Agreement with The Oxford Trust makes Primary Science Teaching Trust lead partner for delivery of Thinking Doing Talking Science courses

Under an exclusive license from The Oxford Trust, the Primary Science Teaching Trust (PSTT) is, from 1st June 2024, the lead national partner for the ongoing delivery of Thinking, Doing, Talking Science (TDTScience) courses across the UK.

Under The Oxford Trust, TDTScience was co-developed by its Science Oxford team and Oxford Brookes University. It is based on over 20 years of educational research and pulls together a range of established good practice. It is one of the sources for the Education Endowment Foundation’s (EEF) 2023 Improving Primary Science guidance report.

TDTScience aims to make science lessons in primary schools more practical, creative and challenging by training teachers in a number of strategies to encourage pupils to use higher-order thinking skills. TDTScience-trained teachers enable all children to think and talk about scientific concepts through dedicated discussion times; provide children with a wide range of opportunities for creative investigations and problem solving for knowledge and skills progression; and focus on children’s recording for effective assessment.

The interactive four-day TDTScience training programme has been created for primary teachers to enable them to successfully implement TDTScience in their classrooms. The training is spread out across a school year and is delivered by accredited TDTScience trainers across the UK.

The TDTScience approach is also the basis of The Oxford Trust’s STEM education and engagement progammes under Science Oxford, which aim to provide opportunities for higher-order thinking in science by making activities more practical, creative and challenging for pupils.

Over the last 10 years, TDTScience courses for primary school teachers have been delivered across England by The Oxford Trust’s Science Oxford team under the expert guidance of the Trust’s former Director of Education Bridget Holligan and the late Helen Wilson from Oxford Brookes University, all thanks to the support of organisations such as the Education Endowment Foundation and PSTT, and other regional partners.

Under the exclusive license agreement with PSTT, courses in Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire will continue to be delivered by the Trust’s Science Oxford team.

Steve Burgess, CEO, The Oxford Trust says: “We are very pleased that PSTT will manage the future delivery of TDTScience courses. They have been involved with the TDTScience story from the start and are fully committed to the ongoing delivery of the programme. The Oxford Trust will continue to be involved in delivering courses in the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire region.”

 

Find out more about Thinking, Doing, Talking Science at tdts.org.uk