Simplicity is key for science lessons Follow FizzicsEd Articles: Comments 0 Whilst travelling overseas this year, I finally got a chance to pick up a book I’ve eyed off for many years; Ferri, C. (2017) General Relativity for Babies. Sourcebooks If you have ever had the chance to browse through any of Chris’s collection of books, you can immediately tell that the content is incredibly well thought out, clear and most importantly, accessible to many readers. As I took it back to the hotel to read it got me thinking; How often do we stop and think about the imagery and words that we use in our lessons? Are the words that we use overly complex? Are the images that we use cluttered? Are our lessons filled with jargon & acronyms? Too often I have watched brilliant public presentations that have several of the points above, and as such, have lost their audience in the process. The principal role of science communicators is to communicate complex content in ways that resonate with people. There is a real trap in being so wrapped up in the large words or complex processes that we miss our audience’s eyes glazing over. Sure, they might politely applaud, but did you actually communicate the content? Simplicity is key for science lessons, no matter whether you’re a science teacher, science communicator or otherwise. Now of course, pitching to the right audience is part of this, however if Chris Ferrie’s books are anything to go by, you can teach some serious science in very few words combined with clear images that support the content. When I read this book with a very good friend of mine, she immediately was able to grasp the content when she asked some insightful questions, despite not having been exposed to general relativity concepts in the past. So with this in mind, the following is a simple checklist to run past before your next big public science presentation; Can you take away some words and still retain meaning? Can you change the words to simpler ones and still retain meaning? Can you create a simple graphic that communicates a complex message? Are you tailoring the content to the audience, or is it actually more tailored to what you are used to reading? As you build on concepts, are you taking the audience on a logical journey? Keep your lessons simple first. Help your audience follow your thought patterns. Build on concepts with care and consideration for the learners, regardless of their age. You can always add complexity later, but they need to understand the basics first. Stay true to the science, but remember your job is to help them understand it too. Happy teaching, Ben Newsome. Primary science teaching book “Be Amazing! How to teach science, the way primary kids love” Want more ideas for teaching science? Subscribe to the FizzicsEd Podcast! Love Science? Subscribe! Join our newsletter Receive more lesson plans and fun science ideas. PROGRAMS COURSES SHOP SCIENCE PARTIES Calendar of Events HIGH SCHOOL Science@Home 4-Week Membership 12PM: March 2024 Feb 26, 2024 - Mar 29, 2024 12PM - 12PM Price: $50 - $900 Book Now! PRIMARY Science@Home 4-Week Membership 2PM: March 2024 Feb 26, 2024 - Mar 22, 2024 2PM - 2PM Price: $50 - $900 Book Now! Light and Colour Online Workshop, Jan 18 PM Jan 18, 2024 2PM - 3PM Price: $50 Book Now! Light and Colour Online Workshop, Jan 18 AM Jan 18, 2024 9AM - 11AM Price: $50 Book Now! Lego Robotics, Sydney Olympic Park Jan 2024 Jan 24, 2024 9AM - 12PM Price: $50 Book Now! Creative Coding, Sydney Olympic Park Jan 2024 Jan 24, 2024 1PM - 4PM Price: $50 Book Now! Creative Coding, Sydney Olympic Park July 11 2023 Jul 11, 2023 9AM - 4PM Price: $100 Book Now! Fizzics Education STEAM Day: Robots vs Dinosaurs, Lalor, Apr 14 Apr 14, 2023 9AM - 12PM Price: $45 - $50 Book Now! Creative Coding, Sydney Olympic Park April 14 2023 Apr 14, 2023 9AM - 4PM Price: $100 Book Now! Science@Home After School 4-Week Membership: March 2023 Mar 06, 2023 - Mar 31, 2023 4PM - 5PM Price: $40 - $1200 Book Now! Featured Articles How to run an Australian wildlife show Topics Augmented Reality [4] Edtech [68] Media [18] Science [6] secondary education [44] teacher [1] dis [0] biotechnology [1] curriculum [2] AussieED [1] Education [210] Museums [31] Science News [4] Christmas [1] Vacation care [1] Film [1] computational thinking [2] high [1] Awards [13] Educhange [5] Music [3] Social Media [8] experiments [6] middle school [2] Inquiry-based learning [5] digital technologies [5] Earth science [1] Big History [1] Environment [38] NASA [6] Soils [1] seasonal [1] Artificial Intelligence [3] List [1] Games [1] Medicine [1] Biology [44] Events [45] National Science Week [3] Space Science [30] competitions [12] Sustainability [9] Student investigation [2] Social Emotional Learning [1] CAST test [1] Books [3] Farming [1] Outdoors [36] Sport [8] careers [10] UN SDGs [4] collaboration [1] Engineering [4] US Education [1] China [1] Food [4] Outreach [35] STEM [222] Physics [6] Global [2] K to 2 education [1] Virtual reality [2] citizen science [1] Churchill Fellowship [19] Gaming [7] Ozscied [2] Teaching [264] Chemistry [5] International [1] Photography [1] Play [1] numeracy [1] Cleveland [1] Gifted [7] Podcasts [119] Television [2] design thinking [8] Chinese student visits [1] Parenting [4] preservice teaching [5] Higher order thinking [1] Club [4] History [4] Pop Culture [4] Toys & Gadgets [1] project-based learning [5] Science & Technology Camps [1] Lesson ideas [1] Comedy [2] Philosophy [1] Coding [14] Indigenous [3] Preschool [24] Video Conferencing [40] family [2] Design [2] Lab Tech [1] math [1] Pakistan [1] Cooking [3] Kids [36] Remote Education [17] Virtual Excursions [9] Inclusive education [6] Oceans [5] Leadership [1] Electricity [1] Dinosaurs [7] Kids Parties [5] Robotics [10] Edutech [26] Classroom management [1] video conference [1] special needs [1] scholarship [1] Apps [11] Distance Education [51] Kitchen Chemistry [7] Safety [2] Distance Learning [19] Student encouragement [2] online [4] image [1] Africa [1] Agriculture [4] Eastershow [2] Maker Space [11] Scicomm [141] primary education [46] STEAM [10] virtual [2] gamification [1] Asia Pacific [1] Art [17] Edchat [223] Maths [14] Scied [34] literacy [7] Higher education [4] Child online safety [1] Esports [1] Easter [1] Load More Topics
Whilst travelling overseas this year, I finally got a chance to pick up a book I’ve eyed off for many years; Ferri, C. (2017) General Relativity for Babies. Sourcebooks If you have ever had the chance to browse through any of Chris’s collection of books, you can immediately tell that the content is incredibly well thought out, clear and most importantly, accessible to many readers. As I took it back to the hotel to read it got me thinking; How often do we stop and think about the imagery and words that we use in our lessons? Are the words that we use overly complex? Are the images that we use cluttered? Are our lessons filled with jargon & acronyms? Too often I have watched brilliant public presentations that have several of the points above, and as such, have lost their audience in the process. The principal role of science communicators is to communicate complex content in ways that resonate with people. There is a real trap in being so wrapped up in the large words or complex processes that we miss our audience’s eyes glazing over. Sure, they might politely applaud, but did you actually communicate the content? Simplicity is key for science lessons, no matter whether you’re a science teacher, science communicator or otherwise. Now of course, pitching to the right audience is part of this, however if Chris Ferrie’s books are anything to go by, you can teach some serious science in very few words combined with clear images that support the content. When I read this book with a very good friend of mine, she immediately was able to grasp the content when she asked some insightful questions, despite not having been exposed to general relativity concepts in the past. So with this in mind, the following is a simple checklist to run past before your next big public science presentation; Can you take away some words and still retain meaning? Can you change the words to simpler ones and still retain meaning? Can you create a simple graphic that communicates a complex message? Are you tailoring the content to the audience, or is it actually more tailored to what you are used to reading? As you build on concepts, are you taking the audience on a logical journey? Keep your lessons simple first. Help your audience follow your thought patterns. Build on concepts with care and consideration for the learners, regardless of their age. You can always add complexity later, but they need to understand the basics first. Stay true to the science, but remember your job is to help them understand it too. Happy teaching, Ben Newsome. Primary science teaching book “Be Amazing! How to teach science, the way primary kids love” Want more ideas for teaching science? Subscribe to the FizzicsEd Podcast!
This website uses cookies to improve user experience. By using our website you consent to all cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
Thank you for looking to subscribing to our newsletter 🙂 Through this service you’ll be first to know about the newest free experiments, science news and special offers. PLUS: Get a free Kitchen Chemistry Booklet with >20 experiments, how to use variables plus a handy template!
Please fill out the details below and an email will be sent to you. Once you get that just click on the link to confirm your subscription and you're all done!