Science and Key Skills

In addition to their specific content and knowledge, the subjects and short courses of junior cycle provide students with opportunities to develop a range of key skills. There are opportunities to support all key skills in this course but some are particularly significant. The examples below identify some of the elements that are related to learning activities in science. Teachers can also build many of the other elements of particular key skills into their classroom planning. The eight key skills are set out in detail in Key Skills of Junior Cycle.

Key skill	Key skill element	Student learning activity
Being creative	Exploring options and alternatives	As students engage in scientific inquiry, they generate and seek to answer their own questions. They try out different approaches when working on a task and evaluate what works best.
Being literate	Expressing ideas clearly and accurately	Students will plan, draft and present scientific arguments, express opinions supported by evidence, and explain and describe scientific phenomena and relationships.
Being numerate	Developing a positive disposition towards investigating, reasoning and problem-solving	As students engage with science, they will come to appreciate the fun of exploring mathematical problems in the context of a scientific idea and the satisfaction of arriving at a solution.
Communicating	Using numbers and data	Students will interpret, compare, and present information and data using a variety of charts/diagrams fit for purpose and audience, using relevant scientific terminology.
Managing information and thinking	Being curious	As students research socio-scientific issues, they will ask questions to probe the problem more deeply and to challenge how they think about the issue.
Managing myself	Making considered decisions	Students enjoy a wide range of collaborative discussions, providing them with opportunities to listen to different perspectives when considering their options.
Staying well	Being safe	Students will engage frequently with planning and conducting practical activities: they will learn to recognise when their personal safety is threatened and respond appropriately.
Working with others	Contributing to make the world a better place	Students enjoy frequent opportunities to discuss and debate issues relating to sustainability. They will learn to think critically about the world and its problems and propose solutions.