Continuing Professional Development (CPD)  For Teachers

The Charles Darwin Trust seeks to promote teachers' pleasure in their subject, thereby helping them enhance the appeal of science to their pupils.

These CPD programmes put investigation at the centre of learning and encourage close observation and interaction with the natural world to provide an enriched understanding of scientific processes. They encourage teachers to adapt QCA (Qualifications and Curriculum Authority) schemes of work with their classes to achieve scientific and cross-curricular goals. Their aim is to stimulate teachers and provide them with tools to encourage pupils to feel that science is not only relevant to their lives but also fascinating.

The programmes also supply a human dimension that is now often lacking in science teaching in schools. Darwin's home and the places where he worked for 40 years provide a connection with thinking about science as Darwin did. The investigations reflect Darwin's sense of enquiry and close involvement with nature.

Practical Investigations For Key Stages 2/3/4

The Experiment Topics are incorporated into programmes for secondary school science teachers. Ideally, The Charles Darwin Trust provides a first day course at Down House with a later half day at another venue, for example the Science Learning Centre London (at the Institute of Education). During the intervening months the teachers develop and test the methods in the classroom.

The full day at Down House involves practical outdoor activities and a tour of Down House Garden and Darwin's Sandwalk, looking at ways in which participants' own school grounds can be used to teach the observation and reasoning skills that Darwin himself used to develop his theories. The later half day develops practical activities for direct classroom application supported by written resources (provided on CD for participants) and exercises using interactive whiteboards and microscopes.

All courses introduce techniques to encourage students to engage in observation, collection of ecological data and scientific reasoning, in group discussion, scientific writing and using ICT tools.

Teaching How Science Works  At Key Stage 3/4

This is a Darwin-Inspired approach to teaching and learning developed by the Natural History Museum, The Charles Darwin Trust and the Science Learning Centre London. This course specifically supports the new How Science Works curriculum and gives teachers the chance to explore it in the context of Darwin's research and ideas. It looks at approaches to teaching about scientific thinking, interpreting data and evidence, uncertainties in science and how theories are developed.

Darwin-Inspired Approaches - delivered through the National and Regional Science Learning Centres

The Charles Darwin Trust delivered several modules of the train-the-trainers programme in February 2009 and subsequently for secondary teachers in March 2009 at the National Science Learning Centre, and contributed modules at Darwin 200 events held at Science Learning Centre Yorkshire and Humber and Science Learning Centres North West in July 2009. These programmes supported the Darwin 200 events and resources available in 2009 and provided context through explanation of the significance of Darwin's life and ideas. 

In 2010 a number of Science Learning Centres are offering Darwin-Inspired Approaches in their primary and secondary programmes.

Teaching Darwin-Inspired Science out-of-doors. All Keys Stages

Learning science out-of-doors can be linked to the work of an inspirational scientist like Darwin. The scientific processes and knowledge derived from Darwin's work, much of which he did out-of-doors, feature prominently in this workshop. The workshop also shows that Darwin's simple practical enquiries, particularly his weed-plot and worm-cast experiments, can be replicated in school grounds. These experiments illustrate Darwin's ways of working and show how simple experiments gave him the answers to big questions about diversity and distribution of life and earth.

The Trust delivers introductory CPD programmes for primary and secondary teachers in those schools with whom it is collaborating to provide Darwin-Inspired study for students. Click on  primary and secondary web pages.

Darwin-inspired primary science

Primary teachers in London can now book a trainer from Science Learning Centre London to come to their school and show how Darwin's ideas can be used to inspired classes to ask questions, investigate, measure, record and, above all, think in science. These session have been developed with The Charles Darwin Trust. See the Science Learning Centre London website for more details.