Acknowledgements

The schools that trialled Let’s Think through Science! were all in the London Boroughs of Hammersmith and Fulham, and Harrow; we are extremely grateful for the encouragement and support we have received from these education authorities. Gillian Palmer, Chief Inspector in Hammersmith, has maintained a supportive overview of the project and created the conditions in which the trials could be conducted effectively. Sue Sissling, a science inspector in Harrow, has been deeply involved in the implementation of the project, arranging and participating actively in the professional development days, communicating effectively with the headteachers and science teachers from Harrow who have been involved, and generally acting as a ‘critical friend’ as the project has developed. Within King’s College, our colleague Justin Dillon, co-director of the project, has made valuable inputs to the professional development days and to the management of the project.

The Year 3 teachers and science coordinators in the schools have been enormously supportive and helpful. Their willingness to try out new activities and teaching methods, to be observed and to offer detailed feedback has been invaluable. We owe them a real debt of gratitude, as we do the project school headteachers who were willing to risk their Year 3 teachers and pupils experimenting with some quite new ideas, even in an environment of ‘high stakes’ testing.

Finally, without the funding and the active continuing interest and professional support of the AstraZeneca Science Teaching Trust, these materials could never have been properly evaluated on their way to the process of publication.