This article reports on how increasing understanding of the morphology of science vocabulary, by introducing and using affixes, improved students’ ability to recognise key words in examination questions and link these to prior knowledge. As a result, students attempted far more questions and the quality of answers they provided was significantly improved.

This article describes how science can lead whole-school curriculum change at key stage 3 (ages 11-14). Two thematic curriculum models are described. Model 1 shows how science specialists can develop student understanding of how science interrelates to a variety of other subject areas, while Model 2 shows how science might help to create a 'learning community' of subject specialists through concept mapping across subject areas. Both models encourage collaborative approaches to curriculum design and ultimately learning, with a major emphasis being placed on science, its relationship with other curriculum areas and its importance in our society.

Recent research suggests that formative assessment can improve teaching and learning. This study demonstrates how marking exercise books in a formative style and interviewing students on a regular basis can increase student participation in their own learning. Teachers using these formative approaches to assessment have found them a useful aid to differentiation and ultimately to understanding more deeply how their students learn.