Learning to teach “science” out of school: non‐school placements as part of a Primary PGCE programme

Primary teaching trainees were given a 1‐week placement in environmental science centres, to learn about teaching children in non‐school contexts. The placements were mainly in the South West of England, and included both residential and day‐visit centres. Evaluation was through written and oral feedback from hosts and students, against a set of criteria. The article provides a rationale for such placements within a PGCE programme, describes how they operated in practice and analyses the feedback to make recommendations for future operation of the programme. It recommends provision of more documentation on placements at the planning stage, and proposes a more structured programme for working with children and materials development. The article makes recommendations for further research into the logistics of such placements, the impact of materials developed by trainees, their role and status during placement, and potential benefits of negotiating their own placements. It concludes by discussing the implications for placements more generally.