Subject Knowledge

All of us, trainees and tutors alike, will have our weak areas of subject knowledge and primary trainees may have little beyond their 'C' in GCSE required for entry to teacher training.

This section of the website suggests how trainees' subject knowledge can be strengthened during their teacher training year(s). It also deals with ideas about how to support trainees as they teach the topic and provides suggestions for running sessions.

The Knowledge tab leads you to a range of resources to support subject understanding appropriate for each key stage, either helping trainees with their personal understanding or giving them ideas for teaching the topic.

The General ideas (K0) section provides background ideas regarding the nature of science learning and some critical issues regarding the engagement of students and teachers in this learning.

Background to all other K Units

K1.1 How Science Works

• K1.1 Ideas and Evidence
• K1.2 Investigative Skills

K2.0 Life Processes and Living Things

• K2.1 Cells and Cell Functions
• K2.2 Humans and Other Animals
• K2.3 Green plants and organisms
• K2.4 Variation, inheritance and evolution
• K2.5 Living things in their environment

K3.0 Materials and their Properties

• K3.1 Classifying Materials
• K3.2 Changing Materials
• K3.3 Patterns of Behaviour 
• K3.4 Doing Demonstrations

K4.0 Physical Processes

• K4.1 Electricity and Magnetism
• K4.2 Forces and motion
• K4.3 Light and sound
• K4.4 The Earth and Beyond
• K4.5 Energy Resources and energy transfer
• K4.6 Radioactivity

K5.0 Science Issues CDRom