Teaching Problem-Solving and Thinking Skills through Science

This highly practical resource book presents ways in which teachers can help to develop children's problem-solving and thinking skills through a range of exciting science topics. The book contains classroom-based activities which have been trialled and evaluated by teachers and children, and helpfully shows how the skills developed through rigorous scientific investigations can be used across all areas of the curriculum.

The scientific curriculum requirements are extended with exciting and inspiring problem-solving activities that use scientific skills, for example:

• fair-testing
• pattern-seeking
• surveying
• classifying and identifying
• investigations over time
• designing
• testing and adapting an artefact
• open-ended exploration

The book contains learning objectives for each activity, step by step guidelines for carrying out each problem-solving activity, basic equipment that's needed, examples of learner's work and guidelines for assessment. This book is a must-buy for all early years and primary school teachers keen to encourage an inclusive but differentiated approach to the development of problem-solving and thinking skills in their pupils.

Belle Wallace is a consultant and in-service educator in the field of gifted and talented children. She has written extensively in this area and is a past president of NACE (National Association for Able Children in Education).

Diana Cave is the Gifted and Talented Co-ordinator for a junior school in Grantham, and specialises in the teaching of science.

Andrew Berry is a Teacher Advisor in Primary Science for Kent Advisory Service.