Name of presentation Earth Science Education Unit Geology Teacher Training Earth Science Education Unit CHUGD meeting update

Name of presentationEarth Science Education Unit

Geology Teacher Training

Earth Science Education Unit

www.earthscienceeducation.com

CHUGD meeting update

14th November 2011

A teacher with a geology degree:

• has a geoscience degree (with a minimum of 40% geology)

• has a PGCE (one-year teaching certificate)– the PGCE may be in science/geology teaching – or in science teaching or in geography teaching (from

institutions where a geology degree is recognised)

• has not trained in Scotland (since a geology degree is not recognised for science or geography teaching in Scotland)

A teacher with a geology degree:

Last year (2010/11):• 26 people with geology degrees trained to become

secondary science teachers in England and Wales• of these, six trained to become science teachers with

a geology specialism (at Keele or Bath Universities – more details below)

• an unknown number trained to become geography teachers

• an unknown number trained to become primary teachers

Geology teacher demand

England, Wales, N. Ireland - A-level

• A-level entry was falling, but has been steadily rising recently

• as a percentage of all A-levels – more uneven


• Rises in ‘comprehensive’ last year = academies


• New AS-level looked promising – it then fell – but a recent continuing rise; 2011 = an artefact

England, Wales, N. Ireland - AS-level

England, Wales, N. Ireland - GCSE Geology

• The new GCSE in Geology has just come on stream – with interest rising

AS- A- GCSE level figures

• 2011 A2-level Geology – 1900 • 2011 AS-level Geology – 3148 (an artefact – but still

looking good) • 2011 GCSE Geology – 1112

• A and AS-level - two Awarding Bodies (Exam Boards – OCR, WJEC)

• 2011 – OCR = 107 centres; WJEC = 92 centres; a total of 199 centres

• GCSE Geology - one Awarding Body (WJEC)• 2011 – 66 centres (including 24 new ones)

Geology teachers

• The centre numbers indicate a minimum of 200 teachers actively teaching geology

• The numbers are greater than this since:– some centres have two geology teachers– some centres teach only A-level or GCSE, not both

• Earth Science Teachers’ Association membership: 472

• Geology-teaching jobs advertised last year:– two geology teaching jobs– two science posts mentioning geology– three geography/geology teaching jobs

Undergraduate geology recruitment - 2010

F600 Geology • Total applicants = 1284 (617 accepted)• Applicants with A-level Geology = 565• Applicants with Scottish Higher = 13• Applicants with A-level + Higher = 578

• % total applicants with A-level or Scottish Higher Geology = 45%

Figures kindly provided by UCAS


F6** Geology– F600 Geology – F610 Applied geology – F611 Industrial geology – F620 Mining geology – F630 Geotechnology – F631 Marine geotechnology – F640 Earth science – F641 Palaeontology – F642 Geoscience – F650 Geological oceanography – F660 Geophysics


F6** Geology • Total applicants = 3699 (1214 accepted)• Applicants with A-level Geology = 1115• Applicants with Scottish Higher = 33• Applicants with A-level + Higher = 1148

• % total applicants with A-level or Scottish Higher Geology = 31%

Figures kindly provided by UCAS

Geology in the National Science Curriculum for England

Key stage 3: 11 – 14 year olds– 14 statements of content– one is - geological activity is caused by chemical

and physical processes (this includes rock cycle processes, rock formation and weathering)

– 1/14 = 7%

Key stage 4: 14 – 16 year olds– 16 statements of content– one is - the surface and the atmosphere of the

Earth have changed since the Earth’s origin and are changing at present

– 1/14 = 6%

School-level geology in Scotland

• For a number of years geoscience graduates haven’t been able to train as teachers in Scotland

• Last year (2010/11) - geology:– 64 Scottish Higher entries– 60 Scottish Intermediate 1 entries– 21 Scottish Intermediate 2 entries

• The Scottish Qualifications Agency plans to close Scottish geology qualifications and replace them with qualifications in Environmental Science

• The ES qualification contains only a small amount of geology

Support for geology teaching

School-level geology teaching in the UK is currently supported by:•the Earth Science Teachers’ Association (annual conference, bi-annual journal)•the Education Committee of the Geological Society•the Earth Science Education Forum (England and Wales)•the Scottish Earth Science Education Forum•ES2K in Northern Ireland

Geology teacher demand - summary

We need geology teachers to teach A-level and GCSE geology:•to supply an important percentage of students for undergraduate geology recruitment•… and an important group of other students with an understanding of geology

We also need geology-trained teachers:•to contribute to the teaching of broad science at KS3 and KS4

Geology teacher supply

PGCE geology teacher training

• Although in the distant past there were up to six institutions training geology teachers

• in the past 15 years, there have been only two– Bath University– Keele University

PGCE Geology in recent yearsBath University – total 21 since 2003, average 2.3 pa

PGCE Geology in recent yearsKeele University – total 131 since 1997, average 9.5 pa


• Although in the distant past there were up to six institutions training geology teachers

• In the past 15 years, there have been only two– Bath University– Keele University

• Average no. of geology teachers trained nationally since 2003 = 10.1 pa


Bath University, last year (2010/11):• trained only two specialist geology students• decided earlier not to continue the course• closed recruitment for 2011/12 onward


Keele University, year before last (2009/10):• decided in March, since recruitment was low, to close

the course• were given three ‘no cost’ options to convince them to

re-open the course• agreed to the third ‘no cost’ option, providing a CPD

course for existing teachers in Geology teacher training was developed in the longer term

• reopened recruitment in May• since recruitment had been closed between March and

late May – recruited only 4 trainees


Science teacher training at Keele:• involves 57 two hour sessions in science teaching

(including elements of biology, chemistry, geology and physics)

• two residential field visits• 13 sessions (26 hours) of subject specialist teaching –

aimed at A-level in, biology, chemistry, geology and physics

Thus the Keele geology teacher training course would have been closed to save 26 hours of specialist geology teacher training


Keele University last year (2010/11):– trained the four trainees using the ‘no cost’ option (one

dropped out)– this involved the trainees observing the teaching of a geology

module to students on a pre-PGCE ‘Subject Knowledge Enhancement’ (SKE) course

– addressing different learning outcomes from the SKE students– discussing the teaching afterwards– with good student feedback

• Keele was planning to do the same this year (2011/12) – providing there was progress towards a CPD course



Keele University, this year (2011/12):• was planning to recruit geologists to be taught

alongside the SKE students• received 19% cuts in science PGCE figures (from 70 to

57)• within these cuts, the numbers of chemistry and

physics students were protected• this left only 12 students for ‘biology and other science’• Keele decided that, in order to maintain a viable

biology group, the geology course would have to be closed


Keele University, this year (2011/12):• the geology course was closed• the TDA was lobbied suggesting that, through the cuts

imposed, an ‘unintended consequence’ would be that geology teacher training would be discontinued in this country

• TDA allocated an additional six geology teacher training places to Keele for 2011/12

• … and indicated that they would keep small subjects like geology in mind during future allocations

• the Keele geology course was reopened


Keele University, this year (2011/12):• When the Keele geology course was closed, the two

students who had been recruited were advised to transfer to the two year SKE chemistry/physics course instead – which they did

• When the course was re-opened they were given the option to transfer back to the PGCE geology course – but decided not to

• Four further PGCE geologists were recruited during the year

• The course began with four students (not meeting the allocation of 6 TDA places)

Geology teacher supplyKeele University is the only institution that is likely to train

geology teachers in the future

Keele was allocated six places for 2011/12 – with the promise of a similar or increased future allocation

The current Keele training model is only viable if:– a lecturer with expertise in geology teacher training remains at

Keele– SKE courses continue to run– there is a commitment to develop a CPD course– funding can be found to support these development


Keele University, this year:• The CPD in geology teacher training idea is important

because the course not only could be offered to Keele students, but also to:– PGCE science students in other ITT institutions– PGCE geography students in other institutions– in-service science and geography teachers with geology

degrees– in-service and training science and geography teachers in

Scotland– international students– other educators interested in geology teaching

(eg. adult education, museum education or outdoor education)– undergraduate Geoscience students interested in teaching

Geology teaching - the future

Geology teaching – the future

The likely future scenario is:• People with geology degrees will continue to be trained

as teachers in England and Wales• The only institution where teachers will be trained with

a geology specialism is Keele University – where the current allocation is six places


• Keele is seeking to become a ‘Centre for Geoscience Education’, involving the following:– the current Earth Science Education Unit activities (the ESEU

has provided CPD to more than 23,000 teachers and trainee teachers in the past 12 years across the UK, impacting on at least 4.5 million pupils)

– the continued training of science teachers with a geology specialism (but no longer on a ‘no cost’ basis)

– CPD summer schools available to practicing science and geography teachers with geoscience degrees, geoscience undergraduates, Scottish and international students


• Keele is seeking to become a ‘Centre for Geoscience Education’, involving the following:– funding at the current ESEU levels (from Oil and Gas UK and

other funders)– CPD course bursaries from industry– a steering committee of stakeholders – an advisory committee of interested parties– … with long term stability


Maintaining PGCE geology teacher training at Keele:• To maintain the current PGCE training in secondary

science with a geology specialism (currently six places allocated), Keele must fill these places

• It would be even better if the places were filled – and more were requested

• Please publicise teaching as a career route to your undergraduate students – using the following flyer:





Keele course





A conclusion

• We can only preserve and develop geology teaching in schools if we work together

• This is vital for: – pupils– schools– Higher Education– industry– the country – … and the planet

Name of presentationEarth Science Education Unit

Geology Teacher Training

Earth Science Education Unit

www.earthscienceeducation.com

CHUGD meeting update

14th November 2011

Documents

Name of presentation Earth Science Education Unit Geology Teacher Training Earth Science Education Unit CHUGD meeting update