Training And Development Agency Review Of Outdoor Science Teaching

EDM number 472 in 2009-10, proposed by Phil Willis on 15/12/2009.
Categorised under the topics of Science and Teachers.

That this House welcomes the Government's decision to ask the Training and Development Agency to review the Qualified Teacher Status standards; notes that the number of school students choosing to study physical science subjects post-16 has fallen over the last 25 years and that many studies have indicated a major decline in positive attitudes from students towards science; further notes the report, Initial Teacher Education and the Outdoor Classroom produced jointly by the Field Studies Council (FSC) and the Association for Science Education (ASE) and its recommendations, commonly known as the Malham Protocol, which seeks to reverse this trend; recognises that outdoor learning helps young people learn about assessing and managing risk and is an inspirational approach to teaching science; further notes with concern that there are currently a number of barriers to improving fieldwork, including Initial Teacher Training, which is not working effectively enough to help produce sufficient numbers of high quality teachers with the confidence, competence and commitment to teach outdoor science to the next generation of children and young people; further notes with concern that Qualified Teacher Status standard 30 only requires that trainee teachers should be able to identify opportunities for out-of-school learning, with no requirement for trainees to plan, organise, take part in, and lead outdoor learning activities; congratulates the FSC and the ASE on their work to improve teacher training; and calls for Qualified Teacher Status standard 30 to be strengthened in order to provide an incentive for fieldwork to be used as a teaching method.

This motion has been signed by a total of 34 MPs.