Claire Seeley

What is it? TASC stands for Thinking Actively in a Social Context.

How does it work? TASC runs alongside BLOOMS taxonomy and scientific method. It gives children a really clear process to follow when investigating or problem solving.

Children use lower and higher order thinking skills. They experience more of the though process, therefore have greater ownership of the task in hand. MORE COMPLETE LEARNING EXPERIENCE.

 HOW

DOES IT HELP LEARNING?

Remember Vygotsky? TASC challenges are designed to help children to work out of the ZONE of PROXIMAL DEVELOPMENT just enough challenge to make them think, not too much to freak them out!

 Science

enquiry is what children do in order to answer scientific questions about the world around them (Turner et al 2011). It can take a range of shapes and styles which might include observing over time, identifying and classifying, pattern seeking, researching and fair testing.

The best investigations come from the childrens own experiences or interests

Whats in the NEWS?

1. LAUNCH ASSEMBLY input about BEES plus WORKSHOP with LOCAL BEEKEEPER. 2.LAYERED TASC CHALLENGES children centred problem solving FOUNDATION STAGE What do bees make? How can we use it? YEARS 1/2 Where do bees live? Can we make some places for them to live? YEARS 3/4 What would happen if there were no bees? Why is pollination important? How can we encourage more bees into our school grounds? YEARS 5/6 How do bees communicate? What are the health benefits of honey? 3. SHARING ASSEMBLY TO SHARE OUTCOMES

Stimuli can be anything. Newsround website is good. For maximum impact it should be relevant to the childrens work. Each group needs a big piece of A3 paper and a TASC wheel to record / jot ideas on. Provide a selection of equipment for the children to use The children may wish to clarify the problem. Teachers role is to facilitate and ask questions do less but achieve more. One cycle may trigger further cycles. Give the children the opportunity to share their learning through a creative outcome dvd, newspaper report, diary entry, presentation.. Great if they can choose this

Encourage trial and error. Good scientists reflect on their work and adapt their approach. Be open to the fact that they may not get it right first time create the right emotional environment for this type of learning. (BLP: Resilience learning disposition.) Groups Generally I do this work in mixed ability groups however I do hive off the ALPHA children into one group so they dont dominate everyone else. Develop rules for groupwork everyone has to contribute everyone has a right to be heard and their idea must be thought about.(BLP: Recipriocity) If conversation is dry - give each child 5 cubes they must spend during the session.

PROBLEM: HOW CAN WE HELP THIS BIRD TO FLY AGAIN?

GATHER : WHAT DO YOU ALREADY KNOW ABOUT THIS PROBLEM? IDENTIFY: WHAT AM I GOING TO FIND OUT? GENERATE: HOW MANY IDEAS CAN I THINK OF? ANALYSE: WHICH IDEA AM I GOING TO TRY 1ST? IMPLEMENT: GO FOR IT. EVALUATE:HOW WELL DID WE DO? COMMUNICATE: LETS TELL SOMEONE LEARN FROM IT: WHAT DID I LEARN? WHAT CAN I DO NEXT?

The children came up with two ideas: Physically scrapping off oil Chemically remove with washing up liquid

Similar to CASE sessions - Children challenged each other to refine their ideas

Children came up with further cycles of enquiry such as Which washing detergent is best for removing oil? Does using detergent affect the sea? How? Would detergent work for all types of feather? Types of oil?

If

you want to know more:

Primary Science magazine Issue: November 2011 120 Author: Claire Seeley Extract: Claire Seeley shares how the TASC wheel can help develop children's thinking skills in science