December 2020 volume 102 number 379 Unbeatable SSR value catch-up bundles GCSE 9-1 available – visit collins.co.uk/revision School Science Review SSR SCIENCE to fi nd out more REVISION Spine 12mm, page size 210x297mm Complete AQA GCSE 9-1 AQA GCSE 9-1 AQA GCSE 9-1 AQAPhysics GCSE 9-1 AQA GCSE 9-1 Complete Revision & Practice Physics 3 books in 1 – revision guide, workbook & practice paper Physics Combined CombinedRevision guide giving clear and concise coverage of every topic Workbook with topic-by-topic practice revision & Exam-style practice paper with answers Complete Revision & Practice Science Trilogy ScienceFree ebook Trilogy Foundation Higher practice Complete Revision & Practice Complete Revision & Practice Complete Revision & Practice Complete Revision A revision guide, AQA GCSE 9-1 AQA GCSE 9-1 Physics Physics Foundation Higher Collins Practice Papers Practice Papers AQA GCSE 9-1 Physics Revision Cards Find us at collins.co.uk 3 books in 1 3 books in 1 ISBN 978-0-00-816073-9 3 books in 1 workbook and full 2 complete sets of exam-style tests 2 complete sets of exam-style tests Revision guide, workbook & practice papers Revision978-0-00-832144-4 guide,978-0-00-832145-1 workbook978-0-00-835391-9 & practice papers9 780008 160739 Revision guide, workbook & practice paper £10.99 Other books to help with your GCSE revision practice paper in 53919_Deckbox.indd 1 02/04/2020 08:39 660739_Cover.indd0739_Cover.indd 1 002/04/20202/04/2020 008:438:43 one book! AQA GCSE 9-1 AQA GCSE 9-1 Chemistry Biology Complete Revision & Practice Complete Revision & Practice SCHOOL PRICES for Biology, Chemistry, Physics £3.99 9 for Combined Science 3 books in 1 3 books in 1 £ Revision guide, workbook & practice paper Revision guide, workbook & practice papers December 2020: 102(379) SCHOOL PRICES £4 for Biology, Chemistry, Physics Revision cards £8 for Combined Science Revise, memorise and test your knowledge The Association School Science Review for Science Education 379 The ASE’s journal for science education 11–19 Science revision A4 ad.indd 1 24/11/2020 12:25 2533 FSC ASE handbook ad 2020.qxp_ASE handbook ad 2020 07/09/2020 17:14 Page 3 School Science Ad.qxp_Layout 1 02/09/2020 20:37 Page 1 Supporting your Need a bit of a challenge fieldwork needs or some fuel for an enquiring mind? Over recent years, many educational websites and portals have come and gone, as enthusiasm and funding has dried up or moved on... ...but not this one! We’ve identified the best ways we can support teachers and ensure students benefit from vital fieldwork experiences this term: • day courses at our centres, which have been transformed to operate in a fully Covid secure way; • visiting schools to deliver outreach in their grounds or local area; • a range of new digital packages where face-to-face is not possible. www.field-studies-council.org/biology Field Studies Council, FSC, is an environmental education charity providing informative and enjoyable opportunities for Where things NEVER stand still! people of all ages and abilities to discover, explore, and understand the environment School Science Review The ASE’s journal for science education 11–19 Editor Geoff Auty Joint Executive Editors Martin Payne and Andrew Welsh Assistant Executive Editor Helen Johnson Book Reviews Miriam Chaplin Websearch David S. Moore Editorial contact ASE Jane Hanrott Design/typesetting Andrew Welsh School Science Review is published in March, June, September and December and sent to all Ordinary Members of the ASE free of charge. It is also available on subscription from the ASE. Authorisation is granted by the Association for Science Education for items from SSR to be photocopied for personal use or for the use of specific students. Permission is needed to copy or reproduce for any other purpose and requests should be addressed to the ASE. The contents of this journal do not necessarily represent the views or policies of the ASE, except where explicitly identified as such. © Association for Science Education, 2020 ISSN 0036–6811 The Association for Science Education Address College Lane, Hatfield, Herts AL10 9AA Telephone 01707 283000 Fax 01707 266532 Email [email protected] Website www.ase.org.uk Advertising Rebecca Dixon-Watmough 01254 247764, [email protected] Printing Holbrooks Printers Ltd, Portsmouth, England SSR December 2020, 102(379) 1 Contents School Science Review December 2020, 102(379) 5 Editorial 6 Letter 9 Science notes 9 Bad posture and fall alarms using a BBC micro:bit Steven Weir 11 Simple experiments that may illuminate school geometry, algebra and science Iain MacInnes 13 Simple models for teaching and learning about the human withdrawal reflex Leo Chi Chun Lee, Noddy Ho Long Sin and Kennedy Kam Ho Chan Teaching models for simulating nervous pathways related to the human withdrawal reflex that can engage students in active learning 20 Representations of atomic structure in the logos of atomic energy regulatory bodies Barend Vlaardingerbroek Representations of atomic structure in the logos of atomic energy regulatory bodies do not follow the rules we teach in our science and chemistry classes 23 Should Earth be the last place to think about gravity? Philip Johnson A progression leading to understanding falling towards Earth is presented 28 A longitudinal survey of teachers’ attitudes to the reform of GCSE and AS/A-level sciences, 2015–2017 Tony Leech, Neil Wade, Frances Wilson and Steve Evans A summary and discussion of findings of a longitudinal OCR survey of science teachers’ attitudes to the reform of GCSE and AS/A-level practical science assessment in England since 2015 35 A Predict–Observe–Explain cycle to promote college students’ scientific explanations Ozden Sengul Using a Predict–Observe–Explain cycle in fostering college students’ scientific explanations on concepts of velocity and acceleration in a small-group activity 39 Booking into science: approaches and activities to encourage children and young teens to read science for pleasure Ruth Jarman and Joy Alexander Can we encourage children and young teens to read science for pleasure? This article presents teacher- devised approaches and activities that have proved successful in the classroom. 48 Auditing summative assessments: the need to increase creative reasoning in mathematics and science at lower secondary in Ireland Ailbhe Garry, Aishling Reilly, Majella Dempsey and Ann O’Shea An illustration of the importance of using frameworks to audit tasks in second-level state examinations for mathematics and science 55 Best Evidence Science Teaching: research evidence in action Lucy Atkinson, Lynda Dunlop, Judith Bennett, Peter Fairhurst and Alistair Moore Case studies demonstrate how resources from the Best Evidence Science Teaching project enable teachers to use research evidence in planning and teaching 64 Practical suggestions for promoting science student actions to overcome social and environmental harms Dimitris Tsoubaris, Larry Bencze, Sheila Curtis and Majd Zouda How a class of year 9 (age 13–14) students engaged in a science project to address socio-scientific issues, undertaking actions of their choice 2 SSR December 2020, 102(379) Contents School Science Review December 2020, 102(379) 71 The use of the SOLO taxonomy to support the development of complex responses in science lessons in the English and Welsh education system Nicklas Lindström Demonstrating ways of making progress from learning facts to linking related ideas and on to understanding knowledge 81 Reviews 85 Science websearch 88 SSR special issues 88 Advertisers index Health & Safety For all practical procedures described in SSR, we have attempted to ensure that: l the requirements of UK health & safety law are observed; l all recognised hazards have been identified; l appropriate precautions are suggested; l where possible procedures are in accordance with commonly adopted model risk assessments; l if a special risk assessment is likely to be necessary, this is highlighted. However, errors and omissions can be made, and employers may have adopted different standards. Therefore, before any practical activity, teachers and technicians should always check their employer’s risk assessment. Any local rules issued by their employer must be obeyed, whatever is recommended in SSR. Unless the context dictates otherwise it is assumed that: l practical work is conducted in a properly equipped laboratory; l any mains-operated and other equipment is properly maintained; l any fume cupboard operates at least to the standard of CLEAPSS Guide G9; l care is taken with normal laboratory operations such as heating substances or handling heavy objects; l good laboratory practice is observed when chemicals or living organisms are handled; l eye protection is worn whenever there is any recognised risk to the eyes; l fieldwork takes account of any guidelines issued by the employer; l pupils are taught safe techniques for such activities as heating chemicals or smelling them, and for handling microorganisms. Readers requiring further guidance are referred to: Safeguards in the School Laboratory, 12th edn, ASE, 2020. Be Safe! Health and Safety in School Science and Technology for Teachers of 3- to 12-year-olds, 4th edn, ASE, 2011. Topics in Safety, ASE, latest version on the ASE website: www.ase.org.uk/resources/topics-in-safety (login required). Hazcards, CLEAPSS, latest version, and other relevant publications, on the CLEAPSS website: www.cleapss.org.uk (almost all schools, colleges and teacher training establishments in the UK outside Scotland are members,