Pinch Points: Planned Interventions in Science lessons Dr Andy Chandler-Grevatt CSciTeach Oxford University Press

ASE Annual Conference 2018 University of Liverpool Friday, January 5 9:30am - 10:30am Building on feedback from teachers at previous conferences, we have taken the Pinch Points forward. The principles can be applied to make your own Check Points and Pinch Points. This session is ideal for those who teach KS3 science and want to include more easy-to-use opportunities for feedback and intervention.

ASE Annual Conference 2018 University of Liverpool Saturday, January 6 11:00am - 12:00pm Building on feedback from teachers at previous conferences, we have taken the Pinch Points forward. The principles can be applied to make your own Check Points and Pinch Points. This session is ideal for those who teach KS3 science and want to include more easy-to-use opportunities for feedback and intervention.

Outcomes Explore the nature of Pinch Point concepts as an intervention Understand how and why Pinch Point tasks have been developed Evaluate a Pinch Point activity The pinch point concept can be used by teachers to develop their own pinch point tasks. OUP have developed their own pinch point tasks for Activate 1 and 2 and will be publishing some for AQA Activate later in 2018.

Introductions & Welcome Dr Andy Chandler-Grevatt OUP Activate Assessment Editor. Teaching Fellow Science Education, University of Sussex. Introduce yourselves Who you are, what you do, where you do it.

Starter questions Which concepts in science are particularly difficult to learn? Why are these concepts difficult to learn? How do you pre-empt or intervene with learning these concepts? This session will help inform the development of Pinch Points in OUP Projects.

Interventions Focus on a block of KUS Occur towards the end of a topic Check Points (Established) Pinch Points (New) Focus on a block of KUS Occur towards the end of a topic Self assessment followed by intervention or extension Focus on what they got wrong Focus on difficult specific KUS Occur at time of teaching a specific concept Diagnosis followed by self- or teacher intervention Focus on why they got it wrong

Using a checkpoint system Assess Intervention and Extension At the end of each chapter Progress activity Extend/Target 8 Progress activity Secure/Apply/Target 6 Progress activity Developing/Know/Target 4

Why Pinch Point Concepts? Focus on chunks of knowledge and understanding, rather than small units. Making learners aware of Pinch Points can provide opportunities to engage with them, rather than ignore them. Engaging with Pinch Points could lead to ‘mastery’ or ‘deep learning’. Once understood, Pinch Points allow learners to apply the concept confidently to new situations. Identifying Pinch Points allows diagnosis for specific interventions.

Diagnosis and specific feedback Mistake made Reason Intervention Mode Lack of knowledge Missing Connection Misconception Misunderstanding Making good activity Connecting Activity Dissociating Activity Correcting Activity Pupil- led interventions Teacher - led interventions Adapted from Taber, K. S. (2014). Student thinking and learning in science: perspectives on the nature and development of learners' Ideas. Routledge p. 208.

Student-led interventions Making Good Activities Connecting Activity Key words and meanings Comprehension questions Revisit specific knowledge or concepts Identification of key processes Compare and contrast Concept maps Sequencing events

Teacher-led interventions Correcting Activity Dissociating Activity Demonstration with questioning Same questions asked differently Spoken and written explanations Demonstrations with questioning Prediction and providing cognitive conflict Spoken and written explanations New examples, unfamiliar contexts

Developing the pinch point idea Presented the concept of pinch points to OUP Presented the idea at ASE Conference 2016 Refinement Responded to feed back and refined tasks Presented task ideas to teachers at ASE conferences in 2017 Development Agreed to add pinch point activities as part of a Key Stage 3 Revision Work book Collaboration with authors

Anatomy of a Pinch Point Task A Question Multiple Choice Answers to select Activities to follow up the answer that will: applies or extends the learners knowledge and understanding of the concept, if their response is correct. fill in missing knowledge and gives reference to Activate of where to find the answers. make the connection between two parts of the concept or the concept and another concept. challenges the misunderstanding or misconception. Extension activity Making good activity – links to text book Connecting activity – links to text book Correcting activity – links to text book

Examples of Pinch Point Tasks Activate 1 Foundation Higher Working Scientifically Variables Evaluating Experiments B1.1 Comparing animal & plant cells Diffusion B1.2 Breathing: Inhalation Surface Area B1.3 Role of the placenta Fertilisation C1.1 Liquid particle model Melting Points & Boiling Points C1.2 Elements, Compounds & mixtures Writing chemical formulae C1.3 Word equations Conservation of mass C1.4 pH scale Neutralisation P1.1 Force arrows and motion Turning forces P1.2 Interpreting sound waves P1.3 Reflection & sight Refraction P1.4 Days & years in the Solar System Scale in the Solar System

Activity: Evaluate a Pinch Point Task How could you see these used in the classroom? What are the advantages? What are the issues? What are the opportunities? Discuss

Outcomes Explore the nature of a Pinch Point concept as an intervention Understand how and why Pinch Point tasks have been developed Evaluate a Pinch Point activity

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Further Reading Oxford Science blog at educationblog.oup.com/science My article in Education in Chemistry: https://eic.rsc.org/ideas/how-to-make- effective-interventions/3008224.article Chandler-Grevatt, A. (2018) Oxford Teaching Guides. How to Assess Your Students: Making Assessment Work For You. Oxford: Oxford University Press