Available online
Description
This programme looks at the cognitive development of secondary school children by visiting Tottenham School in North London, The programme visits a Science lesson of twelve year olds to find out so...mething about the science education they were getting. Michael Shaver from Chelsea College carries our paper and pencil tests with the class to examine their levels of cognitive development. The tests were originally devised by Chelsea College for a large scale research project titled 'Concepts in secondary maths and science'. The class were visited on 2 seperate occasions to see how their thinking had developed. Their progress is discussed in the studio by Michael Shayer, Joni Cullimore, the teacher of the class at Tottenham, and Ann Floyd, the Open University Academic.
This programme looks at the cognitive development of secondary school children by visiting Tottenham School in North London, The programme visits a Science lesson of twelve year olds to find out so...mething about the science education they were getting. Michael Shaver from Chelsea College carries our paper and pencil tests with the class to examine their levels of cognitive development. The tests were originally devised by Chelsea College for a large scale research project titled 'Concepts in secondary maths and science'. The class were visited on 2 seperate occasions to see how their thinking had developed. Their progress is discussed in the studio by Michael Shayer, Joni Cullimore, the teacher of the class at Tottenham, and Ann Floyd, the Open University Academic.
| Module code and title: | E362, Cognitive development: language and thinking - birth to adolescence |
|---|---|
| Item code: | E362; 08 |
| First transmission date: | 12-10-1979 |
| Published: | 1979 |
| Rights Statement: | |
| Restrictions on use: | |
| Duration: | 00:24:34 |
| + Show more... | |
| Producer: | Chris Cuthbertson |
| Contributors: | Joni Cullimore; Ann Floyd |
| Publisher: | BBC Open University |
| Keyword(s): | Michael Shayer; Nuffield science; Pendulum and weights; Science teaching; See saw |
| Footage description: | The programme opens with shots of a science lesson for 12 year olds in a school in Tottenham. From the studio Ann Floyd then introduces the programme, which looks at the cognitive development of secondary school children in the context of science teaching. She explains that they wanted to discover if children were capable of understanding their science lessons. Floyd introduces the other two contributors: Michael Shayer, senior research fellow at Chelsea College, and Joni Cullimore, science teacher at the Tottenham school seen in sequence 1. In interview Shayer describes the test he has devised to grade children's cognitive and developmental levels in science. The test involves making deductions from different kinds of swinging pendulums. Film of Shayer actually doing the test with a class of Tottenham 12 year olds. He explains the test to the children at length, demonstrating pendulum swings with such variables as length of string, weight of pendulum and force of swing. He asks the children to guess the number of swings made in 30 seconds and then asks them to explain the effect of altering the variables such as length and weight. In the studio Floyd questions Shayer about the test. He explains that Nuffield Combined Science courses pre-supppose that 12 year olds are capable of formal operational thinking, whereas the test seems to indicate that this is not the case. Floyd interviews Joni Cullimore who explains that the children were given a further test in their next science lesson. According to their performance in Shayers' pendulum test they were divided into small groups and given the task of making a simple see-saw arrangement balance using different weights. The groups of children are seen doing Cullimore's balance test. She is seen explaining the test to the children, working with some of them, and some working on their own. Shayer is then seen question ing one group on their work with the balance. He spends time with one child who seems more able to grasp the principles behind the test than the rest of the class. In the studio Floyd questions both Shayer and Cullimore about the results of this test. They both assert that Nuffield is too advanced, but that the children still benefit from trying to think about these problems. They suggest adapting Nuffield. |
| Master spool number: | HOU3235 |
| Production number: | FOUE016F |
| Videofinder number: | 1383 |
| Available to public: | no |
