Nuffield Pathways Through Science

The Nuffield Pathways Through Science course was developed to align with the very innovative and successful modular science course created by the Northern Examining and Assessment Board (NEAB now merged into AQA).

The Pathways scheme was planned as a flexible resource for teachers who wanted to plan their own programmes of work. The publications for each module provided a complete and worthwhile set of activities aligned with National Curriculum levels and covering the requirements of the GCSE specification.

Differentiation
The scheme aimed to make differentiation feasible according to the National Curriculum levels which applied at the time. The approach to differentiation was based on mastery so that students did not move to a higher level until they had come to terms with work at a lower level. Content was assigned to levels so that at Key Stage Four, students working at lower level were expected to revisit topics studied at Key Stage Three.

The programme was modular. Each module was divided into a series of episodes. The idea of the episode structure was that it allowed everyone in a class to keep in step while tackling learning tasks appropriate to his or her level of performance.

Publications
The package of publications for each module had four components:
• Study Guide - spelling out the requirements of the course specification in language accessible to students to help them with planning, record-keeping and revision.
• Activities - a set of worksheets with a variety of practical and non-practical teaching and learning tasks.
• Sourcebook - a magazine-style presentation of information, stories and picture to support the activities.
• Commentary - providing feedback and help to students with answers, sample data, and an indication of the level of response expected for the various tasks.
• Teachers Guide – with notes on teaching strategies and technical information about all the activities.

• URL: http://stem.org.uk/cxou