School of Night | Thinking Workshop | Secondary | Key Stages 3 - 5
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
SCHOOL OF NIGHT | THINKING WORKSHOP | SECONDARY | KEY STAGES 3 - 5 The School of Night were the dangerous thinkers of the Elizabethan era. This workshop looks at their big questions in philosophy, religion and science and why they were considered so heretical. Are the answers we might give today all that different? SCIENCE CURRICULUM TOPIC (KS3/4): LEARNING POINTS WORKING SCIENTIFICALLY – 1) THE DEVELOPMENT The power of theories based on scientific evidence (though not OF SCIENTIFIC provable); the search for a ‘Grand Unified Theory’ or ‘Theory of THINKING Everything’; use of models. 2) EXPERIMENTAL SKILLS The importance of hypotheses that can be tested by others, not AND STRATEGIES subjective; the difference between science and pseudo-science. 3) ANALYSIS AND Uncertainty of scientific data inherent, but does not make it less valid; EVALUATION objectivity important in scientific thinking; reliance on evidence over belief. 4) VOCABULARY, UNITS, Agreed international standards mean that different interpretations of SYMBOLS AND the Universe are less common now. NOMENCLATURE PARADIGM SHIFTS There are several KS3 & 4 learning points where key shifts in thinking are highlighted and can be discussed in the context of this workshop, including ideas about: • Stem cells, pathogens, evolution • The development of the periodic table, organic chemistry, evolution of the Earth and tectonics, climate change • Conservation of energy, Newton’s laws, magnetic effect of currents, development of the nuclear model, astronomy and cosmology With each development, a new heretic or group of heretics is created, until their radical thinking is accepted as commonplace. NON-SCIENCE SUBJECTS LITERACY Reading and assimilating the information on the prompt cards. Speaking and listening – respecting others’ views, articulating one’s own views, discussing from the standpoint of somebody else in history. ART/DESIGN Creating a diagram of everything – devising a scheme in which different ideas can be linked, inspired by historical cosmographical diagrams. PSHE/CITIZENSHIP Respecting different ways of thinking; viewpoints, beliefs and empathising with others. Learning about persecution for beliefs – in history and today. Development from philosophy into science. Societies, clubs, groups and the importance of a sense of belonging (School of Night). Self-reflection of own belief systems and ways of thinking. HISTORY The development of the scientific method in 17th Century. Exploration and colonisation. The Renaissance/Enlightenment periods. Suggested activities before the workshop: Explore ideas about the Renaissance and how thinking was changing. Find out about the School of Night, and about Christopher Marlowe and the theories surrounding his death. Make a poster about someone who was imprisoned for their scientific belief, such as Galileo. Discover what the alchemists were doing and what the scientific method is. Suggested follow-up activities: Devise a question about some aspect of thinking (eg. belief in an afterlife), conduct research in your class and present your results to your peers. Debate what has been the most important paradigm shift in the history of science. Discover Elizabethan poetry and what it says about the way people thought at the time. Write your own poem reflecting your thinking about the Universe. More detailed curriculum mapping is available on request. .