Students can often produce correct answers in science - yet struggle when asked to explain, justify, or apply their thinking.
This session explores why this happens, and what teachers can do about it.
Participants will begin by examining real examples of student responses that achieve marks but reveal limited understanding. From this, we will identify key barriers, including over-reliance on recall, weak disciplinary language, and limited experience of constructing explanations.
The session will then focus on practical strategies that have been tested in the classroom, including:
Explicitly modelling how to “think like a scientist” Teaching students how to build explanations, not just recognise them Using scaffolds that are deliberately faded to promote independence Designing questions that reveal and develop thinking, not just check answers
Participants will actively apply these approaches by improving a weak student response and adapting a task for their own context.
The session prioritises clarity, realism, and immediate classroom application. By the end of the session, participants will be able to:
Recognise when students are succeeding without understanding Diagnose specific weaknesses in students’ scientific thinking Implement structured approaches to improve explanations and reasoning Adapt existing tasks to better develop disciplinary thinking
