has been a team effort. We wanted to shine a light on […]
Read moreIn this blog, Dr Andrew Chandler-Grevatt exemplifies how the KS3 science curriculum behind Oxford Smart Activate supports science departments to enact the recommended practices regarding intent, implementation and impact.
Read moreIn this new Oxford Smart Activate resource hub, hear from a range of expert voices who discuss and delve into the research behind the Oxford Smart Curriculum Service for Science and what makes Oxford Smart Activate stand out for the KS3 Science.
Read moreFind out more about the new Oxford Revise for KS3 Science guide The three steps of knowledge, retrieval and practice Primrose Kitten and Jessica Walmsley We all know that our KS4 students need help with revision for GCSEs; the revolutionary Oxford Revise series has made it easier for students to structure their revision and for teachers to signpost students on how to revise. The excellent news is Oxford Revise has […]
Read moreCurriculum narratives can play an important role in teaching and learning. They give structure, ensuring that concepts are taught in a logical squence, and help students to see connections between what they’ve already learned, what they’re learning now and what they’ll learn in the future. When designing the Oxford Smart Curriculum for Key Stage 3 Science, we wanted to be clear where KS3 fitted into the narrative of learning science in the context of the whole school science journey from KS1 to post 16.
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