Table 4: An interview with a Primary School science coordinator

Sample interview questions for the Principal and/or Responses from the Principal and/or science
science coordinator/teacher re: science provision incoordinator/teacher re: science provision in the
the setting. setting.
Is there a science coordinator and/or how many Yes, there are two science coordinators (one for
1 specified science teachers are there in the school? primary and one for secondary).

What are the duties/responsibilities of the science Ordering resources, Checking if syllabus are
teacher/coordinator? followed by teachers on time, Making sure that
grade 1 and 2 are doing hand-on activities.

Does she teach any, all students or just specific year The science coordinators are teachers as well. The
groups? primary coordinator teaches grade 5, while the
secondary coordinator teach grade 8.

Obtain a teaching schedule and any schemes of

work, lesson plans, software used etc. from the
science coordinator/teacher.

Lesson plan about growing plant unit

2 Who is responsible for science policy and They don't have policy. Lab coordinators are
provision within the setting? responsible for labs.
(Can we obtain a copy of the policy?)
3 Online/Blended Learning:
Does the setting have its own website? If so, what is Yes, https://www.activelearnprimary.co.uk
the URL, who created it and who is responsible for Created by Pearson Education.
managing and updating it?
 Is there any online/blended learning taking place
related to science?
What ICT resources are used specifically for
teaching science?
4 What science
equipment/manipulatives/resources can be
found the setting? (Is there a list? Differentiate between the
classroom; the science lab and other areas in the setting e.g.
library)
Is there a budget for materials?
Who trains teachers and staff in the use the
equipment and manages the equipment and
materials?
5 Is/Are there dedicated science labs in this
setting?
If yes, how is it used and by whom? How is it
organised? What equipment can be found here?
Does the setting feel it has enough specialist science
teachers, technicians and dedicated science
rooms?
Yes, videos and online games.
Computers, Projectors
They have different materials for both classroom
and lab but they all are kept in the labs. If teacher
wants to use some she/he can take it from there
and just bring it to the class.
Yes
SLT (Senior Leadership Team) and MLT (Middle
Leadership Team). They do observations for science
teachers to see how they're using the equipment.
Yes they have three dedicated labs for physics,
biology and chemistry.
It is used by science teachers. They separate the
materials based on the subject. For example, all
materials related to glassware suppliers are kept in
chemistry lab. Skeleton, microscope and specimens
from animals are in biology lab. Electrical equipment
are in physics lab
Yes, they do
6 Which science resources does the setting feel it
needs or would like to have to achieve its vision
or better science teaching and learning?
7 What are the safety rules?
Are the safety rules posted in the science setting?
Who developed these and are they
mandatory/enforced?
8 What safety equipment is available and when is
it used commonly?
Is safety equipment available for all students in the
classrooms?
Is equipment cleaned, if so by whom? Who
manages this duty?
9 Planning for learning- how are the science
lessons planned for in the setting?
Does the MOE/Zone/KHDA provide unit plans/lesson Lesson plans are available on active learning website
plans? (can we obtain a copy of this?)
The science coordinator uses her mobile phone to
present for students what she has on her desk but it
is not high definition, so she said it would be better
if there is a Dino-lite Camera provided to teachers.
It is a handheld digital camera which connects the
computer by USB. It is used to show any piece to the
audience on a big screen.
There are some safety rules followed by teachers
and students listed in an instruction sheets:
- Dont touch the supplies until you are told
what to do.
- Never test in science labs
- Leave your personal items outside the lab
- Report accident as soon as they happen
- Wear safety gaggles when completing a task
Those rules are developed by science head teachers
and operation manager. And they are checked by
Mr.Tapn. He observes teachers to see if they follow
rules or not.
Actually, they have many safety rules but they didn't
have to use it because they've never face any
accident till now.
Yes. The main things they all have in classrooms are
the fire extinguisher, first aid box and covered wires.
Yes, cleaned and managed by lab technicians.
Teachers sometimes attend workshops to learn how
to clean the equipment.
Science Teachers are given the lesson plans by the
website: active learning. They have it online with all
resources. And the science coordinator stated that
from her educational experiments, it is the best site
to be used by teachers.
 Are there weekly planning meetings? What is
usually done in the planning meetings?
Who attends the planning meetings?
Does the school have specific goals related to
science (TIMMS scores etc.)?
10 How is learning assessed in the science
classroom?
Is there an assessment plan for the semester? What
does it include?
Do teachers collect student data? What data, when,
and what is it used for?
How do students get feedback so that they can
make improvements?
11 What science professional development /
training do teachers currently receive or have
recently had?
How frequently and from whom did they /are they
receiving this?
Do they have a document that outlines this PD?
Yes, but not specifically for science. Teachers gather
to discuss the lesson plans, the assessments and the
materials they need about all the subjects (math,
literacy, science, social studies and geography)
Teachers, Grade Leaders, SLT and phase leader
Yes, they have general goals that students are
familiar with which are: Think and question like
scientists, follow the scientific methods.
By giving feedback and doing formative and
summative assessments.
Yes, it includes what lessons they will cover in the
tests.
Yes, teacher collects students' data by doing mini
tests and progress tests. In classroom, data is
collected by observing students participation.
Sometimes learners do self-evaluation by
themselves and this helps teacher to determine
their level.
They receive both oral and written feedback from
the teacher. On their notes, teacher write two
comments about how students is doing well:
WWW stands for "What Went Well"
EBI stands for "Even Better If"
These two statements help students to re-check his
or her performance so they can make a progress.
Teachers visit workshops to get suggestions on
science professional development and to see some
modeling lessons.
Yes, they have a copy of agenda and they talk with
SLT about what they did in workshops.
What PD do they think teachers in the setting still
need?
There is a lack in subject knowledge, and if
teachers have the subject knowledge they dont
know how to deliver it to students. They also
need to raise their culture awareness and
background so they can build a close relationship
with learners.