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

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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

18. Visit the OUP team at Stand C12
Visit our stand to:
Pick up your FREE Activate Intervention Workbook
Take away a FREE badge
Ask our friendly team any questions about our range of resources

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