ABSTRACT

This book is for anyone who wants to be a science teacher. Teaching science is one of the more interesting and worthwhile things you can do with your time, but you would expect me to say that so I ought to justify it. Teaching science lets you continue to play with a subject that, I assume, you already find interesting. Even graduates with a jaundiced view of their degree courses can find going back to what turned them on science in the first place refreshing. Unlike some subjects, you are not tied to a textbook, board or a screen, lesson after lesson. Instead, you have a more varied, hands-on existence. And when you get this varied and hands-on part right and your pupils grasp the point of it all, the satisfaction is enormous and makes it all worthwhile. Oh, and yes, there may be bad days but aren’t all jobs like that? Your aim will be to create lessons that make such days rare. In the process, I hope you will also find that being creative with your lessons is a source of enjoyment. After all, being creative is supposed to be the very essence of a rewarding life. Teaching is also learning, but you only learn if you are thoughtful about what you do. This, and the companion volume, Learning to Teach Science in the Secondary School: a companion to school experience (edited by Jenny Frost and Tony Turner), are intended to help you make your teaching thoughtful and rewarding.