Developing subject expertise in secondary science

This case study is written by Adam Boxer, Head of Science at a secondary school. As you read this case study, reflect on the approaches suggested for developing subject expertise and consider how the approaches might be relevant to your own development as an early career teacher. The dynamic between generic teaching and learning and subject specific strategies has never been more important. In recent years, spearheaded by Christine Counsell (2016) and others, the importance of viewing teaching and learning not as a generic set of skills transferable from classroom to classroom, but as a way of delivering very specific pieces of information has emerged. For example, when considering assessment for learning, until you know what learning in science (or any other subject) looks like, you cannot talk about its assessment. This isn’t to say that general principles are not worthy. Lemov’s Cold Call (2014) for example is an incredibly powerful technique for building engagement and parti