Why use this approach?
The advantage of this approach is that it enables you to make a detailed assessment of one or two aspects of scientific inquiry (SC1) at a time, within the context of a whole investigation. This means that assessing the full range of SC1 becomes more manageable with a whole class. Specific areas for development can be identified and subsequent teaching can take this into account with more clearly defined learning objectives - the assessment is formative.
Teachers in the IST project found that carrying out these focussed assessments helped them to develop their own understanding of progression in scientific inquiry (SC1).
Because the activities are mostly taken from the QCA SoW they are intended to fit into a normal teaching programme and do not require additional time.
These focused assessments can also contribute to an ongoing summative record of children's attainment in scientific inquiry (SC1) .