The GCSE in Natural History was the idea of Mary Colwell as far back as 2011, who was able to draw in a range of supporters including Caroline Lucas of the Green Party, and secure the interest of awarding body OCR and Cambridge Assessments who wanted to develop and offer the new specification should it be given the necessary approval.
Mary shared her original idea with Tony Juniper (previously of Friends of the Earth, but working with Natural England at the time) who wrote a piece for 'The Guardian' newspaper in June 2011.
Unlike biology, this would not be a largely theoretical subject disconnected from the real world, but more practical, including basic identification skills in, for example, butterflies, trees and fish.The basics of how to recognise different bird songs, soil types and fossils could be offered. So could learning about the work of the great naturalists, Alfred Russell Wallace, Charles Darwin and Gilbert White, and not only how they found wisdom from observation in nature, but also how they were moved by the natural world they investigated.
Learning about the work and motivations of pioneering conservationists such as Charles Rothschild could also be included. Taking notes and making sketches of wild plants, insects and birds outside would not only boost knowledge but add new dimensions to learning.
Learning about the work and motivations of pioneering conservationists such as Charles Rothschild could also be included. Taking notes and making sketches of wild plants, insects and birds outside would not only boost knowledge but add new dimensions to learning.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/blog/2011/jun/09/natural-history-gcse-greener-future
A survey from the Co-Op in September 2011 backed up the desire of young people to learn more about nature.
At the time of the original article, Tim Oates had suggested that climate change should not be part of the curriculum, despite being a strong supporter of the new GCSE which has also now been dubbed as a 'climate change GCSE'.
I heard Mary speak about her plans for the new specification at an event at the Linnean Society to mark the FSCs 75th Anniversary just ahead of the start of the pandemic.
I talked to Mary about the potential implications for geography teachers in those schools where there was pressure on curriculum subjects or blocks which were occupied by geography. There were also concerns about whether this would be offered in schools. Imagine schools moving from a subject with a track record of exam success to an 'unknown' subject, for example.
Who would teach this specification, and how would they be trained, and who would provide the resources? Who would decide on the 'powerful disciplinary knowledge' for this 'new' subject.
In April 2022, Anthony Bennett and I opened a Facebook group for those who were interested in potentially teaching the new specification and within a few weeks it had grown to almost seven hundred members. It now has over seven hundred members.
As someone who has a huge library of books which are connected with natural history, nature, art, poetry, music and other cultural connections, I'm looking forward to seeing how they can be drawn into the creation of resources, but also to encourage young people to read more widely. I can see the development of an anthology of reading with extracts from a range of books being particularly useful perhaps, along with support for fieldwork and more technical support materials. This would sit alongside any official textbook - it will be interesting to see how a unique 'voice' for the subject is developed.
We shall see how this community develops over the years ahead as the ideas of Mary Colwell take shape in the hands of those whom OCR draws in to help develop their specification, support materials, training and sample assessment materials.
I hope that as we move through 2023 we will start to see the next steps in the process: draft specifications and other resources perhaps. After almost a year in the hands of an awarding body, I hope there has been a lot of discussion and consultation with appropriate experts. I would imagine there is also work underway to write the approved textbook for those teaching the new resource.
This blog will form part of an unofficial set of resources for teachers, which will be fleshed out over the next two and a half years.
Posts will be tagged so that when people are ready to start planning, this blog can be a source of secondary information and hopefully provide inspiration for planning.
Always happy to be consulted and be part of the process as well.
Image: Natural History Museum - Hintze Hall - Alan Parkinson, shared under CC license
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