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This article provides an overview of the main findings for the countries of the UK from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in 2015, where science was the major focus. The nature of the tests, the key findings and how they might be interpreted are discussed--in particular the implications for the teaching and learning of science.

A key challenge in designing a teaching programme on energy is in deciding how best to deal with the differences in how the word "energy" is used and understood in everyday discourse and in science. Many of the most important decisions and choices about energy matters, both for individuals and society, can be adequately understood from an everyday perspective. This raises the question of the appropriate balance in the curriculum between the everyday and scientific views of energy, and of why, when and how we should try to move students on from an everyday understanding of energy towards the scientific understanding.

The science curriculum to age 16 should be judged on how well it meets the needs of students who progress to A-level science courses and those (a larger number) who do not. To address the diversity of students' interests and aspirations, we need a clear view of the purposes of science education rooted in a view of the purposes of education itself. This article argues that a flexible curriculum structure for science is essential at key stage 4, offering a variety of pathways that can be better matched to the needs and interests of students.

This article presents the author's Presidential Address delivered to the Association for Science Education Annual Conference, University of Liverpool, January 2012. "Science for all" has been an aspiration of the Association for Science Education and the organisations from which it evolved for almost a century. It has, however, proved an elusive goal. The history of science education in the UK throughout the past century, and indeed beyond, is of an almost constant stream of calls for change, improvement and reform. The past decade has seen a succession of substantial reports from working groups commissioned by Government departments, and by scientific bodies such as the Royal Society. Similar issues are discussed in reports at the European level, in the USA and in many other countries. In the UK, calls for reform of science education can be traced back through important documents such as "Science 5-16: A Statement of Policy," "Alternatives for Science Education," "Science in Secondary Schools," and many others, to the Thomson Committee report of 1918 and beyond. It is not only the number and frequency of these reports that is striking. So too is the constancy of their concerns. One prominent concern derives from the perceived link between science (and hence science education) and national economic success. A second persistent cause for concern is that the science curriculum is not sufficiently engaging. The author argues that many of the challenges of teaching and learning science are real, and arise from the characteristics of science itself. This article focuses on two central issues concerning science education: (1) the role of science in the curriculum and its contribution to general education; and (2) the question of what teachers should try to teach, if their aim is to provide a worthwhile experience of "science for all". (Contains 3 boxes and 2 figures.)

This article discusses the findings of a survey of centres using the "Twenty First Century Science" suite of GCSE courses, focusing on the impact of its introduction on the number of students beginning AS-level courses in the sciences. The data indicate increases of 24% to 38% in the numbers beginning AS-level courses in the three main sciences in 2008 in these centres. This provides striking evidence that GCSE courses which highlight the relevance of school science to out-of-school contexts and encourage discussion of socio-scientific issues, whilst also treating key theoretical ideas in the sciences in depth, increase student engagement and the numbers choosing to continue the study of science. (Contains 5 tables.)

Describes the AQA AS-level course 'Science for Public Understanding' and explains its underlying rationale. Shows how a topic-based course can be used to consolidate students' understanding of some scientific explanations and ideas-about-science in a systematic manner. (Author/MM)

Describes when and how to carry out many of the most common statistical tests including mean, standard deviation, confidence limits, correlation, regression, t-test, Chi square test, and ANOVA. Uses Excel to perform these operations. (DDR)

Summarizes the principal arguments and recommendations in the report "Beyond 2000: Science Education for the Future," funded by the Nuffield Foundation. Presents a new vision of science education and offers 10 recommendations for change. (DDR)

Discusses an easy way of interfacing physics experiments to a microcomputer, providing information on the "analog input port" of a BBC microcomputer. Also describes a capacitor discharge experiment with suggestions for several student activities such as investigating decay curve shapes. Program listing is available from author. (DH)

This article outlines a model for thinking about the effectiveness of practical activities in school science and how this might be evaluated. This was used in a research study of current practice in the use of whole-class practical work in secondary schools in England. The emphasis in the lessons observed was on successfully 'producing the phenomenon'. Little whole-class time was used to discuss the ideas that the activity involved. Task design did not reflect the wide variation in task demand. This suggests a need for greater clarity about the learning objectives of practical activities, and wider use of strategies to increase the 'minds on' aspects of practical work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several letters to the editor are presented in response to articles in previous issues, including a review of the creationist Web site "Truth in Science," a review on the materials on the Truth in Science Web site in the June 2008 issue, and the issues concerning the "Intelligent design" that was presented as an alternative theory to Darwinian evolution.

This article discusses a strategy for improving school science education in England through the continuing professional development of science teachers in the national network of Science Learning Centres. It presents evidence about effective continuing professional development, and considers the range of focuses and methods relevant for the continuing professional development of science teachers. Readers are encouraged to submit their contributions to the discussion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]