4 Summary

Science and the development of scientific skills such as hypothesising, observing and predicting are particularly well served by groupwork. This unit has shown how listening to each other and sharing ideas helps students to think. It has given you some insight into the important collaborative nature of learning by showing how speaking and working together stimulates deeper thoughts and sparks creativity in students’ thinking. Groupwork also provides a supportive environment for students to take risks with ideas and to help each other understand scientific phenomena better. The benefits to both you and your students have been discussed and you have had the opportunity to plan lessons using these strategies to see these benefits.