Talk Science

What is it?

An online service for teachers around discussion based learning of Key Stage 3 and 4 science. Discussion based learning is becoming increasingly important as means through which to teach and especially so for science. Talk Science provides teachers with techniques for running discussion based classes and resources to support the class.

What is the need?

There are quite a few teaching resources on the market, many of which are focused specifically on a subject area. However, many of these are subscription only and many are most do not cover discussion based technqiues in any depth. The Science Museum and their partners, Shell, have been running teacher training courses in discussion based learning since September 2007. Through our research we identified that teachers were searching online for resources to use in the classroom and getting ideas for discussion based techniques from fellow colleagues. Talk Science supports both these needs, through clear and well identified resource ‘objects’ and the ability to upload video of techniques for learning.

Who is it for?

Teachers and learning professionals

What is the benefit?

The Science Museum is providing expert advice and high quality resources to seed the site but it has been designed so that the service will foster a culture of sharing experiences. This sharing of experiences (that exists within school departments but not, as yet, online) will offer a “crowd sourced” solution for discussion based learning. Improving education by stimulating a more engaging approach to learning will hopefully lead to science becoming a more popular subject at Key Stage 4 and beyond.