Use the news: a study of secondary teachers' use of newspapers in the science classroom

Abstract

This paper reports on a study designed to explore the extent and nature of teachers' use of newspapers in the science classroom. Interviews were conducted with heads of science in 50 secondary schools in Northern Ireland, representing a 20% sample of all post-primary schools in the Province. The survey revealed that a large number of teachers availed of newspapers in some way to support their science teaching. However, only about one third incorporated them systematically into their programmes. Biologists were more likely to use newspapers than chemists or physicists. The most common intention was to highlight the links between school science and science in everyday life, with a view to promoting pupils' perceptions of the relevance of the subject and so stimulating interest. Significantly, in the context of current concerns about scientific literacy, only a few teachers referred to the use of newspapers to develop pupils' ability to critically evaluate science reports in the media. A number of ideas for using newspapers in science lessons, based on the findings of this study and on other relevant research, are discussed.

Keywords:

• Newspapers
• Media
• Biology education
• Scientific literacy
• Public understanding of science