Journal articles
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McGregor D, Frodsham S, Wilson H, 'The nature of epistemological opportunities for doing, thinking and talking about science : Reflections on an effective intervention that promotes creativity.'
Research in Science and Technological Education x (2020)
ISSN: 0263-5143
Abstract Background: Randomised Control Trials (RCT) involving large numbers of schools, teachers and pupils, can provide statistically significant evidence that an intervention ‘works’, or makes a difference to learning. However, often the quantitative data collected to illustrate the extent of impact is insufficient to illustrate exactly ‘how’ the intervention was enacted, what was done and ‘why’ it was successful. This paper collates a range of forms of data from an innovative professional training programme to indicate the nature of the promoted strategies that comprise the ‘intervention’ and consider how they worked in practice.
Purpose: To illustrate how a mixed methods approach is required to substantiate the nature, as well as the extent of impact, of an educational intervention. Namely, Thinking Doing and Talking Science (TDTS).
Sample: The project reported on here involved 42 schools in a south east county in England, UK. 21 were the ‘experimental’ schools and 21 were ‘control’ schools.
Design and Methods: The project was an Educational Endowment (EEF) Funded RCT, designed to assess the impact of the TDTS intervention.
Results: Quantitative data showed TDTS had a statistically significant impact on the academic attainment of nine and ten-year olds, by an average of 3 months. The addition of the different forms of qualitative data provided here offer evidential insights illustrating how and why the intervention had the impact it did on thinking and attainment.
Conclusions: Designing research projects that examine both the nature and extent of impact on pupils’ learning requires a mixed methods approach. This necessarily involves the statistical comparison of quantitative evidence from both the experimental and control school groupings. However, in addition to the quantitative data, qualitative evidence is required to elicit the precise nature of the intervention. This included observations during the professional development sessions, lesson transcripts, evaluative questionnaire data and interviews (with teacher and pupils) after in-service training each contributing to capturing a more comprehensive ‘picture’ of the key characteristics of a successful science learning intervention.
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McGregor D, Frodsham S, 'Epistemic insights: Contemplating tensions between policy influences and creativity in school science'
British Educational Research Journal 45 (4) (2019) pp.770-790
ISSN: 0141-1926 eISSN: 1469-3518
Abstract Creativity and the way it could be supported in schools is understood differently by policy makers, practitioners and scientists. This article reviews, with a chronological lens, the development of policies that include teaching creativity and teaching for creativity. The epistemic tensions between the intentions of government and the nature of creativity as it emerges in learning or scientific work is introduced and reflected upon. There have been more than nine key educational policies that have been introduced over the last 50 years. Each of these are considered in this article and related to the ways that creativity is understood and expected to be taught, supported or enacted in schools by policy makers. In light of the need to support creativity as a key twenty‐first‐century skill, to ultimately enable current students (who will become the next generation of scientists) to develop the capabilities to address global concerns, this article highlights issues related to this issue. Epistemic insights are offered that relate to the development of aspects of creativity, including questioning, developing alternate ideas, ‘seeing’ things differently, innovation, curiosity, problem solving and evaluating. The ways that policy related to creativity in science appears not to recognise how creativity can be reified in these ways in schools suggests the need for rapid review, especially in light of the upcoming international creativity tests in 2021.
Website
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Frodsham S, McGregor D, Wilson H, 'Young children’s views of creativity in science : exploring perspectives in an English primary classroom'
Journal of Emergent Science 2014 (8) (2014) pp.31-41
ISSN: 2046-4754
Abstract The importance of creativity in the classroom has long been debated, as well as the ways in which it might be supported and evidenced in primary schools. This is despite the lack of a clear and universally agreed definition of creativity. Nurturing ingenuity and inventiveness in young children (and subsequently young adults) is essential, due to an unpredictable future (in life after school) with unknown challenges. Encouraging more creativity in the classroom requires the student to be an active thinker, recognise opportunities to be imaginative and utilise ways of being creative when appropriate. It is only by being attentive to the student’s social, historical and cultural understandings (voice and actions) that teachers may begin to appreciate what children understand by creativity in the classroom. However, it has been suggested that the current education system may be constraining teachers’ efforts to foster creativity but, despite this, some teachers have managed to embed creativity into their practice. The realisation of creativity in learning is of great interest, especially if the unforeseen challenges of the future are to be met. This study, based on a small sample of pupils in Key Stage 1 (ages 5-7), in an Oxfordshire school rated as ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted, explores children’s views of creativity. It examines the opinions of these pupils and their perspectives of originality in and out of the science classroom. The findings suggest that young children can recognise and appreciate creative characteristics and how these might be utilised to further develop and augment individual creativeness, through generating original ideas, relating science to fresh contexts and thinking independently. Website
Other publications
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Frodsham S, 'Developing creativity within primary science teaching. What does it look like and how can classroom interactions augment the process?'
(2017)
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Frodsham S, 'Interpreting teacher observations (concerning creativity) through visual representations'
(2015)
PhD thesis
Frodsham, S. (2018) ‘Developing creativity within primary science teaching. What does it look like and how can classroom interactions augment the process?’. Unpublished PhD thesis. Oxford: Oxford Brookes University.
Journal articles
McGregor, D,, & Frodsham, S. (2019) ‘Epistemic insights : Contemplating tensions between policy influences and creativity in school science’. BERJ. 45(4). P.770-790.
Frodsham, S., McGregor, D., & Wilson, H. (2014) ‘Young children’s views of creativity in science: exploring perspectives in an English primary classroom’, Journal of Emergent Science, (8), pp.31-41.
Paper presentations
McGregor, D. & Frodsham, S. (2019) ‘Scientists’ narratives of their school science experiences : Implications for policy and practice (so far)’. Presentation at British Educational Research Association (BERA), Newcastle, UK, September 10th-12th 2019.
McGregor, D. & Frodsham, S. (2019) ‘Scientist views of scientific originality: Opportunities and constraints in school science’. Presentation at European Science Education Research Association (ESERA) conference. Bologna, Italy, 26th-30th August 2019.
McGregor, D. & Frodsham, S. (2019) ‘Storytelling and inquiry practical work in school science: why bother?’. Presentation at European Science Education Research Association (ESERA) conference. Bologna, Italy, 26th-30th August 2019.
Frodsham, S. (2019) ‘Graphical representations of creativity in the primary science classroom: Illustrating innovation and originality through three visual displays’. Presentation at Primary Science Teaching Trust (PSTT) conference. Edinburgh, Scotland, June 6-8th 2019.
Frodsham, S. & Deller, C. (2019) 'Researching your practice from different perspectives'. Presentation at Primary Science Teaching Trust (PSTT) conference. Edinburgh, Scotland, June 6-8th 2019.
Frodsham S. & McGregor, D. (2019) ‘School science: Scientists stories’. Presentation at The Association for Science Education (ASE), Birmingham, England, Jan 10th 2019.
McGregor, D., & Frodsham, S. (2018) ‘Learning through Storytelling: Reflections on its use as a science teaching practice’. Presentation at International Organisation for Science and Technology Education (IOSTE), Malmo, Sweden, August 13-17th 2018.
Frodsham, S. (2018) ‘Discussant: Learning Science Through Drama’. Presentation at International Organisation for Science and Technology Education (IOSTE), Malmo, Sweden, August 13-17th 2018.
McGregor, D., & Frodsham S. (2018) ‘Storytelling in Science: The impact of pedagogic variations’. Presentation at British Educational Research Association (BERA), Newcastle, UK, September 11th-13th 2018.
McGregor, D., & Frodsham S. (2018) ‘Exploring views about the nature and influence of creativity-in-school-science: the qualified scientist’s perspective’. Presentation at British Educational Research Association (BERA), Newcastle, UK, September 11th-13th 2018.
Frodsham, S. (2018) ‘Demonstrating Creativity-in-Learning Through Classroom Talk: Towards A Fresh Theoretical Framework’. Presentation at British Educational Research Association (BERA), Newcastle, UK, September 11th-13th 2018.
Frodsham, S. (2016) ‘Generating representations of creativity in the primary science classroom’. Presentation at British Educational Research Association (BERA) conference. Leeds, UK, September 14th 2016.
McGregor, D., Bird J., & Frodsham, S. (2016) ‘Mixtures, maltesers and magnets : Augmenting the enquiry process through tablet technology in Primary Science’. Presentation at British Educational Research Association (BERA) conference. Leeds, UK, September 12th 2016.
Frodsham, S. (2016) ‘Teachers’ Perspectives on Creativity and ways it can be Supported and Developed in Primary School Science Lessons’. Presentation at Primary Science Teaching Trust (PSTT) conference. Belfast, Ireland, June 11th 2016.
Frodsham, S. (2015) ‘Interpreting pedagogical practices (concerning creativity) through visual representations of primary science lessons’. Presentation at European Science Education Research Association (ESERA) conference. Helsinki, Finland, 31st August 2015.
Frodsham, S. (2015) ‘Interpreting science teacher’s practice (related to creativity) through visual representations of their actions’. Presentation at British Educational Research Association (BERA) conference. Belfast, Ireland, September 16th 2015.
Poster presentations
Frodsham, S. (2017), ‘Evidencing Creativity in Talk: Toward a Fresh Theoretical Framework’. Poster presentation at Association of Science Education (ASE) Annual Conference. Reading, UK, January 11th 2016.
Frodsham, S. (2016), ‘Developing creativity through formative assessment for learning (AfL)’. Poster presentation at Association of Science Education (ASE) Annual Conference. Birmingham, UK, January 9th 2016.
Frodsham, S. (2016) ‘Interpreting pedagogical practices (concerning creativity) through visual representations of primary science lessons’. Poster presentation at Association of Science Education (ASE) Annual Conference. Birmingham, UK, January 9th 2016.
Frodsham, S. (2015) ‘Interpreting teacher observations (concerning creativity) through visual representations’. Poster presentation at Association of Science Education (ASE) Annual Conference. Reading, UK, January 10th 2015.