CONNECTING
WITH SCIENCE
EDUCATION
Edited by robyn gregson
CONNECTING
WITH SCIENCE
EDUCATION
Edited by robyn gregson
CONNECTING
WITH SCIENCE
EDUCATION
edited by robyn gregson
1
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© Robyn Gregson 2012
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First published 2012
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Author: Gregson, Robyn.
Title: Connecting with science education / Robyn Gregson; editor.
ISBN: 978 0 19 557530 9 (pbk.)
Notes: Includes index.
Subjects: Science--Study and teaching.
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List of Figures
ix
List of Tables
xi
contents
List of In the Science Classroom Activities
xii
Matrix of In the Science Classroom Activities
Preface
xiv
xvi
Acknowledgements
xx
About the Authors
xxii
Publisher’s Note
xxv
Part 1 Linking Theory to Practice
1
1
Becoming Explorers of Our World: The Purpose of
Science Education 2
Martin Westwell and Debra Panizzon
What is science education really for?
4
Supporting young explorers in our classrooms
Focus upon meaning in secondary science
14
Linking theory to practice in science education
2
11
16
Making Connections with the Students’ World
21
Robyn Gregson and Maree Gruppetta
What are students’ worlds?
24
What the students already know
24
Where does the knowledge come from?
27
What if their knowledge is wrong? Misconceptions/alternate views
How students learn
29
Contemporary theories and practices
34
Opening up science to all students
37
How students like to learn science
43
Teachers’ concerns about students learning in science
45
29
c
v
vi
contents
3
From Curriculum to Pedagogy
55
Paul Rooney
Internationalising ACS
57
What does curriculum mean?
58
The purposes of a curriculum
59
Curriculum planning models
61
Why a national science curriculum?
62
The importance of the Australian Curriculum: Science
The structure of the ACS
63
64
The interchange of knowledge
Understanding pedagogy
70
72
Navigating from student to teacher
73
The characteristics of the developing science teacher
Signature pedagogies in science
4
What is Science?
76
78
87
Mitch O’Toole
What do the introductory stories tell us about science?
The place of science in learners’ worlds
89
89
Where did the science we teach today come from?
91
Using stories to explain the history of our understanding of
science 92
What makes science different from other ways of knowing?
How does science interact with technology?
So how should we teach science?
103
105
5 Engaging Students in Science
111
Robyn Gregson
Engagement and science
What is engagement?
113
114
The link between engagement and motivation
Engagement and academic success
Factors affecting engagement
116
117
Barriers to engagement in school science
122
116
95
CONTENTS
Models of teaching science that lead to engagement
Connecting with students to enhance engagement
6
Planning for Engagement
125
131
137
Robyn Gregson
Introduction
139
What effective teachers of science do
Planning for scope and sequence
How to get started
146
162
Strategies for engaging students
7
139
164
Science, Literacy and the Integrated Curriculum
170
Mary U. Hanrahan
The role of language in science education
Literacy and literacies in science
172
173
What teachers need to know about reading and writing in science
Reading for understanding
Writing to learn
179
182
Do we need to use the big words?
184
Linking literacy skills with science understanding
8
179
186
The What, Why, Who, Where and When of
Assessment 195
Robyn Gregson
What is assessment?
198
Difference between ‘assessment’ and ‘grading’
Students’ views of assessment
Why assess?
199
199
200
The debate over assessment ‘of’, ‘for’ learning and assessment ‘to’ learn
Types of assessment
203
What should assessment include?
208
Complex issues that surround assessment
211
201
vii
viii
CONTENTS
9
Science, Technology, Environment and Society—
Where to from Here? 219
Susan Harriman
What’s next for science education?
221
Net geners, millennials or generation M2?
The future of science in schools
224
227
The challenge of emerging technologies
232
Mobile, immersive and augmented realities
247
Part 2 Exploring the World through
Experiments 263
Experiment 1: Sherbet
264
Experiment 2: Crash Testing
270
Experiment 3: Electric Circuits
274
Experiment 4: Story of a Hamburger
Experiment 5: Shadows
Glossary 294
Index 300
290
280
Figure 1.1
A variety of representations of the molecular structure of (R)-(+)-1phenylethanol 9
Figure 2.1
A Year 3 student’s representation of science
25
Figure 2.2
A Year 4 student’s representation of science
25
Figure 2.3
A Year 5 student’s representation of science
26
Figure 2.4
A Year 6 student’s representation of science
26
Figure 3.1
Science curriculum implementation from nation to classrooms
Figure 3.2
The content structure of the ACS
Figure 3.3
The workflow progression of a teacher’s professional pedagogical
practice 69
Figure 3.4
Knowledge and skills interdependence within the ACS
Figure 3.5
Examples of representations within the study of science
Figure 3.6
The central focus of pedagogies in practice within the ACS
Figure 3.7
The four dimensions of effective teaching and their identified
productive pedagogies 80
Figure 3.8
The integrated pedagogies of the 21st century science teacher
Figure 4.1
Galileo Galilei was an important and controversial figure at the dawn
of modern science. 93
Figure 4.2
Inductivist logic
Figure 4.3
A black swan would be a big surprise for an inductivist.
Figure 4.4
Positivist logic
Figure 4.5
Falsificationist logic
Figure 4.6
Cyclical science
Figure 4.7
Scientific models appear to have a structure that allows the stage in
their ‘life cycle’ to be estimated. How fruitful is this one? 100
Figure 4.8
Galileo was the first person to point a telescope upwards. Before he
did that, people watched the stars and planets with sighting tools
like this one. 102
Figure 4.9
Thomas Newcomen designed this engine driven by air pressure and,
two generations later, James Watt improved it to produce the first
true steam engine. 104
Figure 4.10
Hollow-cast cannon blew up more often than solid-cast weapons
that had been bored out by a steam-driven drill. 105
Figure 5.1
Young scientists engaged in learning
Figure 5.2
Elements of engagement
Figure 5.3
Factors affecting engagement
List of
Figures
58
66
70
74
76
81
96
96
97
98
99
115
118
113
f
ix
x
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 5.4
Teaching models
Figure 5.5
Summary of the 5Es
Figure 6.1
A two-dimensional view of the elements of good teaching
Figure 6.2
Retention during a learning episode
Figure 6.3
A sequence for interactive teaching and learning
Figure 6.4
Mind map of animals
163
Figure 6.5
Concept map of roses
163
Figure 6.6
A partially prepared blank mind map
Figure 6.7
KWL scaffold
Figure 7.1
The first page of the science textbook chapter that Mrs Savige was helping her students read with
understanding 191
Figure 8.1
The focus of assessment practices
Figure 8.2
Types of assessment commonly found in science classrooms
Figure 8.3
Steps in developing an assessment task
Figure 8.4
Factors that affect how and what we assess
Figure 8.5
Pointers for planning assessment tasks
Figure 9.1
Progression and domains of learning technology use in schools
Figure 9.2
Kidspiration and Inspiration used to map existing ideas and identify areas to explore 238
Figure 9.3
The Inspiration outline tool converts the mind map to a text outline.
Figure 9.4
Planet FOSS photo template
Figure 9.5
Sample student glog at http://edu.glogster.com
Figure 9.6
Moonbase Alpha
Figure 9.7
Augmented Reality Development Lab (ARDL) module
126
129
140
151
153
164
165
202
205
208
211
213
244
245
248
250
234
240
Table 2.1
Summary of theorists, their theories, underpinning reasons for
learning and roles of teachers and learners in science 30
Table 2.2
Six levels of Bloom’s taxonomy 35
Table 3.1
The actions identified within the ACS 65
Table 3.2
The curriculum focus areas of the science content strand 67
Table 3.3
The ideas framework of the ACS 68
Table 4.1
What sorts of things might increase the significance of school
science? 90
Table 4.2
Ways of understanding change in science 95
Table 6.1
A sample scope and sequence for years F–10 147
Table 6.2
Four planning models 148
Table 6.3
Assessing student responses to the 5Es 152
Table 9.1
Media use over time 224
Table 9.2
Ranking of teaching strategies with greatest effect sizes 228
Table 9.3
Dimensions and constituent aspects of authentic activity 231
Table 9.4
Digital technologies supporting effective science teaching and
learning strategies 236
Table 9.5
Typology of online connections 242
Table 9.6
Groupings of web 2.0 media applications 243
List of
Tables
t
xi
List of
In the Science
Classroom
Activities
Chapter 1
Mini beasts
17
Growing seedlings
18
Science in the community
19
Chapter 2
Cooking
47
Chemical reactions
48
Dealing with misconceptions
Weather activities
49
50
Catering for different learning abilities
Considering students’ backgrounds
50
51
Chapter 3
Linking to other learning areas
Analysing a lesson
Using TPASK
83
83
84
Chapter 4
The relevance of science
a
ct
xii
Science changes
108
Using narratives
109
Science and technology
107
109
Chapter 5
Bringing science home
131
Linking the classroom to the community
Involving students in planning
133
Using the guided discovery model
Chapter 6
Physical sciences
Plate tectonics
167
168
133
132
List of In the Science Classroom ACTIVITIES
Chapter 7
Identifying top-level structures case study 1
190
Identifying top-level structures case study 2
191
Chapter 8
Assessment in learning
215
Conducting formative assessment
216
Chapter 9
Dealing with media conceptions of science
Scientific innovations
Integrating ICT
252
252
Kids’ Design Challenge
253
251
xiii
Year level/
skill level
Science understanding
FOUNDATION
Matrix of
In the Science
Classroom
Activities
Biological
sciences
Chemical
sciences
Chapter 1:
Growing
seedlings
Earth and
space
sciences
Work Samples
Physical
sciences
Chapter 2:
Weather
activities
1: Observing beans
growing
2: What are ‘basic
needs?’
3: Looking at materials
4: My favourite weather
Chapter 1:
Mini beasts
Chapter 2:
Cooking
2: How foods change
once heated
3: Sound travel
Chapter 1:
Growing
seedlings
Year 1
4: Report: mini beasts
Chapter 2:
Chemical
reactions
Chapter 1:
Science in the
community
Chapter 8:
Conducting
formative
assessment
1: Report: using water
2: Report: grow a plant
3: Floating and sinking
5: Recount: chick diary
Year 2
Chapter 8:
Assessment
in learning
xiv
Chapter 2:
Weather
activities
1: Investigation: Ice
cubes and heat
2: Data analysis:
Weather records
Year 3
3: Investigation: Things
I know about heat
Chapter 1:
Growing
seedlings
Chapter 8:
Assessment
in learning
Year 4
a
ct
Chapter 2:
Cooking
Chapter 5:
Using the
guided
discovery
model
Chapter 6:
Physical
sciences
2: Testing the friction
of shoes
3: Convict bag
5: Investigation: Testing
bag strength
6: Yabby diary
Matrix of In the Science Classroom Activities
Biological
sciences
Work Samples
Chemical
sciences
Earth and space
sciences
Physical
sciences
Chapter 8:
Conducting
formative
assessment
Chapter 1: Science in the
community
Chapter 9:
Integrating ICT
Chapter 1:
Growing
seedlings
Chapter 2:
Chemical
reactions
Chapter 1: science in the
community
Chapter 2: Weather activities
2: Can light go around
corners?
5: Observable
properties of solids,
liquids and gases
Chapter 4: The relevance
of science
Chapter 8: Assessment
in learning
year 5
Year level/
skill level
Science understanding
6: Australian Scientists
Chapter 2: Catering
for different
learning abilities
1: Designing an
electrical switch
2: Famous scientists
Year 6
6: Reversible and
irreversible change
Chapter 1:
Mini beasts
Chapter 8:
Conducting
formative
assessment
Chapter 1: Science in the
community
Chapter 4: Science
and technology
1: Process design:
Purifying water
Chapter 4: The relevance of
science
2: Poster: The water
cycle
Chapter 5: Using the guided
discovery model
5: Parachute design
6: Feral fox
Year 7
Chapter 8: Assessment in
learning
Chapter 3: Linking to other
learning areas
1: Solar oven
6: Digestive system
Year 8
Chapter 2:
Cooking
Chapter 1:
Mini beasts
Chapter 6: Plate tectonics
Chapter 4: Science
and technology
5: Slide show
presentation: Plate
tectonics
7: Wifi
Year 10
Year 9
8: Bionic eye
Chapter 8:
Conducting
formative
assessment
Chapter 2: Weather activities
Chapter 3: Linking
to other learning
areas
xv
Preface
The book you are about to read is written to engage the pre-service teacher
in the excitement of the content of science. Whether studying to teach in
primary or secondary schools, it seeks to engage by inviting pre-service
science teachers to question and to be creative with their approaches to
teaching science. As authors and educators, our aim in writing the book is
to provide opportunities for pre-service teachers to examine the purpose
and nature of science teaching and learning by encouraging them to reflect
on and develop their own scientific literacy and knowledge.
Throughout the book, we have applied research into science education
to show its influence on science teaching and learning, and to reveal the
processes underpinning scientific investigation. In addition, we have focused
on developing pre-service teachers’ abilities to explore and investigate the
literacies of science and pedagogies associated with effective teaching. We
favour a direct link to the ‘Nature of Science’ and throughout the book
you’ll find that we use words such as engaged, interested, excitement,
doing, big ideas, practise and planning to encourage pre-service teachers to
connect with science. The influence of social constructivism and inquiry
learning is explored and examined in the context of creating cooperative
classrooms and other learning environments.
p
xvi
The book is divided into two parts: Part One introduces pre-service
teachers to the what, why and how of science teaching; Part Two
demonstrates, through five experiments, how science could be taught to
a range of age groups, from Foundation to the middle years, in a way that
engages children in learning about the natural world.
Chapter 1, Becoming Explorers of Our World: The Purpose of Science
Education, is written by Martin Westwell and Debra Panizzon and focuses
on the current view of science education. The authors explore traditional
ideas and thinking around the science curriculum, thus helping to prepare
pre-service teachers for science teaching in the twenty-first century.
Chapter 2, Making Connections with the Students’ World by Robyn Gregson
and Maree Gruppetta explores the idea that learners are not empty vessels
into which teachers pour knowledge. Learners do not live in isolation;
their experiences are scaffolded by their families and the cultures and subcultures within which they grow. Learners’ cultural knowledge and the
extent to which school knowledge is connected to their lives will influence
how closely they attend to classroom experiences. The authors explore who
our students are, their prior knowledge, and where they get it from. They
then link theories of teaching with the practice of teaching twenty-first
century students.
Chapter 3, From Curriculum to Pedagogy, is written by Paul Rooney and
takes the position that while we as teachers have come to expect change,
never before have we faced the introduction of a national curriculum, new
syllabuses and a testing regime that dramatically influences what we teach
PREFACE
and how we teach it. The author explains the meaning of ‘curriculum’ and
how students of science become teachers of science as they learn to unpack
curriculum documents and develop their own cache of pedagogies.
Chapter 4, What is Science? by Mitch O’Toole begins with the premise
that if any of us is going to teach science well, we need to know what it is
and where it came from. And, if we are going to teach it well to children,
we need to know how they learn and what influences their growing
understanding. This chapter introduces the history of science and various
views of what it is and how it works, with references to take pre-service
teachers further in their understanding. The author discusses in depth how
science provides learners with knowledge of their surroundings that can
help them develop productive and fruitful meanings about their world.
Chapter 5, Engaging Students in Science by Robyn Gregson expands
on the previous chapter. The author asserts that now readers know what
science is, what science education and the curriculum involve, and who
they will be teaching, they need to find the best ways to teach science.
She stresses that engaging students in learning about science is not just
about them paying attention in class. In this chapter, the meaning of the
term ‘engagement’ is explored, as are the factors that enhance or inhibit
student engagement.
In Chapter 6, Planning for Engagement, Robyn Gregson asks the question
‘What is it that some teachers do that makes kids love learning?’and answers
it, by discussing how teachers can plan programs and lessons that are student
centred and thus develop students’ passion for knowledge.
Literacy remains a top priority to science teachers and a challenge for
many students. In Chapter 7, Science, Literacy and the Integrated Curriculum,
Mary U. Hanrahan considers the relationship between science and literacy,
thus helping pre-service teachers understand what literacy means and the
complex nature of science literacy.
In Chapter 8, The What, Why, Who, Where and When of Assessment,
Robyn Gregson examines the issue of assessment. We find that traditional
forms of assessment do not always allow all students to demonstrate their
knowledge of scientific concepts. Further, mandated assessment processes
are impacting on student enjoyment of science. This chapter explores the
link between the theoretical underpinnings of assessment and the practice
of assessment in our schools.
We explore the influence of technology in several chapters of this book,
but Chapter 9, Science, Technology, Environment and Society—Where to from
Here? by Susan Harriman is dedicated to examining a diverse range of
digital environments and resources. The author provides insights into the
use of technology in the classroom, and questions set ideas. She suggests
how teachers can incorporate ICT in their lessons in a way that challenges
students intellectually and avoids common pitfalls.
xvii
xviii
Preface
Additional to the science teaching content of each chapter, we have
integrated a number of learning features to encourage personal inquiry,
reflective practice and small collaborative group work. We begin each
chapter with ‘Key ideas and ‘Key terms’ to focus the pre-service teacher on
the main areas of learning covered in the chapter. Key terms are explained
in the margins where they first appear, and a combined Glossary of these
terms is located at the end of the book.
At intervals throughout each chapter, ‘Think about it’ sections
encourage the reader to question their own actions as well as the activities
of the schools they’ve visited, and to come up with their own ideas about
good science teaching. Many are pointers to possible lesson plans, and are
precursors to the more complex ‘In the Science Classroom’ sections.
At the end of each chapter are ‘In the Science Classroom’ activities
(written by Pauline Rogers, Ballarat University), which link to the chapter
content. These provide models and ideas for pre-service students to either
use, adapt or completely revise to their expected teaching needs.
The book is appropriately illustrated with examples of children’s work,
explanatory tables and diagrams, and stories about teaching science to a
range of age levels. To assist readers in recognising the relationships between
aspects of science teaching, the book contains cross-referencing links to
sections in other chapters, as well as to the experiments in Part Two.
The book’s close links to the aims of the Australian Curriculum, with
its integrated curricula approach, are evident in every chapter, but these
links are revealed to full effect in the structure of the experiments in Part
Two. Here you will find experiments that can be adapted for a range of age
groups—from Foundation through lower primary, upper primary to lower
secondary—and for a range of learning abilities within those age groups.
The experiments cover the learning streams of the sciences: biological,
chemical, earth and space and physical. They are: ‘Story of a Hamburger’,
‘Sherbet’, ‘Shadows’, ‘Electric Circuits’, and ‘Crash Testing’, and have
been written by Robyn Gregson, Pauline Rogers, and Linda Darby, from
Deakin University.
Each of the experiments has been constructed to emphasise how
much can be learned even from the simplest of science experiments. Each
experiment includes these parameters: year level; timing; ‘connecting with
the science’; key terms and definitions; safety requirements; key links (to
literacy, to assessment, to human endeavour and to other curriculum areas);
background science facts; the aim of the experiment; equipment required;
the steps for conducting it; and how to record the results. There are also
suggestions for how to conclude the experiment, with questions for further
discussion, extension activities, and ideas for modifying the inquiry or
investigation for other age groups.
PREFACE
We, the authors of this book, have enjoyed writing it for you. We have
appreciated the opportunity to convey our experiences and to share our
knowledge about science teaching and learning, gained through classroombased research and direct teaching and teacher educator experiences. We
entrust this book to you and your students, future teachers, in the hope that
it conveys our passion for science in ways that you can use readily.
Students and lecturers are encouraged to view make use of the book’s
supplementary products and useful documents on the Education Hub at
oup.com.au/oeh.
xix
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank the Oxford University Press publishing and
editorial team who gave their skills and time unstintingly for this project.
Without the inspiration and imagination of Debra James this book would
not exist. Through her dedication, the team of authors were able to harness
their passion for science education and use their research to demonstrate
current and innovative theories and practices for teaching science in the
twenty-first century. Jennifer Butler is recognised for helping develop the
structure of the book. Her sense of humour was invaluable throughout the
editing process. Through her work and that of Sue Dani, the designer, we
have an exciting layout that promotes the reading and understanding of the
content. We also thank Shari Serjeant, who was instrumental in developing
the book’s pedagogy. Elaine Cochrane was the editor, and we give her our
sincere thanks for her professionalism and high standards. She is a hard
taskmaster but our book is superior because of her diligence.
The work of Linda Hobbs and Pauline Rogers is also acknowledged:
both contributed to the experiments that make up Part Two, while Pauline
shared her wide classroom experience through the ‘In the classroom’
activities that round out each chapter.
We would like to acknowledge the principals, teachers and students
who have participated in our research, which is demonstrated in this book.
Without their cooperation and enthusiasm we would not have the stories
or evidence from practice that make this book special. They allow us to
observe, try new ideas and then help us reflect on the outcomes. They
contribute to our learning much more that we do theirs.
a
xx
Throughout our careers as teachers and researchers we have been
supported by our colleagues who have participated in formal and informal
discussions about our work. To them we owe a debt of gratitude for their
mentoring and critical review of our work. We extend our thanks to
Rhondda Brill (UTS), Associate Professor Peter Aubusson (UTS), Professor
Toni Downes (CSU), Professor Wayne Sawyer (UWS), Professor Peter
Kell (CDU), Colin Webb (UWS), Dr Marilyn Kell (CDU), Dr Les Vozzo
(UWS) and Associate Professor Michael Matthews (UNSW).
Often the unsung heroes of any research and writing project are the
librarians at the universities where the authors teach. They supply their
wisdom and knowledge when finding current and lost resources. We
appreciate their dedication to their profession and the breadth and depth of
their skills.
acknowledgements
The author and the publisher wish to thank the following copyright holders
for reproduction of their material.
Aragami12345s/Shutterstock, p. 252; ARDL, Augmented Reality
Development Lab, Figure 9.7; Beata Becla/Shutterstock, p. 17; Carsten
Reisinger/Shutterstock, p. 109; Chris Hainey/iStockphoto, p. 293; Duncan
Walker/iStockphoto, Figure 4.9; Eduard HArkAnen/photos.com, p. 271;
Ekaterina Pokrovsky, p. 292; Emilia Stasiak/Shutterstock, p. 84; Florida
Images/Alamy, p. 50; Inspiration Software, www.inspiration.com, Figures
9.2, 9.3; Iryna1/Shutterstock, Figure 4.1; Jessica Jennings and Glogster,
http://edu.gloster.com, Figure 9.5; Johann Helgason, p. 177 (neon sign);
Leonello Calvetti/Shutterstock, p. 281; Matka_Wariatka/iStockphoto,
Figure 5.1; NASA for screen grab from Moonbase Alpha, Figure 9.6; NSW
Government for Enviro Inspiro poster, p. 238; Oxford University Press
Australia, Figure 7.1; Pictafolio/iStockphoto, p. 177 (phone); Planet FOSS,
www.fossweb.com/planetfoss, Figure 9.4; RACV Energy Breakthrough
Local Planning Committee, p. 132; Smailhodzic/Shutterstock, p. 282;
Vlue/Shutterstock, p. 18; Wavebreakmedia ltd/Shutterstock, p. 266 (child).
Every effort has been made to trace the original source of copyright
material contained in this book. The publisher will be pleased to hear from
copyright holders to rectify any errors or omissions.
This book includes quotes, tables and figures from ACARA, © Australian
Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority 2012. These may be a
modified extracts from the Australian Curriculum and may include the
work of the authors. ACARA neither endorses nor verifies the accuracy of
the information provided and accepts no responsibility for incomplete or
inaccurate information. In particular, ACARA does not endorse or verify
that: The content descriptions are solely for a particular year and subject;
all the content descriptions for that year and subject have been used;
and the author’s material aligns with the Australian Curriculum content
descriptions for the relevant year and subject. You can find the unaltered
and most up to date version of this material at www.australiancurriculum.
edu.au
This material is reproduced with the permission of ACARA.
xxi
About the
Authors
a
xxii
Robyn Gregson, Editor University of Western Sydney
Robyn Gregson’s love of science began at the tender
age of eight, when her father gave her a microscope;
her interest in and passion for science has never waned.
She is a lecturer in science, literacy and pedagogy at the
University of Western Sydney, and her qualifications
include a Bachelor of Science (UNSW), Diploma
of Teaching (with Distinction, CSU), Master of Education (UTS) and a
Doctorate (UTS). Teaching science at primary, secondary and tertiary
levels has provided her with many opportunities to explore the wonder
that students see in science.
Maree Gruppetta University of Newcastle
Associate Professor Maree Gruppetta is a Guyinbaraay
woman currently working in the Wollotuka Centre
at the University of Newcastle. Prior to her current
position as Associate Professor, Research and Research
Engagement, Maree was Senior Lecturer and AREP
Education Course Advisor at the Badanami Centre
for Indigenous Education at the University of Western Sydney (UWS) for
four years; this followed eight years’ teaching in the School of Education
at UWS. After completing a Bachelor of Teaching (Primary), a Bachelor
of Education (Hons), and a Master of Teaching in Special Education
(Secondary), Maree taught in both primary and secondary classrooms,
before returning to complete her PhD in Education. Her range of expertise
covers a variety of education areas, with her PhD investigating gifted
adults across cultures, the attendant ethical and cultural dilemmas, and
their solutions.
Mary U. Hanrahan RMIT University
Mary Hanrahan is a lecturer at RMIT University
in Bundoora, Victoria. Her qualifications include
a Bachelor of Arts (Melb.), a Diploma of Education
(Melb.), a Bachelor of Science (Hons) (UQ), and a PhD
(QUT). As well as a special interest in language issues
related to the teaching and learning of science, her other
current interests include access and equity in education, e-learning, and the
experiences of international students studying in Australia. Her favourite
research methodologies include critical discourse analysis and critical
action research.
About the authors
Susan Harriman Department of Education and
Technology, NSW
Susan Harriman is affiliated with the University of
Technology, Sydney (UTS), where she works in the
Teacher Education program and is completing her
PhD on the implementation of online, project-based
activities, focusing on student and teacher experiences.
She has also held senior positions at the NSW Department of Education
and Communities, supporting teachers in the integration of ICT into their
teaching programs, and developing innovative learning projects in science
and technology that focus on student-centred, real-world learning. She
maintains her association with the Department, managing the evaluation
of large-scale programs such as the National Partnerships and Connected
Classrooms projects. Susan combines her research in purposeful learning
and powerful pedagogies with her work supporting teachers to make such
learning a practical reality in schools.
Mitch O’Toole University of Newcastle
Mitch O’Toole has long been involved in preparing
resources for science teachers who are conscious of the
language expectations of students at various levels of
education. He is currently employed by the University
of Newcastle, with responsibility for secondary science
teacher preparation. Mitch’s major research interests
are the impact of language style on science teaching and the interaction
between student and teacher understandings of the history and nature of
science. He has published many articles in both national and international
journals, as well as textbooks and research-based teacher resource books for
secondary science.
Debra Panizzon Monash University
Associate Professor Debra Panizzon is a lecturer and
researcher at Monash University, Victoria. Until
recently, she was the Deputy Director of the Flinders
Centre for Science Education in the Twenty-first
Century at Flinders University. Before joining
academia, she taught junior science and senior
Biology and Physics in secondary schools. Debra is an experienced science
education academic, having worked with both primary and secondary
pre-service teachers. Her research interests lie in the areas of cognition,
student acquisition of scientific concepts, rural and regional education, and
assessment. Importantly, much of this research involves partnerships with
science and mathematics teachers, ensuring that theory and practice are
closely linked.
xxiii
xxiv
About the authors
Paul Rooney University of Western Sydney
Paul Rooney is a lecturer and tutor in the Masters
of Teaching Secondary program in Pedagogies,
Commerce and Legal Studies at the University of
Western Sydney, where he is also completing his PhD.
Prior to this, he was the CEO of an independent
Anglican P–12 college. His research interests include
sociocultural studies, education policy and leadership, service learning
and community participation, teaching practice, learner potential, and
faith-based education. Paul recently presented papers on Australia’s
national curriculum, Finnish education, science education, and cultural
asset accumulation. He has also published journal articles on academic
achievement, postsecularism and pedagogy, and in 2012 published book
chapters on moving from student to teacher in science education and on
literacy within the social sciences and humanities.
Martin Westwell Flinders University
Martin Westwell is the inaugural Director of the
Flinders Centre for Science Education in the Twentyfirst Century, which supports quality teaching and
innovation in science and mathematics education.
After completing his degree and PhD at Cambridge
University, he moved to Oxford University as a
Research Fellow in biological chemistry. A winding career path returned
him to Oxford University in 2005 as the Deputy Director of the Institute
for the Future of the Mind. Martin has won a number of awards for
engaging non-scientists with science including, in 1999, being named by
The Times newspaper as the Scientist of the New Century.
Oxford University Press publishing in Australia delivers quality teaching
and learning resources that lecturers demand, students need, and educators
refer to in their practice.
The publication of the text, Connecting with Science Education, reflects
Oxford University Press’s commitment to the advancement of scholarly
knowledge and its impact on professional learning. The reviewers involved
in the publisher’s blind peer review process provided valuable guidance on
both the proposal and the draft manuscript.
Publisher’s
Note
The book is grounded in the authors’ understanding of the needs of
science educators. It also reflects the authors’ skills in bringing theory
and practice together based on their research and teaching expertise. The
content contains findings from studies conducted by the authors, including
those that have not been previously published in a text.
In publishing this text we expect that readers will discover creative and
critical ways of thinking about science education. In reflecting on the issues
raised, we hope it will also assist readers to achieve their goals of being
effective teachers of science.
p
xxv
linking theory
to practice
Becoming Explorers
of Our World:
The Purpose of
Science Education
Martin Westwell and Debra Panizzon
Key ideas
1
2
1
Science education is crucial in developing citizens who can draw
evidence-informed conclusions about local, national and global
science-related issues.
2
If we are to engage, motivate and challenge our students about
the wonder and potential of science, we need to move the focus
of our teaching away from fact-finding, memorisation, and
recipe-driven practicals that encapsulate what school science has
become for many of our students.
3
The teacher we become is moulded by our views about the
nature of science, what we perceive to be the purpose of science
education, and our personal philosophies about learning. Clarity
about these components is essential in helping us grow as
professional science educators.
Key terms
contextualising
critical thinking
human endeavour
inquiry
questioning
Debra’s story
Knowing involves building
relationships and connections
by concentrating on the process
of understanding. It is not about
merely reaching an end point.
When I was young, all I ever wanted to do was to become
a teacher. At first, this was about becoming a primary
school teacher but over time, as my love of science grew,
my focus changed. Suddenly I could think of nothing more
exciting than being able to teach others the subject that
ruled my life—science. While I could have pursued a
career in science and continued with a PhD, I just wanted
to teach.
Within a few months of teaching, it dawned on
me that not all of my Year 8 and 9 students were as
enthusiastic about science as I was. How could they not
think like I did? How could they possibly find it boring? So
there was the challenge—to focus on teaching in such
a way that students enjoyed what they were learning.
Developing my own way of teaching science actually
took many years of experience and much reflection
about what worked, what I was comfortable doing, and
what the students actually learnt. But underpinning all
this was identifying my philosophical stance about what
science education was all about and marrying this with
my views about teaching and learning. For me it was
about students developing a conceptual understanding of
their science—not learning things off by heart. I wanted
to ask questions and for them to enjoy thinking and be
prepared to take a risk even though they might not have
the ‘correct’ answer. Understanding this about myself
was fundamental because it impacted the relationships
I established with my students, the culture established in
my classroom, how I engaged with my students, and my
expectations of students.
Underpinning my story is the idea of focusing upon
knowing (as a verb) in contrast to attaining knowledge
(a thing). Knowing involves building relationships
and connections by concentrating on the process of
understanding. It is not about merely reaching an
end point. Appreciating this distinction as teachers
is fundamental because it is easy to think about our
students as being immersed in learning, but it is equally
critical to recognise that as teachers we too must be
learners for life. This is especially the case in science,
where it is impossible to ‘know’ every fact and scientific
detail but where an understanding of the underlying
concepts improves and enhances our quality of life.
This story exemplifies the importance of knowing your
own values and views about teaching and learning
because it is these aspects that impact you as a teacher
of science. Importantly, it is not about knowing the
subject discipline knowledge or pedagogy but about
knowing how to teach science so that students develop
an understanding and appreciation of the nature of
science.
3
4
PART 1 | LINKING THEORY TO PRACTICE
A key component of schooling is to provide individuals with a breadth and depth of knowledge,
a range of skills and values, interests and motivation to pursue life-long learning, which may also
be useful in the pursuit of careers. This breadth is necessary because, as alluded to in Debra’s story,
education is not about preparing our students for one career but to provide them with the learning
potential and cognitive readiness to engage in a number of careers over their working lives (Resnick,
2010). As such the inclusion of science in primary and secondary education is critical in that it
encourages students to build a conceptual understanding of their world and a way of reasoning that is
different from that used in other subjects—not better, not worse, but different.
In chapter 4, Mitch O’Toole discusses the important contributions of science as a way of knowing
and understanding our world. Rather than a one-size-fits-all model, Mitch explores the various
approaches evident in the historical scientific literature, thereby highlighting science as a human
endeavour involving many trials and tribulations. We emerge from that chapter with a view that
scientific knowledge is socially constructed by scientists as a community of thinkers, and is dynamic
in nature.
Given this background, who could imagine students not engrossed and enthralled by science?
Yet, the research evidence indicates that for many Western countries there has been a steady decline
in the numbers of students participating in the sciences after the compulsory years of schooling so
that severe shortages of engineers, physicists and mathematicians, to name just a few, already exist
(Department of Education, Training and the Arts [DETA], 2007; OECD Global Science Forum,
2006). While there is considerable evidence as to the factors contributing to this trend, as discussed by
Robyn Gregson in chapter 5, it is often school science and the way that it is presented that is a major
deterrent for many students (Tytler, 2007). Hence, the particular focus of our chapter.
Think about it 1.1: Your experiences and ideas
1
With a colleague, discuss your science learning experiences. Were you ‘engrossed and enthralled’ in your science classes at school? Why/
why not?
2
Before reading any further, what do you consider to be the purpose of science education given the context in which you are likely to be
teaching? Do you think this has changed since you studied science at school?
3
What factors or components do you think have influenced your views?
What is science education really for?
It goes without saying that as individuals with our own sets of values and priorities we see all kinds of
meanings and purposes for science education. For scientists, science education may be considered the
foundation upon which future scientific development is built, while for industrialists or economists
it is the means for providing the nascent skills of a future workforce, which ties in with the political
desire for economic development.
Civil society, including the parents of current and future students, finds a range of meaning in
science and science education, often influenced one way or another by their own school science
1 Becoming Explorers of Our World
5
experiences. In turn, the significant adults in our students’ lives help shape what science education
could and ultimately does mean to them. Subsequently, it is unlikely that there will ever be a
unanimous view of the meaning of science education, and even if there were it would be shortlived as, like science itself, science education is necessarily dynamic and evolving. Any conception of
science education and its purpose is a necessary product of a point in time and context, as is explored
in the following section.
A moving feast
Historically, science education was about identifying, motivating and initially preparing students
interested in pursuing professional careers in the science and technology fields (Fensham, 2009). The
result was that in the compulsory years, school science focused on the transmission of knowledge from
the teacher or textbook to the students, with little regard for the personal opinions or engagement
of students. Not surprisingly, the focus of the science curriculum and individual lessons was around
content that was often irrelevant and boring to the majority of students as it was removed from the
reality of their everyday lives. Quite simply the goal was to produce our future scientists (Aikenhead,
2009; Fensham, 2006). Yet, the irony (as alluded to by Cohen, 1952) of this endeavour was that most
science courses set out to make students memorise dry facts that no practising scientist bothered to
memorise (for example the density of various substances; the atomic weight of different chemical
elements). While students who are already motivated and driven towards science-related studies may
not be turned off by these experiences, the real dilemma is what of the many other students with little
or no intention of furthering their studies in the sciences beyond the compulsory years?
Think about it 1.2: Science in your life
1
So you’re not a scientist, but how have you used science in your daily life? Think about home and work. Brainstorm a list, then share this
with a small group. You may find you can add more items to your list.
2
When you studied science at school, would you have thought you would have used it in these ways? Why/why not?
To address this issue the next phase of science education to emerge embraced a science for all or science
for the citizen agenda as a way of connecting students with science regardless of whether they wanted
to pursue it as a career or just up to the compulsory years of schooling. The focus of curriculum
developed during this period was around scientific information related to personal, societal and
vocational problems, thereby providing contexts that were real and meaningful to the students. This
resulted in a range of innovative projects including LORST in Canada, SATIS and Salters’ Science
and Chemistry in England and Wales, and PLON Physics in the Netherlands (Fensham, 2009).
Unfortunately, these programs based around science, technology and society (STS) lost momentum
in the 1990s with the emergence of national curricula in many of these countries that specified the
scientific content that was to be learnt from the early to later years of schooling (Aikenhead, 2009).
As we know, the result has been a gradual and continuing decline in student engagement with the
sciences (Fensham, 2009).
6
PART 1 | LINKING THEORY TO PRACTICE
In recent years scientific literacy has evolved to meet the needs of these disengaged students. A
range of definitions are available for this term; however, the following was used by the Programme for
International Student Achievement (PISA) for their 2006 international study that focused particularly
on science. Scientific literacy refers to an individual’s:
::
Scientific knowledge and use of that knowledge to identify questions, acquire new
knowledge, explain scientific phenomena and draw evidence-based conclusions about
science-related issues
::
Understanding of the characteristic features of science as a form of human knowledge and
enquiry
::
Awareness of how science and technology shape our material, intellectual, and cultural
environments
::
Willingness to engage in science-related issues and with the ideas of science, as a
reflective citizen (OECD, 2006, p. 21).
Mary Hanrahan explores scientific literacy and the implications for teaching in greater detail in
chapter 7. It is valuable though to point out here that there is little research evidence to suggest that
teaching using a scientific literacy perspective has been widely adopted in the compulsory years of
schooling (Aikenhead, 2003; Tytler, 2007). In these years the political imperative for students to
acquire the scientific credentials necessary to navigate pathways across the school–university, school–
TAFE, or school–work transitions is still a high priority.
Importantly, there are examples of successful attempts to meet the political need for maximising
student engagement in the sciences while ensuring that students completing post-compulsory
schooling attain the scientific standards required for tertiary study. In England, Twenty First Century
Science provides a suite of courses for 15–16-year-olds.
::
Science, the first course, is compulsory or core for all students to become responsible citizens in
contemporary England.
::
The second course, Additional Science (General), is optional and aims to meet the needs of students
who may wish to study the sciences in Years 12–13 with much more of a pure science focus.
::
The third course is Additional Applied Science, which is also optional, for students whose interests
lie in how science is applied within society.
An important component of Twenty First Century Science is that it encourages teachers to use a
wide variety of teaching and learning approaches (e.g. teacher exposition, practical work, video
resources, the internet, reading about science, discussing and debating science) to enable students
to learn and practise their skills in locating and interpreting information, in evaluating evidence
and constructing arguments of their own, and presenting their ideas orally and in writing while
defending their conclusions (Ratcliffe & Millar, 2009).
As evidenced here, science education has been altered to suit the needs of society at particular
points in time. Stepping back from these various phases and looking more broadly, Osborne (2007)
suggests that science education necessarily embraces four elements around:
::
a conceptual component as students build their understandings over time
::
the cognitive domain whereby students develop the ability to reason critically
::
ideas about science so that students develop an awareness of the nature and processes of science,
and
1 Becoming Explorers of Our World
7
Inquiry relates to
scientific processes
(i.e. observation,
::
social and affective aspects of learning to encourage, engage, and motivate students.
Having considered the approaches described above and the common elements of these, we
challenge you to consider a different framework that embraces these components but from an
alternative perspective.
hypothesising,
predicting, measuring,
analysing data) but
combines these
processes with
scientific knowledge,
Being an explorer of the world
scientific reasoning
Whether science is likely to play a significant role in a student’s life or make the occasional cameo
appearance, a central purpose of science education can be characterised as helping students become
effective explorers of the world. The explorer metaphor emphasises science as a discipline of investigation,
creativity, path finding, risk and opportunity, while implying a journey into the unknown. Indeed,
celebrated horticulturalist Liberty Hyde Bailey stated: ‘the very essence of science is to reason from the
known to the unknown’ (Bailey nd). Critically, the metaphor highlights the role of questioning and
inquiry in science as a way of interrogating the world through observation and critical thinking.
It recognises that a
The idea of exploration as central to science applies equally to the professional scientist or the
scientifically literate citizen. A career involving any aspect of science, technology, engineering or
mathematics (STEM) requires exploration both in terms of the science education that underpins
proficiency in these areas, and in the day-to-day thinking, decision-making and problem-solving
they encapsulate. More pertinently for school science education, using science to be an effective
explorer of the world underpins the development of a more scientifically literate society, in which
individuals challenge the merely plausible and make more evidence-informed decisions.
(Lederman &
In considering science education as a way of helping young people become effective explorers,
artist Keri Smith’s book How to be an explorer of the world (2008) is a potential starting point. Keri notes
that ‘artists and scientists analyze the world around them in surprisingly similar ways’ (p. 6), through
observing, collecting, analysing, comparing, and noticing patterns. She has identified thirteen ways
in which a student can become an explorer, and her suggestions allow us to consider how science
education fosters exploration, especially if we add a layer of critical thinking to the exploration.
including rationality,
1Always be looking (notice the ground beneath your feet).
tactics and strategies
2Consider everything to be alive and animate.
to uncover meaning
3Everything is interesting. Look more closely.
to ensure their
4Alter your course often.
5Observe long durations (and short ones).
and critical thinking.
fixed set and sequence
of steps, known as
the scientific method,
does not represent
accurately the inquiry
approach adopted
by ‘real’ scientists
Lederman, 2004).
Critical thinking
embraces a complex
combination of skills
open-mindedness, selfawareness, discipline,
and the ways in which
we make judgments. In
brief, critical thinkers
consciously apply
understanding; they are
open to new ideas and
are willing to challenge
6Notice the stories going on around you.
their beliefs and
7Notice patterns: make connections.
investigate competing
8Document your findings in a variety of ways.
evidence.
9Incorporate indeterminacy.
10 Observe movement.
11 Create a personal dialogue with your environment. Talk to it.
12 Trace things back to their origins.
13 Use all of the senses in your investigations.
Always be looking transforms science from a classroom or laboratory-bound activity to an everyday
way of seeing the world, and if the science is not immediately apparent, look more closely because
For ideas about how
you can help students
become explorers in
the science classroom,
see ‘Mini beasts’ on
page 17.
8
PART 1 | LINKING THEORY TO PRACTICE
For ways you can
everything is interesting. By always looking and then looking more closely, scientific explorers of the
world can see beyond the immediate and obvious to investigate what lies beneath, whether this be
in advertisements for cosmetics or the underlying chemical mechanisms for everyday processes (e.g.
rusting). Accepting that everything is interesting and that the scientific explorer should always be looking
opens up every experience as a potential opportunity for scientific learning, especially in primary
education.
encourage students to
look more closely, see
Experiment 2, Crash
Testing (page 270) and
Experiment 5, Shadows
(page 290).
Experiment 3, Electric
Circuits (page 274),
helps students
appreciate the
interconnected and
dynamic nature of what
they observe.
Scientific explorers of the world might not consider everything to be alive and animate but, following
the sentiment in this statement, they should consider the interconnected and dynamic nature of the
observed processes. Unfortunately, all too often the reductionist approach in science disregards these
interconnections and in so doing removes the potential connections within students’ lives.
To alter your course often is to change approach and develop alternative perspectives that, with some
critical analysis, may offer some new insights. Creative insights in science have often been achieved
through an alteration in course that allows individuals to find a new analogy, model or understanding.
Examples are wave–particle duality (bridging the gap between Huygen’s and Newton’s ideas),
Wegener’s continental drift, and Pasteur’s germ theory of disease.
A fundamental aspect of science education is the ability it gives us to explore the world beyond the
scale of our own immediate experience. In a scientific sense, observe long durations (and short ones) exhorts
us to explore the world on the scale of geological time through to the picosecond switching of the
fastest transistors. This can be extended to other dimensions, such as the distances and masses involved
in galactic interactions and atomic reactions. The models and analogies that are used in developing the
conceptions of small scale and large scale objects (or distances) give the scientific explorer access to the
unseen, and consequently the opportunity to explore the seen in terms of the unseen.
Empiricism [in which knowledge comes through sensory experience] is inadequate because
scientific theories explain the seen in terms of the unseen. And the unseen, you have to
admit, doesn’t come to us through the senses. We don’t see those nuclear reactions in stars.
We don’t see the origin of species. We don’t see the curvature of space-time, and other
universes. But we know about those things (David Deutsch, 2009).
Always be looking to notice the stories going on around you requires an appreciation of the processes
of science and the ways in which they are embedded into our daily lives (as opposed to abstract,
stand-alone laboratory exhibits). This perspective encourages the explorer to take a step beyond
simple ‘looking’ and into the realm of ‘noticing’, as these are different skills. For example, students
may be adept at capturing details when they are directed to make observations, but as an explorer
of the world they need to notice what is going on around them actively, decide what is interesting
and what is not, and then apply their observation skills. Currently, observation skills (looking) are
often over-emphasised in science education at the expense of noticing skills. Isaac Asimov captured
this critical distinction when he said ‘The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that
heralds new discoveries, is not “Eureka” but “that’s funny”.’ Whether as professional scientists or
engineers, scientifically literate citizens, or effective learners in science, explorers of the world need
to be able to discern what is funny. Actively noticing that an observation or consequence of a model
or theory is new, interesting or different allows science explorers to investigate beyond what they
are simply directed towards. A student might observe a double rainbow but not notice that the
spectrums of colour in each arc are actually reversed. Therefore, noticing that this is funny creates
new opportunities for inquiry.
1 Becoming Explorers of Our World
In science, noticing what is funny requires the explorer to notice patterns and make connections.
Without recognising this connectivity, science education can be seen by young people as a collection
of unrelated facts to be memorised and seemingly irrelevant algorithms to be applied. A scientific
exploration of the world draws out the generalisations indicated by common patterns but remains
open to noticing the exceptions or a breakdown in a pattern. Seeing what is funny includes picking
out the patterns and similarities as well as the outliers and differences. Perceived in this light, any
inconsistencies that challenge a particular model or idea provide a prompt for further exploration.
It is often stated that science graduates are in demand because of their high-level numeracy and
analytical skills. However, in order to wield these skills effectively scientists need to document findings
in a variety of ways to bring clarity of thought and so facilitate the communication of their ideas to
their colleagues and broader audiences. A common way of achieving this is through the accumulation
of data, which can actually be represented in many different ways including images. Importantly,
though, each representation communicates different perspectives. For example, organic chemists
may represent the same molecule (see Figure 1.1) in two dimensions as a structural formula, or
as a stick structure that includes or excludes representations of stereochemistry. Similarly, threedimensional structures can also be represented in a number of ways, such as ball-and-stick or spacefilling models as shown with electrostatic surfaces. Each different way of summarising, describing and
communicating the nature of the molecule being considered has advantages and disadvantages for the
viewer and the way in which they construct the information being shared.
Figure 1.1
A variety of representations of the molecular structure of (R)-(+)-1-phenylethanol
OH
H
C
HC
OH
CH
C
HC
OH
CH3
CH
C
H
Clockwise from top left: structural formula, stick–stick, stick–stick with stereochemistry, space-filling, wireframe, and ball-and-stick.
9
Experiment 1, Sherbet
(page 264) and
Experiment 3, Electric
Circuits (page 274),
provide opportunities
for students to notice
patterns and make
connections.
PART 1 | LINKING THEORY TO PRACTICE
10
Think about it 1.3: Documenting findings
1
Think back to your science classes at school. What types of documents were you required to produce?
2Now browse the work samples given at the ACS site (www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/Science/Curriculum/F-10). Did you find any
document types that you can’t recall producing at school? Do you think these are useful for science learners? Why/why not?
For ideas about how
you can encourage
students to incorporate
indeterminancy in the
science classroom, see
‘Growing seedlings’ on
page 18.
Students often see science as being focused on content despite the fact that, at least in the preamble,
many curriculum documents emphasise the importance of students’ understandings and investigative
skills (e.g. Fensham, 2006; Tytler et al., 2008). School science can seem to prioritise and value the
right answers, whereas in scientific practice and exploration of the world a correct answer is a rare and
elusive conclusion. Being able to incorporate indeterminacy and function in a situation, particularly in an
unfamiliar context where there is no one correct answer in the back of the book, can seem contrary
to the traditional values in science education. However, being able to work in this manner is crucial
for a practitioner of science and an explorer of the world.
When scientists seek to understand structures in the natural world, especially those beyond the
scale of direct observation (e.g. an atom, DNA, the changing nature of the Earth’s atmosphere, the
internal structure of the sun) they can only generate a model to test whether it is consistent with
the evidence available to them or allows predictions to be made and tested. As such they can never
definitively prove that they are right, just that their theory or model remains standing after being
challenged repeatedly. Not surprisingly, for the citizen-explorer this degree of uncertainty creates
confusion and doubt, which has been evident recently in fears around the vaccination of young
children.It is clear from the debate about vaccination that the level and utility of scientific literacy in
many countries has been found wanting. Children have died because their parents were ill-equipped
to be scientific explorers of the world and deal with a relatively small amount of indeterminacy and
uncertainty (albeit magnified by the media), often turning to comforting fairy tales of folk wisdom
and alternative therapies. Similarly, the so-called ‘climate-change debate’ only exists not because
there is an authentic scientific debate but because of a lack of our exploring skills: ‘we see scientific
uncertainty, the legitimate, real, normal uncertainty that’s part of all scientific research, being turned
into a political tool’ (Naomi Oreskes, 2011).
To observe movement is to recognise change. A great many, if not the majority, of scientific concepts
have a change or a process at their heart. Some of the movement and change is observable directly (e.g.
projectile motion), while others are less so (e.g. change in physicochemical properties and biological
activity when protein folding occurs). Trace things back to their origins also emphasises the need to follow
change while asking some fundamental questions of inquiry, such as how did this get here? or how did
it get to be like this? These are the questions that have driven explorers like Darwin and Lyell, both of
whom managed to undertake explorations about origins, movement and change (in organisms and
geology respectively) without directly observing the processes in action.
Clearly, any scientific exploration of our world may be limited by our natural senses and so the call
to use all of your senses in your investigations must also include scientific instrumentation that allows us to
extend our senses and overcome the limits of empiricism. However, this statement remains important
in scientific exploration in that the intention is to exhort us not to be limited by a particular way of
exploring the world that relies upon a single sense or an unimaginative set of scientific approaches
(or instrumentation).
1 Becoming Explorers of Our World
11
Finally, Keri Smith’s instruction to create a personal dialogue with your environment and to talk to it
seems at first glance to be at odds with the stereotypical dispassionate, rational and analytic scientist
or the so-called scientific method (a term often used narrowly to describe a hypothetico-deductive
approach). Of course, as in any human endeavour, the practice of science and science education has
a personal component (i.e. science as human endeavour). However, it is important to discern
personalised learning from individualised learning. In the latter, a learning experience is tailored to
meet the needs of the individual student but in the former the student actually takes the learning
experience personally and derives meaning from it. Hence, effective explorers of the world are
equipped to derive their own meaning, find their own path, and make evidence-informed decisions
along the way.
Science as human
In summarising, perhaps unintentionally in considering How to be an explorer of the world, Keri Smith
has captured one of the answers to the question: ‘What is science education for?’ As effective explorers
of the world, students of science are required to construct conceptual models that encompass the
information they have received, or sought out, as well as their experiences and observations (having
noticed something worth observing). This conceptual model building is far removed from that outdated perception that science education is about knowing or finding the answers. Science education
helps individuals to find ways of exploring, understanding, and predicting the world around them.
not a fixed body
endeavour
encapsulates the
premise that people’s
activities and thinking
create science. Ideas
thus change over time,
resulting in increased
scientific knowledge
and understanding.
Hence, science is
of knowledge but
dynamic. Unfortunately,
when scientific facts
and figures become the
focus of school science,
this component is
lacking.
Think about it 1.4: The purpose of science education
1
Having considered the discussion presented in this section, reconsider your answer to Think about it 1.1, question 2. Have your views about
the purpose of science education changed?
2
If so, in what ways? If not, why not?
3
What does learning in science look like for you?
4
What does this suggest about you as a teacher?
Supporting young explorers in our classrooms
Embracing the science framework described above complements the innate curiosity of young
students about the wonder and excitement that surrounds all facets of their lives. Equally important
though, thinking about science in this manner removes much of the pressure and anxiety experienced
by primary teachers who often lack depth in relation to scientific knowledge (Goodrum, Hackling
& Rennie, 2001; Tytler, 2007). Surely the purpose of science education in primary school is about
engaging, motivating and nurturing students so that they acquire an appreciation for their world
while developing foundational skills that can be developed further in the secondary environment? To
explore this notion further, we invited Marianne Nicholas to describe her own experiences around
teaching science to her primary students.
12
PART 1 | LINKING THEORY TO PRACTICE
Teaching context
See Experiment 3,
Electric Circuits (page
274).
Questioning is a basic
pedagogical strategy
but in most instances
is used to extract
information already
known from students.
It is critical to move
away from these types
of closed questions
to open-ended
questions that actually
encourage students
to think more deeply
about their scientific
understanding.
I became interested in teaching science early in my career partly because there was little
accountability required for student learning in primary science. For some teachers this meant
science was a low priority, but for me it meant formal teaching approaches could be loosened so
that students could be encouraged to make discoveries through hands-on exploration. Without
the culture of rigorous testing we could just try things out with students, following their areas of
interest. Critically, at this time I noticed that students were more highly engaged in science than in
my other lessons, with behaviour management (despite the potential chaos of an activity) being
much less of an issue. In fact, even the most difficult students were totally engaged!
Being appointed as a specialist science teacher to a junior primary school opened up a
welcome opportunity to focus on this particular area of the curriculum. So, I challenged myself
through professional learning and networks to become the expert that my title of science specialist
demanded. As this role involved teaching three year-levels (i.e. Foundation–Year 2), I was able to
deliver a similar lesson up to ten times consecutively. However, rather than finding this tedious, it
provided the perfect mechanism for refining my pedagogy through trial, reflection and modification.
As a result I became aware of the common alternative conceptions held by students along with
the best ways to organise equipment and to sequence activities in the classroom to support their
learning. Not surprisingly, as my confidence and expertise increased, I became more passionate
about my work. Fuelling this further was that the students loved to do science! It was not unusual
for students to ask to stay in at recess and lunch to complete work or to take the equipment
outside to continue the exploration. Parents were dragged into the science room after school to
be shown growing seedlings or crystals, or nagged to buy batteries and torch globes to do the
electricity activities at home. I even had a child arrive straight from hospital after breaking his arm
because he did not want to miss his science lesson.
Developing personal views of science
In terms of my own perceptions of science, Questacon’s Hands on minds on workshops provided
outstanding background because it was from these experiences that I came to realise that science
is less about knowing the right answers and more about knowing the right questions. It was at
this point that I developed skills around Socratic questioning, which helped challenge students’
conceptual understandings of science.
Questions like:
Why do you think that?
Does that always happen?
How could you change your result?
Is that always the answer?
What would happen if … ?
What are you thinking now that you have noticed this?
For ideas about how you can
use Socratic questioning in
the science classroom, see
‘Growing seedlings’ on page
18. For more on shadows, see
Experiment 5 (page 290).
Using this process with my students consistently challenged my assumptions about what
my students understood and how they viewed their world. I learnt to assume nothing and their
thoughts often surprised me. For example, the following explanation was provided by a Year 3
student: ‘On Monday our shadows were small, and today is Tuesday and they are big and point
the other way. I wonder what Wednesday’s shadows will be like?’ Combining Socratic questioning
with hands-on activities facilitated enhancement of student learning by creating cognitive
conflict between what they believed and what they actually noticed through their exploration with
materials. For example: ‘If magnets stick to metal, why don’t they stick to my keys?’.
1 Becoming Explorers of Our World
Contextualising
science is not merely
about integration with
other key learning
areas. It is about giving
science meaning for
students by using a
local context that is
relevant to this group of
students. For example,
using the local farm to
teach concepts around
life cycles, ecosystems
or the water cycle is
a valuable context
for students living
in the country, but
meaningless to
students living in cities.
13
Since returning to normal classroom teaching, I have taught Reception to Year 6. Luckily there is
much greater flexibility for lesson delivery in the primary environment, with a science investigation
taking half an hour or continuing for half a term. Additionally, subject areas can be integrated
holistically with science, thereby contextualising art, mathematics, literacy and ICT, while providing
interest to history, design and technology, environmental studies, and health. Hence, the possibility
for weaving a science topic throughout the curriculum to enrich and be enriched by multiple
perspectives is endless. On the other hand, it also becomes easier to lose the essence of science in
this subject integration, particularly if the scientific skills and knowledge outcomes are not clearly
defined and articulated. In doing science as an integrated topic there is a risk that lots of activities
will be completed but that scientific concepts may be either overlooked or become blurred. This was
really brought home to me when students complained that they never did science. I was shocked
given all the things we had explored—chickens, magnets, rocks, seeds … It seemed to me that all
our topics were science and everything else was integrated within that context. ‘Well,’ my students
retorted, ‘we’ve done chickens, magnets, rocks, and seeds. But we haven’t done any science’.
Despite the recent increased accountability for student learning in science, I still believe that
the main purpose of primary school science is to nurture a lifelong predisposition towards being
curious and finding the extraordinary in the ordinary. Science education should embody critical
thinking and the creation of authentic science learning around noticing, wondering, questioning and
seeking explanations while engaged in hands-on explorations. Accountability and expertise of the
scientific process should never be at the expense of the joy of learning—to prioritise the former in
my view is actually counterproductive to the big picture goals of science education.
In summary, as a teacher I have a personal responsibility to model receptiveness to new ideas
and understandings and not to be afraid to explore and challenge the depth of my own scientific
understanding continually. For example: What made that work? Why do you think that? What else
do you think you could try? Why do you think it did not work every time? So, in the words of US
librarian John Cotton Dana ‘Who dares to teach must never cease to learn’.
14
PART 1 | LINKING THEORY TO PRACTICE
Focus upon meaning in secondary science
Few would disagree that the kinds of scientific understandings, insights and foundational skills
discussed by Marianne provide a seamless transition for students entering the secondary environment
where science becomes a discrete subject. To explore this next educational phase, we invited
Mark Hodgson to discuss his views and perceptions about the purpose of science education and its
relationship to teaching in the junior secondary school.
Context and
personal philosophy
of science education
Over the course of my career I have taught students from many walks of life including those
who were gifted, had extreme behaviour issues, were from different cultural and socio-economic
backgrounds, or were severely affected by factors outside the school that limited both personal
and academic progress. Currently, I am the science coordinator in a comprehensive high school. Our
clientele comprises mixed-ability groups of students from a range of socio-economic backgrounds
who demonstrate different attitudes towards learning and achievement in science. Most of our
incoming students have received a limited introduction to science in primary school, with the
majority perceiving science as being ‘one of the subjects for the nerds’. While this is challenging, it
is also exciting because once motivated these students can achieve great things!
As a teacher and learner of science, I am constantly amazed at how things work, why they
work, and how we know they work. For me, teaching science is about exposing students to the
nature of science, equipping them with the skills to look at their world in different ways, providing
opportunities to transfer their skills to other discipline areas, and allowing them to understand the
human experience of science.
So what underpins my own teaching? Interestingly, my teaching philosophy is constantly
changing with my own life experiences, which I believe reflects the nature of science and science
education. Our understanding of science changes and evolves over time, so why should science
education and the way in which our students are taught remain static? As a beginning teacher it
was easy to apply a lock-step approach to teaching science in my classroom with the premise that
science is logical, based upon facts, and a process that mimics the way in which scientists work. But,
once I discovered more about the underlying nature of science and the multitude of ways in which
different scientists work, I dramatically changed my teaching pedagogies. For me, teaching science
is a journey of discovery, where teachers interact with students and share their investigative journey
rather than telling students what their journeys could or should look like.
However, I am aware that my views differ from those of my peers who consider that in order to
teach science it is important to start with the facts while explicitly teaching the content to students.
Over the years I have observed classes of students memorising facts and figures, regurgitating
information by completing closed questions from textbooks, and conducting recipe-style practicals.
Unfortunately, I have also witnessed many students opt out of science in the senior years due to
these less effective pedagogical practices that if used consistently lead to boredom with school
science.
Given this experience, it is not surprising that in my role as a faculty leader I have deliberately
set out to challenge my colleagues by encouraging them to reflect upon their practices (e.g.
what works with students? what does not work?) and move away from content-based learning
using a textbook to being prepared to incorporate innovative methodologies that allow students
to investigate and connect with science, link their learning to the local community, and research
1 Becoming Explorers of Our World
15
‘cutting edge’ science. Within our own school these changes have resulted in large increases in
the number of students participating in senior science courses and, more importantly, dramatic
improvements in student motivation and engagement. Underpinning this change has been the
creation of more positive relationships between teachers and their students and recognition by
teachers that they too are life-long learners of science.
From ideas to implementation
For ideas about how you can
help students understand the
link between science and the
community, see ‘Science in the
community’ on page 19.
It is all very well to have a utopian view that every science class will be one of scientific discovery
and self-guided investigation around which all learning can be constructed. In reality we have
to deal with adolescent students who are experiencing massive neurological and physiological
changes and who (in most cases) would prefer to be doing other things. Not surprisingly, most
of my students find reading pages 54–7 from a textbook then answering the review exercises
provided unappealing, unscientific, and uninteresting. So how do we motivate and engage students
so that they want to be in class and learning? For me it is about making the science meaningful to
these students. For example, there is very little point in giving my Year 8 students an article about a
polluted waterway in the south of France, yet a visit by a scientist working on a polluted waterway
in the local area is potentially very engaging—especially when it impacts the immediate life of
these students! Of course, once students have developed an understanding of the ideas then the
example in France has greater relevance. So, within my science classes I attempt initially to link
concepts to local examples and create learning experiences that are community focused; these
often involve inquiry-based practical investigations around issues seen on TV, through the net, or in
the newspapers.
Of course, this is not easy. When planning inquiry-based investigations, I have developed many
types of scaffolds to support students with varying abilities and levels of understanding. A key to
the scaffold is for students to recognise the scientific research underpinning the investigation. With
this foundation established, students can develop a conceptual basis for the investigation and can
easily recognise patterns in data to draw relevant conclusions. Equally important, they can then
link their investigations to everyday examples within their own community. An example of this
is the development of our Clipsal 500 (an annual racing car event in South Australia) excursion
for Year 10 students. As part of the work, students attend the event and speak to race engineers
to explore how everyday physics and chemistry is applied to the development of racing cars. The
underlying principle is in getting students to become aware of the broader applications of science
around us at a range of levels. In preparation for talking to the engineers, students must develop
an understanding of the fundamental scientific concepts so that they can construct high quality
questions for their interviews.
Overall, it is my view that the introduction of relevant and community-based examples of
science in our teaching has led to increased engagement, participation, and learning for our
students, along with a dramatic improvement in their levels of achievement. Personally, I have
noticed this impact not only with senior chemistry classes but also with junior science classes.
Furthermore, these changes have generated higher motivation among our teachers as they
recognise their own need to continue learning science while challenging their own views about the
role of science education for our students.
PART 1 | LINKING THEORY TO PRACTICE
16
Think about it 1.5: Identifying what’s important to you
1Reflecting upon the experiences of both Marianne and Mark, what are the three most important ideas they raise for you in thinking about
developing your own approach to teaching science? Remember that these are likely to vary depending on whether you intend teaching
primary or secondary students.
2
Can you identify two areas of teaching science that you would like to explore further at this stage in your own learning?
Linking theory to practice in science education
By embracing a framework of students as explorers of the world we overcome the fear of teaching
science experienced by many primary teachers and the emphasis on scientific facts. For secondary
science teachers, it encourages greater focus on the human endeavour aspects of science, ensuring that
students recognise the applicability of science to their everyday lives. These views are exemplified
in the vignettes provided by Marianne and Mark, who openly acknowledge their changing role as
science educators in relation to their teaching and life experiences. While both began teaching with
a fairly traditional view about the purpose of science education, they now recognise the imperative
to make science meaning ful for their students.
Interestingly, even though Marianne and Mark represent two different teaching contexts, there
are a number of key elements regarding science education that are consistent in their reflections.
First, neither focuses attention on the content of science, with the doing and understanding of science
being paramount. Second, both perceive themselves as life-long learners of science and enjoy the
notion that they still question their own scientific conceptions of their world. Similarly, they consider
that there is much to learn about educating students around science, that is, application of teaching
pedagogies. Third, in being able to step back from the immediacy of their own classrooms so as
to see the bigger picture, they appear to value and place high priority around the following three
components of science education.
The experiments in Part
2 provide opportunities
for students to develop
scientific inquiry
and investigation
approaches.
1 The nature of science, which embraces what science is, how it works, its epistemological and
ontological foundations, how scientists operate as a social group, and how society itself both
influences and reacts to scientific endeavours. As such, scientific knowledge is conceived as
tentative; empirically based (or derived from observations of the natural world); subjective (theory
laden); necessarily involving human inference, imagination and creativity; while being socially
and culturally embedded (Lederman & Lederman, 2004; McComas & Olson, 1998).
2 Scientific inquiry and investigation approaches that encompass the scientific processes (i.e. observation,
hypothesising, classifying, predicting, measuring, analysing data) but combine these with scientific
knowledge, reasoning, and critical thinking. As a result, students understand the rationale of an
investigation and are able to analyse the data collected. Such approaches recognise that a fixed set
and sequence of steps, known as the scientific method, does not represent accurately the inquiry
approach adopted by real scientists (Tytler, 2007). Importantly, research evidence suggests that
these approaches produce more higher-order learning outcomes for students than recipe-style
experiments (Berg, Bergendahl & Lundberg, 2003; Watson, 2000).
3 Critical thinking involves the intellectually disciplined process of actively conceptualising,
applying, analysing, synthesising and evaluating information collected from a range of sources. It
1 Becoming Explorers of Our World
17
incorporates the values of clarity, precision, consistency, relevance, sound evidence and reasoning
that relate to all discipline areas. Activities involved in critical thinking include relating theory to
practice, interpreting according to a framework, making a claim and supporting it with appropriate
evidence, asking questions, and establishing cause and effect (Scriven & Paul, 2001).
Summary
To some extent, trying to articulate the purpose of science education is like trying to
find a needle in a haystack, in that we are unlikely to find one explanation that will
satisfy all interested parties. Importantly, we do know that this purpose will evolve
and change in response to societal expectations and values. So, if we stop right here
and now and consider science education in the 21st century, it is clear that we need
a scientifically literate population more than ever. Linked to this we need a teaching
profession that understands the way in which students learn science if they are to create
the appropriate nurturing, engaging, and challenging opportunities in their classrooms
to meet the needs of a diversity of students. No longer is it simply enough to cater for
the top group of students who may become our future scientists.
In this chapter we have attempted to move the microscope away from the traditional
content focus of most science curricula to thinking about science education as a means
of encouraging our students to become explorers of their world. By focusing more
on the nature of science, the processes of science, and the way in which scientific
understanding is constructed, we are more likely to motivate, engage and educate our
students. Robyn Gregson and Maree Gruppetta will elaborate upon a number of these
aspects in the next chapter. Finally, by utilising an explorer-of-the-world framework, we
are more likely to enhance the curiosity of our teachers of science so that they too see
themselves as life-long learners of science.
In the science classroom
As this chapter emphasises, science happens at all levels: local, national and global. We
need to move the focus away from recipe-driven activities and allow children to explore
and discover for themselves. Mini beasts—creepie crawlies—are a popular topic with
students, and not just because these creatures often challenge the teacher! Students
can explore these animals in their local environment, making observations and coming
to conclusions. To approach this topic with your class, you could
::
Take students out into the playground. Working in a small area, students make
observations about the creatures they can see. This area could be delineated by
a cut-out frame—this approach has an element of anticipation, as creatures may
enter or leave the space.
::
Obtain large models or photographs of mini beasts, then use these as the focus of
a classroom investigation.
::
Students could complete a study on a selected mini beast, creating a poster or
electronic presentation to show the class.
::
Students could explore the evolution of mini beasts, engaging their interest in the
pre-historic.
Mini beasts
18
PART 1 | LINKING THEORY TO PRACTICE
Curriculum links
Foundation: Science as Human Endeavour: Nature and
development of science
Year 7, 9: Science Understanding: Biological sciences
Also refer to: Year 1 Work Sample 4: Mini beasts report ;
Year 7 Work Sample 3: Independent task—Classification;
Year 9: Diseases caused by micro- and macro-organisms
(Australian Curriculum, ACARA).
Growing seedlings
Curriculum links
Foundation, Year 1, 4, 6: Science Understanding: Biological
sciences
Year 1/2 : Science as Human Endeavour: Nature and
development of science; Science Inquiry Skills: Planning
and conducting; Processing and analysing data and
information
Year 3/4: Science Inquiry Skills: Communicating; Scientific
method; Fair testing
Also refer to: Foundation Work Sample 1: Observing beans
growing; Year 2 Work Sample 2: Report: Let’s grow a plant
(Australian Curriculum, ACARA).
::
Students could make a moving model of a mini beast.
::
The class could explore the habits of mini beasts.
::
Students could even create their own mini beasts.
Focus Questions
In what other ways could this topic be presented in the classroom?
How could it be developed to engage older students?
To link the first activity with mathematics, students could make tallies or even
graphs of the number of animals they observe. How could you link the topic of
mini beasts to the content area of art? Try to think of a concrete activity.
The simple activity of growing plants from seeds can be used for many different year
levels. For example:
::
In a junior classroom, the growing of the bean could relate to the theme of ‘Jack and
the beanstalk’.
::
Students could grow a range of different vegetable seeds and analyse growth and
quality of produce.
::
Students could grow the plants and make observations and measurements over a
period of time. They could use digital technology such as a digital camera to record
the plant’s growth.
::
Students could plant seeds in a variety of conditions: in normal conditions; with
no sunlight (perhaps in a cupboard); in a cold environment (like the fridge), and in
a dry environment (without water), thus allowing them to investigate the impact
of different conditions on plant growth. From this, students could investigate the
optimal conditions (location, exposure etc.) for developing and planting a school
vegetable garden.
::
After successfully growing a bean plant, students could be challenged to grow
plants requiring different conditions, such as mushrooms or cacti.
::
Older students could investigate the effects of using materials such as soil
conditioner and fertilisers on plants.
Socratic questioning such as ‘Does that always happen?’ ‘How could you change your
result?’ ‘Is that always the answer?’ and ‘What would happen if …?’ (p. 13) is ideal for
this type of activity and allows students to investigate why and how different conditions
may affect results.
Focus Questions
What might be some other activities that could be completed from growing a bean
plant from seed?
What other plants could be investigated?
Can you think of another simple activity that might be developed across age
groups?
1 Becoming Explorers of Our World
19
Science in the
community
As Mark Hodgson mentions, linking science and the local community is important as it
adds relevance to the students’ learning (see page 14). There are many opportunities
to see science in action in most communities: in farming communities it might be the
science used in food production; in coastal communities, the science about weather and
the environment is key, while in inner-city communities the science about the impact
of travel and pollution is especially relevant. Local events such as sporting activities
or festivals could be a starting point, or students could be encouraged to solve or
investigate an issue they are interested in.
For example, students could investigate local transportation:
::
Which mode of transport is the most energy efficient?
::
Design a model of an energy efficient car.
::
How much pollution does each type of transport produce? What effects does this
have on the community?
::
How could this pollution be decreased?
::
What impact would this change have on renewable and non-renewable resources?
::
How are Australian scientists involved in researching these areas?
Curriculum links
Year 5, 6, 7: Science Understanding: Earth and space
sciences
Focus Question
Year 7: Science as Human Endeavour: Use and influence of
science; Science Inquiry Skills: Communicating
Can you think of a local community event that could be used as a starting point for
a science investigation?
Also refer to: Year 5 Work Sample 6: Australian Scientists
(Australian Curriculum, ACARA).
Further reading
Bransford, J.D., Brown, A.L., & Cocking, R.R. (2004). How people learn: brain, mind, experience and school.
Washington DC: National Academy Press.
Pellegrino, J.W., Chudowsky, N. & Glaser, R. (Eds) (2001). Knowing what students know: the science and design of
education assessment: executive summary. Retrieved 1 October 2010 from <www.nap.edu/catalog/10010.html>.
References
Aikenhead, G. (2003). Review of research on humanistic perspectives in science curricula. Paper presented at the
European Science Education Research Association (ESERA) Conference. Noordwijkerhout, Netherlands,
19–23 August. Retrieved 17 April 2007 from <www.usask.ca/education/people/aikenhead/ESERA_2.pdf>.
Aikenhead, G. (2009). Research into STC science education. Revista Brasileira de Pesquisa em Educação em Ciências,
19(1), 384–397.
Bailey, L.H. (nd). Liberty Hyde Bailey quotes. Retrieved 7 February 2011 from <http://thinkexist.com/quotes/
liberty_hyde_bailey>.
Berg, C.A.R., Bergendahl, V.C.B., & Lundberg, B.K.S. (2003). Benefiting from an open-ended experiment?
A comparison of attitude to, and outcome of, an expository versus an open-inquiry version of the same
experiment. International Journal of Science Education, 25(3), 351–372.
Cohen, I.B. (1952). The education of the public in science. Impact of Science on Society, 3, 67–101.
Department of Education, Training and the Arts. (2007). Towards a 10-year plan for science, technology, engineering and
mathematics (STEM) education and skills in Queensland. Retrieved 12 November 2007 from <http://education.qld.
gov.au/projects/stemplan/docs/stem-discussion-paper.pdf>.
Deutsch, D. (2009). A new way to explain explanation. Personal commentary on video. Retrieved 10 February 2011 from
<http://dotsub.com/view/7d5b178f-eb57-47d3-bec0-3294495cd4e0>.
20
PART 1 | LINKING THEORY TO PRACTICE
Fensham, P. (2006). Research and boosting science learning: Diagnosis and potential solutions. Retrieved 12 January 2008
from <www.acer.edu.au/documents/RC2006_Fensham.pdf>.
Fensham, P.J. (2009). Real world contexts in PISA science: implications for context-based science education.
Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 46(8), 884–896.
Goodrum, D., Hackling, M., & Rennie, L. (2001). The status and quality of teaching and learning of science in Australian
schools: A research report. Canberra, ACT: Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs (DETYA).
Lederman, N.G. & Lederman, J.S. (2004). Understanding the art of teaching science. In G. Venville & V. Dawson
(Eds), The art of teaching science (pp. 2–33). Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin.
McComas, W. & Olson, J. (1998). The nature of science in international science education standards documents. In
W. McComas (Ed.). The nature of science in science education: rationales and strategies (pp. 41–52). Dordrecht: Kluwer
Academic Publishers.
OECD (2006). Assessing scientific, reading and mathematical literacy: A framework for PISA 2006. Retrieved 20
November 2006 from <www.oecd.org/dataoecd/63/35/37464175.pdf>.
OECD Global Science Forum. (2006). Evolution of student interest in science and technology studies: Policy report.
Retrieved 3 September 2006 from <www.oecd.org/dataoecd/16/30/36645825.pdf>.
Oreskes, N. (2011). Merchants of doubt. Science Show. [video.] Retrieved 15 March 2011 from <www.abc.net.au/
rn/scienceshow/stories/2011/3101369.htm> (no longer available).
Osborne, J. (2007). Science education for the twenty-first century. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and
Technology Education, 3(3), 173–184.
Ratcliffe, M. & Millar, R. (2009). Teaching for understanding of science in context: evidence from the pilot trials
of the Twenty-First Century Science courses. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 46(8), 945–959.
Resnick, L.B. (2010). Nested learning systems for the thinking curriculum. Educational Researcher, 39(3), 183–197.
Scriven, M. & Paul, R. (2001). Defining critical thinking: a draft statement for the National Council for Excellence in Critical
Thinking. Retrieved 21 July 2010 from <www.criticalthinking.org/pages/defining-critical-thinking/766>.
Smith, K. (2008). How to be an explorer of the world. New York: Penguin.
Tytler, R. (2007). Re-imagining science education: engaging students in science for Australian’s future. Camberwell,
Victoria: Australian Council for Educational Research.
Tytler, R., Osborne, J., Williams, G., Tytler, K., & Clark, J.C. (2008). Opening up pathways: Engagement in STEM
across the primary-secondary school transition. Retrieved 4 July 2008 from <www.deewr.gov.au/Skills/Resources/
Documents/OpenPathinSciTechMathEnginPrimSecSchTrans.pdf>.
Watson, R. (2000). The role of practical work. In M. Monk & J. Osborne (Eds), Good practice in science teaching:
What research has to say (pp. 57–71). Berkshire, UK: Open University Press.
Useful websites
Institute of Ideas: What is science for? <www.instituteofideas.com/scied2006.html>
This website broadly explores scientific literacy as a means of generating informed citizens. However, the
different perspectives available here challenge our traditional views about the purpose of science education.
How People Learn <www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=9853>
On this website read sections of an invaluable reference entitled: How people learn: Brain, mind, experience and
school written by Bransford, J.D., Brown, A.L., & Cocking, R.R (Eds). (2000). It explores many of the learning
theories around about how students learn with a particular emphasis on science.
Science and science education reform: Myths, methods, and madness <www.nas.edu/rise/backg2a.htm>
The article provided on this website explores some of the myths around teachers of science, particularly in
the primary (elementary) years. Written by a scientist, it explores the importance of understanding more than
content and facts of science, putting more emphasis on the processes of science.
Making Connections
with the
Students’ World
Robyn Gregson and Maree Gruppetta
Key ideas
1
New technologies have changed the way students engage with
science.
2
Students bring their own understandings of the world with them
when they come into our classrooms.
3
Educational theories provide us with a framework to support our
teaching.
4
In the 21st century we are catering for a diverse range of students.
Key terms
alternate view
learning theories
misconception
prior knowledge
students’ worlds
2
Who are our students?
Jason was a primary school student
with Asperger’s syndrome and
a passion for rocks and soil. By
Year 6 he could tell the exact
composition of any brick he saw,
expertly analyse a soil sample, and
accurately identify any rock.
Students do not come to us as blank canvases. Before
they arrive at school they have already had a range of
experiences that vary in depth and breadth. There are
those that have gained their early knowledge through
media, while others have learned from family and
friends. How the students learn and the depth of their
understanding depends on the students themselves.
Below are some stories of children that we have
taught over the years.
Matthew knew almost everything there was to know
about insects. As a young secondary school student, he
would spend his lunch times scouring the school grounds
for new species to research. For him the only science that
existed was focused on living animals. Chemistry and
physics held no interest.
Robert was in my Year 9 class and he liked to spend
his weekends making things and then blowing them up.
His idea of fun was to make machines that he could use
on his skateboard or to create new inventions. Robert
could talk passionately and in depth about a wide range
of science topics. He gave a 45-minute presentation on
tectonic plates that held the class spellbound, but he
never passed a science test. After leaving school Robert
went on to develop successful inventions that made him
respected as an inventor and financially well off.
22
Jason was a primary school student with Asperger’s
syndrome and a passion for rocks and soil. By Year 6
he could tell the exact composition of any brick he saw,
expertly analyse a soil sample, and accurately identify
any rock. Although his passion for geology waned during
his secondary years his passion for learning did not—
he now analyses the components of computers and his
prior knowledge assists with determining the best metals
for conductivity.
Kyle was obsessed with watching crime shows. A
Year 7 student with learning difficulties and low selfesteem, he was difficult to engage—until presented
with a forensic science unit linked to his favourite crime
show. He rapidly became an expert on the stages of
decomposition and the life cycles of insects (to determine
time of death) and developed a passion for biology that
extended throughout his secondary years.
Peter loved cooking and was often teased by other
children for his passion. Yet once he realised that cooking
included a great deal of science he developed an interest
in chemical reactions and the effects of energy that
extended beyond his original interest—because he could
apply his new knowledge to his own world.
These students highlight the importance of engaging
students through their interests and building on their prior
knowledge in order to encourage their interest in science.
2 Making Connections with the Students’ World
23
Consideration of the social dynamics of the classroom and the provision of curriculum that connects
to students’ lives are important criteria for improving academic outcomes for all students (Alloway
& Gilbert, 2002). A classroom that encourages discussion, negotiation and collaboration, where
teachers and students share power and where the curriculum connects to the students’ out-of-school
experiences and to issues that are personally meaningful results in emotional engagement in learning
and positive academic and social outcomes (Alloway et al., 2002; Mills, 2001).
Electronic and digital texts, texts of popular culture and a print-rich environment are part of the
social worlds of most children (Hill & Broadhurst, 2002). A number of studies have indicated that
students, and in particular boys, are interested in new technologies, superheroes and popular media
culture, and are disadvantaged by a curriculum that focuses on traditional book-based narratives
(Alloway et al., 2002; Millard 1997). It is therefore necessary to broaden definitions of academic
achievement and to expand early and middle school curricula and assessment strategies to encompass
the wide range of experiences and expertise that all students bring to school.
In order to prepare students to participate fully in a rapidly changing world it is necessary to take
a broad view of academic outcomes. This means going beyond a focus on performance in paper and
pencil quizzes and standardised tests. We need to include a greater emphasis on learning processes
and social action. These ‘new basics’ outline the importance of life pathways and social futures,
multiliteracies and communication media, active citizenship, and environments and technologies
for learning in the 21st century (Education Queensland, 2005). New Basics integrates curriculum,
pedagogy and assessment so that education is relevant to students’ lives, with recognition being given
to the social and cultural contexts of learning and the differences among students and communities.
Stronger links to everyday practices provide opportunities for all students to display their existing
expertise and to build on their understandings (Alloway et al., 2002; Marsh, 2001).
Social and academic outcomes intersect. Research conducted by Chen and colleagues (1998)
suggests when students’ interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligences are recognised in the classroom
this can assist in strengthening the academic learning of underachieving students. When students
feel valued and respected their feelings of competence and self-efficacy are increased and they are
encouraged to take risks in solving problems (Arthur et al., 2005; Landy, 2002). Reid (2002) also argues
that when students and teachers are able to build relationships there are enhanced opportunities for
students’ learning as they draw on different discourses. Many students require assistance in developing
interaction strategies and need support to initiate and sustain relationships with peers, to interact
cooperatively and to function as part of a group. Students are supported to develop social competence
when teachers provide an environment that is appropriately challenging, where emotions and social
interactions are discussed, and where there are clear and appropriate expectations (Landy, 2002).
Think about it 2.1: Your experiences and ideas
1
How was science achievement assessed when you went to school? Did it take your interests and background into account?
2
Who had the control in your science classroom at school: the teacher, students, or both? Was there any discussion about what to study?
3
Were popular texts used at all in your science classroom?
4
How do you think this approach advantaged or disadvantaged you?
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PART 1 | LINKING THEORY TO PRACTICE
What are students’ worlds?
students’ worlds
In the 21st century
life has become more
complex. Technologies
and multiculturism
provide challenges for
teaching as children
bring a range of
interests, knowledge
and skills into our
classrooms.
prior knowledge
Includes all the skills,
knowledge and
understanding that a
student has already
attained before
they come into your
Students bring their own worlds with them when they begin schooling, and as they progress through
their school years they always bring their experiences external to schooling with them. In short their
‘other lives’ and their experiences of those lives external to school come with them into the classroom.
These students’ worlds are varied; they encompass their family, their peers within and beyond
school settings, their communities, including their cultural and religious communities; and their
perspectives formed by media and technological interactions. Children are able to see science as it
happens through documentaries and programs such as those produced by David Attenborough. From
comics and movies students bring their knowledge of Superman and his problems with kryptonite
(DC Comics), the range of powers demonstrated by the Fantastic Four and Spiderman (Marvel
Comics), and the potential for mutation displayed by the X-men (Marvel Comics). More recently
students bring ideas about time, space and transdimensional travel and/or the problems and properties
of vampires and werewolves due to the popularity of recent movies, television shows and books with
these themes. The success of Harry Potter (Rowling, 1997) linked science to the realm of magic,
because although the wizards had magical powers many of them were intrigued by the science and
technology of ‘muggles’, the name Rowling gave to non-wizard folk.
Students will have watched the rain fall, buttered bread fall butter-side down time and time again,
experienced drought and flood and several changes of seasons, and throughout these experiences
made their own observations about many aspects of scientific phenomena. Their parents, extended
family, peers and community members will have offered various definitions and explanations, both
fictional and fact. For instance babies come from cabbage patches or are delivered by a stork, or rain
comes from the tears of angels. All of these experiences inform students’ initial concepts of science,
providing prior knowledge and perspectives of ‘science’. Any attempt to understand students’
reactions to learning in science needs to take into account who they are at home and who at school
(Solomon, 2001). How parents view science and how it fits into students’ home cultures is important
to students’ views of science overall. Is science important to explain phenomena, part of fun activities,
or only something for scientists to do? Would the parents include basic scientific premises into their
routine cooking activities? Do the parents not see themselves as scientific at all? These parental and
home perspectives are important to students’ views of science overall (Solomon, 2001).
classroom.
What the students already know
For ideas about how
you can use students’
prior knowledge in the
science classroom, see
‘Cooking’ on page 47.
No matter where they get the information, students do not come to science classes as blank canvases.
You only have to visit dinosaur exhibitions and listen to three- and four-year-olds citing names,
habitats and eating preferences of the dinosaurs to realise that our younger students come to school
with knowledge and experience across a range of scientific concepts. Figures 2.1, 2.2, 2.3 and 2.4
show just what students in Years 3–6 already know about science.
2 Making Connections with the Students’ World
Figure 2.1
A Year 3 student’s representation of science
This young student has already recognised that chemicals come in a range of colours. The picture
also demonstrates a simplistic idea about different types of equipment used in science and how they
are used together during experiments. The bubbles show that the concept of chemical reactions and
products of chemical reactions is already known to the student.
Figure 2.2
A Year 4 student’s representation of science
This picture highlights an understanding of the variety of concepts that is covered in science. The
student has already begun to understand classification. The student has also made links between the
different stages in life cycles and the relationship between the Earth, Sun and Moon.
25
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PART 1 | LINKING THEORY TO PRACTICE
Figure 2.3
A Year 5 student’s representation of science
Very few of the students at the school where these pictures were drawn used the stereotypic
view of the scientist. In fact in many cases where a person was drawn the picture was of a female
scientist. This picture does not clearly identify the gender of the scientist but the glasses usually seen
in images depicting scientists are certainly there. The student has developed a sophisticated idea of
many concepts of science but also that while much of what we do is hands-on the student also shows
that the scientist is thinking about science as well.
Figure 2.4
A Year 6 student’s representation of science
2 Making Connections with the Students’ World
27
At Year 6 level this picture is just one of many that demonstrated a broad range of scientific
concepts and the equipment used in scientific experiments. Yet students in their primary years would
not have had experience of laboratory work nor the equipment shown while learning about science.
The concept of classification is also well understood. The clarity of the diagram showing the human
body and the position of some organs is very impressive from such a young student. This diagram was
significantly more accurate than those drawn by many postgraduate pre-service teachers.
The pictures you have just seen are some examples from nearly 300 pictures drawn by primaryschool students. They demonstrate a range of sophistication in knowledge and understanding. What
they represent is each student’s interpretation of what science means to them. Those collected from
the early years focused on dinosaurs. However once the students entered Year 3 (age 7–8) their view
of science diversified. Images of exploding and colourful chemicals were popular. What surprised me
was that students started to separate and classify elements of science in their diagrams.
These pictures clearly demonstrate the breadth and depth of knowledge and understanding that
children have of science in their early years of schooling and what they already know on their arrival
at secondary school.
Where does the knowledge come from?
Digital technologies provide a range of experiences for students before they start school, and assist
in building their knowledge bases. Books, television, movies, DVDs, parents, grandparents, aunts,
uncles and siblings all play a part in the early development of science knowledge and understanding,
particularly among cultures where shared knowledge is valued. All cultures have stories that add to
students’ scientific understandings, for example Dreaming stories may provide explanations of animal
adaptations to their environment or link to signs in nature that aid in harvesting natural resources.
Students themselves may develop a passion for particular areas, such as those younger children
who love learning about dinosaurs or the child obsessed with insects, rocks or blowing things up.
These students become experts in the area through their own passion for research. As the stories
related at the beginning of this chapter demonstrate, we have all met these students. Some may be
classified as autistic, others as gifted, and yet any child can become passionate about a particular theme
and simply need to know everything they can about that concept or topic. Teachers and parents can
support these interests or ignore them; many dismiss them as irrelevant. However, these passions
provide a window of opportunity to engage students in further learning.
For ideas about how
you can harness
students’ passions in
the science classroom,
see ‘Chemical reactions’
Family support for students’ learning
Family support in the years prior to school and in the transition to school is well documented, but
the importance of parental support for children aged 8–12 years is underestimated according to
the research conducted for the 100 Children Turn 10 study (Hill et al., 2002). This study found that
many families do a lot to contribute to children’s success through the provision of experiences at
home with computers, film and video that supplement school experiences and support academic
learning. However, not all families are able to provide this type of support. It is also important to
on page 48.
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PART 1 | LINKING THEORY TO PRACTICE
acknowledge and value the many other pathways to learning that children experience in their families
and communities. These include interactions with everyday texts such as catalogues and street signs,
media and digital texts, and texts of popular culture (McCarthy et al., 2003). In a similar manner
cultural stories can cover scientific notions and can be an important part of learning scientific concepts
external to schooling. Dreaming stories describing how wallabies developed their tails for balance on
uneven ground should not be dismissed as irrelevant to Western science concepts; these stories can
be used to discuss concepts of natural selection. Stories from a range of cultures around the world
describe the flora and fauna present in different habitats and can be used as an introduction for lessons
on environments, food webs, climate zones and weather patterns, effectively linking to students’
cultural contexts. Schools can assist families to support students’ learning at home. Newsletters home,
instructional DVDs and brochures and parent evenings can all assist parents in understanding the
school’s approach to learning and ways of supporting this at home (Noble & Bradford, 2000).
Effective partnerships build connections between educators, children, families and communities,
and connections to children’s past and current experiences. This means that there is more likely to
be congruence between children’s family and educational contexts. Hill and colleagues found that
in some cases the ‘language, social and textual practices of the home and the school were similar,
creating an easy connection between home and school values and attitudes’ (Hill et al., 2002, p.
7). They recognised that all students came to school with many experiences but that not all of
these had cultural capital within the school environment. They acknowledged and included the
literacy expertise that students brought from home by providing opportunities for students to bring
home literacy artefacts to school and to display out-of-school literacies. For other children these
connections were not there, making it difficult for them to engage with school because there was no
link to their own community.
Community links to learning
Effective schools link students to the world outside the school (Alloway et al., 2002; Gregson, 2011)
and work towards ‘bringing the outside in’ (Alloway et al., 2002, p. 204). Alloway and colleagues
(2002, p. 3) found that effective schools have ‘a repertoire for engaging with and negotiating culture’.
School–community links also involve workplace learning, vocational education, school–industry
links and community-based learning (Martin, 2002). Martin (2002) argued that linking schools
with the outside world increases the relevance and meaning of school for many students, resulting
in higher levels of engagement and achievement. The community can also be a source of mentors
and role models for students. In fact the basis of 21st century learning is the partnerships that are
developing between workplaces and schools. This may include partnerships with local businesses
and/or community members who visit the school and act as role models. Linking learning to
students’ home cultural communities can further assist with engaging learners and building on their
prior knowledge.
Think about it 2.2: Considering family and community links
What role do parents/carers and the community play in developing students’ knowledge and understanding of science? With your colleagues,
discuss experiences you may have had, either studying science yourself, observing teachers, or as parents or carers. Can you recall any
particularly fruitful collaborations?
2 Making Connections with the Students’ World
29
What if their knowledge is wrong?
Misconceptions/alternate views
Learning science involves making connections between new knowledge and that which the student
already holds as prior knowledge. Students who are able to make these links are more likely to get
the ‘idea’ about a concept. When what has been learned before is incorrect, it is not always possible
to align what they already know to the new knowledge. Thus the students hold onto the old idea
and the alternate view or misconception. Misconceptions (more recently referred to as alternate
conceptions) refer to the understandings that people have about scientific concepts that vary from
what is accepted as scientifically true. We often refer to student prior knowledge that may be correct
in our point of view or may be a combination of ideas based partly on incorrect understandings.
Misconceptions can occur through preconceived ideas that are based on students’ everyday experiences
when they try to make sense of what they have seen. The teaching of foundation concepts of science
is begun at primary schools, and thus when not taught correctly or when misunderstood the students
can get the ‘wrong idea’.
Students have misconceptions because they are taught them or because during their own
observations they make incorrect assumptions or links between what they see and how they make
sense of what they saw. Sometimes alternate understanding comes from getting only part of the
picture, so while necessarily incorrect the student only partly understands the concept. Once the
alternate view is held it is often very difficult to change the students’ view on that concept. In many
cases the misconception will be held into adulthood. Even very experienced and knowledgeable
scientists have misconceptions. On examination of a science textbook, Kavsut (2010) found mistakes
in content and in models used to explain scientific concepts. Textbooks are commonly used as
teaching and learning resources, and mistakes in them perpetuate the wrong understandings and
extend misconceptions rather than reducing them (Kavsut, 2010).
In the classroom, one of the first things we need to do is to establish individual students’ levels of
learning, and as we go though each topic we need to seek the students’ misconceptions. By identifying
students’ currently held misconceptions we can find a starting point for our units. As teachers, we need
to then provide learning opportunities for conceptual change. During these classroom activities students
can make observations that challenge their currently held ideas. By comparing the old knowledge with
the new, that can develop an understanding of the concepts that more closely relates to the currently
held view or at the very least move their understandings closer to the currently held view.
How students learn
Learning is about using experiences to acquire or change our knowledge, understanding and skills.
This new knowledge helps us to understand ourselves and the world we live in. What we learn
from these experiences is not always what was intended, nor is it always correct. However what we
understand and how we understand evolves as we develop and as the world we live in changes. As
teachers we need to recognise how unique each learner is in terms of their abilities, needs and the
prior experience they bring to our classrooms.
alternate view Not
everyone learns the
same concept the
same way and as such
we can have different
views about the
concept.
misconception
What occurs when
what is learned has
been only partially
or completely
misunderstood.
For further ideas about
how you can challenge
misconceptions in the
science classroom,
see ‘Dealing with
misconceptions’ on
page 49.
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PART 1 | LINKING THEORY TO PRACTICE
Throughout the ages philosophers and researchers have developed ideas and theories about
learning in an attempt to explain what is happening when we learn or when we fail to learn. Their
ideas are based on analysis of prior theories or on empirical research that provides new insights.
As such theories are ‘sets of assumptions and assertions used to interpret and sometimes to explain
psychological, social, cultural and historical processes. Theories are tools to help us think about
things in new ways’ (Dimitriadis & Kamberelis, 2006, p. vii). These theories have value in that they
assist by providing a vocabulary and framework for analysing learning situations while helping us to
provide solutions to problems that surround learning. Theories inform self-reflection of our teaching
which leads to modification of our practice.
learning theories
Ideas that have been
researched and
formulated that can
Table 2.1 summarises some learning theories and theorists that you will be able to use to inform
your practice.
Table 2.1
guide our thinking
Summary of theorists, their theories, underpinning reasons for learning and roles of teachers and
learners in science
Behaviourism
Cognitivism
Humanism
Social
constructivism
Theorist/s
Skinner, Watson,
Bandura
Piaget, Bruner, Gagné
Maslow
Vygotsky, Freire,
Foucault
Learning
theory
Leaning occurs through
changes in behaviour
Learning is an internal
mental action of
processing information
Learning is due to
motivation based on
one’s needs
Learning is through
social and cultural
interaction
Reason for
learning
Produce change in
behaviour
Skills and
understanding are
developed in order to
learn
Motivation for learning
is developed so that the
learner can become an
autonomous learner
Learning is so that
the individual can
participate in the
social and political
development of the
community
Role of
teacher
Controls learning
so that the desired
outcome is reached
Develops the learning
activities
Facilitates the
development of the
person as a whole
Facilitates learning
based on the learner’s
previous experiences
Role
of the
learner
To change their
behaviours to more
positive actions that
promote learning
Each individual learner
is an active constructor
of knowledge
To satisfy their
own needs such
as belonging, selfesteem and to grow
intellectually and
spiritually
Through social
interaction the
learner can internalise
knowledge and
understanding
about learning.
Behaviourism
Behaviourists believe that everything a human does, including thinking, acting and feeling, is linked
to behaviour. Therefore learning is linked to positive student behaviours such as those required
to meet lesson outcomes. Good behaviours such as staying on task and following instructions are
rewarded with positive reinforcement, while negative behaviours such as lack of attention and being
noisy are punished.
2 Making Connections with the Students’ World
Skinner worked with rats, pigeons and larger animals to research operant responses (pressing levers
to get positive reinforcements such as food, or not to receive negative reinforcement such as electric
shocks). He was able to train animals to perform a wide range of behaviours that they would not
usually be able to do. He extended his studies of humans into linguistic responses where humans
developed behaviours when they responded to and constructed their own language cues.
Watson used the work of Pavlov (conditional and simple learning) to explore the idea that ‘learning
was a process of building conditioned reflexes through the substitution of one stimulus for another’
(McInerney & McInerney, 2002, pp. 127).
Bandura (1986) researched social cognitive theory and self efficacy (an individual’s belief in
themselves). He believed that students’ belief in themselves to perform tasks, how they feel about
themselves, what control they have over their own lives determines their ability to learn, their
motivation to learn and the aspirations they have for their lives while at and after schooling.
Cognitivism
In the 1950s there was an increase in interest in how the brain works, particularly during learning,
which led to a surge in research on how we think and how we learn. The work of psychologists such
as Piaget, Bruner and Vygotsky became popular. These researchers developed theories of learning
that focus on how individuals think as they learn. Cognitivists suggest that people’s thought processes
affect their behaviour. Eggen and Kauckak (2006) identified seven principles of cognitive learning
theory as:
::
Learning and development depend on learner’s experiences
::
People want their experiences to make sense
::
People construct knowledge in order to make sense of their experiences
::
Social interaction and the use of language facilitate knowledge construction
::
Learning requires practice and feedback
::
Learning is enhanced when learning experiences are connected to the real world (p. 39).
Piaget (1896–1980) proposed a cognitive model of learning now known as constructivism. He
proposed that the individual constructs knowledge, where the learner’s progress is a direct result of
the individual’s actions and their understanding evolves as they interact with and reflect about their
own world. Piaget’s idea of children’s development and thinking is described by Marsh (2010, pp.
340–367) in that learning is a set of stages:
::
Sensori-motor (0–2 years). The first stage where children are aware of their environment in terms
of how their bodies fit with that environment. They initiate actions that are goal-dependent, such
as reaching for a toy, trying to stand, point. They learn that objects exist even when they can’t see
them, such as peek-a-boo games or when a parent leaves the room.
::
Pre-operational (2–7 years) is recognised as a stage of immense growth as children learn to use
symbols such as those used for numeracy and literacy, classify objects, and understand pretend
actions.
::
Concrete operational (7–11 years) is the stage when children develop and can apply logical thought
processes. They are able to solve problems, classify and evaluate, and are less egocentric as they
become part of a wider community.
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PART 1 | LINKING THEORY TO PRACTICE
::
Formal operational (11 and above) students are able to hypothesise, use deductive reasoning, show
an appreciation of abstract concepts, imagine, apply logical thinking, and explore alternatives.
Bruner’s theory of learning suggests that learning happens when the learner is ready to be
independent in terms of processing the stimuli around them and processing the information they
receive from that stimulus. Bruner recognises three stages of growth, a schema that differs from
Piaget in that it is not hierarchical or linked to specific ages (Marsh, 2010). Bruner’s three stages are:
For ideas about how
you can use the spiral
curriculum in the
science classroom, see
‘Weather activities’ on
page 50.
::
Enactive, where learning is by doing
::
Iconic, which requires the use of imagery
::
Symbolic, where understanding is linked to the knowledge and use of symbols such as those of
language and numeracy.
Bruner also introduced the notion of the spiral curriculum—‘A curriculum as it develops should
revisit basic ideas repeatedly, building upon them until the student has grasped the full formal
apparatus that goes with them’ (Bruner, 1960, p. 13). Ideas can be introduced in a brief way, then
repeated at a later date with more exploration, then revisited with more depth. This method permits
students to build on their prior knowledge and experiences and to expand their knowledge as they
discover more detail in subsequent engagement with the topic/s. Bruner’s theories have developed
over his lifetime and in 1991 he included an aspect of learning using narratives which he called
‘hermeneutic composability’: the theory that narratives can be interpreted as a series of events that
constitute a ‘story’, which can then be utilised as a teaching tool (Bruner, 1991). Stories record our
achievements and discoveries, and applied to learning this theory integrates many cultural aspects
into the learning process. More recently, Bruner (1996) has come to be critical of the ‘cognitive
revolution’ and has looked to the building of a cultural psychology that takes proper account of the
historical and social context of participants that relates to science as a human endeavour.
Gagné’s model of achievement includes several factors that contribute to the actualisation of
giftedness. These factors begin with environment, motivation and temperament, which are consistent
with the developmental theories listed above. Gagné (1995) however includes Tannenbaum’s (1983)
catalyst factor where giftedness can only be actualised when there is a catalyst for development of that
gift. A catalyst can be positive or negative and is simply an opportunity to discover one’s gift due to
circumstances encountered within one’s life experience. For instance; a champion skier will never
discover their gift if they never encounter snow and the opportunity to try skiing. In the majority of
cases the catalyst is a teacher and/or a classroom environment that provides opportunity to a student
to experiment with a range of experiences, which in turn provide opportunity to discover a latent
talent and/or passion in any given area. It is imperative that teachers provide the broadest possible
experiences to their students in order for them to reach their full potential.
Think about it 2.3: Reaching your full potential
Did you have a teacher, in any learning area, who helped you realise your full potential? If so, can you recall the circumstances? Which of that
teacher’s qualities would you like to emulate?
2 Making Connections with the Students’ World
Humanism
Maslow is the best known of the humanists. He refers to the basic and most fundamental physical
needs such as those necessary for survival: air, water, food and sex are necessary for basic survival;
clothing and shelter are necessary to provide protection from the elements (Maslow & Lowery, 1998).
Beyond these needs are security, esteem, friendship and love, and Maslow argues all these needs must
be met before an individual can move into the secondary or higher-level needs of motivation and
self-actualisation where people strive for constant betterment, an improvement of the self (Maslow
& Lowery, 1998). Hofstede (1984) argued that Maslow’s hierarchy of needs was ethnocentric as it
did not represent of the needs of those in collective cultures. ‘In collectivist societies, the needs
of acceptance and community will outweigh the needs for freedom and individuality’ (Cianci &
Gambrel, 2003). A positive classroom climate and caring student–teacher relationship are essential to
developing student motivation. Humanistic views focus on the learner as a whole person and include
physical and emotional well-being in order to develop intellectual needs, a point that links directly to
‘Science as a Human Endeavour’ within the Australian national science curriculum (ACARA, 2010).
Social constructivism
The idea that knowledge and understanding are constructed in a social context gave rise to theories
of social constructivism. In these theories knowledge and understanding are developed by people
thinking and learning together and from each other. A classroom, with students working together in
a group, is an example where learning occurs collectively. These theories recognise the individual’s
prior knowledge of the content, and the skills required to learn in a social context.
Freire’s (1921–1999) work inspired models of pedagogy where the goal of the educator is to engage
with people in their real lives. He viewed the role of educators as more than providing students with
skills but also to facilitate opportunities for students to become critically reflective, problem solving
and socially and politically conscious.
Michel Foucault (1926–1984) was a philosopher who challenged ideas about how we construct
knowledge. He referred to the roles that ‘archaeology of knowledge’ and ‘ethics of self ’ have in
developing understanding. He looked at these ideas in terms of how individuals behave during
learning activities and how it affects their learning outcomes. Foucault looks at ‘self ’ as how individuals
affect their own learning with or without the help of others, how they transform themselves in an
attempt to meet their own needs such as happiness and wisdom, and how people conduct themselves
(Dimitriadis & Kamberelis, 2006)
While Piaget developed his cognitive theory on construction of learning, Vygotsky (1896–1934)
went a step further and developed the theory of social constructivism. He claimed that there were
genetic and development factors that affect learning but most importantly that learning had a social
and cultural component. He believed that an individual’s ‘social environment accounts almost
entirely for the development of higher-level cognitive processes’ (Dimitriadis & Kamberelis, 2006,
p. 192). His theories on conceptual development are particularly important in science. In his view,
conceptual development required the learner to be able to have a functional use of the concept through
constructing a view of the distinctive features of the concept and then using their language skills and
prior experiences to analyse and synthesise the concept to create new meaning. Vygotsky believed that
deep learning occurred through a process of internalisation of concepts where, through participation
in a socially constructed learning activity, the learner is able to appropriate the knowledge.
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Think about it 2.4: Understanding social constructivism
1
In the social constructivist view, learning occurs though participation. How can you relate to this? Can you recall any instances, in any
context, where you learnt through participation? Share your experiences with your colleagues.
2
How might you use these experiences to inform your own teaching? Try to think of some classroom activities that might encourage
students to interact with and learn from each other.
Contemporary theories and practices
Many of the theories that emerged in the later part of the last century are part of the contemporary
theories of learning that focus on practice and the individual. Where early theories related to the
acquisition of knowledge, more recent research has focused on emotional, social and cultural factors
that affect learning. The brief notes identify current theorists (see Illeris, 2010) that you may want to
explore. This is followed by more extensive discussions about theories and practices that we see affect
classroom processes and pedagogy.
::
Knud Illeris: Learning and competence development
::
Peter Jarvis: Learning to be a person in society
::
Robert Kegan: Constructive–developmental approach to transformative learning
::
Bente Elkjaer: A learning theory for the future
::
Jack Mezirow: Developed the concept of transformative learning that requires us to ‘recognise
and reassess the structure of assumptions and expectations that frame our thinking, feeling and
acting’ (Illeris, 2010, p. 90)
::
John Heron: Heron describes the processes of living and learning as deriving from our personal
lenses and represented them as cycles of living and cycles of learning
::
Mark Tennant: Views life-long learning as a technology of the self which is strongly linked to
Foucault’s views of self
::
Robin Usher: Links experience, pedagogy and social practices
::
Thomas Ziehe: Published on the learning problems of youth in a context of underlying cultural
convictions
::
Jean Lave: Discusses the practice of learning as a socially situated activity
::
Etienne Wenger: Has developed a social theory of learning that debates the relevancy of current
technological practices in classrooms. He concludes that learning is more about human nature and
the way we belong, experience and do things within our communities
::
De Bono: Six thinking hats theory identifies that the brain has six states in which the brain thinks.
Each state has been designated by a colour:
::
White, where thinking is about information and facts
::
Red: emotions
::
Black: where thinking is used to make judgments
::
Green: creativity used to provide opportunities or suggestions
2 Making Connections with the Students’ World
::
::
Yellow: seeking harmony
::
Blue: being metacognitive about our thinking, that is, thinking about how we think
Bloom (1956) categorised tasks into three psychological domains:
::
Cognitive: the ability to process and use information
::
Affective: involving attitudes and feelings associated with learning
::
Psychomotor: manipulation and physical skills.
His major influence on educational practices came from his development of a taxonomy that
related to learning objectives and assessment. He defined the different levels of learning and established
insights in the differences between surface and deep learning and understanding. Bloom based his
taxonomy on the belief that different activities and assessment tasks required different skills, some of
which were easier than others (Loughran, 2010). There are six levels in Bloom’s taxonomy that are
often apparent in lesson planning and marking guides set at state and classroom levels.
Table 2.2
Six levels of Bloom’s taxonomy
Levels in increasing complexity
Characteristics
Knowledge
Remembering facts through rote learning and memorisation
Comprehension
Understanding the meaning of facts and then being able to
explain, retell or interpret
Application
Using information in different contexts such as problemsolving
Analysis
Deconstructing information into related and separate parts
and looking for the relation between these parts
Synthesis
Taking what has been analysed and reconstructing it in new
and personal ways
Evaluation
Making personal judgments about the value of the
information against a set of criteria
::
Howard Gardner (1983) researched cognitive abilities and developed the theory of multiple
intelligences which proposes that there is not just one type of intelligence. His theory shows
similarity to the visual, auditory, kinaesthetic (VAK) learning styles model developed in the 1920s
(Hramiak & Hudson, 2011). The VAK model suggests that people show a preference for learning
through either visual, auditory or kinaesthetic (hands-on) based activities or a mixture of two
or three. Gardner refers to seven intelligence types where each individual may function in all or
some and at differing levels of each.
VAK:
::
Visual: seeing and reading
::
Auditory: listening and speaking
::
Kinaesthetic: touching and doing
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PART 1 | LINKING THEORY TO PRACTICE
Multiple intelligences:
::
Linguistic: words and language
::
Logical–mathematical: logic and numbers
::
Musical: music, sound and rhythm
::
Bodily–kinaesthetic: body movement control
::
Spatial–visual: images and space
::
Interpersonal: other people’s feelings
::
Intrapersonal: self-awareness
Supporters of Gardner’s theory suggest that it confirms what teachers already know, that
is that students learn in different ways. In science we have the opportunity to provide a broad
range of activities but most importantly the hands-on learning that obviously appeals to the
kinaesthetic part of each learner.
Think about it 2.5: Exploring educational theories
1
Choose a theory and explain how it aligns with your view of teaching.
2
No one theory about learning applies to all children. How will you cater for the different learners in your classes?
Linking theory to
practice
As a teacher educator who has taught in schools for 20 years I (Robyn) am often concerned about
how my pre-service teachers incorporate the theories we discuss at university into their teaching. In
my own experience I think that the first year was just about surviving and following the instructions
of my head teacher. In the second year I was more comfortable in my role as teacher and sought
to extend my content knowledge and increase my cache of teaching pedagogies. It was in the third
year that I came to question what I was doing and why I was doing it. I started to re-read my texts
and look for ways of doing my craft better. This is when I started to interrogate educational theories
to assess where my teaching practice was situated.
As teacher educators I believe that we make assumptions that because educational theories
are based on years of research and reflection a deep understanding of theories will help teachers
perform better. One problem is the theoretical versus practice debate that occurs within the school
context. Each school has its own culture and way of doing things. This culture is developed over
years and often depends on those who lead the school and who set the processes and structures
for the education of their student clientele. These contextual factors then determine what happens
in the classroom. If the leaders believe that change can lead to improvements, current ideas will be
assessed and incorporated based on the needs of the students. If change is not embraced, teaching
practices will remain constant and unchallenged. For whatever reason, too often those who enter
the profession do not seek to upgrade their knowledge of changes that are occurring within and
outside the school.
I have heard that my students have been told ‘not to worry about what they tell you at uni …
this is how we do it so you’ll do it our way … so this is what you need to do’.
Teaching is a very complex and challenging profession and in a pre-service course it is
impossible to teach a graduate or trainee teacher everything about their profession. I believe
that one of the factors that will aid teacher development is to have an understanding of your
2 Making Connections with the Students’ World
own philosophy about teaching and use it to develop a personal theory of how you will teach.
That is, use the theories of education that have gone before to help establish your own personal
theory of teaching. I found great comfort in Korthagen’s theory of knowledge as being episteme
and phronesis (Korthagen, 2001, p. 25). He linked the ideas and knowledge we learn about at
university (episteme) with practical wisdom (phronesis). Phronesis is not about theories but about
the knowledge and understanding we get for being a part of ‘specific concrete cases and complex
ambiguous situations’ (p. 24). In other words, what we learn about teaching while we are in the
classroom. The knowledge we gain from linking learned knowledge to practical knowledge is what
helps us to choose particular courses of action and respond to the many complex situations that
arise daily in the life of a teacher.
Opening up science to all students
If you had a class of students all born on the same day and same year you would not find a classroom
full of students that were all the same. Their life’s experience would provide them with a range
of skills as well as a variety of prior knowledge that they bring to class. Human rights policy and
legislation are based on the idea that all persons in society have the right to full participation on
equal terms and without discrimination (Loreman et al., 2005). As a consequence we have also seen
changes in the composition of our classes, where students from many different cultures, with a range
of abilities and disabilities now rightfully take a place in our classrooms.
The following section highlights the diverse nature of students that you will encounter as a
professional teacher.
Gifted learners
As with all other types of learners, gifted students can vary within ranges and abilities. The assumption
that certain cultures are more inclined to display intelligence in certain academic areas, have specific
learning styles or are weighted toward certain ranges of the multiple intelligences (Gardner, 1983)
is common (Gruppetta, 2010). Across all cultures there is a range of learning style preference, and
provision for this range is described by both Gross (1993) and Landvogt (1998) in providing a
differentiated curriculum. Some of the best ranges of activities can be achieved by using a grid linking
multiple intelligences with Bloom’s type taxonomies (Noble, 2004). All students can benefit from this
kind of differentiated approach. A variety of activities moving towards achieving understanding of a
scientific concept permits students with a range of abilities and backgrounds to engage in the learning
and connect to their own experiences.
There is no one correct way to teach gifted students; however a variety of opportunities should be
provided to encourage self-directed learning and continue to engage their interest. One of the key
issues is the prior knowledge of gifted learners. Many gifted students complain because they already
know the topic the teacher has selected and they feel they are constantly repeating tasks and activities
because they simply learn faster than other students. Gifted students have ‘advantages over other
students particularly in quantity, speed, and complexity of cognition’ (Robinson & Clinkenbeard,
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PART 1 | LINKING THEORY TO PRACTICE
1998, p. 122). The gifted are able to learn earlier and faster, and retain more (Gruppetta, 2010). A key
characteristic of gifted students is the speed at which they are able to process information, particularly
when passionate about a topic. Boredom becomes the enemy, and keeping these students engaged is
crucial to maintaining their motivation to learn.
For ideas about how
you can tailor science
activities to all students
in your classroom, see
‘Catering for different
learning abilities’ on
page 50.
The practice of pitching curriculum to the mid-range of ability (Pugach & Warger, 2001) excludes
the gifted students by restricting the challenges available to them. It is therefore necessary to broaden
definitions of academic achievement and to expand early and middle school curricula and assessment
strategies to encompass the wide range of experiences and expertise that all students bring to school.
Gifted students are creative and innovative; they like to solve problems and overcome challenges. A
restricted classroom environment restricts their abilities and is the most common cause of turning
them from conventional science learning. Despite this, those who have a passionate interest in science
will still pursue it outside the classroom; they simply will not share it with their teachers!
Learning disabilities
Learning disabilities (LD) are the result of neurological disorders that may cause the learner to receive
and process some information inaccurately. The most common learning disability is dyslexia. Other
learning difficulties involve visual perception, visual decoding, visual motor, reading and decoding,
reading comprehension and oral expression. What Bender (2002) tells us about students with learning
difficulties is that there are some learning activities that they may be able to achieve given extra time
and support, while there are others that may not be achievable for some students.
If students have problems with visual perception, decoding or visual motor skills they are likely to
have difficulty in reading, listening, speaking and writing. These tasks are made more difficult when
the student has difficulties with comprehension. To address these issues teachers need to encourage
listening by explicitly teaching listening skills in an atmosphere of acceptance. The use of relevant,
meaningful contexts will also provide an opportunity for students to practise and apply the skills that
they struggle with.
Modelling and flexible means of delivery are required for students with limited fine motor
coordination. Demonstrating the correct format of the work you require should be supported by
models of self-correction. When students struggle with demonstrating their understanding in one
format, an alternative should be offered.
Reading comprehension and writing problems are the most frequent difficulties found in secondary
classrooms. Limited engagement with text and lack of experience in the analysis of what is written is
usually accompanied by ineffective learning strategies (Smith, 2004). Often science teachers take the
view that students entering high school already have the full range of skills to engage with science
texts (Gregson, 2003). This is rarely the case. The writing of students with learning difficulties does
not compare well with that of their more able counterparts. The reasons for this can be that they may
not be adept at higher-order cognitive skills, they may employ immature or ineffective strategies in
the planning of their work, or simply they may have greater difficulty with the mechanics of writing.
Mary Hanrahan discusses literacy issues more fully in chapter 7.
2 Making Connections with the Students’ World
Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders
Catering for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students is one of the three cross-curriculum
priorities in the Australian Curriculum: Science (2009, p. 12). Science itself is a subculture of
Western culture, and scientists share a well defined system of norms, values, beliefs, expectations and
conventional actions—the culture of Western science (Aikenhead, 1998).
Because science tends to be a Western cultural icon of prestige, power and progress, its subculture
permeates the culture of those who engage in it (MacIvor, 1995, cited in Aikenhead, 1998). This
acculturation can threaten many cultures, particularly Indigenous cultures, because Aboriginal
knowledge about the natural world contrasts with Western scientific knowledge in a number of ways
(Aikenhead, 1998):
Aboriginal and scientific knowledge differ in their social goals: survival of a people versus the
luxury of gaining knowledge for the sake of knowledge and for power over nature and other
people. They differ in intellectual goals: to co-exist with mystery in nature by celebrating
mystery versus to eradicate mystery by explaining it away. They differ in their association
with human action: intimately and subjectively interrelated versus formally and objectively
decontextualised. They differ in other ways as well: holistic Aboriginal perspectives with
their gentle, accommodating, intuitive and spiritual wisdom, versus reductionist Western
science with its aggressive, manipulative, mechanistic and analytical explanations (Peat,
1994). They even differ in their basic concepts of time: circular for Aborigines, rectilinear
for scientists. (Aikenhead, 1998, p. 9).
Aboriginal students quickly learn that their cultural or religious beliefs are not respected within the
domains of Western science. As stated by Ngarritjan-Kessaris ‘In learning to read and write I learnt of
the disrespect with which Aborigines were held in White society’ (1994, cited in Halse & Robinson,
1999, p. 204). These concepts send a message to students and their families and communities that may
be unintentional; nevertheless they can damage the connections to home and community that are
essential to support learning in schools. Aboriginal students and children from a variety of cultures
can be disadvantaged by a focus on Western-based narratives and texts that contrast to their own
cultural understandings (Aikenhead, 1998).
The majority of Aboriginal students are often assumed to be kinaesthetic learners because
hands-on tasks are an integral part of learning (Halse & Robinson, 1999). This is not entirely true.
Aboriginal culture includes a wealth of oral history, so students are tuned to aural learning. The
difficulty is that Aboriginal students are tuned to ‘stories’ rather than the transmission of facts. When
learning a task they would be working with an Elder, a parent or older sibling or relative, and absorb
the factual details whilst being involved in the task (Harris, 1990). Again, Wheaton (2000) found
similarities in the way Indigenous students in Canada are taught. It has long been observed that Elders
teach using stories, drawing lessons from narratives to involve learners actively in introspection and
analysis (Wheaton, 2000). Therefore in both countries the ‘transmission’ style of teaching, where
the teacher lectures from the front of the classroom is not easily absorbed. Australian Aboriginal
students are often highly visual learners. However their visual engagement is often pictorial rather
than reading lengthy text, and therefore the use of mind maps, graphs, diagrams and any other visual
representation is preferable to long text types (Barnes, 2000). Using symbols and images is also seen
to be effective as Aboriginal students are often primarily visual–spatial learners (Hughes, 1997)
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When studying science, it was found that several aspects of Aboriginal cultural practice were
evident and could impact on the learning of Aboriginal students (Barnes, 2000). Aboriginal students
are more group-oriented, and less concerned with personal achievement; they prefer to learn in a
holistic way by having an overview, then major headings, before detail; they preferred to learn in
practical settings; preferred oral to written exams; and relationships with teachers and other students
were important (Barnes, 2000, p. 15). Gibb (2006, p. 23) also found that ‘connectedness (to others)
supports learning’ and that broad rather than narrow communication patterns between teachers and
students contributed to successful learning experiences. Aboriginal students in particular prefer group
work, and there is a cultural reason for achieving as a shared entity rather than individual achievement
(Gruppetta, 2010). As with many Indigenous cultures, there are expectations that prevent individuals
from striving for personal accomplishment and glory (Gibson & Vialle, 2007), and standing out from
your peers is reason for ‘shame’.
Difficulties in identifying gifted Aboriginal children in the classroom are also linked to the concept
of ‘shame’. Gibson and Vialle (2007) cite Baarda (1990) in explaining this concept:
Almost all teachers of Aboriginal children come up against the problem of children not
wanting to stand up or do anything by themselves in front of others. They feel real shame
when required to do such things. Also they are often unhappy if it is pointed out that
they have scored higher or performed better than their friends and relations (Baarda, 1990,
p. 169, cited in Gibson & Vialle, 2007, p. 207).
Aboriginal students can feel shame about their sporting prowess as well. Aboriginal students do not wish
to stand out from their peers, all is for community, one individual should not shine more brightly than
another. This concept extends far beyond the ‘tall poppy’ syndrome whereby students are criticised for
excelling (Gross, 1993): those who are perceived as too ‘flash’ (an Aboriginal colloquialism for looking
too good) risk being shunned in their own communities. The concept of ‘shame’ is also highlighted
in some African (Ngara, 2006) and Maori (McKenzie, 2001) cultural interactions: students simply
do not wish to stand out as an individual. Teachers concentrating on individual achievement rather
than utilising group achievement will alienate many Aboriginal students and students from other
communal-based cultures. By accommodating traits that complement the Aboriginal students’ higher
level of responsibility at home and their greater social equality with adults, increased independence
and freedom within their communities, teachers can create learning experiences that cater to their
cultural as well as learning needs by facilitating choices, giving independent work and responsibilities
for their own learning, and exploratory talk or shared experiences that avoid direct questioning
(Craven, 2010).
What is interesting about investigating Aboriginal learning styles is that ‘approaches consistent
with Aboriginal ways of doing things are found in varying proportions in all cultures’ (Harris, 1984
cited in Halse & Robinson, 1999, p. 205). Most students benefit from using aural and visual cues,
and facts are more easily absorbed when linked to the construction of knowledge. These techniques
benefit all students, not just the Indigenous students.
English as a second language
Students identified as ESL (English as a Second Language) are simply those who do not have
English as their first language. ESL refers only to their ability to speak English; it does not make
2 Making Connections with the Students’ World
a statement about their cognitive ability (Buck, 2000). The students may be at various stages of
language development from ‘beginning’, with very little understanding of English or the written
word, through ‘intermediate’, where students understand more complex speech and have developed
some vocabulary of key words but still require repetition and support. ‘Advanced’ students have
adequate language skills for most day-to-day communication, but will have difficulty understanding
some idioms and words with multiple meanings, and will have difficulty with complex structures and
abstract academic concepts (TESOL, 1997).
Many of the strategies recommended for ESL students will be familiar—especially in science
education. Science teaching lends itself to inquiry and using authentic materials, hands-on approaches,
and visual representations (Buck, 2000). Teachers do not have to reorganise their teaching, only
extend it, to accommodate the ESL student. Including visuals that illustrate the subject matter as you
conduct a science lesson will support students struggling with English. As an example, if you use
pictures to illustrate the various stages of a plant’s life cycle, the seed, the seed developing a root, stem
and leaf formation, flower development and the new seed, students will be able to follow the logical
sequence and relate it directly to your discussion (Buck, 2000).
Students need to relate their experiences to their previous experiences, so encourage them to
share their knowledge. Scaffold their learning by preparing examples of activities and demonstrating
tasks so that students can learn to work independently. Permit them to ask more questions to clarify
what they have learnt, and always get them to summarise what they have learnt to ensure they have
met the desired outcomes (Buck, 2000). Ensure the activity relates directly to the concept being
taught, or students may become confused. You should also be aware of possible misconceptions that
may occur to students with little understanding of language relying only on the activity to illustrate
a concept. Buck (2000) uses the example of the classic model volcano (vinegar and bicarb soda) and
suggests it could provide significant misconceptions of the inner workings of a volcano if the students
are not able to follow the explanation. Assessment can also be varied to assess developing ability
more accurately. Portfolios, oral presentations and pictures or posters will provide a more accurate
assessment than attempts at writing in English (Buck, 2000).
Gender—girls
One of the difficulties in engaging girls in science and technology is the perception that it is maleoriented. Lack of suitable role models and the stereotypical image of ‘male nerds with poor social
skills’ is not attractive to female students who prefer social interaction (Papastergiou, 2008). Science
is often presented as the work of isolated individuals or hero inventors (Siraj-Blatchford, 2001) rather
than teams of collaborative cheerful groups, again repelling those wishing for social interactions in
the work or study environment. Although some girls are genuinely interested in scientific inquiry
and/or prefer solitary study, Weisgram and Bigler (2006) found the majority of girls are likely to be
drawn to professions where altruism is valued, such as teaching or social work. Where female scientists
are used as role models to encourage girls to participate in science courses, it is only effective when
the role model is able to convince them of the altruistic value of science (Weisgram & Bigler, 2006).
It can also be argued that Western science and technology is founded upon imperialism, and
therefore the cultural imperialism also extends to the domination of women and tends to exclude the
worldviews of women (Siraj-Blatchford, 2001).
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The scientific knowledge that has been established has predominantly reflected the interests
of a white, male minority. It has been their concerns and perspectives that have determined
the body of knowledge that we call science. What this has meant in practice is that, to
paraphrase Harding; for girls and the majority of the world population, the science that is
conducted in our universities and taught in our schools has been mostly alien to them and
they are alienated by it. (Siraj-Blatchford, 2001, p. 30).
The pervasive gender stereotyping in society continues to exert pressure on girls, and schools
must work hard to counteract these stereotypes in order to prompt girls into science subjects and
careers (Broadley, 2009). Girls in single-sex science classes and schools do better at science than their
counterparts in co-educational classes. Girls have higher levels of academic achievement and took
more science courses after an experience in a single-sex setting than those in co-educational settings
(Broadley, 2009). These findings put pressure on teachers to ensure a lack of gender bias in their
classrooms and to find ways to encourage girls to engage in science, even in co-educational settings.
Female students need to find the altruistic meanings behind the scientific knowledge: science need
not be clinical and sterile, science learning needs to engage the warmth of humanity and give reason
for researching scientific areas to provide for humanity. Once again this notion links to the national
curriculum relating to ‘Science as a Human Endeavour’. In addition to providing girls with effective
role models, girls need to know that science has a greater purpose in order to be engaged in learning.
Gender—boys
In his study, Frater (2000) found that using teaching activities that were selected to raise the interest
of boys was the most effective practice. He supported the inclusion of horror, science fiction, X-files
analogues, fantasy, myth and stories of teenage challenges in classroom reading activities. However, in
contrast, Barrs (2001) advocated that the selection of reading texts is not wholly focused on perceived
‘boys-only’ texts, and found that variety promoted greater outcomes for boys.
Boys have been found to be more likely to engage with science when it links to their interests
and experiences outside school. Alloway and colleagues (2002, p. 160) noted that ‘some teachers
pointed to the motivating effects of connecting to the everyday experiences of students’ families and
communities’ that made the classroom look more like the outside world. Rowan and colleagues (2002)
found that that the channelling of boys’ passions into projects that include meaningful experiences
positions boys as experts and inverts their usual roles of failures and trouble-makers. This emphasises
that positions are not fixed but can be ‘challenged, disrupted and rejected’ (Rowan et al., 2002, p.
151) and that boys can reconceptualise themselves.
In a review of research by BECTA (2004) into the role of information and communication
technologies (ICTs) in motivating student learning Passey (2000) found that the use of ICTs in the
classroom improved the motivation, confidence and self-esteem of disaffected students. BECTA also
noted that Passey (2000) as well as Moseley and Higgins (1999) found that the use of ICTs, in
particular laptops, increased the motivation of students across a range of abilities to write and redraft
texts. Inclusion of ICTs is also frequently recommended as a strategy for engaging boys in school
literacies (Alloway et al., 2002; Martin, 2002; Ofsted, 2003, West, 2001). Newmarch and colleagues
(2000) found that boys are more likely than girls to have access to technologies in their homes and
communities. Rowan and colleagues (2002) also noted that boys are interested in computer games and
2 Making Connections with the Students’ World
43
For ideas about how
often engage with multimodal literacies. However, it is important not to over-generalise here. Not all
boys have access to information and communication technologies. Students in rural and remote areas,
Aboriginal communities and low-income areas have less access to technology than students in more
affluent urban areas (Meredyth et al., 2000). It was also found that boys from low socio-economic
backgrounds where they had no access to computers at home, and boys from Indigenous and ethnic
backgrounds, did not do as well as other boys (Rowan et al., 2002).
you can use students’
backgrounds to
maximise learning in
the science classroom,
see ‘Considering
students’ backgrounds’
on page 51.
Think about it 2.6: Including all learners
Demonstrate how you would modify a lesson plan for the inclusion of one group of learners above. You should think about:
1
Ability levels of students
2
Their prior knowledge
3Literacy and numeracy levels
4
Students’ cultural backgrounds
5
How you will use technology to enhance the student experience.
How students like to learn science
While we have discussed theories about how students learn, we need to look at how students tell us
they like to learn and in particular how they like to learn science. There is often a lack of congruence
between the multimodal nature of students’ experiences with learning outside of school and the
types of activities presented in classrooms. Millard (2003) argued that this results in the increasing
alienation of many students, particularly boys, from the science curriculum as they progress through
school. An example of the need for this link to students’ home experiences was demonstrated when
teaching science to students with disabilities. Due to previous teachers’ reluctance to take these
students into the science laboratories for practical activities, a student made this comment:
You won’t take us to the lab. What good is it anyway? It doesn’t matter if we get into a lab,
all they let us do is boil water. I can boil water at home, put peas in it and everything, I can
cook you know. All they ever let us do is boil water (Anthony, July, 2003).
The comment above is evidence of the student’s lack of belief that his class would be permitted to
complete laboratory work like students in the mainstream classes. It also highlighted the need to link
to the student’s home context. At home this student could cook and was permitted to use a stove,
whereas in a secondary setting the student was not permitted to set foot into a science lab. On the few
occasions he had been permitted to complete a practical task all that he was allowed to do was boil
water! Hardly engaging for the student and little contribution to increasing his scientific knowledge.
In a study completed in 2003 (Gregson, 2003) a group of lower ability students gave a very clear
idea of how they like to learn science and what they expect from their teachers. Without exception
these students want to learn science through interactive hands-on experiments. They disliked writing
in science and thought there was too much writing required.
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PART 1 | LINKING THEORY TO PRACTICE
In 2011 a primary teacher and a secondary teacher asked their students about what they want from
science lessons. Their responses were:
Secondary
The greatest response I have had from my selective students is experiential and exploratory
learning. On several occasions I gave them a task or project that they had to present on or
[discuss with each other]. I taught them the skills they required to complete the project, that
is research, summarising, practical skills and so on, then a topic for each group or student to
pursue. They responded really enthusiastically and were often reticent [sic] to learn via other
methods … requesting a project to work on.
Also giving them a task or activity to do and then having them explain how or why and
so on has been well received.
The students want learning that is connected to their lives, or that requires them to
think or use skills that have a wider use in their lives outside school.
The use of technology is well received, but must be delivered in a relevant and authentic
manner, not just tacked on for the sake of using ICT à la PowerPoint to show an overhead!
Kids find this boring just like overheads.
Primary
I asked students from different ability groups how they would like to learn science.
Student 1: I would like to learn Science by learning lots of different experiments. Learning
new things I can try at home.
Student 2: I think in Science you should make volcanoes and explosions. In Science you
should make potions and liquids.
Student 3: I would love to learn Science the fun and explosive way. I would like to wear a
lab coat and safety goggles, protecting us from the chemicals. Learning Science is already
fun but I would much rather it to be like this.
Student 4: I would like to do experiments and do volcano erupting stuff.
Student 5: I would like to learn Science in the Science lab and have the lesson taught like
spelling; 3 levels based on your general experience of Science.
So even though there have been significant changes in pedagogy and technology within our
schools from 2003 to 2011, the students whose comments are recognised above speak as one. They
want to do hands-on experiments. Science needs to be taught with a focus on hands-on experiences
that are linked to theory, not just a series of theoretical discussion and research tasks.
2 Making Connections with the Students’ World
Teachers’ concerns about students learning in
science
The general view of teachers is that there are two general problems that beset science education:
over-full curricula, and students with preconceived ideas about the worth of the subjects in terms of
the effort required to be successful. There is concern that there is too much content in the current
science syllabuses. This makes it difficult for teachers and students to know what they need to learn.
This opinion was confirmed by the research of Goodrum, Hackling and Rennie (2000). Teachers
interviewed for an investigation into science education (Gregson 2003) felt students are unprepared
for the rigour required for their studies and did not understand what is required for effective study.
Many teachers expressed concern about the students’ perception that science being taught in school
lacks applicability to the tertiary study or careers they may choose.
With the increase in multimedia available outside the classroom teachers referred to the ‘we have
done it all before’ syndrome in which students believe that, because they have experienced a concept
earlier in a primary school classroom, on television or on the internet, it meant that they have already
completed all the learning required to understand that concept fully. It seems that students have
become desensitised to the impact of science, especially as it is treated in primary and secondary
school classrooms.
Filomena: Science, in many cases, has become over-emphasised and the kids tend to take it
for granted. You know, when you tell them something they say ‘yeah, well, we know that’.
Science teachers are not on the cutting edge of where the kids are.
Keith: [The students] get excited about coming into science because they can do something
different … but then they say ‘we know this’ or ‘we have done this before’ … I think with
junior classes they say they have heard it all before … [The students] tend to hear on the
grapevine that someone has blown something up, so they would rather ask about that or
blow something up rather than follow the task at hand.
Because they had watched or performed simple experiments in primary school, students perceived
that they were repeating ‘old stuff’, so science at high school is old-fashioned and boring, especially
when theory was involved. Science syllabuses and programs were perceived to be lagging behind
the cutting edge of science that is available on the internet and on television. Furthermore, through
television programs and interactive computer games, the students develop the idea that science is
solely ‘whiz bang’ experiments and they are, therefore, somewhat disappointed when faced with
theory lessons. They expect explosions and Bunsen burners every lesson.
Keith also mentioned that one difficulty he had experienced in the classroom was keeping students’
attention on the task at hand. He said:
They don’t follow instructions very well. They won’t read what you ask them to read. They
expect you to tell them what to do.
Teachers referred to the use of technical language and the difficulties that their students appeared
to have with its use. Too often, students failed to recognise the significance of the specialist terms
their teachers introduced in the classroom, and this led to the students not incorporating the terms in
their answers in essays, reports and examination questions.
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PART 1 | LINKING THEORY TO PRACTICE
The teachers were unanimous in their acknowledgment of how important student writing is, and
that the students need to be aware both of the purpose of their writing and how to write correctly.
Rose spoke of the types of writing used in her classroom:
They use writing to record their results of experiments … to copy what I have written
on the board … for answering questions in tests. Sometimes those would be short answer
questions and less often they would be extended answer.
Paul drew on his experiences of working with primary-school aged children and suggested that:
In primary school, students are encouraged to write about their experiences in their own
language and in a more narrative style. Upon entering high school, some students find it
difficult to translate their knowledge of science into a more structured style of report writing,
where they are expected to use the technical language that is required at the secondary level.
Paul also advocated that often science teachers did not see themselves as being responsible for the
development of their students’ literacy skills:
as science teachers, we are fairly loath to do what seems to be the job of the English staff
… after all, we didn’t get a science degree to become an English teacher. So I think that a
lot of science teachers want to get into the science concepts, get them done and that is it. I
think the teaching of genre and scaffolds are beyond the interest level of science teachers …
we don’t spend much time teaching how to write because we think that we should be doing
experiments all the time.
Experiment 4, Story of a
Hamburger (page 280),
contains an example of
how narrative writing
can be used in science
classes.
He went on to explain that, in primary schools, students were familiar with many models of writing
and that, when they bring these to science classes, their secondary science teachers find those styles
unacceptable because storytelling, poetry writing and other narrative genres are not valued forms
of writing in a science classroom at this school. Students bring skills and experiences with them as
they pass from primary to secondary school, but many secondary teachers have unrealistically high
expectations of their students’ literacy skills.
Rose, however, found that the use of scientific terms was not always an indication of student
understanding. She suggested that:
some students like to use scientific words as a kind of banner that they know the word but
they don’t necessarily know what it means.
Paul expressed the view that students tended to use ‘common language’ during classroom activities
or class tests, and then were expected to use more scientific language across national testing. Students
are given limited space in these external tests to express themselves and they often have difficulty
coming to the point in a few lines.
Keith observed that students appear to be unaware of the depth and breadth of the responses
required in assessment tasks. In his opinion:
lower level kids tend to give only a few bits of knowledge that everyone would give. A
higher level student will give the same three bits of knowledge that everyone else gives and
then give a bit extra.
My own observations have been that students are unaware of what teachers are looking for when
they mark student work. Many students, and not only those with lower performance levels, take a
2 Making Connections with the Students’ World
47
minimalist view of writing, and provide simple and brief answers in the belief that they have answered
all parts of the task. In some cases the students attempt to complete the work as quickly as possible in
an effort to move onto something more interesting and, by rushing their answers, fail to address all
parts of the task. Either through the brevity of their answer or the lack of understanding of what is
expected, they do not demonstrate their genuine understanding of concepts in response to questions.
Think about it 2.7: Reflection
1Discuss how your experiences as a science student will influence your teaching.
2
Prioritise 10 aspects of the students we teach and provide a brief explanation of what you could do to support the student learning in a
complex classroom environment.
Summary
Throughout this chapter we have discussed strategies for students with a range of diverse
situations and needs. We have presented a range of theories to support the various
techniques and strategies for teaching science and the multiple ways in which students
learn science. Students from a variety of cultural backgrounds, economic circumstance,
gender, ability and/or disability need to be accommodated within the science classroom.
Regardless of background or circumstance, some elements are clear: students need the
content to be related to their own context; they need clear connections between what
they are learning and their world outside school; they need information and activities
to be presented in a variety of ways to enhance their ability to learn in their own way;
Students need a good relationship with their teacher and should be respected for their
prior knowledge and interests and must never be perceived as deficient.
Science is a human endeavour, therefore relate science to humanity. Students need
to understand the purpose of science and how it relates to their world, their personal
interests and their future ambitions. Include your students’ viewpoints and capture their
imagination in order to engage them in science learning for life. Science should not be
something that students only ‘do’ at school; scientists should not be the ‘other’. Students
need to know that they too are scientists and that their learning adds to the scientific
knowledge of the world.
In the science classroom
Cooking provides the opportunity for so many scientific explorations, and often allows
students to build upon their prior knowledge from home. Just one ingredient can cover
a wide range of scientific content. Let’s look at chocolate as an example. Students can
investigate:
::
Where does chocolate come from? How is it processed?
::
What is the difference between dark, milk and white chocolate?
::
What happens when chocolate is heated? What happens to the structure?
Cooking
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PART 1 | LINKING THEORY TO PRACTICE
::
What happens when chocolate is heated and mixed with butter? Or milk? Or
water? Why do you think these things happen?
::
What happens if chocolate is cooled or frozen?
::
What material could be used instead of chocolate in a recipe? How could you
investigate this?
Similarly, a recipe for pikelets could be adjusted to explore:
::
What happens if more bicarbonate of soda is added?
::
What happens if water is added instead of milk?
::
What happens if sugar is left out of the recipe? What is the effect of sugar?
::
What happens if a food colouring is added? Or flavouring?
::
What impact do these changes have on the look, taste and smell of the final
product?
Note: When using a hot pan safety is important.
Focus Questions
List activities that could be developed around the single ingredient of an egg.
What unfamiliar ingredients could students investigate? (An exotic fruit,
vegetable or spice perhaps?)
List a range of possible variations to a damper recipe that a class could
examine.
chemical reactions
Curriculum links
Year 1, 3, 8: Science Understanding: Chemical sciences
Also refer to: Year 1 Work Sample 2: How foods changed once
heated (Australian Curriculum, ACARA).
Earlier in the chapter, we met Robert, who liked to blow things up. How would you
engage a student like Robert in your classroom?
There are many activities based around simple chemical reactions that could be
used in the classroom, such as in Experiment 1: Sherbet (p. 264)
::
Mixing lemon juice (acid) and bicarbonate of soda (base) with some detergent
creates a foaming eruption.
::
Mixing vinegar and bicarbonate of soda in a jar and then quickly place a balloon
over the mouth of the jar will see the balloon expand. The mixing will cause CO2 gas
to be formed and the balloon will blow up. The reaction can be activated by gently
shaking the jar once the balloon is placed over the mouth of the jar. (This can also
be performed with yeast and sugar and warm conditions.)
::
Mixing Mentos and Diet Coke will create a violent eruption. (This is one for outside!)
::
Alka-Seltzer and water in a film canister can also create a popping phenomenon.
(Again, do this outside and away from faces.)
It is important that the science is drawn out of the activities, rather than identifying
the activity itself as the science.
Another activity students enjoy is to use vinegar, bicarbonate of soda and food
colouring to model a ‘volcano’ eruption. It is important that students realise that the
chemical reaction they’ve created is not the one that occurs inside a real volcano. In high
school science classrooms students can perform precipitation reactions such as aqueous
silver nitrate (AgNO3) and potassium chloride (KCl), where a white solid is produced.
2 Making Connections with the Students’ World
Focus Questions
What activities do you remember from school that really engaged you and your
classmates or caught your attention?
Curriculum links
Year 2, 6: Science Understanding: Chemical sciences
What could you do to ensure the science is the focus of the activity, not the activity
itself?
Also refer to: Year 6 Work Sample 6: Reversible and
irreversible change (Australian Curriculum, ACARA).
Students will encounter misconceptions from many sources, including the media, and
may hold alternate views such as:
Dealing with
misconceptions
::
Cotton comes from sheep.
::
When things dissolve they ‘disappear’.
::
Mass and weight are the same thing.
::
Dinosaurs and cavemen lived at the same time.
::
Sounds cannot travel through liquids and solids.
::
The rules for mixing coloured paints and crayons are the same as those for mixing
coloured lights.
::
The sun rises exactly in the east and sets exactly in the west every day.
::
Plants receive food through their roots.
Focus Questions
How do you think students come across these ideas?
What can be done about them? Choose one misconception from the list and
think about how it could be addressed in a classroom activity. For example,
to investigate ‘sound cannot travel through liquids and solids’, you could ask
students to hold a plastic bag of water against one of their ears. They then
cover their other ear while someone holds a ticking clock against the bag of
water. This could be repeated with different materials, such as plastic or wood,
replacing the bag of water. Students can investigate which material allows the
sound of the clock to travel best.
What about your own misconceptions—what approaches can you use to deal with
these? Remember the difference between an alternate view or misconception
(p. 29). Also remember Mark from Chapter 1 (p. 14), whose changing life
experiences impacted on his teaching philosophy. It is fine to have alternate
views: these will keep evolving, thus alerting you to your own misconceptions.
Curriculum links
Dealing with misconceptions is relevant to all year levels
as students are challenged to investigate, question and
draw conclusions.
Also refer to: Year 1 Work Sample 3: Sound travel
(Australian Curriculum, ACARA).
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PART 1 | LINKING THEORY TO PRACTICE
Weather activities
The weather is relevant to everybody. It impacts on people’s daily lives, what they
wear, what they do, how they travel and so on. Extreme weather events have an even
greater impact.
The universality of weather makes it a good starting point for a ‘spiral curriculum’;
revisiting and building on the topic across the years and across the curriculum:
::
In lower year levels students consider what conditions are necessary for summer,
winter, spring and autumn.
::
Students then go on to collect and work with weather records and analyse data.
::
Later, students begin to understand some of the complexities of the weather, e.g.
the water cycle and how rain is formed. Links can be made to extreme weather
events such as drought, thus developing students’ understanding.
Bruner’s three stages of growth can be seen in the progression of the topic:
Curriculum links
Year F, 3, 6, 10: Science Understanding: Earth and space
sciences
Also refer to: Foundation Work Sample 4: My favourite
weather; Year 3 Work Sample 2: Data analysis: Weather
records; Year 6 Work Sample 4: Tsunami: Safety system;
Year 8 Work Sample 1: Solar oven (Australian Curriculum,
ACARA).
Catering for different
learning abilities
::
Enactive—where students are actively collecting data about the weather and
completing investigations.
::
Iconic—where students are using weather records.
::
Symbolic—where students are analysing weather data to produce conclusions that
in turn lead to applications.
Focus Questions
Consider the topic ‘river animals’. How could this topic be developed across year
levels?
Describe how these activities link to Bruner’s three stages of growth.
Teaching is a skill requiring practice: ensuring that classroom activities cater for all
learners is not easy. Sometimes it is necessary to have multiple activities running to
cater for different learning abilities, and other times an activity can be adjusted to cater
for different learning needs.
Let’s take simple electronics as an example. It is a straightforward task to teach
quite young students how to make a simple torch with a battery, globe and switch.
The concept of needing to close the circuit, perhaps in a circular fashion, can aid
students’ understanding. Once they have been shown the basics, students are willing to
experiment. They could:
Curriculum links
Year 6: Science Understanding: Physical sciences
Also refer to: Year 6 Work Sample 1: Designing an
electronic switch (Australian Curriculum, ACARA).
::
Add more globes to the circuit and observe what happens.
::
Add a buzzer.
::
Add a selection of switches or buzzers to work under different conditions.
::
Add sensors such as light or sound.
Experiment 3: Electric Circuits (p. 274) gives further activities.
A trick with using electronics is to make sure you always have a working set of
equipment in your pocket that you don’t give students but use to check that parts are
operational!
2 Making Connections with the Students’ World
Considering the different learning styles and groups within a classroom is a constant
challenge. You can draw students’ backgrounds and interests into your lessons in a
formal way, or in a more informal, inclusive manner. Formally, students could be asked
to share how different science topics may be taught or explored in their own cultures or
from a variety of viewpoints. Informally, this could be addressed by allowing students to
make choices that enable them to draw upon their own experiences and backgrounds.
51
Considering students’
backgrounds
You might have students investigate
::
weather folklore from various countries and whether there are links to the science
::
what safety procedures are used when working with particular materials in various
countries
::
what warning systems are used for extreme weather conditions around the world
::
how various countries collect information about animals in order to identify
endangered species
::
the effects of extreme weather activities such as hurricanes, etc. on society.
Another approach could be giving the students a generic topic such as famous
scientists: this may, for example, allow them to learn about scientists from their own
background, thus building on their personal interests. Here, giving students opportunity
and choice is key.
Once students have completed their research it would be ideal to have them
share their learning with the class. This does not have to be in a written form: a visual
presentations, such as with a model, or an aural one may more effectively cater for
different backgrounds.
Focus Question
How might different backgrounds be catered for in a topic on sustainability?
Curriculum links
Year 5/6: Science as Human Endeavour: Nature and
development of science
Also refer to: Year 5 Work Sample 6: Australian Scientists;
Year 6 Work Sample 2: Famous Scientists (Australian
Curriculum, ACARA).
Further reading
Illeris, K. (2010) Contemporary Theories of Learning: learning theorists …in their own words. London: Routledge.
Michael Mitchie’s work on indigenous science, which can be found at <http://members.ozemail.com.
au/~mmichie/index.html>.
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scientific tasks. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 27(4), 326–348.
West, P. (2001). Report on best practice in boys’ education. Sydney: University of Western Sydney. Retrieved 7 January
2005 from <http://menshealth.uws.edu.au/documents/Best%20practice%20boys%20ed.html>.
Wheaton, C. (2000). An Aboriginal pedagogical model: Recovering an Aboriginal pedagogy from the Woodlands
Cree. In R. Neil (Ed.), Voice of the drum: Indigenous education and culture. Brandon, Manitoba: Kingfisher
Publications.
From Curriculum to
Pedagogy
Paul Rooney
Key ideas
1
Curriculum develops and changes. Views of teaching and learning
derived from international sources strongly influence curriculum
designers in determining the type and model of curriculum that is
developed.
2
Curriculum provides guidance and direction for teachers. The
Australian Curriculum: Science does this through stating the aims,
content, ideas, standards and interdisciplinary and intercultural
connections.
3
Expertise in pedagogy grows as you move from being a student
to being a teacher. The move involves developing skills in
discerning the right combination of pedagogies for a particular
cultural context. This involves competency in curriculum mapping,
identifying signature pedagogies and adapting to the school’s
cultural context.
Key terms
curriculum
curriculum mapping
curriculum planning models
ideas framework
pedagogy
technological pedagogical and science knowledge (TPASK)
3
Moving from student
to teacher
… I was changing from a student
of science to a teacher of science.
I was moving to the other side of
the bench. With growing confidence,
I took my place as a professional
educator carrying my toolkit of
pedagogical practices.
56
One of the most exciting days of my life was receiving my
degree and finally becoming a graduate. I had achieved
the credential to say I am ready to be a professional in
science. Then, beginning my postgraduate studies to
teach, I realised that the end of one journey became the
beginning of another. Going from student to teacher led
me into a world where more than half of my work was
with Pam. Meeting Pam was new and exciting. I found
that communicating, presenting and connecting with
students from all walks of life showed me the importance
of Pam. Pam helped me to see the bigger picture; the
significance of being a teacher and the importance of my
role in the profession. Pam showed me the connections
between what I had learnt in science and what needed
to be taught in a classroom. Pam helped to create the
networks to improve my knowledge, understanding and
skills so that it made sense to me and to my students.
As Pam nurtured my development I would realise that I
was changing from a student of science to a teacher of
science. I was moving to the other side of the bench. With
growing confidence, I took my place as a professional
educator carrying my toolkit of pedagogical practices.
Therefore, Pam and I walk side by side on the life journey
of a professional educator. You might ask: Who is Pam?
Pam is my Planning, my administrative tasks and my
meetings. I work with Pam, not for Pam.
Pam represents the science of teaching and ‘I’
represent the art of teaching. This metaphor shows the
relationship between Pam and me as pedagogy. One
cannot exist without the other. The more they understand
each other the better the relationship. This chapter
embraces the journey of the developing teacher to
deepen their understanding of curriculum and pedagogy
within science by turning thoughts and ideas into actions
within the classroom.
3 From Curriculum to Pedagogy
Westwell and Pannizon in Chapter 1 remind us to view contemporary science from the position
of the student of science as an explorer, and that science lessons should be creative, innovative, and
future-focused. Given these ideals, it would appear that the development of a curriculum for science
would be a straightforward process. Just choose the most exciting parts. However, the decisions made
about the content of the curriculum are not always just about the science.
Political decision-making sets the priorities that generate knowledge that best serves society’s
purposes, and in particular science priorities. To achieve this goal the federal minister for education
gathers a team of advisers to prioritise scientific ideas that become the foundations for the general
society. These foundations are required to understand scientific knowledge and to consider new
possibilities for the future for the benefit of society. The construction of the list of knowledge and skills
becomes the recommendation seeking the approval of the federal and state ministers for education.
In this context, available international data and research identify the approved knowledge, skills and
attitudes that become the foundations and appear in the form of a curriculum.
This chapter outlines the context for the introduction of the Australian Curriculum: Science (ACS)
by defining curriculum outlines and their purposes, and describing the main types of curriculum and
the major planning models. It then defines pedagogy and identifies its importance in understanding
the journey undertaken by the student of science to become the teacher of science through developing
a toolkit for effective teaching and learning.
Internationalising ACS
The current driving force for educational change in Australia is globalisation. Globalisation
incorporates international competitiveness, decentralisation and self-interest (Steger & Roy, 2010).
Australian politicians and decision-makers often consider international opinion to determine what
is best for the country. Historically, British curriculum models reflecting a European heritage have
dominated Australia’s curriculum construction. The Cold War period reflected the rise of science
and technology and the growing influence of the United States in the curriculum revolution of the
1960s and the development of comprehensive high schools (Tobin, 2011). However, in recent times
the influence has come from a new direction.
The importance of smaller, more successful educational systems has led to a broadening of the
scope of influence on curriculum decision-making within Australia. The McKinsey Report (2007)
reflects the importance of international league tables for a country’s domestic and international
educational reputation. The global setting is one of extensive comparative evaluations undertaken by
the OECD since the 1990s. Such studies have resulted in a more reflective review of education within
and between participating countries.
Globalised educational research, such as the Programme for International Student Assessment
(PISA), has provided benchmarks for international best practice. As such Australia’s educational
policy-makers consider and are influenced by the structures and processes of other educational
systems. In particular, ACS acknowledges the influence of Finland, Korea, Ontario-Canada, Hong
Kong and Singapore. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has
produced a range of country-based and international comparative reports, including reports on the
57
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PART 1 | LINKING THEORY TO PRACTICE
role assessment practices have had in driving curriculum development. Lingard (2011) argues that
high-stakes national testing has become ‘the new steering mechanism of national schooling systems’
(p. 235). I would add that international comparisons have resulted in Australia adopting its first
national P–10 curriculum that includes science, English and mathematics, areas seen as the core for
the new knowledge society within a global economy (Clothey, Mills, & Baumgarten, 2010).
What does curriculum mean?
Curriculum broadly
speaking, refers to a
political view of what
the wider community
believes students
need to learn and
how they need to
learn. Specifically, the
curriculum sets the
framework for teaching
and learning within a
specific context.
‘The’ curriculum is not always something tangible that is open for close inspection. Defining and
describing the term takes place from a national level to a classroom perspective. The curriculum can
be a documented collection of courses of study in subject areas such as English, mathematics, and
science. The document produced to represent the collection of courses of study within Australia is
the Australian Curriculum (AC). At the same time, it can also refer to a course of study taken within
a specific discipline. For example, the ACS is a course of study made up of specific areas within the
discipline studied, such as the physical, chemical, biological and earth and space sciences.
The conversion of the AC into a syllabus document takes place at the state level. A syllabus document
outlines the specific detail of the national curriculum in terms of content that is directly connected to
specific objectives, skills, values and understandings and to timing that achieves the national curriculum
goals. The syllabus places the national curriculum within the context of each state.
At the school level, the syllabus translates into detailed teaching programs that contain the scope
and sequence of teaching that directs each subject area. Here the strategies for teaching and learning
become explicit and are clearly identified within the instructional program for teachers to implement.
Teaching programs include assessment procedures and practices along with the specific units of study
and the resources available to undertake the teaching and learning effectively.
Figure 3.1
Science curriculum implementation from nation to classrooms
Australian Curriculum: Science
State-based science syllabus
School-based science teaching program
Science classroom: specific lesson plans, assessment, reporting
3 From Curriculum to Pedagogy
59
Think about it 3.1: Your understanding of ‘curriculum’
Draw a mind map of all the meanings of the word ‘curriculum’. Describe how they are linked. Share your map with a colleague and see how
closely their ideas align with yours.
The purposes of a curriculum
Young (2009) views the curriculum as the setting out of ‘the conditions for acquiring new knowledge’
(p. 202) acting as the blueprint that defines essential knowledge for a society. Essential knowledge is
acknowledged within the guidelines for developing the AC and acts as the foundation to explain those
embedded practices in the wider community and in particular the scientific community. Essential
content is a key component of the ACS.
As a blueprint, the curriculum achieves:
::
Sociocultural transmission to assist students in learning about the foundations of our
society in the future and how to interact positively within contemporary society;
::
Economic transmission to assist students in learning the knowledge and skills required to
be active participants in a workforce to support the productive capacity of the nation;
::
Personal identity transmission to students in learning about themselves, their needs and
their development towards self-actualisation within the world (Phillips, 1996).
There is no one way of preparing teaching programs. The product of the effort of teachers will
always contain a situational analysis of the learning and teaching context and concentrate heavily
on the timing, along with a myriad of other decisions concerning a range of factors that include
resources and facilities. Therefore the curriculum acts as a compass giving direction for knowledge
construction and by doing so gives a strong indication of the types of teaching and learning that
should be undertaken. The compass direction, however, is not exactly the same for everyone. When
two teachers on either side of the country orientate themselves towards the south using a compass,
they end up facing different directions representing diverse perspectives.
Diverse perspectives open up professional conversations to interpret what is required or expected
from the curriculum. Thus, a new curriculum document accompanied with professional development
and support materials helps to orient teachers towards similar objectives. However, the curriculum
goes through several phases of interpretation including national development, state syllabus
construction, professional support from government authorities and professional associations, and
that of the science department within 7–12 schools, the F–6 science coordinator, and the individual
teacher. The students, parents and community members also have their interpretations.
Types of curriculum
Within a community of diverse perspectives and multiple interpretations, the emphasis on common
meaning has led to two major categories of curriculum formation. There are two main categories of
curriculum considered within educational literature, the formalised curriculum and the informal or
hidden curriculum. The formalised curriculum can be either process-based or content-based.
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PART 1 | LINKING THEORY TO PRACTICE
Process-based curriculum
A process-based curriculum makes clear to the teacher how they should teach and how students should
learn. The content is the variable for the teachers and schools to consider within the localised context.
Process-based international curricula include the Foundation to Year 10 International Baccalaureate
(IB) and Reggio Emilia Approach in early childhood.
The IB Organisation (IBO) teaches nearly one million students in over 140 countries through
the framework of a learner profile that describes an IB learner. The learner profile is an integral part
of the entire program of offerings within the organisation that reflects the mission statement of the
IBO and the continuum of international education. The Middle Years Program (MYP) established in
1994 aims to encourage international awareness and those attributes required by students aged 11 to
16 years that enable active participation within a global society (Sperandio, 2010). The assessment for
the MYP is in English, French, Spanish and Chinese. The Primary Years Program (PYP) established
in 1997 aims to develop an international-mindedness for students aged 3 to 12 years. The PYP
assessment can be in any language.
The three programs of the IB form a coherent sequence framed upon the learner profile and
inquiry as the principal pedagogical approach, and aims at educating the whole person through
all the knowledge domains towards lifelong learning. The knowledge domains involve languages,
humanities, sciences, mathematics, and the arts. In Australia, the Foundation to Year 10 content
framework in the various states sits within the IBO framework for implementation. The diploma has
a clear content component, and IBO accreditation allows schools to offer more than one program
at the diploma level. Therefore, teaching of the IB can occur in international, non-government and
government schools within Australia.
The Reggio Emilia pedagogical approach originated in Italy in the 1960s and is based on fostering
the natural development of children by rewarding intellectual curiosity. The rewards require that
children have some control over the direction of their learning, are able to learn through sensory
experiences and have multiple ways and opportunities to express themselves, and places importance on
children exploring their relationships with both other children and material objects. These principles
form the Reggio Emilia pedagogical approach and highlight a ‘hands-on, heads-on, hearts-on’
(Beatty & Gerace, 2009, p. 1) approach to supporting flexible play-based experiences (Van Manen,
1991). It is important to note that the IBPYP, the IBMYP and the Reggio Emilia approach all
represent examples of the integration of pedagogical practices within the construction of curricula.
Content-based curriculum
A content-based curriculum is characterised by making clear to the teacher what they should teach
and to the students what they should learn. The teacher determines how this occurs. Teachers become
the pedagogical experts in terms of how teaching occurs and how students learn. For example, the IB
diploma program established in 1968 aims to provide a balanced education not restricted by cultural
boundaries for students aged 16 to 19 years. It is a matriculation course for entry into universities
across a range of countries. The assessment occurs in English, French or Spanish, and contains set
content to fit within the process of the learner profile. Another example is the ANC, as it sets out
clearly what teachers should teach and what students should learn. However, within the guiding
principles it also states the importance of flexibility to accommodate contextualised pedagogical
3 From Curriculum to Pedagogy
61
autonomy (National Curriculum Board, 2008). It is here that the teacher becomes the expert who
determines the pedagogical practices carried out in the classroom.
Regardless of the strategy chosen for formal curriculum development, it assumes the teacher
knows the content, understands the process of teaching and learning, and uses their signature
pedagogical skills to develop learning experiences. The profession of teaching is more than being a
subject specialist. The difference between a subject specialist and a teacher of a specialised subject lies
in the factors that influence the choices made within the process of pedagogical practice. Part of the
process of choice involves dealing with the hidden curriculum.
Informal or hidden curriculum
The second major category is the informal or hidden curriculum. The hidden curriculum is the
complex culture of the classroom, school and wider community in terms of attitudes, values and
codes of behaviour concerning science. It is more than the reasoning of a person on issues involving
science. The hidden curriculum deals with perceptions and intuitions that students, parents and
teachers have concerning the study of science. The hidden curriculum influences our understanding
of knowledge and ‘how we decide we know something’ and understanding of ourselves in relation to
a person’s sense of meaning—as part of the human endeavour.
The art of teaching lies in the professional ability of the teacher to accommodate both the formal
and informal curriculum within their lesson plans and unit outlines. There is no one set formula that
assists with this process. It is the accumulation of wisdom based on intuition, life experiences and
experiences within teaching that achieves such accommodation.
Think about it 3.2: Exploring curriculum types
For each type of curriculum identified above, outline a purpose, aim and the outcomes.
Curriculum planning models
Brady and Kennedy (2010) view curriculum planning models as falling into two major categories:
technical and descriptive models.
Technical models
The first are technical models scaffolded on a fixed or flexible sequence of a curriculum’s substantive
components: objective, content, method and assessment. Tyler’s (1949) objectives model is one
example of a technical model. It became the foundation for outcomes-based education in the 1990s.
Tyler concentrated on four major issues in his construction: the curriculum’s educational purposes;
the provision of educational experiences; the effective organisation of those experiences; and the
measurement for checking the achievement indicators identified by the educational purposes.
Another example of technical curriculum planning is Taba’s (1962) interaction model. Taba
emphasises that curriculum planning is often nonlinear and more fluid among the substantive
elements. For example, the strong interrelationship between the content strands of knowledge of
Curriculum planning
models are the
different ways that
designers put together
the curriculum. It is
based on those aspects
of the curriculum most
important for achieving
the goals established
by the decision-makers
in the school, or at the
state or national level.
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PART 1 | LINKING THEORY TO PRACTICE
the ACS not only allows flexibility and integration but also can blur the sequential nature of the
knowledge provided because the model is not a systematic one.
Descriptive models
Descriptive models by design reflect a particular method of deliberation. For example, Walker’s (1971)
naturalistic model focuses on the platform for problem-solving and decision-making that derives
itself from the collaboration towards shared principles through discourse. His model centres on the
limitations of the curriculum currently taught in schools. It requires identifying the shortcomings in
implementing the existing curriculum using a problem-solving pedagogy. The new curriculum aims
to eliminate the shortcomings identified and improve the level of implementation by the teacher. The
result is a new curriculum that is thought to be an improved and more effective document.
The importance of curriculum planning models
The importance of curriculum planning models lies in their ability to help teachers understand the
educational purpose of the curriculum and how the curriculum is constructed. Priestly and Humes
(2010) describe three conventional curriculum-planning models. They are:
1 Using curriculum as content and viewing education as a transmission mechanism. This represents
the technical model of selecting content as the main component.
2 Using curriculum as product and viewing education as an instrumental mechanism. This
represents a technical model such as selecting objectives as the main component.
3 Using curriculum as process and viewing education as a developmental mechanism. This
represents the descriptive model and uses processes such as inquiry as the main component of its
development.
All three models contain a particular construction of knowledge and defined purpose of knowledge.
If teachers are able to understand the type of planning model used by the designers of the curriculum,
then it becomes clearer how the curriculum is changing. It also helps to clarify the direction and
purposes of the curriculum and guide teachers in its implementation. Such an understanding directs
the teacher in how their programming and teaching needs to change.
Why a national science curriculum?
Respective national governments have been working on the implementation of a national curriculum
since the 1980s (Cranston et al., 2010). There are pragmatic and ideological reasons for establishing
a national science curriculum. Pragmatic or practical reasons aim to reduce the differences between
the states. The benefit of minimising difference increases the potential to achieve better consistency,
access and continuity in education offered to children. Such improvements include reducing the
concerns of age and of access to resources and high quality programs, and allow the curriculum to
address developmental and ability appropriateness (Bezzina et al., 2009).
Politically and ideologically, Australia views science and technology as a key to achieving economic
growth. ‘Backing Australia’s ability—Building our future through Science and Technology’ is an
3 From Curriculum to Pedagogy
63
Australian government program that ran from 2000 to 2006. The program identified four key elements
in its focus: strengthening Australia’s ability to generate ideas; undertake research; develop skills;
accelerate the commercialisation of ideas. This led to a review of teaching and teacher education in
science and technology with the priority of ‘energising the sciences and technology, and prioritising
innovation in schools’ (Commonwealth of Australia, 2001, p. 14).
Regardless of political persuasion, science education from Foundation to Year 12 is important.
Under the umbrella of the education revolution, funding provision for new science laboratories and
the Scientists in Schools program were introduced to secondary schools. In primary classrooms the
time spent engaged in science was found to be, on average, less than 3% of a normal week (Angus et
al., 2007). The Primary Connections Program began in 2000 and has published nineteen units, with
nine directly aligned to the Science Understanding Strand of the new ACS. All others are undergoing
modification and further units aligned to the ACS are in development.
Ideological reasons reflect a move away from an industrialised view of science as only for professional
scientists towards science being a natural part of all human endeavours. The four principles of scientific
knowledge, as developed within the ACS, are part of everyday life and therefore every student F–10:
::
Requires an understanding of the concepts found within the traditional division of the sciences
into biological, chemical, physical, and earth and space.
::
Views scientific inquiry skills as offering assistance in developing creativity and engaging curiosity
to satisfy the inquiring mind. The teacher is to encourage students to develop such skills.
::
Acknowledges scientific knowledge as one part of the group of ideas explaining our life experiences.
::
Is a part of human development and influences our thinking and the types of judgments we make.
The importance of the Australian Curriculum:
Science
Rationale
The ACS represents one way in which everyone makes sense of the physical, biological and
technological world. The rationale for the curriculum describes science as answering ‘interesting
and important questions’ and ‘dynamic, collaborative and creative human endeavour’ (ACARA,
2010, p. 1). Science provides students with the opportunity to develop an understanding of important
science concepts and processes and the practices to develop scientific knowledge. In addition, science
contributes to understanding culture and society along with the application of science to their lives.
Therefore, the role of science is to inform the individual, as well as society, in their decision-making
concerning local, national and global issues.
Aims of the ACS
The aims of any curriculum help the teacher to understand the direction and purpose of the
document and assist with determining the program and designing those classroom practices that
The experiments
that make up Part 2
(page 263ff) show
how you can help
students develop this
understanding.
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PART 1 | LINKING THEORY TO PRACTICE
support its successful implementation. The seven aims of the ACS incorporate a list of knowledge,
understandings and skills. In summary, they require a student to:
::
develop an interest in science
::
understand the vision of science
::
understand and use scientific inquiry
::
communicate scientific understanding effectively
::
undertake evidence-based problem solving
::
understand the contribution of science in the past, present and future
::
appreciate the dynamic nature of science using a solid foundation of knowledge.
One of the development principles of the AC is to determine the essential content for its various
courses. In this curriculum, action words are used to describe its aims (Table 3.1). Once identified,
the essential content is organised in the content strand of the course. This allows the emphasis on
teaching and learning to be one of applying science to the student’s everyday life and the life of others.
The action words within ACS document become a key to interpreting and implementing the
curriculum. For example, as part of the teaching strategy for a unit of work you may plan to undertake
an investigation. You then consider Section 5, Structure of the science curriculum, where planning,
conducting and critiquing investigations and communicating findings are emphasised. The action
words direct the teacher to employ pedagogical practices that emphasise the teaching of the skills
to explain and to justify the investigation, and further, that any explanation or justification must
include the ethical principles that underpin the investigation. Throughout the curriculum document,
a significant emphasis appears for students to explore and understand science in its context. However,
it gives little weight to problem-solving and decision-making.
The structure of the ACS
Ideas framework
is a framework of
overarching ideas that
form the basis for the
curriculum planning
design and become
the foundation of the
curriculum document.
The structure of the ACS follows the curriculum development principles, as do all learning areas. The
development principles include the construction of the content strands, the ideas framework and
the standards framework. The content strands outline the content communicated. The ideas are the
‘big picture’ ideas within science that underpin the content. The standards expected of students are
found within the levels of attainment and are expected to be achieved in all schools. The ACS also
includes the interchange of knowledge, emphasising the links between different areas of knowledge
and cross-curriculum themes.
3 From Curriculum to Pedagogy
Table 3.1
The actions identified within the ACS
Action word
Section
Section
Section
Section
Section
Section
Section
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Curiosity
Explore
Questioning
Planning
Conducting
Collecting
Analysing
Evaluating
Debate
Willingness
Speculate
Solve
Make decisions
Understand
Explain
Select
Integrate
Explain
Predict
Apply
Appreciate
Source: ACARA (December 13 2010). The Australian Curriculum: Science Version 1.1.
The following discussion concentrates on the big picture components of the ideas framework, the
standards framework, and the transition of knowledge between science and other courses that make
up the AC. All three have unique contributions to the decision-making processes of teachers when
they are determining the pedagogical practices that are appropriate for teaching and learning science.
65
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PART 1 | LINKING THEORY TO PRACTICE
The content strands
The content structure of the ACS contains three strands as shown in Figure 3.2.
::
Science understanding contains four sub-strands described in single years.
::
Science as a human endeavour contains two sub-strands described in two-year bands.
::
Science inquiry skills contains five sub-strands described in two-year bands.
The interrelationship between the three strands represents the work of a scientist. It involves a
conception of science ‘built around scientific inquiry and seeks to respond to and influence society’s
needs’ (ACARA, 2010, p. 4).
Figure 3.2
The content structure of the ACS
Biological sciences
Chemical sciences
Science Understanding
Earth and space sciences
Physical sciences
Nature and development
of science
ACS
Science as a Human
Endeavour
Use and influence of
science
Questioning and
predicting
Planning and conducting
Science Inquiry Skills
Processing and analysing
data and information
Evaluating
Communicating
Source: ACARA (December 13 2010). The Australian Curriculum: Science. pp. 2–4.
3 From Curriculum to Pedagogy
Structure of content from Foundation to Year 10 (F–10)
Previously science content strands were described as single-year or two-year bands from F–10.
However, the curriculum focus areas appear in four-year groupings providing advice concerning
the nature of learners within the Year groups and the focus of the science curriculum as shown
in Table 3.2. Each focus area assigned to a developmental age group acts as a building block. The
building blocks begin with everyday concrete expressions of local life and conclude with the abstract
philosophical underpinnings of the understandings of each discipline of science. Each block also
reflects the intention of integrating the three science content strands in an effective interrelated
manner. The expectation is that integration occurs within early childhood, primary and secondary
teaching and learning.
Table 3.2
The curriculum focus areas of the science content strand
Student age
range (years)
Year range
Curriculum focus
5–8
Foundation–Year 2
Awareness of self and the local world
8–12
Years 3–6
Recognising questions that can be investigated scientifically
and investigating them
12–15
Years 7–0
Explaining phenomena involving science and its applications
15–18
Senior secondary years
Disciplines of science
Source: ACARA (December 13 2010). The Australian Curriculum: Science 7–8.
The ideas framework
The six overarching ideas of the Foundation to Year 10 ACS described in Table 3.3 are:
::
patterns, order and organisation
::
form and function
::
stability and change
::
scale and measurement
::
matter and energy
::
systems.
The descriptions given to each idea support ACARA’s claim of developmental complexity in
scientific ideas for students that is a significant theme within the ACS’s construction. Table 3.3
indicates that complexity should develop over time and is required to move from the concrete to the
abstract (see scale and measurement). As teachers of science reflect on their own understanding of the
ideas and their interrelationships, it poses the question: how do we teach complex ideas to students so
that their meaning is age-appropriate without diminishing their importance or complexity?
67
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PART 1 | LINKING THEORY TO PRACTICE
The experiments in
Table 3.3
The ideas framework of the ACS
Part 2 (page 263ff)
demonstrate practical
Ideas
What the idea conveys
Patterns, order and organisation
Students increase their proficiency in observing, describing, classifying and organising
information over time and at different scales.
Form and function
Students increase their understanding of the interrelationship between various forms
and their functions at different scales. They describe this interrelationship using
‘microscopic structures, atomic structures, interactions of forces, and flows of energy
and matter’ (ACARA, 2010, p. 5).
Stability and change
The idea of some things staying constant and others changing exists early in learning.
However, their ability to remain so at different times and scales due to competing but
balanced forces becomes part of quantifying change and stability.
Scale and measurement
The conceptual development of quantifying time and space for comparison occurs over
time. It begins with everyday concrete examples and leads to the abstract, involving
magnitudes and rates of change.
Matter and energy
Matter and energy are central to understanding change. Students will be ‘identifying,
describing and measuring transfers of energy and/or matter’ (ACARA, 2010, p. 6).
Matter and energy connect strongly to the ideas of form and function.
Systems
Describing, modelling and analysing systems are central to understanding the
complexity of science. The development requires that students understand that
systems can be components within larger systems requiring inputs, outputs and
boundaries.
work that aligns with
this ACS framework
by giving students
opportunities to
develop skills in, and
understanding of a
wide range of science
ideas.
Source: ACARA (December 13 2010). The Australian Curriculum: Science Version 1.1. pp. 5–6.
Figure 3.3 outlines the pedagogical flow from the curriculum to the student, from the teacher’s
perspective. Moving along the arrow, the teacher considers the bigger picture ideas of the ACS
through the professional training she or he has received in both subject specific content and signature
pedagogical practices. Teachers choose the concrete representations that are most appropriate for
students after considering the context of their teaching and the students’ learning. Those representations
need to combine the formal and informal curricula in such a way that productive learning occurs
within the science classroom. Students initially respond to the pedagogical choices of the teacher.
This response helps to move the student towards connecting to a larger set of concrete representations
of scientific ideas and concepts presented in the lesson. By using signature pedagogies, the teacher
assists the student to connect the concrete representations to the ACS.
3 From Curriculum to Pedagogy
Figure 3.3
The workflow progression of a teacher’s professional pedagogical practice
69
The experiments in
Part 2 (page 263ff)
demonstrate this
Teaching
evaluation
ACS objectives
Assessment of
learning
Lessons, units,
program
workflow. They
show how teachers
plan experiments by
considering learning
outcomes, specific
activities, and how
learning will be
assessed.
State syllabus
Lesson
planning and
implementation
Teacher
pedogogical
expertise
Program and unit
development
Revision of program,
unit and lessons
The standards framework
Within science, embedded inquiry skills exist within the content descriptions and achievement
standards of the curriculum. The eight inquiry skills involve thinking skills, information and
communication technologies (ICT), teamwork, creativity, ethical behaviour, self-management,
literacy and numeracy. Inquiry skills form the basis of the types of strategies that become a collection
of pedagogical tools for the science teacher. The competency levels of each inquiry skill help to
construct the school programs, unit plans, lesson plans and assessments for each Year or stage.
Pedagogical thought involves a complex set of system connections that are determined and
embedded within the practices, attitudes and values of teachers. It involves teachers undergoing
continuous reflective practice involving thoughts, ideas and activities when considering the pedagogy
of science. Figure 3.3 represents the workflow progression of a teacher’s professional pedagogical
practice. By showing one type of progression in the workflow of teachers as they enact their
professional pedagogical practices in the light of curriculum documentation, this diagram places
more emphasis on the interrelationships among the components than on direction or movement.
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PART 1 | LINKING THEORY TO PRACTICE
The interchange of knowledge
One of the key aspects of the ACS is that it requires science to be a part of a more holistic picture
of knowledge construction and application. The connections required by the curriculum in the
execution of its goals are the links between the areas of knowledge and the introduction of crosscurriculum priorities.
The links between areas of knowledge
The links between other courses and science in relation to content, understanding and skills is shown
in Figure 3.4. The diagram represents the overlapping interrelationships between other areas of
learning of the AC with science as the central learning area of the diagram. The larger circle for
mathematics indicates the content, understanding and skills it shares with science.
For ideas about how
you can link your
The integration of knowledge with science at its centre upholds the importance of the second
content strand of ‘science as a human endeavour’. Further, it encourages the integration of skills
and learning techniques (pedagogies) so that students develop the initiative to combine existing
knowledge and skill sets in new and original ways. This acts to establish patterns of innovation and
creativity so that the field of science may move forward within its problem-solving role within the
broader society.
science activities
to other areas of
Figure 3.4
Knowledge and skills interdependence within the ACS
knowledge, see ‘Linking
to other learning areas’
on page 83.
English
Mathematics
Science can not be
taught on its own.
The experiments in
Human Society and
its Environment
Science
Part 2 (page 263ff)
demonstrate an
interdependence
on cross-curricular
elements, with
students being required
to integrate their
knowledge of literacy,
History
Technology and
Design
numeracy, ICT and
HSIE.
Source: ACARA (December 13 2010). The Australian Curriculum: Science. pp. 14–15.
3 From Curriculum to Pedagogy
71
Cross-curriculum themes
The three prioritised cross-curriculum themes within the courses of the AC are Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) histories and cultures, Asia and Australia’s engagement with Asia,
and sustainability. ATSI raises the importance of ‘country and place, people, culture and identity’
(ACARA, 2010, p. 12). The Asian theme provides a strong regional context and is expected to
support Australia’s ‘social, intellectual and creative capital’ (ACARA, 2010, p. 13). Sustainability
provides an understanding of the role of the individual and the community to contribute towards
‘environmental integrity, economic viability, and a just society for present and future generations’
(ACARA, 2010, p. 13).
All three priorities are embedded within the curriculum construction. However, some areas of
the curriculum naturally lend themselves more than others to the discussion of human endeavour.
Cross-curriculum themes are encouraged to present students with a more holistic picture of their
education. Cross-curriculum approaches have been a typical part of F–6 teaching and learning. One
example from a school is their school-based Year 3/4 unit called the ‘light fantastic’; a study of
light through scientific experimentation that the teacher integrates with music composition, building
resilience and visual arts. Thematic studies in F–6 set the foundation for more complex themes within
Years 7–12 to include cosmology and philosophy and astrophysics.
Knowledge interchange—curriculum mapping
One of the key facets of the interchange of knowledge is the importance of curriculum mapping.
Mapping the curriculum is one of the complex systems of connection informing and directing
pedagogical practices within schools. It is the key to removing individualised teaching that occurs in
isolation. It requires the integration of information concerning the knowledge, skills and strategies
used within a school or within a subject department. Mapping occurs within the Year or stage
(horizontal mapping) and between Years or stages (vertical mapping). Curriculum mapping is one of
the major methods for finding the time wasters within the programming structures of the school and
subject department. It also highlights duplication across F–12 teaching and learning. It creates the
opportunity for the teacher to:
::
undertake teacher professional collaboration that aims to make an authentic difference to
pedagogical practice
::
identify and reduce duplication teaching both horizontally and vertically
::
undertake interdisciplinary teaching that saves time for more subject-specific applications
::
undertake a scope and sequence development that encourages knowledge integration across
subjects.
Curriculum mapping
is a representation of
all the components of
the curriculum within
a particular context to
show the connections,
relationship and the
whole picture of what
is occurring.
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PART 1 | LINKING THEORY TO PRACTICE
Understanding pedagogy
Pedagogy is the
art and science of
teaching. It refers
to the schooling or
education of children.
It is also used to refer
to the correct use of
teaching strategies in
instructional theory.
Pedagogy has become a buzzword in educational literature and is used to encompass a vast array of
teaching practices. Because of its current popularity, ‘pedagogy’ has a variety of meanings, but the
definitional debate always incorporates teaching based on a set of:
::
intuitive or perceptive insights qualitatively identified as the art of teaching
::
principles or rules identified and quantified as the science of teaching.
Marzano (2007), who describes the art and science of teaching as effective instruction, combines
both components. The art of teaching involves professional judgments based on relationships. The
interactions between teachers and students involve intuitive professional judgments concerning not
only how students learn but also their readiness to learn. Such judgments, based on previous teaching
experiences, life experiences and an understanding of people, learning and readiness, assist the teacher
in making wise decisions concerning their teaching and children’s learning. In practice it emphasises
the social and emotional connections made between students and teachers and learning.
The science of teaching implies a systematic approach to the application of specific practices that
leads to predetermined results (Alexander, 2004). It takes on a pragmatic approach. For example, if a
teacher sets realistically higher expectations for students, then students are likely to strive to achieve
those higher expectations. The concept of pedagogy as science allows the dimension of teaching that
comes from ‘effort, dedication, practice, lots of practice’ (Van Manen, 1991, p. 101). It is part of the
complex set of teaching characteristics developed through formal training.
The learning of technical practices does not make a fully-fledged pedagogical expert. It also
requires an intuitive dimension that allows the person to have perceptive insights into children’s
development and experiences within F–10 (Van Manen, 1991). Therefore, good teaching is a
combination of the art and science of teaching.
The importance of pedagogy
Strange as it might seem, 50 years ago American research showed that schools had no effect on the
equality of opportunity for students. This set in motion the development of school effectiveness
and school improvement research that has dominated educational thinking in more recent decades.
With the goal to prove that schools make a difference, studies now show that effective schools have a
significant impact on student achievement. The research also identifies that the single most important,
relatively independent, factor is the individual teacher (Marzano, 2003).
Effective F–10 teachers employ classroom strategies in instruction and classroom management
practice, and develop lessons by design. Recent Australian research shows that schools can control
the quality of pedagogy and this most directly and powerfully affects the quality of the learning
outcomes demonstrated by students (Brady & Kennedy, 2010). Three dimensions underpinning this
perspective require pedagogy to be:
::
fundamentally based on promoting high levels of intellectual quality
::
soundly based on promoting an environment for quality learning
::
firmly based on developing and making explicit to students the significance of their work.
3 From Curriculum to Pedagogy
Navigating from student to teacher
Creating a pedagogical toolkit
The first struggle that pre-service teachers encounter is that their subject matter knowledge does
not necessarily provide what they need in order to teach their subject within schools. Throughout
undergraduate programs, students study the disciplines of science (physics, chemistry, biology, and
earth and environmental sciences). Their level of knowledge comprehension goes deeper in both
content and understanding so that they graduate as experts within their fields. This is the position of
the science graduate who enters a graduate teaching program. In contrast, most F–6 teachers do not
acquire the same depth of content knowledge, as their undergraduate programs focus primarily on
pedagogical practices across a wide range of key learning areas.
Science graduates learn the substantive structure of their subject area—what concepts to express—
and syntactic structures—how to express them. Substantive structures are the way in which the
concepts of the subject are organised and how they incorporate information. This is the subject
matter knowledge gained in further study. In contrast, syntactic structures are the ways in which you
use what you have learnt to establish the level of truth and validity of the information.
Students of science recognise the subject matter and explain the concepts and practices of the
scientist when investigating a scientific inquiry within a problem-solving context. They identify the
problems of meaning and the limitations of application of the content and procedures in achieving
the desired outcome. In contrast, the highly experienced teacher recognises possible misconceptions
students might develop within such concepts as night and day, seasons, photosynthesis and chemical
changes, before teaching the concepts in the classroom. Therefore, for all F–10 teachers subject matter
is the first component of the pedagogical toolkit. However, it is not enough for teaching in schools.
Pedagogical content is the subject matter content identified for the purposes of teaching. It is that
part of subject matter content within a field of study that is viewed as essential and perhaps the most
teachable. Within the ACS, essential content is one of the seven driving principles in administering
and implementing the curriculum. It includes, for example, key topics such as cells, motion, chemical
compounds and plate tectonics. More importantly, the representations (illustrations, demonstrations,
analogies and examples) are most useful in communicating the concept in the most user-friendly way.
Representations, as shown in Figure 3.5, are the core of the science teacher’s pedagogical strategies
and the second component of your pedagogical toolkit.
The pedagogical expert asks three questions concerning representations:
1 What is the most appropriate representation for the information being presented? (decision)
2 How did you determine the most appropriate type of representations to use? (process)
3 Why did you choose that particular type of representation? (reasons)
The teacher identifies a range of instructional strategies that are most useful in overcoming the
difficulties in understanding and reduce the opportunity for misconceptions to arise or be reinforced
within the lesson. Therefore, teaching practices beyond the subject matter are improved by identifying
pedagogical content within the field of study that is age-appropriate.
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PART 1 | LINKING THEORY TO PRACTICE
Figure 3.5
Examples of representations within the study of science
Analogies in science
Explaining low Reynolds number and high viscosity (by Kevin Miklasz)
Viscosity is friction in fluids. Imagine you are very small (as small as a molecule) and wading through water. As you
move, you have to fight these other molecules that are blocking your movement. If you were Gulliver, you could easily
move through a crowd of Lilliputians, but if you were a Lilliputian yourself, then it would take you much longer to get
through the crowd.
Also, think of the play pits that are filled with plastic balls. It is hard to move through this pit of balls because the
balls you are moving through are nearly the same size as you. Now imagine walking through air. Air molecules are a lot
smaller than you, so you barely notice them.
Source: http://scienceeducation.wikia.com/wiki/Analogies_for_teaching_science. Accessed 23/07/2011.
Illustrations—Field sketches
unconformity
joint
boulder
rock pool
Source: http://openlearn.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=398636&section=1.8.1. Accessed 23/07/2011.
Demonstrations—The scientific method
The scientific method demonstration
Step 1. Have one person in your group check their pulse at a resting state. Do this by finding the carotid artery on your
neck. Count the number of beats or pulses for one minute.
Record here ____________________________.
Step 2. How will exercise affect this number?
Step 3. Make a prediction: How many beats will you feel after you jog in place for one minute?
Step 4. Carry out the exercise and immediately record the number of beats after the exercise is completed.
Record here ____________________________.
Step 5. What connection can you make between exercise and your heart rate?
Source: www.ubtech.org/.../lib/.../The_Scientific_Method_Demonstration.doc. Accessed 23/07/2011.
3 From Curriculum to Pedagogy
In order to engage students within their cultural context, further development of the toolkit
is required. To be most effective in the classroom, teachers develop the widest possible range of
representations that allow students easy access to the knowledge, skills and understanding required. It
is through using pedagogical content knowledge that the teacher becomes the expert. The expertise
includes both the content and the context of the classroom and the school’s general community.
Being the expert requires the science teacher to understand not only content knowledge but also
the common conceptions, preconceptions and possible alternative views that students bring to the
classroom concerning the content taught.
Curriculum knowledge is that knowledge specified in curriculum documents such as the ACS
and supported within a wide range of alternative materials. The appropriateness of such materials
is determined by its level of support in teaching the selected subject matter. It includes the range
of texts, audiovisuals, internet resources, software applications and alternative experiment designs
that are available to achieve curriculum goals. A teacher’s pedagogical toolkit contains the range of
instructional strategies that become part of the teaching program within a 7–12 science department
or an F–6 Year/stage team. It is the third component of the teacher’s toolkit. The combination of all
three components improves the quality of teaching and learning that occurs within the classroom.
Such knowledge is not limited to the natural sciences. It also requires the teacher to have a working
knowledge of the subject matter and pedagogical content knowledge in the other subjects taught.
Knowledge of what is occurring within other subject areas allows the teacher of science to connect
knowledge between their subject and other subjects, thus increasing the relevance and application
of the knowledge across learning and across life experiences. Examples can include novels, poetry,
drama, theatre, songs, debates, geographical information, visual arts, physical activities, industries,
and extracurricular activities.
The best possible position for the teacher is when the three types of knowledge naturally
align themselves. Such alignment involves the knowledge, understanding and skills gained as an
undergraduate, fitting nicely with the content of the curriculum and using the pedagogical tools
developed to teach the content. Through alignment, the content knowledge and the teaching
practices and the ability to carry out teaching fit neatly. As in all dynamic professions, alignment is
not always straightforward, but if the subject matter, pedagogical content and curriculum knowledge
are partially aligned, then there is opportunity for professional discourse to resolve the tensions that
can occur. Professional discourse assists in raising teacher quality and improved teacher quality raises
student achievement levels across years F–10.
Think about it 3.3: Your understanding of ‘professional
discourse’
What is ‘professional discourse’ and how can it help teachers of science improve their teaching?
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PART 1 | LINKING THEORY TO PRACTICE
For classroom interactions involving knowledge, skills and practices to be effective and engaging,
science teachers need to be pedagogical experts. Pedagogical expertise involves the transmission of
the new knowledge of a curriculum in the form of ‘activities in teaching and learning involved in the
process of acquisition’ (Young, 2009, p. 202). Figure 3.6 represents the process of mapping science
from the big picture concepts within the ideas framework to the individual classroom. It centres on
the importance of pedagogy as the mechanism between the national curriculum and the teacher and
students in the F–10 classroom.
Figure 3.6
The central focus of pedagogies in practice within the ACS
Science curriculum
‘bigger picture’
ideas and concepts
that easily lead to
the identification of
signature pedagogies
Syllabus
scientific ideas
and concepts and
the identification
of signature
pedagogies
The signature and
context
Pedagogical choices
are part of the
construction of the
school’s program and
place the ideas and
concepts within the
context of the school
Using concrete
representations
to connect bigger
picture ideas and
concepts to the
sociocultural
context of the
students
How students
respond to the
pedagogies chosen
determines their
willingness to try
to understand the
bigger ideas and
concepts of the
curriculum
The characteristics of the developing science
teacher
By outlining the differences between the student of science and the teacher of science, it becomes
clear that it takes time to develop the skills required. The titles given to all teachers in the varying
stages of their development also acknowledge the importance of time and practice to develop the
wisdom required to be part of the profession. The development stages used in this section are the preservice teacher, the early career teacher, and the highly accomplished teacher. The stages also indicate
the importance of continuous professional development to being a competent professional in science
teaching within an F–10 framework. Further, they show the importance of refining knowledge,
understanding and skills in pedagogy that lead to quality teaching programs and classroom practice.
3 From Curriculum to Pedagogy
Pre-service science teacher
The pre-service teacher accesses pre-written programs from their practical experience and teaching
methods courses as a first step. This starts the process of understanding, through analysis, how
experienced teachers have turned a syllabus into a program. It becomes the foundation to begin to
collect pedagogical skills. It also adds to the level of diagnostic skills. In pre-service training teachers
learn to articulate possible student preconceptions and determine the most useful strategies to educate
for deeper understanding.
Pre-service teachers build from their own experiences in primary and secondary schooling,
undergraduate studies, and practical experiences within their pre-service training. They begin to
collate and prioritise those components of their pedagogical toolkit. The components include practices
that incorporate inclusivity, educational psychology, and diversity. The student teacher learns to
identify the components of their subject pedagogy and general teaching pedagogy and combine them
in creative and imaginative ways. Their creativity and imagination represents the art of teaching
across F–10 teaching and learning.
Early career science teacher
The early career teacher begins their first teaching position working with existing programs as a guide
to the resources and processes of the department. F–6 and 7–10 programming of science represent
teachers working in teams. As they participate in program development, it represents professional
development within a team of science teachers. As more experienced teachers share their accumulated
knowledge in collaboration, the early career teacher gains insight into how to achieve a positive
outcome for students in their classes. It also assists in navigating towards becoming the teacher of
science. Finally, it provides further opportunity for expanding the collection of instructional strategies
for the pedagogical toolkit, adding to the quality and level of success of lesson plans.
Both the pre-service and early career teacher are developing professional science educators. The
progress refers to the level of preparedness of teachers to move from the transmission model of
teaching to a model of student engagement and inquiry (National Curriculum Board, 2009; Melville,
2010). The goal is for both categories of teacher to undertake continuous improvement towards the
level of competency recognised as the highly accomplished teacher.
Highly accomplished science teacher
For the highly accomplished teacher the program represents their prior teaching knowledge from
classroom experiences and their current understanding of the teaching and learning context. Their
pedagogical toolkit incorporates those strategies that have worked and those that, after reflection,
have been modified and improved. The modifications made reflect the working out of their wisdom
into practice. Strategies for modification of the teachers’ pedagogical toolkit that apply across F–10
education include:
::
becoming more inclusive of students’ diverse learning needs, cultural backgrounds and abilities
::
adapting classroom management practices to facilitate a positive learning environment
::
reflecting innovations and accumulated scholarly subject matter
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PART 1 | LINKING THEORY TO PRACTICE
78
::
effective negotiation of the materials and practices carried out by schools
::
having the ability to engage students in scientific inquiry
::
developing an understanding of the school’s social ecology and educational psychology of learning
and teaching
::
having a deep understanding of the effect of teachers on students’ attainment levels.
Think about it 3.4: Reflecting on your skills and knowledge
1
What skills and knowledge did you bring to your teacher training course?
2
It is vital that as you study to be a teacher you progress from a student to a teacher. Describe the journey you are taking as you move from
a student to a teacher of science.
3
What have been the biggest hurdles?
4
What support do you think you will need as an early career teacher of science?
Signature pedagogies in science
Signature pedagogies in science are those routines and practices regularly found within the teaching
of the science discipline, such as representations and traditional investigations using the scientific
method. The representations include model constructions in physics and chemistry and the practical
experiment in all the courses of study within science. Understanding signature pedagogies becomes
crucial in a curriculum with a content strand based on inquiry that reflects the pedagogical content
knowledge of science (Gurung et al., 2009).
Science teachers organise their program’s unit outlines and lesson plans based on what they believe
actually works—‘units that are age appropriate and that provide opportunities for students to engage
with science concepts at various levels’ (Darby, 2010). For students to be able to carry out an inquiry
they would need to have developed skills such as observation and deductive reasoning. Both occur
within F–10 classrooms where the discussions concerning theory and experiment need to take place
regularly, using both these concepts and scientific literacy. However, unless the strategies involved
engage students’ curiosity and creativity the learning is less than optimal.
Pedagogy of engagement
See the experiments
that make up Part 2
(starting on page 263)
for examples of this
practical work.
Pedagogy of engagement involves developing programs and lessons that are relevant to student
learning. It uses the material objects of science and natural occurrences to engage students with
the ways of thinking and the ideas of science. The main mechanism for achieving such engagement
is practical work. It involves the skills of planning and performing experiments, the collection of
results, and the ability to observe effectively. Effective observations require the ability to develop
questions concerning the inquiry, to explain what was observed, and to compare and classify the
conclusions of the observation against other scientific knowledge. Practical experience in science
helps to promote connectedness for students and takes the lesson into the second content strand of
3 From Curriculum to Pedagogy
79
‘science as a human endeavour’. It begins to reflect the importance of science ideas and practices
within our society and can facilitate a deeper interest in wanting to know and understand the world
through scientific inquiry.
Broadening the repertoire of skills within a teacher’s pedagogical toolkit is essential to enhance
student engagement. Over the past decade, research on effective teaching has highlighted the
imperative to change the balance of the components within the teacher’s pedagogical toolkit to reflect
the importance of engagement. For example, a study of 79 English primary pre-service teachers
emphasises the importance of understanding what the teacher means by engagement and what the
discipline means by engagement (Newton & Newton, 2011).
Science teachers need to develop a range of approaches to the teaching of science in order to
encompass the range of student learning styles, to cope with situations where hands-on learning
is not possible, and to include the range of student abilities. Accomplished teachers are aware that
what happens during a lesson significantly influences the students’ engagement. They know that the
teacher plays a significant role in producing engagement, based on their beliefs of what engagement
looks like and what fosters engagement. These are discussed further in chapter 4.
Think about it 3.5: Exploring ‘engagement’
1
Think about how you understand ‘engagement’. What are the signs that a lesson is engaging for students? It might help to think back to a
time when you felt engaged in learning.
2
Share your ideas with your colleagues.
Once you have read Chapter 5, you might want to revisit your responses to these questions.
Productive pedagogies
Productive pedagogies require all teachers to reflect on what is being taught and how it should be
taught, and is based upon what has already been taught. The concept of productive pedagogies
developed out of an extensive research project in Queensland. The longitudinal study identified
20 pedagogical practices that supported enhancing social and academic student outcomes as shown
in Figure 3.7 (Lingard, Hayes, & Mills, 2003). The list of pedagogies classified according to four
dimensions emphasises the relationship between the pedagogies and the dimensions in creating a
positive learning environment.
The acknowledgement of these practices also highlights the importance of the teacher as central
to improving student academic achievement. They assist the teacher by providing a framework for
planning activities that will extend, enhance or challenge student thinking. For example, hands-on
teaching strategies (the HOTS) gets students to think more carefully about what they are doing. This
deeper thinking creates an environment that moves the students away from just identifying what they
observe and has the potential to increase the level of evaluation concerning their observations.
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PART 1 | LINKING THEORY TO PRACTICE
Figure 3.7
The four dimensions of effective teaching and their identified productive pedagogies
• Higher order thinking skills—Are higher order thinking and critical analysis
occurring?
• Deep knowledge—Does the lesson cover operational fields in any depth?
• Deep understanding—Do the work and response of students provide evidence of
depth of understanding of concepts or ideas?
Intellectual Quality
• Substantive conversation—Does classroom talk break out of the initiation/
response/evaluation pattern and lead to sustained dialogue between students,
and between teachers and students?
• Knowledge problematic—Are students critiquing and second-guessing texts,
ideas, knowledge?
• Explicit crtieria—Are the criteria for judging student performances made
explicit?
• Meta-language—Are aspects of language, grammar and technical vocabulary
being foregrounded?
• Explicit criteria—Are the criteria for judging student performances made
explicit?
Connectedness
• Student’s background knowledge—Is there an attempt to connect with student’s
background knowledge?
• Connectedness to the world—Do the lesson and the assigned work have any
resemblance to real-life contexts?
• Narrative—Is the style of teaching principally narrative, or is it expository?
• Knowledge integration—Does the lesson range across diverse fields?
• Student control—Do students have any say in the pace, direction or outcomes of
the lesson?
Socially Supportive
Environment
• Social support—Is the classroom a socially supportive and positive environment?
• Engagement—Are students engaged and on task?
• Group identity—Does the teaching build a sense of community and identity?
• Self-regulation—Is the direction of student behaviour implicit and selfregulatory or explicit?
For guidelines on how
to analyse a science
lesson with these four
dimensions in mind,
see ‘Analysing a lesson’
Recognition of
difference
• Representation—Are deliberate attempts made to increase the participation of
students from different backgrounds?
• Cultural knowledges—Are diverse cultural knowledges brought into play?
• Citizenship—Are attempts made to foster active citizenship?
on page 83.
Adapted from Lingard, B., Hayes, D., & Mills, M. (2003)
3 From Curriculum to Pedagogy
81
Technological, pedagogical and science knowledge
(TPASK)
TPASK is the result of combining the pedagogical science knowledge with pedagogical technological
knowledge. Jimoyiannis (2010) identifies the key components of this framework as the combination
of specific pedagogical knowledge from science and technology. It is an integrated framework of
information and communications technology (ICT) along with science and other technologies. It
is, however, important to note that there are boundaries to the level of interrelationship suggested.
These include:
::
the conflicts between pedagogical practices and the implied practices within the curriculum
documentation
::
the lack of availability of technology resources
::
poor general pedagogical knowledge such as literacy
::
insufficient explicit knowledge concerning signature pedagogies limiting the interrelationship.
Figure 3.8 displays the importance of all three key components for the experienced teacher. It
reflects the challenge for the pre-service teacher to begin to develop in the three areas simultaneously
in order to achieve competency as a pedagogical expert within the field of science teaching.
Figure 3.8 The integrated pedagogies of the 21st century science teacher
Science signature
pedagogies
For ideas about how to
use these integrated
pedagogies in the
science classroom,
see ‘Using TPASK’ on
page 84.
General
teaching
pedagogies
Technology
signature
pedagogies
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PART 1 | LINKING THEORY TO PRACTICE
Summary
The meaning of curriculum contains both a broad and specific context. The purpose
of a curriculum involves engagement with knowledge that supports the formation of
sociocultural, economic and personal identity. Curricula can be categorised as formal
(process-based or content-based), or informal. To achieve the purposes of the curriculum,
designers employ either technical or descriptive planning models.
The development of the ACS has been for both pragmatic and ideological reasons.
The key significant change has been the push towards science as a natural part of human
endeavours. Human endeavour exists within the structure of the curriculum through
the ideas framework and the standards framework. The integration occurs when the
content strands of science understanding, inquiry skills and human endeavour and other
areas of knowledge are part of curriculum mapping and cross-curriculum themes.
Pedagogy as the art and science of teaching is the crucial professional practice that
is the goal of all teachers of science. From pre-service training to early career teaching
to the highly accomplished teacher, expertise in pedagogy is the core refining process
towards quality teaching and learning. The key to successful science teaching lies in the
identification of the signature pedagogies of science (engagement), of general teaching
(productive pedagogies) and those of ICT. These represent the science of science
teaching. The art of the science teacher lies in the creative and imaginative ways that all
three are integrated simultaneously.
3 From Curriculum to Pedagogy
83
In the science classroom
There are many links between Science and other curriculum areas. For a link to
Technology and Design, for example, see the Year 4 Work Sample: Convict Bag, where
students have to design a bag for a convict based on their research into life around the
time of the First Fleet.
Linking to other
learning areas
Examples for each of the other learning areas are:
::
English: Investigating the minerals contained in different types of rocks and how
they are formed across different timescales, then constructing a report, written or
verbal, on this investigation that could be presented to a mining company. (Year 8)
::
Mathematics: Collecting data about the acceleration of an object over a period of
time either manually or electronically, then analysing and presenting these data in
a table or graph. (Year 10)
::
History: Exploring how a particular scientific idea is formed, then contested and
refined over a period of time. This could apply to many ideas, such as the discovery
of electricity and the subsequent explanation of how it works, to the understanding
of DNA. (Year 9–10)
::
Human Society and its Environment: Analysing how issues are examined in different
countries, such as the use of solar power or hydro power and the impact of these on
that particular environment and human society. (Year 5–6)
Focus Questions
For each of the areas of learning shown in Figure 3.4, think of one science activity
that shows a clear link to this area.
Share your ideas with your colleagues in a visual manner such as a concept map; as
a group, identify another example for each of the areas of learning.
When observing a lesson it is important to have an aim: Why are you watching the
lesson? This allows you to focus on what is being said, how ideas are being presented,
as well as aspects such as the interactions occurring in the classroom, between
students, teachers and, in the case of science, between equipment.
The criteria in Figure 3.7 might also help you in your analysis, giving four specific
areas on which to focus: intellectual quality, connectedness, socially supportive
environments and recognition of difference. Prior to the lesson you might like to
establish a grid or list based on these criteria, so that you are clear about what you
are planning to observe and take note of.
Focus Questions
Organise to observe a lesson being taught by a highly accomplished science
teacher (discussed earlier in the chapter). If possible, ask to see the teacher’s
planning for the lesson.
View the lesson and apply the criteria from Figure 3.7.
To what extent is the model reflected in the lesson? If an area is not evident,
perhaps discuss this with the teacher. Are there reasons why this area is
not addressed?
Analysing a lesson
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PART 1 | LINKING THEORY TO PRACTICE
Share your observations of the lesson with your colleagues and discuss different
ways the lesson could be approached.
Don’t forget that when discussing lessons, teachers, classes and so on, it is good
practice not to identify the participants in the lesson.
Using TPASK
The use of technology is important and evident in all curriculum areas. Figure 3.8 on
page 81 shows the link between the science, teaching and technology. In this case
‘technology’ indicates ICT rather than technology as a design element or subject area.
There are many opportunities to use ICT in the science classroom. Examples include:
::
collecting data from an experiment using Excel (or another spreadsheet application)
and converting the data into graphs
::
using data loggers to collect, for example, the temperature of containers of soil,
sand and water when placed in the shade and sun for a period of time (in this case
a temperature sensor would also be used)
::
creating a report or presentation that is presented on an interactive whiteboard
::
using iPads or other tablet devices to collect video or photos of a particular event
::
using applications such as Stargazer in a class about astronomy
::
taking photos with a digital camera of ice melting over a period of time, then stitching
these together into a video to create a form of time-lapse photography.
When we apply the TPASK model (Figure 3.8) to this last example, we can see what
is involved in effective science pedagogy. When planning such an activity or unit of study
you need to consider science pedagogies such as why ice melts when heated and what
happens to its structure, shape and size during this process. There are also general
teaching pedagogies to consider, such as how to organise the students in the classroom
to perform the experiment, the lesson aims, and what you want the students to do as
they watch and record the ice melting. Finally there are the technological pedagogies:
knowing how the digital camera works, how the students are going to put the photos
together, and why this is a good method for recording their observations. As in the
model there are many aspects that overlap, such as choosing the equipment needed to
download the photos, planning how students will share the equipment and so on.
Focus Questions
List three different science activities that could use a form of ICT.
Curriculum links
Refer to: Year 3 Work Sample 1: Ice cubes and heat
(Australian Curriculum, ACARA).
List the science pedagogies, the general teaching pedagogies and the technological pedagogies for each of the three activities. (These could be presented as a
Venn diagram, as in Figure 3.8.)
Further reading
Corrigan, D., Dillon, J., & Gunstone, R. (2011). The professional knowledge base of science teaching. New York: Springer.
Churchill, R., Ferguson, P., Godinho, S., Johnson, N.F., Keddie, A., Letts, W., et al. (2011). Teaching. making a
difference (chapter 14, pp. 460–498). Milton, Qld: John Wiley & Sons.
Ghaye, T. (2011). Teaching and learning through critical reflective practice: a practical guide for positive action (2nd edn,
chapter 1, pp. 5–21). Abingdon, UK: Taylor & Francis.
3 From Curriculum to Pedagogy
References
ACARA (2010). The Australian curriculum: science. Retrieved 26 May 2011 from <www.acara.edu.au/verve/_
resources/Information_Sheet_Science.pdf>.
Alexander, R. (2004). Still no pedagogy? Principle, pragmatism and compliance in primary education. Cambridge
Journal of Education, 34(1), 7–33.
Angus, M., Olney, H., & Ainley, J. (2007). In the balance: the future of Australia’s primary schools. Kaleen, ACT:
Australian Primary Principals’ Association.
Beatty, I., & Gerace, W. (2009). Technology-enhanced formative assessment: a research-based pedagogy for
teaching science with classroom response technology. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 18(2), 146–162.
Bezzina, M., Starratt, R.J., & Burford, C. (2009). Pragmatics, politics and moral purpose: the quest for an authentic
national curriculum. Journal of Educational Administration, 47(5), 545–556.
Brady, L., & Kennedy, K. (2010). The school curriculum and its stakeholders: who owns the curriculum? In
L. Brady & K. Kennedy (Eds), Curriculum constructions (4th edn, pp. 2–10). Sydney: Pearson Australia.
Clothey, R., Mills, M., & Baumgarten, J. (2010). A closer look at the impact of globalization on science education.
Cultural Studies of Science Education, 5(2), 305–313.
Commonwealth of Australia (2001). Backing Australia’s ability: an innovation action plan for the future. Retrieved 26
May 2011 from <www.dest.gov.au/NR/rdonlyres/B0A19129-FD9E-45FD-99D9-D4EEC704364C/2688/
backing_Aust_ability.pdf>.
Cranston, N., Kimber, M., Mulford, B., Reid, A., & Keating, J. (2010). Politics and school education in Australia: a
case of shifting purposes. Journal of Educational Administration, 48(2), 182–195.
Darby, L. (2010). Characterising secondary school teacher imperatives as subject (signature) pedagogies. Paper
presented to the AARE International Education Research Conference, Melbourne, 28 November–2
December. Retrieved 26 May 2011 from <www.aare.edu.au/10pap/2499Darby.pdf>.
Gurung, R.A.R, Chick, N.L., & Haynie, A. (2009). Exploring signature pedagogies: approaches to teaching disciplinary
habits of mind. Sterling VA: Stylus.
Jimoyiannis, A. (2010). Designing and implementing an integrated technological pedagogical science knowledge
framework for science teachers professional development. Computers & Education, 55(3), 1259–1269.
Lingard, B. (2011). Changing teachers’ work in Australia. In N. Mockler & J. Sachs (Eds), Rethinking educational
practice through reflexive inquiry (Vol. 7, pp. 229–245). Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer.
Lingard, B., Hayes, D., & Mills, M. (2003). Teachers and productive pedagogies: contextualising, conceptualising,
utilising. Pedagogy, Culture and Society, 11(3), 399–424.
Marzano, R.J. (2003). What works in schools: translating research into action. Alexandria VA: Association for
Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Marzano, R.J. (2007). The art and science of teaching: a comphrehensive framework for effective instruction. Alexandria VA:
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
McKinsey & Company (2007). How the world’s 10 best performing school systems come out on top. Retrieved 12 February
2008 from <http://mckinseyonsociety.com/downloads/reports/Education/Worlds_School_Systems_Final.
pdf>.
Melville, W. (2010). Curriculum reform and a science department: a Bourdieuian analysis. International Journal of
Science and Mathematics Education, 8(6), 971–991.
National Curriculum Board (2008) National Curriculum Development Paper. Canberra: National Curriculum Board.
National Curriculum Board (2009). Framing paper consultation report: the sciences. Canberra: National Curriculum
Board.
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Newton, D., & Newton, L. (2011). Engaging science: pre-service primary teachers’ notion of engaging science
lessons. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 9(2), 327–345.
Phillips, T.L. (1996). Symbolic boundaries and national identity in Australia. The British Journal of Sociology, 47(1),
113–134.
Priestly, M. & Humes, W. (2010). The development of Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence: amnesia and déjà vu.
Oxford Review of Education, 36(3), 345–361.
Sperandio, J. (2010). School program selection: why schools worldwide choose the International Baccalaureate
Middle Years Program. Journal of School Choice, 4(2), 137–148.
Steger, M.B., & Roy, R.K. (2010). Neoliberalism: a very short introduction (Vol. 222.). New York: Oxford University
Press.
Taba, H. (1962) Curriculum development. theory and practice. New York: Harcourt Brace.
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6(1), 127–142.
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Young, M. (2009). Education, globalisation and the ‘voice of knowledge’. Journal of Education & Work, 22(3), 193–
204.
What is Science?
Mitch O’Toole
Key ideas
1
Science provides learners with knowledge of their surroundings
that can help them develop productive and fruitful meanings.
2
Science is powerful but scientific ideas change.
3
Science should be taught in ways that recognise the sources of its
power and that acknowledge the limits of present understanding.
Key terms
narrative
hypothesis
models
4
What does science
mean to us?
‘[s]uddenly I find myself momentarily
alone before one new corner of
nature’s pattern of beauty and true
majesty revealed.’
People structure their lives on stories. Here are a few
that touch on this thing that we call ‘science’.
Story 1
I once taught in a school in Sydney’s outer western
suburbs. The families who trusted the school with
their children were mainstream Anglo-Australians. The
school had just appointed a chaplain and her teaching
role included aspects of personal development. One
recess she approached me as the Science coordinator
and said:
‘Mitch, something funny just happened in class’, to
which I replied ‘Funny ha-ha, or funny peculiar?’
‘I’m not sure, maybe a bit of both.’
I asked, ‘What happened?’
88
was an Italian physicist who fled Fascist Italy and achieved
the world’s first sustainable nuclear chain reaction on a
pile of graphite blocks in a squash court at the University
of Chicago in 1942. When asked about the nuclear bomb
that his work had made possible, Fermi is reported as
replying, ‘Don’t bother me with your conscientious
scruples, after all, the thing is superb physics.’
R. Jungk (1958). Brighter than a thousand suns: A personal
history of the Atomic Scientists. New York: Harcourt Brace (translated by
James Cleugh) p. 202.
Story 3
Richard P. Feynman was a young US physicist who
managed the computer room at Los Alamos, where
Fermi’s bomb was built. While accepting the Nobel Prize
for physics for other work, he said:
‘I was talking about puberty with Year 7 and I
mentioned testosterone. One of the girls down the front
asked ‘What’s that?’ and before I could answer, one of the
kids up the back called out ‘Isn’t that a pasta dish?’ No
one laughed.’ (think: minestrone)
The work I have done has, already, been
Story 2
of nature’s pattern of beauty and true
The Second World War ended in 1945 with the
unconditional surrender of Imperial Japan following the
detonation of atomic bombs over two cities. Enrico Fermi
adequately rewarded and recognized.
Imagination reaches out repeatedly
trying to achieve some higher level of
understanding, until suddenly I find myself
momentarily alone before one new corner
majesty revealed. That was my reward.
Nobel acceptance speech (Physics 1965) accessed 11 March
2012 <www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1965/
feynman-speech.html>
4 What is Science?
What do the introductory stories tell us about
science?
They tell us that:
::
society thinks that science is important; after all, we make all young people study it in school but
we don’t make them all study Chinese or needlework. Authorities apparently believe that school
science will help future citizens make informed choices about local and global issues and prepare
them for jobs that will require scientific knowledge and skills.
::
people who ‘do’ science have changed the world. Atomic bombs are just the tip of the iceberg.
Science has had such a profound impact on life that greater changes can be witnessed in the last
200 years than in the thousand years previous to that. No one knows what life will be like in the
middle of the 21st century.
::
scientists are people who are driven by notions of beauty and the pleasure of discovery, and our
understanding keeps changing as scientists expose aspects of the world around us that had not been
previously noticed or explored.
::
what learners learn from the science presented in science classrooms depends on what they already
know, as they can only understand new things in terms of how they already think. The meanings
learners make, or fail to make, may not be what their teachers expect.
This first chapter will touch on a number of themes that are dealt with in much more detail later
in the book. It will also provide an initial grounding in the history of science and varying views of
what science is and how it works, with references to take you further. If any of us are going to teach
science well, we need to know what it is and where it came from.
The place of science in learners’ worlds
Young children have sometimes been compared to blotting paper. They soak up experiences at an
astounding rate and appear able to pay meaningful attention to multiple tasks. Many young children
are profoundly interested in the world around them. Anybody who spends time with them will hear
many questions like: ‘Why does the wind blow?’, ‘Do koalas float?’, ‘Why is the sky blue?’, ‘Where
does the rain come from?’, ‘Where does the Sun go at night?’, and often they will come in quick
succession. Many of these questions fall within the search for an understanding that we call ‘science’,
and they provide those of us who teach it with a great place to start and a wonderful opportunity
for development. However, something happens when these young children become young school
learners. For many, this almost insatiable curiosity about their world becomes dulled, and ‘science’
becomes something for other people. It becomes a problem rather than an exciting opportunity. The
size of the problem becomes clear as older learners avoid school science when it is no longer compulsory
to study it. Teachers of younger learners recall confusion and boredom in their own junior secondary
classes and consequently neglect science in their programs. The problem compounds.
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Think about it 4.1: Your experiences
Did you pursue science when it was no longer compulsory? Why/why not? Think about the following factors:
Teaching quality
Subject matter
Personal preferences and goals
Other circumstances (e.g. advice from school guidance counsellor)
These difficulties may have something to do with the fact that science has traditionally been
presented as complicated and challenging. Teachers may describe some older learners as having ‘no
head for physics’, and teachers of younger learners ask how they can teach science without specialist
knowledge and specialist spaces. Many people think that science is a collection of things that we
now know for certain and that the teacher’s job is to make sure that learners know enough of these
facts and figures to go on to the next level of their education. Science is neither as difficult, nor as
unapproachable, as these responses suggest, but attitudes such as these can make learners less confident
in their studies of science. Less confident learners can rapidly become less interested, and less interested
learners are more easily confused.
Words like ‘testosterone’ are only the beginning of learner confusion. Learners often ‘zone out’
when what is happening makes little sense to them, and ‘making sense’ means connecting with what
they already know and with people with whom they can identify. This is sometimes called ‘significance’
and is one of the fundamentals of quality teaching (Ladwig & Gore, 2003). However, learners do not
live in isolation. Their experiences are framed by the families, cultures and subcultures within which
they grow. Their cultural knowledge and the extent to which school knowledge is connected to their
lives will influence how they react to science (Waldrip, Timothy, & Wilikai, 2007).
Table 4.1
What sorts of things might increase the significance of school science?
Question
Movement label
Origins and key ideas
What’s what
and how is it
connected?
Science, Technology,
Society (and,
more recently,
Environment)
[STS(E)]
Arose from ‘science for all’ and ‘science for citizens’ movements.
How does science
work and how
has it changed?
History and Nature
of Science [HNS]
Arose from disputes about the philosophy of science in mid 20th century.
What’s the use
and what’s it
doing to us?
Applications of
Science
Arose from recognition of both the industrial power of applied science and
the environmental impact of those applications.
What’s
happening now?
Modern Science
Do we need
school?
Informal Science
Critical view of interactions between scientists, industrialists and politicians;
and the impact of those interactions on ordinary people.
Environmental concerns incorporated over past decade or so.
Critical view of the responsibility of scientists and importance of defensible
ideas about where the science we teach came from.
Educational implications depend largely on the weight put on the twin
recognitions.
Arose from rapid change in science from mid-20th century.
Draws on an understanding of the power of incidental motivation: exciting
stuff might carry learners through less interesting work.
Arose from museums in developed countries and travelling public health
exhibitions in less developed ones.
Also drawing on incidental motivation: excursions and visiting speakers/
exhibitions.
4 What is Science?
Modern societies depend on science and technology and so people become concerned about
falling enrolments in science courses. More learners may remain in science courses if we increase
the significance of science rather than stressing its difficulty. Learners may see how science matters
if we can connect what we teach more closely to what they know and value and expose the twoway relationship between the people who do science and everyone else. Table 4.1 provides some
information about methods that have been suggested to make science matter more to learners. The
questions and the movements arising from each clearly interact, but each was more or less important at
different times in different places. The different movements provide a range of insights and resources
for 21st-century teachers of science. These movements are visible in contemporary developments in
science curriculum.
91
For ideas about how
you can help students
understand the link
between scientists
and ‘everyone else’,
see ‘The relevance of
science’ on page 107.
Where did the science we teach today come from?
Where does science knowledge come from, and how can knowing what happened help us to
understand the strength and limitations of what we teach? Perhaps the most surprising thing is that
while we see the changes in science curriculum we are not always aware of how the understanding
of science changes.
Curriculum change is predictable. As people learn more about their subjects, the new knowledge
and expectations lead to changes in what school teachers teach. They may change how teachers teach
their subjects, but not the perspective they teach it from. Science teaching is different; the content
we teach evolves over time. We teach about things that keep changing. A contemporary account of
the lead-up to the Boer War will probably be understood differently now from when it was written,
but it is still a useful document. An 1890s science text would be of almost no use in the 21st century.
To take an example from history, Australians streamed to Africa at the beginning of the 20th
century to fight in the Boer War. The label given to the conflict changes over time, opinions may
shift regarding the causes and impact of the events, and the episode may move in and out of school
curriculum. However, the events themselves are static. Gold was discovered in the Transvaal,
the Jamison raid happened, Cecil Rhodes was involved, the war moved from set-piece battles to
remarkably nasty guerilla warfare, many people died, the British ended up in charge. Changing views
of the importance of the event will affect its role in school curriculum at different times, in different
places. We change what we teach about what we know. This is not surprising.
What happens to science is stranger. The substance and our understanding of the subject itself
changes. The subject itself and our understanding of it both change.
The explanations of geologic change in a 1940s textbook are not accepted now. We simply don’t
use the same terminology, and the meanings of those terms that we do still use have changed in the
most confusing ways. Our knowledge of the structure of DNA and the role of genes has undergone
many reviews as improvements and advances have been made in the technology available to scientists.
Confocal bio-imaging microscopes allow scientists to view living cells engaged in processes such as
cell division and protein synthesis and the image seen is converted into animations for further analysis.
New science understanding that has resulted from the rapid interplay between research, technology
and application across all areas of science. Such changes surface in contemporary recognition of
For ideas about how
you can help students
explore how science
changes, see ‘Science
changes’ on page 108.
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‘Science as a Human Endeavour’ in the Australian Curriculum: Science (ACS).
Through science, humans seek to improve their understanding and explanations of the
natural world. Science involves the construction of explanations based on evidence and
science knowledge can be changed as new evidence becomes available. Science influences
society by posing, and responding to, social and ethical questions, and scientific research
is itself influenced by the needs and priorities of society. This strand (Science as a Human
Endeavour) highlights the development of science as a unique way of knowing and
doing, and the role of science in contemporary decision making and problem solving. It
acknowledges that in making decisions about science practices and applications, ethical
and social implications must be taken into account. This strand also recognises that science
advances through the contributions of many different people from different cultures and
that there are many rewarding science-based career paths. (ACARA, 2010, p. 3)
Using stories to explain the history of our
understanding of science
narrative A story or an
account of a series of
events.
Comments, such as the quote above from the ACS, encourage teachers to tell stories about science.
This is probably a good idea, as ‘narrative’ is recognised as one of the elements of significance in
quality teaching. Stories help learners to see what matters and to hear about the real people who have
contributed to our understanding of science.
Does it matter if the stories are true? Let us look at one of the pivotal personalities in the history
of science.
Stories about Galileo
A lot of people tell stories about Galileo Galilei (1564–1642) and his work still causes problems for
secondary school learners (Ford, 2003; Poole, 1995). He stands at the beginning of modern science
and, for many, provides a model of what a scientist should be. His relationship with Tycho Brahe
and Johannes Kepler, and the shift from scholar’s Latin to ordinary Italian that his bitter arguments
involved, provide episodes for teacher story-telling. He had rocky relations with organised religion
and his trial and recantation have given him status as a martyr for science.
However, it is the story of Galileo and the leaning tower of Pisa that seem to recur most often.
Aristotle (384–322 BC) taught long before that things fall because of something about them, and they
fall faster the closer they get to the ground. Galileo suspected that things fall because of something
about the ground. If Aristotle were right, different things would fall at different speeds, because they
were different. If Galileo were right, different things would fall at the same speed because they were
falling to the same ground. The extract below recounts the only illustration of Galileo’s theory that
was included in an Australian secondary school resource (Brice, 1987), and a similar version can be
found in a much more recent children’s book (Macdonald & Rui, 2009).
4 What is Science?
Figure 4.1
Galileo Galilei was an important and controversial figure at the dawn of modern science.
Brice illustrates Galileo dropping a rock and a feather from what looks like a timber balustrade and
the rock is already leaving the feather behind!
Galileo began his work on the study of movement. Using the Leaning Tower of the city
he was able to show that Aristotle was wrong in saying that ‘bodies of different weights fall
at different speeds’. Galileo proved that substances of any weight fell at the same rate. They
also accelerated and slowed down uniformly. This was proved to be the same on the moon
when two of the American astronauts in the Apollo program copied Galileo’s experiment.
It was easier to prove on the moon where the pull of gravity was so much less than on Earth.
The astronauts did not need a high tower. They just dropped a feather and a piece of rock
at the same time and it was clearly seen that they landed together. (Brice 1987, pp. 19, 20)
This is one of the simpler examples, although it is also one of the more confused. At the time the
above story was written it had been known for thirty years that Galileo never did any such thing, and
it had been known for more than fifty years when the children’s book appeared. To add insult to injury,
we should note that it is the absence of air on the moon that allows the falling body demonstration to be
carried out so convincingly, not the lower force of gravity. Furthermore, astronaut David Scott dropped
a hammer and a feather, not a feather and a rock. You should not ever try the demonstration yourself,
even from a third-storey window: you’ll find yourself agreeing with what Galileo did say about the
demonstration (although not about the theory):
he (Galileo) said in one of his juvenile works that he had tested the matter on many occasions
from a high tower and that in his experience a lump of lead would very soon leave a lump of
wood behind (Butterfield, 1957, p. 81)
Resistance to change in astronomical ideas has been far from consistent. Nicholas of Cusa was a
Cardinal, Copernicus was a lay canon who only finalised his work at the insistence of Pope Clement
VII, and Galileo went public because he expected support from Cardinal Robert Bellarmine (1542–
1641, canonised 1930). Copernicus’ work caused him no inconvenience during his life and was only
placed on the Index of banned books in 1616, more than 70 years after his death.
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models Sets of
Bellarmine contacted Galileo privately that year to warn him that the banning of de Revolutionibus
changed the conditions under which Galileo worked, and Galileo agreed neither to teach nor to defend
the ideas of long-dead Copernicus as physically real. The warning, and subsequent public announcement
that it did not represent any sort of reprimand, bore much weight, because Bellarmine had sat on the
panel of judges that ordered Giordano Bruno to be burnt in 1600 for heresy. Bruno believed that the
universe was God and in a multitude of worlds, all circling suns that we see as stars in the night sky. His
pantheism got him executed, but the latter teachings have caused many to confuse his fate with that
of Copernicus and Galileo. Galileo eventually did run foul of the Inquisition, when he wrote Dialogue
Concerning the Two Chief World Systems (published 1632). The book sets out the argument between the
Copernican and Aristotelian systems as a discussion between two people, and the Aristotelian wins.
Galileo had the book approved by four official censors, but he had put all the current Pope’s favourite
arguments in the mouth of a character he called ‘Simplicio’—simpleton or fool. The Pope did not move
to punish him but he was much less inclined to defend Galileo when old enemies denounced him.
Galileo was brought before the Inquisition in 1633, recanted, and was placed under house arrest in his
country villa. While there he wrote On Two New Sciences, which contained the results of the work on
dynamics that Newton put with Kepler’s astronomy to form the basis of modern science.
theories that become
so widely accepted by
scientists that they
become pictures of that
part of the universe
on which particular
scientists work. If
a model lasts long
enough, it can become
a lens through which
scientists see the
universe. Such models
define what can be
noticed and described
and what is beneath
notice because the
model suggests that it
cannot exist.
For ideas about how
you can use narratives
to enhance students’
understanding of
science, see ‘Using
narratives’ on page 109.
Galileo’s interaction with religious authority casts light on the complexity of interplay between
personality and power when models in science are changing. By the 1630s there were at least four
different cosmological models in circulation: Ptolemy (earth-centred with lots of little circles),
Copernicus (sun-centred with lots of little circles), Brahe (outer planets orbiting the sun, which
orbited the Earth with the inner planets) and Kepler (sun-centred with elliptical orbits). Practising
astronomers, and those who depended on the tables of planetary positions, had already abandoned the
two earlier models in favour of either Brahe or Kepler. Kepler was more useful but the controversies
put Catholics in the uncomfortable position of using Brahe to explain the universe while they used
tables based on Kepler.
What this story shows is how narrative is an element of significance in quality teaching (Ladwig
& Gore, 2003) that recognises that the human interest of stories such as these can broaden the appeal
of science beyond those learners who are already interested. However, we need to be careful that
they are not gossip that grows in the telling. We need to organise the historical material that we use
so that it helps learners develop an accurate understanding of what science has been, what it is now,
and where it is likely to be going.
4 What is Science?
What makes science different from other ways of
knowing?
The Australian Curriculum for Science recognises that science is a ‘human endeavour’ marked by
characteristic intellectual change. So it is probably wise to think about some of the ways that this
might happen. The five approaches to the nature of science outlined in Table 4.2 fall into different
positions on the philosophical continuum between realism and conventionalism.
Table 4.2
Ways of understanding change in science
Label
Source
Description
Source of change
Inductivism
Francis Bacon
in 1620
Scientists should collect facts, from which
generalisations emerge as patterns. More facts
mean new generalisations.
Intellectual development
among scientists:
The only statements that have meaning are those
that can be proved by logic or public experience.
Intellectual development
among scientists:
Hypothetico-deductive steps whereby scientists
derive hypotheses inductively and then develop
tests for their hypotheses by a process of logical
deduction.
Better experiments.
Ideas in science cannot be proved to be true;
scientists should spend time trying to show that
their theories are false. Support for any theory
must rest on past experience, which is induction.
Popper is often mentioned approvingly by
practising scientists.
Intellectual development
among scientists:
Normal science (routine research work) produces
revolutionary science (paradigm change). When
paradigms stop posing puzzles, crisis lasts until
there is a new paradigm. Rival paradigms are
incommensurable: communication is impossible.
Paradigm shift is cyclical and essentially nonrational.
Prestige and power among
scientists and social support
for their work:
Logical
positivism
Falsification
Cycles of
revolution
Vienna, 1920s
Rudolf Carnap
from 1935
Karl Popper
1934
Thomas Kuhn
1970
More facts.
Crucial tests that defeat
theories.
Ebb and flow of promotion
and funding patterns.
Practising scientists are often unhappy about
Kuhn, as he appears to trivialise their daily work.
Socio-intellectual
interaction
Emerged from
arguments
about Kuhn
1980s and
1990s
Interaction of social causes and intellectual
reasons in response to problems that need solving.
Made more complex as bureaucrats use funding
to push science in utilitarian and multidisciplinary
directions.
Model development is
supported by social context:
Prestige and funding
patterns expose fruitfulness
of model.
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Inductivist logic
Inductivist logic works like this:
Swans are big white birds with long necks. We all agree on which birds are swans. Every
swan I have ever seen, and that anybody I know has ever seen, has been white. Therefore,
all swans are white.
Figure 4.2
Inductivist logic
All the swans
l have seen
are white
All swans seen
by others are
white
All swans are white
This works fine until you get to Australia, where swans are black and animals quite unlike
anything you have ever seen roam the landscape.
Figure 4.3
A black swan would be a big surprise for an inductivist.
Photograph: Gjyn O’Toole
4 What is Science?
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Positivist logic
I wonder what makes things fall. Maybe there is a force below, pulling everything down (Hypothesis
1). Let’s call it gravity. Hmm, things fall too fast for me to watch them closely. Maybe if I look closely
at balls rolling down slopes I will be able to see what happens more easily (test design followed by lots
of technical problems). Hmm, if things fall because gravity is pulling them, they should all fall at the
same rate, no matter how big, small, heavy or light they are (Hypothesis 1.1). Let’s try it out with
these different balls on this inclined plane (lots more technical problems). Yep, they all reach the bottom
together. I think that this gravity stuff might be real (theory). How else can I test this and who else can
I get to play the same games (replication and extension of hypothesis formation and testing)?
Figure 4.4
Positivist logic
Hypothesis 1
This is a force below
causing things to
drop
Gravity causes things
to drop
Hypothesis tested
Technical issues
lead to a change in
the hypothesis
Hypothesis 1.1 Things
should fall at the same
rate, no matter how big,
small, heavy or light
Testing of the
hypothesis in
different situations
Theory about gravity
Replication and extension
of the hypothesis
Falsificationist logic
Sound waves travel in air, water and through solids, but they won’t pass through a vacuum. Light waves
come to us across space from the sun. Therefore, there should be something that can vibrate and carry
the energy of the light waves between the Earth and the Sun. Let’s call it ‘ether’, although we can’t
actually detect it. The Earth is moving against the ether as it revolves around the Sun. According to the
ether theory, light moving with the ether should move faster than light moving against it. Therefore,
light beams at right angles to each other should produce interference patterns when the two beams
came together again. An interferometer splits a single beam of light in two, allowing two beams to
be sent off in two different directions and then brought back together again. An interference pattern
would allow scientists to calculate the speed of the Earth against the ether. Lack of an interference
pattern would falsify either Copernicus’ assertion of a moving Earth or the ether theory. There is no
interference and the ether theory consequently collapses following falsification.
hypothesis
An educated guess or
a tentative explanation
for a problem that will
be investigated.
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This is a very simplified account of the Michelson–Morley experiment, though we should note (in
the interests of historical accuracy) that they set out to measure the speed of the Earth, not to falsify
ethereal physics, and that it took a lot longer to dispose of the ether.
Figure 4.5
Falsificationist logic
Hypothesis suggests that there should be something for the light particles to vibrate
against so that they can travel towards the Earth
Hypothesis tested
Supported by experiment
Ether theory
Changes in understanding lead to different
ideas resulting in
More testing of the theory
Based on new findings theory found to be incorrect
Theory discarded
New hypothesis developed
Cyclical science
People predict the coming of spring by watching the position of different lights in the night sky. This
is important, because river levels rise in spring, allowing fields to be irrigated and crops to be grown.
There are lots of explanations for the presence and behaviour of the night lights but they don’t matter
much, so long as the crops get watered and we don’t all starve (pre-science). The people who keep an
eye on the night sky notice lots of things the rest of us miss and they agree on an explanation, and a
set of technical terms, which satisfies them and allows them to chat about the stars with some sort of
mutual understanding (normal science). The specialists’ explanation leads them to expect some of the
night lights to move together at a particular time. They do. Hooray for the paradigm. Pretty soon
no one will listen to your opinions about the stars unless you are one of the specialists and use the
language they use. Time passes. The next gathering of the night lights doesn’t happen as expected.
Ooops (crisis)! A few of the specialists (often younger or from provincial observatories) suggest new
paradigms (revolutionary science), one of which eventually becomes very widely accepted (normal science).
This is a very truncated simplification of the development of astrophysics up to Newton.
4 What is Science?
Figure 4.6
Cyclical science
Non-scientists have
explanations for events
Scientists come up with an
alternative hypothesis
The event occurs again but
with a different outcome
Scientists look at the
events and propose a
hypothesis for the event
The hypothesis is accepted
as fact by non-scientists
Interactionist science
The continents seem permanent and fixed. However, the ground shakes sometimes, some of the
land looks like it was once underwater, and other places go under periodically. So, scientists develop
a fixed model of the planet’s surface with most movement being up and down (Model 1). However,
some parts of the surface look like they were once joined even though wide seas now separate them
(anomalies). People outside the particular scientific mainstream (weather and water) start finding more
and more connections across the seas (multiplying Model 1 anomalies) and suggest that the fundamental
movement might be sideways, not up and down (Model 2). This will solve a lot of problems that the
vertical model can’t begin to explain (greater fruitfulness) but the rock scientists won’t have a bar of it
(greater prestige). The outsiders can’t explain what pushes the continents around (Model 2 anomaly). The
two major world powers start to use the deep oceans to move weapons of mass destruction around,
so they need good maps. They may be MAD (into Mutually Assured Destruction) but they don’t
want their submarines to run aground (new technology within model crisis). So, lots of money becomes
available for ocean research (increasing social support). This allows the outsiders to show that the ocean
floors are young (not old, like the rock people thought) and that mountain ranges down the middle
of the oceans are pushing the continents apart (widened data base). The horizontal model replaces the
vertical model.
This is a brief account of the acceptance of plate tectonics.
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Figure 4.7
Scientific models appear to have a structure that allows the stage in their ‘life cycle’ to be estimated.
How fruitful is this one?
Modelling Mountain Building: The Vertical Model of Mountain Building
Geological mapping
Explaining
geological
history
Geological history
Fossil age
Explaining
continental
position and
change
Sediment sequence
Protective Belt
Core
Fixed continents
Vertical movement
Old oceans
Disaster
prediction
Disaster
mitigation
Rock identification
Geological structures
Fossil identification
Mineral exploration
Building placement
Anomalies
Jigsaw continents
Horizontal rock
displacement
Fossil displacement
In the interactionist view, the rational component of the paradigm shift (shift in thinking) can
be explored as fruitfully as the social pressures within which it operates. Models are not meant to
be accepted or rejected as a whole. They are meant to provide a view or understanding of a concept
that can then be debated and subsequently modified if necessary. Models seem to have a hard core,
the acceptance of which is necessary for communal discussion. Around this there is a protective belt
providing a breadth of information, examples and issues that become the problems that make up
scientists’ usual work. There are always anomalies but they have little interest as long as the protective
belt is large enough to keep everybody working. When the belt no longer provides enough problems,
scientists (usually younger or more peripheral) pay more attention to the anomalies and begin to
question the hard core of the model.
Different episodes from the history of science seem more easily explained by examining ways of
understanding change in scientific ideas. Classifying plants or rocks can look a lot like inductivism.
The hypothetico-deductive method emerging from logical positivism seems to describe the design of
4 What is Science?
experiments through which scientists resolve arguments between themselves. It is the view of science
put forward in the introductory chapters to many science textbooks. The cyclical approach recognises
the external pressures on science and the language of ‘paradigm’ has been widely adopted (Lakatos
& Musgrave, 1972).
People respond differently to the various ways of understanding change and their favourable
reactions are often connected to their view of reality.
Realists believe that we engage directly with the world around us. Naive realists expect to be able
to make statements about that world that are clearly true or false and that remain that way unless
the world itself changes. Inductivism, logical positivism and falsificationism appeal to increasingly
complex realist views.
Conventionalists may agree that a world external to ourselves exists, but will argue that it is not
sufficiently accessible to us to allow statements that are true in any absolute sense. Individual forms
of conventionalism tend towards solipsism: everything beyond the individual observer is a personal
perception. There is an amusing example of solipsism in The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
(Adams, 1980, pp. 152–159).
Social conventionalists argue that ‘reality’ is socially constructed and that science is able to be
compared with art or literature but has no particular claim to truth. In consequence, the social impact
of a scientific ‘discovery’ is of equal, if not greater, importance than its truth, which is understood to
mean something like ‘wellness of fit within the currently dominant framework’.
The conventionalist view, especially in its stronger forms, may seem implausible to people with
a background in undergraduate science but it has strong adherents in radical constructivism (von
Glaserfield, 1995) and feminist thought (Harding & Hintikka, 2003), and serious discussions of the
problematic existence of a real world continue to occur (Ci, 2003; Kitcher, 2001, 2004; Tymieniecka,
2003). Much of the opposition to Kuhn’s presentation of the revolutionary cycles approach resulted
from concerns raised by the parts of it (such as the incommensurability of paradigms) that suggested
a conventionalist view, or at least did not demand a realist one.
Critical realism is a view that accepts the existence of an external world that is knowable in
principle, but with which scientists interact through the ideas they already hold. Kuhn himself began as
a critical realist (Ghins, 2003), Sokal almost certainly is one (Sokal, 1996a, 1996b) and the interactionist
view of science seems built on a similar approach. However, all of these views recognise, and try to
explain, the relatively rapidly changing ideas that distinguish science from other ways of knowing:
If students are taught only current understanding, it is hard to avoid the consequence that
they will learn that there is only one answer, now known and uncontentious. This Prescribed
Focus Area calls for not just a sanitised history of fully developed ideas, but a history of the
creation of those ideas, the people who created them and their impact on society. (Board of
Studies, 2009, p. 143)
Let’s look back at Galileo through an interactionist lens.
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Figure 4.8 Galileo was the first person to point a telescope upwards. Before he did that, people watched the
stars and planets with sighting tools like this one.
Photograph: Gjyn O’Toole
Recall that Galileo Galilei was born in 1564, was most active in the 1630s and died in 1642.
The Aristotle/Ptolemy model had satisfactorily explained movement on Earth and above it for more
than a thousand years (Model 1). Moorish astronomers working for Alphonso X of Castille had used
the model to produce tables of planetary positions 300 years earlier ( fruitfulness) but it began to look
ragged sixty years before Galileo’s birth when Jupiter and Saturn did not line up on the date specified
(anomaly). This prompted Copernicus to go back to the pre-Ptolemaic idea of a moving Earth. The
Aristotle/Ptolemy model was in trouble but there was no satisfactory alternative available. The
calendar was becoming separated from the seasons but a couple of decades after the Jupiter–Saturn
problem, calendar reform had to be abandoned because of astronomical confusion (social need). This
provided Copernicus with a reason to distribute the work he had been doing and it was formally
published twenty years before Galileo was born (Model 2). Jupiter and Saturn missed their Alphonsine
date again the year before Galileo was born (multiplying Model 1 anomalies). Tycho Brahe thought
that Copernicus’ arguments for the movement of the Earth were weak and could imagine no better
reasons to believe that the solid ground beneath his feet was actually moving at 1722 kilometres an
hour (Model 2 anomaly). So, he started work on a better idea (crisis: multiplying models). Maybe the
Earth was still and some things revolved around it, and others revolved around the Sun as it revolved
around the Earth (Model 3). When Galileo was eight years old, Brahe observed a new light in the
sky and showed that something new was happening a long way out beyond the orbit of the Moon.
Aristotle had said that nothing changed beyond the Moon, and following Aristotle Ptolemy did the
maths to allow planet positions to be predicted (multiplying Model 1 anomalies). In 1572 it was pretty
clear that neither aspect of the Aristotle/Ptolemy model was holding up very well. When Galileo was
twelve, the King of Denmark gave Brahe an island and lots of money and he settled down to prove
his model by following the planets night by night (increased social support). In the process, he mapped
the movement of a comet through the solar system (Model 1 and 2 anomaly). Almost 25 years later,
Johannes Kepler, a Copernican, joined Brahe and inherited his data when the older man died in 1601
(widened data base).
4 What is Science?
All of this means that the intellectual structure of astronomy was a mess by the time that the 45year old Galileo started to look upwards through his telescope (new technology within model crisis). It was
pretty clear that the physical aspects of the Aristotle/Ptolemy model didn’t match what people were
seeing, and the predictive mathematics had been getting further off the mark for a century (multiplying
Model 1 anomalies). Anomalies were directly threatening the shaky hard core of the old model and
it was no longer guiding effective research (Model 1 is barren). Five years later, Kepler published
the account of the solar system that had emerged from his analysis of Brahe’s data on the orbit of
Mars: the planets revolve around the Sun on elliptical orbits that he could describe mathematically
(Model 4). The locally authoritative Aristotle/Ptolemy model was competing with three more recent
alternatives (deepening crisis: multiplying models).
However, none of this had happened in a detached clinical environment. The Alphonsine Tables
were produced by a government that felt secure enough to use the best astronomers and the best data
available without worrying too much where they came from (social support). Two centuries later a less
secure government instituted the Spanish Inquisition (doubtful social support).
An inaccurate calendar was not good for farming (social need), so authorities were looking to
astronomers to do better (social support) and created a climate where Copernicus could work and then
publish. The printing press (invented over a century before Galileo’s birth) allowed people to find
out what others were doing (new technology within model crisis). Brahe’s work on the 1572 nova made
him so famous that his king funded his research for over 20 years (increased social support), and Kepler’s
work would not have been possible without the data that funding produced (widened data base). All of
this had been happening openly but outside the direct control of the international social authorities
(doubtful social support).
When Galileo published direct support for the Copernican model in 1613 he ignored Kepler’s
elliptical orbits of four years earlier. He placed himself within the wider social controversy described
earlier in this chapter. The work done by astronomers in areas that could be reached by the Inquisition
was severely limited.
Interactionist accounts help us to recognise both a model’s strengthening or weakening intellectual
power and the external social conditions that could artificially sustain it or rapidly generate its
replacement. Such replacement often depends on technological developments.
How does science interact with technology?
Science and technology are commonly linked in people’s minds but even a brief look at the historical
evidence shows that the relationship between the two is complex. Science is sometimes described
as the ‘knowing’ and technology as the ‘knowing how’. Contributions from these distinct fields
flow in both directions as attempts to answer ‘what’ questions often produce ideas with implications
for problems of ‘how’, and new ways of doing things often act as a spur in the search for better
explanations. Severing the link between the two may impoverish both, as each feeds off the other.
This mutuality is shown by the following brief sketch of pumping water, in which (S) marks a
scientist and (T) a technologist.
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Lifting water has been a human problem since the beginnings of agriculture and it became crucial
when mining moved underground. The muscles of men or animals drove early force pumps that
lifted water from diggings and allowed miners to follow valuable mineral veins. The economic
imperative that drove the improvement of the pumps led to the eventual development of the turbines
that move nuclear submarines about.
Near the end of the sixteenth century, an Italian plumber (T) brought a problem to Galileo (S) in
Florence. The plumber could only lift water ten metres with the pumps he was using to drain cellars.
Galileo could not explain why this should be. He reportedly remarked that ‘Nature apparently abhors
a vacuum less than Aristotle supposed’! Galileo’s student, Torricelli (S: 1608–1647), invented the
barometer as he worked on this thing his teacher could not explain. A Frenchman, Pascal (S: 1632–
1662), later confirmed the existence of air pressure. Savery (T: 1650–1715), a French religious refugee
working in London, used condensing water to make a partial vacuum that drew water up a tube.
Figure 4.9
Thomas Newcomen designed this engine driven by air pressure and, two generations later, James
Watt improved it to produce the first true steam engine.
In 1712 an Englishman, Thomas Newcomen (T), devised a more useful way of raising water with
fire. Newcomen’s ‘atmospheric engine’ consisted of a cast-iron cylinder with a heavy piston inside.
A boiler produced steam that went into the bottom of the cylinder through a pipe. The piston was
connected to a balance beam, the other weighted end of which was connected to a rod that, in turn,
was connected to a pump. The top of the cylinder was open to the air and another pipe delivered cold
water to the top of the cylinder, just beneath the piston at the top of its stroke. The weighted end of
the beam pulled the piston up the cylinder, drawing in steam through the lower pipe. The upper pipe
delivered a shot of cold water at the top of the stroke. The steam below the piston condensed, forming
a partial vacuum, and the atmospheric pressure forced the piston down the cylinder and lifted the
weighted end of the beam to drive the pump. When the piston reached the bottom of the cylinder
the weighted end of the balance beam pulled it up the cylinder again and the engine went through
another cycle. The engine was not very efficient, but it would pump water automatically so long as
the boiler below supplied steam and the tank above supplied cold water to condense it.
James Watt (T: 1736–1819) was a Scottish instrument-maker. He applied the work of Black (S:
1728–1799) on latent heat to improve a scale model of Newcomen’s atmospheric engine that he had
4 What is Science?
105
been asked to repair. Black had recognised that change of state required energy that did not cause a rise
in temperature. Watt recognised that the heating and cooling of Newcomen’s cylinder during each
cycle was using a great deal of energy. Watt produced the first true steam engine in 1769. He sealed
the upper end of the cylinder and used steam to drive the piston in both directions. This required him
to increase the pressure throughout the system, which increased the danger of explosion, but it also
produced a much more efficient and potentially more versatile engine.
Figure 4.10 Hollow-cast cannons blew up more often than solid-cast weapons that had been bored out by a
steam-driven drill.
Photograph: Gjyn O’Toole
In 1774, Wilkinson (T) used a steam engine to bore out a cannon that had been cast solid. This
greatly increased the safety of the weapon as hollow-cast cannon had a nasty habit of exploding. It also
laid the foundation of the machine tool industry and generated observations that focused the attention
of the scientific community on heat. Rumford (S/T: 1753–1814), Carnot (S: 1796–1832), Joule (S:
1818–1889) and Kelvin (S: 1824–1907) developed the three laws of thermodynamics in response to
the puzzles emerging from the foundries. Parsons (T: 1854–1931) designed the first successful steam
turbines in the 1880s, which has led to production of the linear engines we find at the heart of power
stations and nuclear submarines.
The interaction between science and technology is more complex than it first appears. Our modern
world is a product of this interaction between the competing demands of the internal community that
defines science and the external community that supports or restrains it.
For ideas about how
you can explore the
concept of technology
in the science
classroom, see ‘Science
and technology’ on
So how should we teach science?
Science is something that people do and sometimes those people use different words, or use words
differently: remember the testosterone story. Science is powerful stuff. Scientists do it for personal
reasons such as the joy of the discovery, using the scientific method to confirm or discard out-dated
ideas. Sometimes they don’t care much about its consequences: remember the Fermi story.
Science matters. Adolescents who do not understand how their bodies work can make decisions
that may not be in their long-term best interest. The citizens that our learners will become will be
called on to make decisions about science that they should understand better. Galileo’s predicament
page 109.
The experiments
that make up Part 2
(starting on page 263)
are examples of the
scientific method.
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may seem very remote. However, more recent events raise many of the same issues: Michael J.
Fox pleading for the use of human embryos in gene therapy, Roberts Oppenheimer before the US
Senate Committee for UnAmerican Activities, Russian scientists imprisoned for teaching Mendelian
genetics, and continuing debates about ‘germ-line’ research, global warming, and dams for electricity
generation or flood mitigation.
Our problem as teachers is that science is a moving target. If we understand science, we understand
that what we teach is the current best guess. The material in the books and websites we use to
prepare our lessons is the product of interaction between models at varying stages of fruitfulness, with
differing social contexts supporting or impeding them. We run the risk of confusing our learners and
ourselves if we think that what we teach is true. Furthermore, letting them know that science is in
no sense ‘done and dusted’ but very much a work in progress may well humanise the subject and help
them to see that there may be a place for them (Slater, 2008).
Think about it 4.2: Science as a ‘moving target’
1
How do you feel about the fact that science isn’t ‘done and dusted’? Is this reassuring, challenging perhaps? How do you think your
students might feel about this lack of certainty?
2
What implications do these responses have for you as a teacher?
Scientists do complex work and our job is to make aspects of that work accessible to learners.
Which aspects are appropriate for which learner depends very much on the age of the learners, but
science is appearing in curricula for all ages. Learner motivation will increase if they see science for
the unfinished task that it is and become more skilled at the kind of thinking that it involves. This
is a strong argument for the respect for prior conceptions called for by a constructivist approach to
teaching science. A person’s ideas represent the current state of their understanding, and making them
conscious of fruitful ways of evaluating those ideas seems to be a worthwhile aim, whatever their
level of schooling.
Learners are more likely to grasp ideas that matter to them and ideas are more likely to be interesting
and significant if they are embedded in stories. Useful stories can be built from events in the history
of science. Such events reinforce the tentative nature of the ideas themselves. However, history needs
to be treated as respectfully as learners’ prior conceptions. Learners feel cheated by tales that later turn
out to be false. What else is a lie, if Galileo never dropped anything from the Leaning Tower of Pisa?
This can act against their excitement as tentative science models later give way to more fruitful ones.
4 What is Science?
107
Summary
Groups of people work together to try to understand the world around them better.
These groups work in particular ways and they develop particular ways of thinking and
communicating. We call their work ‘science’. Its social and economic importance has
earned it a place in school curriculum for the past century.
Learner interest in science could be increased by widening the significance of the
science they learn. Science, technology and society; the history and nature of science;
applications and the impact of science on the environment; contemporary developments
in science and informal approaches have all been suggested as directions in which
school science could be widened. The Australian national curriculum in Science draws
these together into ‘science as a human endeavour’.
Notions of what science actually is fall along a spectrum between realism and
conventionalism and can be described under various approaches, each of which explains
aspects of the history of science with varying success. The career of Galileo provides
examples of the varying usefulness of the differing approaches and of the dangers of
looking to history to provide simplistic stories. The interactions between science and
technology also demonstrate the fascinating complexity of this thing that people do. It
seems clear that science will not ever arrive in a finished form as a publication from an
international academy, ready to be applied directly in any and all contexts.
In the science classroom
One way to explore the two-way relationship between scientists and ‘everyone else’ is to
talk to a ‘real scientist’. There are many opportunities to do this, for example
::
utilising a parent who is a scientist
::
finding someone who is researching in your local community—
::
this could be through organisations such as universities, CSIRO, Catchment
Management Authorities (CMA), Cooperative Research Centres (see www.crc.gov.
au/Information/default.aspx for a directory listing of all the centres)
::
via web chats such as http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencelive.
The relevance of
science
By talking to a ‘real scientist’, students can start to make links to their own worlds.
For example, a live chat with an aviation meteorologist led to students asking questions
such as
::
How do planes stay in the air?
::
Does lightning affect a plane?
::
Why are flights sometimes bumpy?
::
Would you fly in a small plane?
as they connected the science with their own lives and experiences.
Focus Question
List two people or organisations in your local community that you could contact to
come and talk to students about each of the following topics: astronomy; the
environment; local waterways.
Curriculum links
Year 5, 7: Science Understanding: Earth and space
sciences
Year 5, 6: Science as Human Endeavour: Nature and
development of science and Use and influence of science
Also refer to: Year 5 Work Sample 6: Australian scientists
(Australian Curriculum, ACARA).
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Science changes
In the classroom, there are many ways to explore how science changes. You can have
your class examine how ideas and knowledge have developed from the past to now, or
you could ask students to consider what impact science may make on the future.
::
An interesting place to begin is with Leonardo da Vinci’s work, specifically his
detailed drawings of cars and hot air balloons. These drawings can be examined
in light of da Vinci’s time (1452–1519), with students investigating what da Vinci’s
contemporaries thought of his ideas. They could then skip forward in history to
when these inventions came to be built, looking into questions such as how realistic
his ideas were.
::
Students could examine and create a timeline of famous Australian inventions
requiring the use of science such as the electric drill, polymer bank notes, the bionic
ear and the electric pacemaker. Students could then identify and list the science
that would have been used to make these ideas work. The creation of polymer
bank notes, for example, required a knowledge about polymers, the durability of the
materials, how the notes could be mass produced right through to their ability to
be recycled.
::
A technological development that relates more to students’ immediate lives is the
rapid development in the production and transmission of music from records, to
tapes, CDs and downloads. Students could explore the science behind these changes
as well as possible future developments.
Focus Questions
Why is it important to include these innovations or developments in the science
curriculum?
Curriculum links
Year 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10: Science as Human Endeavour: Nature
and development of science and Use and influence of
science
Also refer to: Year 9 Work Sample 7: Wifi; Year 9 Work
Sample 8: Bionic eye (Australian Curriculum, ACARA).
There have been developments in the ability to repair burn victims’ skin. Consider
how you could have students examine this topic and where future
improvements might be made.
List at least five recent events in science that demonstrate our evolving
understanding of the world. How would these relate to school science? For each
event list two ways you might convey the significance of these to students in
either a lesson or a unit.
4 What is Science?
Using narratives can engage students in a different way, as they need to unpack the
ideas in the narrative then explore how these developed. Timelines, concept maps and
general discussions can all aid in this process.
Focus Questions
Using Stories about Galileo as a narrative, construct a timeline to unpack what happens throughout the narrative.
109
Using narratives
Halley
Newton’s 3 laws
elliptical orbits
Consider how you could have students identify what happened when.
What are the ideas about science that are taken from the narrative?
How could you explore these ideas further with your class?
Isaac Newton
Consider how a concept map could be used for the example Stories about Galileo.
There are many famous areas of conflict in science that you could have your students
explore, including
::
Newton and his laws
::
Einstein’s theories
::
global warming
::
genetics and the ethics behind it
::
the effects of mining.
Splitting of
white light
Curriculum links
NOVA: Science in the news (www.science.org.au/nova/index.html) is also a rich
resource, providing information on current science issues along with teacher and
student material.
Year 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10: Science as Human Endeavour: Nature
and development of science and Use and influence of
science
Often technology is thought to be computers and digital devices but it is much more
than that: it deals with the creation of objects and materials. Technology is created using
technical means, and includes the interaction of materials with life and the environment.
A simple ruler is a piece of technology, as it is created for a purpose (measurement), it is
developed via technical means and has a great impact on human life every day.
Science and technology
Consider medical inventions such as pacemakers, transplants and bionic eyes. What
technology is needed to make these things happen? What science is required? What
impact has these had on human life?
Let’s consider how you could explore technology in the classroom, using the creation
and design of a hot air balloon as a topic. Students could investigate many aspects
including
::
What science is behind a hot air balloon? (How does it rise and fall?)
::
What type of gas is used in a hot air balloon?
::
Can I make a hot air balloon?
::
Who designed and created the hot air balloon?
::
What designs were/have been proposed?
::
What technical means are used in creating a hot air balloon?
::
How are hot air balloons used today?
::
What effects does the weather have on hot air balloons?
Focus Question
Select any object. List five activities you could do in a classroom with students to
investigate the science and technology of this object.
Curriculum links
Year 7, 9: Science Understanding: Physical sciences
Also refer to: Year 7 Work Sample 5: Parachute design;
Year 9 Work Sample 8: Bionic eye (Australian Curriculum,
ACARA).
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Further reading
ACARA (2010). The Australian curriculum: science. Retrieved 8 January 2011 from <www.australiancurriculum.edu.
au/Science/Curriculum/F-10?layout=1>.
Ladwig, J., & Gore, J. (2003). Quality teaching in NSW public schools: a classroom practice guide. Ryde, NSW:
Department of Education and Training, Professional Support and Curriculum Directorate.
Waldrip, B.G., Timothy, J.T., & Wilikai, W. (2007). Pedagogic principles in negotiating cultural conflict: a
Melanesian example. International Journal of Science Education, 29(1), 101–122.
References
ACARA (2010). The Australian curriculum: science. Retrieved 8 January 2011 from <www.australiancurriculum.edu.
au/Science/Curriculum/F-10?layout=1>.
Adams, D. (1980). The restaurant at the end of the universe. London: Pan Books.
Board of Studies (BofS) (2009). Science 7–10 support document 2009. Retrieved 4 June 2010 from <www.
boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/syllabus_sc/pdf_doc/science-years7-10-support2009.pdf>.
Brice, J.M. (1987). Science in their eyes. Melbourne: Longman Cheshire.
Butterfield, H. (1957). The origins of modern science 1300–1800. London: Bell.
Ci, J.-W. (2003). From modest realism to a democratic conception of science. International Studies in the Philosophy of
Science, 17(3), 301–307.
Ford, M.J. (2003). Representing and meaning in history and in classrooms: developing symbols and conceptual
organizations of free-fall motion. Science and Education, 12(1), 1–25.
Ghins, M. (2003). Thomas Kuhn on the existence of the world. International Studies in the Philosophy of Science, 17(3),
265–279.
Harding, S.G., & Hintikka, M.B.P. (Eds). (2003). Discovering reality: feminist perspectives on epistemology, metaphysics,
methodology, and philosophy of science (2nd edn, Vol. 161). Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Kitcher, P. (2001). Science, truth and democracy. New York: Oxford University Press.
Kitcher, P. (2004). Evolutionary theory and the social uses of biology. Biology and Philosophy, 19(1), 1–15.
Ladwig, J., & Gore, J. (2003). Quality teaching in NSW public schools: a classroom practice guide. Ryde, NSW:
Department of Education and Training, Professional Support and Curriculum Directorate.
Lakatos, I., & Musgrave, A. (Eds). (1972). Criticism and the growth of knowledge. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge
University Press.
Macdonald, W., & Rui, P. (2009). Galileo’s leaning tower experiment. Watertown MA: Charlesbridge.
Poole, M. (1995). Beliefs and values in science education. Buckingham, UK: Open University Press.
Slater, M.W. (2008). How to justify teaching false science. Science Education, 92(3), 526–542.
Sokal, A.D. (1996a). A physicist experiments with cultural studies. Linguafranca, 1996 (May/June), 62–64.
Sokal, A.D. (1996b). Transgressing the boundaries: toward a transformative hermeneutics of quantum gravity.
Social Text, 14(1,2), 217–252.
Tymieniecka, A.-T. (Ed.). (2003). Does the world exist? Plurisignificant ciphering of reality (Vol. LXXIX). Dordrecht:
Kluwer Academic Publishers.
von Glaserfield, E. (1995). Radical constructivism: a way of knowing and learning. London: Falmer Press.
Waldrip, B.G., Timothy, J.T., & Wilikai, W. (2007). Pedagogic principles in negotiating cultural conflict: a
Melanesian example. International Journal of Science Education, 29(1), 101–122.
Engaging Students
in Science
Robyn Gregson
Key ideas
1
Engagement is not simply being focused in class.
2
Engagement is affected by emotional, behavioural and external
factors
3
What and how science is being taught is creating barriers to
student engagement in science. There is a world-wide crisis in
science education as students are being increasingly disenchanted
with school science.
4
Models of teaching that increase student engagement will be
outlined.
Key terms
5Es
engagement
motivation
teaching models
5
Keeping our kids
enjoying science
Young children have always been
intrigued by the world around them.
Children, no more than three or
four years old, proudly outline the
names and facts about dinosaurs
… What changes as children move
from primary to secondary schools?
112
Young children have always been intrigued by the world
around them. Children, no more than three or four years
old, proudly outline the names and facts about dinosaurs.
They are able to identify each beast correctly and recite
their names, eating habits and behaviours. My own
children, as four or five year olds, asked ‘why?’ on countless
occasions when they came across a phenomenon they
wanted explained. During visits to primary schools I have
had discussions with little experts who recall a myriad of
facts about their favourite topic, whether it be insects,
trees, or planets and moons. No matter what the topic,
their enthusiasm and love of science shines in their faces.
These young children had obviously engaged with science
and enjoy the exploration of information from books,
parents, videos, television programs, internet and DVDs.
So I ask myself: what changes as children move
from primary to secondary schools? Research discussed
in this chapter suggests that as students approach late
primary and early secondary schooling their positive
attitudes to science decline. It has been suggested that
students find science boring, hard, and not relevant to
their lives. I believe that the science taught and the way
it is taught in schools lets the students down. The gap
between the perceived excitement of what scientists
like David Attenborough and the Myth Busters do and
what is presented to them as science at school leads to
disillusionment and dissatisfaction.
The chapter will discuss student engagement in
learning and in particular engagement in the learning of
science.
5 Engaging Students in Science
113
Engagement and science
Primary and secondary school students believe that learning about science is important for their
futures, and they enjoy elements of school science (Gregson, 2003). However, research also shows
students’ positive attitudes towards science are in decline (Fensham, 2006; Hofstein & Lunetta, 2004;
Logan & Skamp, 2007). During times of great technological advances that require an increasing
range of scientific skills, in many OECD countries fewer students are choosing science in their senior
years, for tertiary courses or for careers (Turner & Peck, 2010).
Figure 5.1
Young scientists engaged in learning
This disenchantment has been attributed to lessons that do not cultivate student engagement and
pedagogy that relies on textbook or internet-based activities. Science curriculum in many countries
has been described as ‘fragmented, repetitive, crammed to excess with content … and terminology,
and students notoriously fail to grasp the “big pictures” that science offers about the natural world’
(Turner & Peck, 2010, p. 55). Many teachers focus on knowledge as the main goal of science lessons,
and there is growing concern that national assessment strategies are producing pedagogies that fail to
promote the excitement of learning science (Fensham, 2006; Gregson, 2003; Keeves, 2004).
engagement
A complex multidimensional term that
means that students
are feeling deeply
involved with their
learning and not just
Students claim that current science curriculum is too difficult and unrelated to their interests
(Goodrum et al., 2001; Osborne & Collins, 2001).
doing what they are
Students complain that they have to do too much writing, including summarising from textbooks
and copying off the board or PowerPoint slides. Writing and not enough experiments are two critical
reasons why they are turning away from science (Gregson, 2003; Logan & Skamp, 2007). It is the
hands-on practical laboratory experiences that make science special for students and separate it from
the other subjects.
surface learning.
In 2009, sixteen Year 10 students were involved in a project called Discovery Science@UWS,
where they investigated real-life issues using a bio-imaging confocal microscope to research the effect
of chemcials on animal cells. The complex scientific concepts would not normally be part of the
told that leads to
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PART 1 | LINKING THEORY TO PRACTICE
curriculum, and included scientific language and information well above those normally required by
a Year 10 student. However, when engaged with an activity that was interesting and motivated them
to learn, these students, and the others in the Discovery Science@UWS program, were not only able
to successfully plan and execute experiments but spoke before 100 scientists to present their results
and conclusions.
This chapter about student engagement has three sections: a definition of the term ‘engagement’,
a consideration of the barriers to engagement, and a discussion of models of teaching that enhance
student learning in science. We will explore definitions of engagement and how we as science teachers
can improve the academic outcomes for our students by increasing their engagement in the classroom
activities. We will discuss factors that affect students engagement that will allow us to focus our
planning on the development of activities that relate more to students studying science in the 21st
century.
What is engagement?
We tend to think of students who are ‘engaged’ as those who are enthusiastic and on task and who
complete their work. However, this education buzz-word is being used to describe a deeper, more
meaningful involvement with a learning environment (Chapman, 2003). According to researchers,
engagement is:
motivation A student’s
drive and willingness
to expend energy to
learn and achieve their
potential
::
an on-going cyclical process where students have a feeling of belonging and value the goals of
education (Finn, 1989)
::
interest in learning that is a result of students having some level of ownership and control over
what and how they learn (Mitchell, 2007)
::
defined as the thoughts, emotions and behaviours that arise from being motivated (Martin, 2002)
::
participation in activities to achieve those goals that lead to academic success, which in turn
creates a positive attitude to learning and a sense of being valued. Academic success then provides
the motivation for still greater participation and even deeper engagement
::
multidimensional rather than cyclical, and can only be applied where all three components
represented in Figure 5.2 are present:
::
behavioural: involvement in academic and social/extracurricular activities
::
emotional: positive and negative reactions to schools, classrooms, teachers and peers
::
cognitive: thoughtfulness and willingness to comprehend complex ideas and master difficult
skills (Fredricks et al., 2004).
5 Engaging Students in Science
Figure 5.2
Elements of engagement
Emotional
positive and negative reactions
to schools, classrooms,
teachers and peers; a feeling
of belonging, ownership of
learning
Cognitive
thoughtfulness
and willingness to
comprehend complex
ideas and master
difficult skills
Behavioural
involvement in
academic and
participation in social/
extracurricular activities
Engagement
Engagement is therefore not simply about being focused in class. As figure 5.2 shows, there
are influences in many areas of a student’s life that have consequences for their engagement in the
classroom. In the ‘MeE’ framework, Munns (2004) describes two types of engagement and thus
broadens the discussion about engagement beyond psychological accounts of student learning and
relationships with schools and classrooms. Munns suggests that for school to be meaningful to
an individual student both elements of MeE are necessary. MeE = me +ME. The ‘e’ is about the
individual student’s engagement in classroom activities while the ‘E’ is engagement with education
as a life-long process.
The small ‘e’ engagement refers to the individual student’s engagement with the learning processes
that occur in the classroom, as distinct from merely complying with teachers’ wishes and instructions.
This means that when students are engaged their classroom behaviour is more than following rules but
actively participating; emotion is more than liking but deep valuing; cognition is more than simple
memorisation; and there is evidence of ‘the use of self-regulated learning strategies that promote deep
understanding and expertise’ (Fredricks et al., 2004, p. 61). When students are strongly engaged they
are actively involved in tasks of high intellectual quality and they have passionate positive feelings
about these tasks. It can be seen that this level of classroom engagement requires a highly productive
learning environment.
The big ‘E’ in the MeE model refers to the broader relationship between the student, their school
and education. Engagement at this level occurs when the student sees the value of education and can
project how the learning that occurs at school will benefit their future education and lives. The ‘E’
level of student engagement denotes a longer and more enduring relationship with schooling and
education. There is an emotional attachment and commitment to education. The belief is that ‘school
is for me’ (McFadden & Munns, 2002). When students are ‘E’ engaged there is a strong sense that
school is a ‘place’ and education as a ‘thing’ that ‘works’ for them now and will continue to do so in
future academic endeavours.
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Think about it 5.1: Expanding your understanding of
‘engagement’
1
What did you think engagement was before you read this section of the chapter?
2
What do you think are some of the behaviours of students who are engaged? How does this differ from your previous ideas?
The link between engagement and motivation
We often think of motivation to learn and engagement in the learning process as being similar.
However, while there is a strong link between engagement and motivation, researchers claim they
are not the same but interrelated. High quality, intrinsic motivation is a powerful determinant for
engagement and success at school (Deci & Ryan, 1987; Hardre & Reeve, 2003). But what does this
mean? While suggesting that motivation and engagement are an integral part of the same positive
orientation to education, Martin (2002) distinguishes motivation as ‘an individual’s energy and drive
to learn, work effectively, and achieve to their potential at school’ (Martin, 2002, p. 2). Subsequently,
engagement is defined as the thoughts, emotions and behaviours that follow from being motivated.
Factors that enhance engagement are positive thoughts and behaviours including self-confidence,
mastery orientation, how schooling is valued, persistence, organisation, and study management.
Anxiety, failure avoidance, uncertain control, self-handicapping and poor self-esteem are thought to
impede and reduce engagement.
Think about it 5.2: Exploring engagement and motivation
Supply and explain examples, either from the classroom or elsewhere, that show the relationship between engagement and motivation.
Engagement and academic success
Bandura (1986) suggested that success in academic pursuits is the greatest single predictor for positive
student behaviours during classroom tasks. It has also been proposed that academic success depends
on the level of student engagement (Downes et al., 2005; Marks, 2000; Newmann, 1992, pp. 2–3;
Zimmerman, 2001). Students who are engaged are more likely to learn and find the experience
rewarding and satisfying (Newmann, 1992, pp. 2–3). This is especially the case when students
demonstrate meta-cognitive strategies for maintaining high levels of engagement. They are able to
regulate their attention and levels of effort; link new information to prior learning; and are active in
monitoring their comprehension. All of these have a bearing on academic success. Conversely, lack of
engagement or disengagement negatively affects achievement and begins or continues ‘the downward
spiral that may lead to dysfunctional school behavior and ultimately culminate in some students
leaving school entirely’ (Marks, 2000, p. 155).
5 Engaging Students in Science
When monitoring student engagement it was found that teacher practices or whole school
programs that focused on improving student engagement had a dramatic positive effect on student
learning outcomes. Students’ perceptions of their teachers and the classroom environment are
predictors for school performance. What students think of teacher practice affects their self-perception
of competence and their personal goals. Teaching pedagogies that promote high levels of engagement
and interpersonal interaction with the teacher and individual students and between students, is also
described as leading to academic success (Hardre et al., 2006, p. 191).
High levels of engagement are important for the success of minority students (Kuh et al., 2008).
It was found that students’ cultural beliefs, values and behaviours not only influence their perceptions
of learning but also how they engage with the learning environment. Asian school students in the
United States were found to embrace their studies to appear as capable students (Hardre et al., 2006).
They rejected activities that would highlight their weaknesses so as to avoid appearing incapable.
However, what should be highlighted is that minority groups and those students with prior low
academic achievements are just as capable of academic success as their more successful counterparts if
they increase the levels of engagement (Green et al., 2008).
Think about it 5.3: Your ideas on factors affecting engagement
The next section is on the factors that can affect whether students engage or disengage from learning.
1Predict the areas that most affect students engaging with school and justify your responses.
2
What did engagement feel like to you when you were at school?
3
Why do you think students disengage?
Factors affecting engagement
The engagement, motivation and academic outcomes of students are of significant concern for
educational policy-makers, school systems, teachers and parents (Hardre et al., 2006). While not all
students encounter problems in their schooling, various factors interact to affect their experiences at
school. While not extensive, the following discussion highlights student, teacher, school, parent and
community factors that are commonly referred to in the literature as being of major importance in
determining student engagement at school and in science classrooms. Figure 5.3 places some of the
emotional, behavourial and cognitive elements that affect engagement into student contexts.
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Figure 5.3
Factors affecting engagement
Students’ own perceptions of their ability to learn
Students who have a strong desire to learn focus on learning goals
:: Developing good study and time-management skills
:: Persistence, enthusiasm, interest, enjoyment, pride and satisfaction in doing a good job
::
Student
::
Knowledge and understanding of the content and skills required to achieve
How the teacher supports learning
:: Classroom climate
:: Positive student–teacher relationships
::
Teacher
::
School culture towards learning
Management of behaviour
:: Value of extracurricular activities
::
Whole School
::
Students benefit when family members are involved in their schooling
Experiences prior to school can have a dramatic effect on school outcomes
:: Exchange of information between parents and school
::
Parent
::
Effective schools link to the outside world
The community can be a source of mentors and role models
:: The community can provide authentic problems for problem-based learning
:: The community can provide authentic audiences for student work
::
Community
::
Student-related factors
Students’ of their own ability strongly influences engagement. Those who have a strong desire to
know and understand are more focused on learning goals. They believe in themselves and have a clear
view of why they are learning and what they want out of school (Skinner et al., 2008). They value
learning. Engaged students have a positive approach to their school work. They participate actively
in classroom activities while demonstrating persistence to cultivate knowledge and expertise (Munns
& Martin, 2005). They have developed, or are in the process of developing, time management and
study skills that they see as necessary to achieve at school. Behaviours that support deep engagement
include high levels of effort, persistence, concentration, and attention given before and during
learning activities.
For emotional engagement we look for enthusiasm, interest, enjoyment, pride and satisfaction.
The combination of positive emotions and behaviours provides an opportunity for constructive
5 Engaging Students in Science
interactions with teachers, peers and the wider school community (Skinner et al., 2008). In a fouryear longitudinal study of the engagement of 805 primary students, these authors explored the role of
emotions in the classroom and concluded that positive emotions are ‘one possible driver of children’s
effortful involvement in learning activities’ (p. 777). Conversely, they claim that emotional disaffection
such as boredom ‘exerts a significant downward pressure on children’s efforts and persistence’ (p. 777)
and has the potential to lead to their ultimate withdrawal from learning activities.
Competence (capabilities, capacity to learn) and autonomy (freedom to choose, independence)
are self-perceptions that have been widely studied, and consensus is that students’ views of their
own competence and autonomy is a strong predictor of engagement. If the students are confident in
their ability to be successful learners they are more likely to engage and engage deeply. Students are
also more likely to engage with learning activities that cater to their individual needs and learning
styles. Students who are low in autonomy, who feel pressured and uncertain about learning, display
increasingly negative behaviour, becoming frustrated and bored (Skinner et al., 2008).
The factors affecting a student’s engagement with science can be summarised as those that are
linked to achievement, attitudes and motivation and in particular interest in science (Panizzon &
Westwell 2009). These authors discuss gender differences as a factor of engagement, citing the ROSE
Project (Relevance of Science Education, Schreiner & Sjoberg, 2007), which proposed that science
was perceived more as a male domain. In my experience this means that in a co-educational science
classroom there is a tendency for the boys to take on the more physical roles such as the setting up of
experiments while the girls become the organisers, the recorders of the information collected, and
the reporters of the findings.
Teacher-related factors
Students’ relationships to school and their teachers’ approach in the classroom can influence
engagement. Students see teachers’ support as a vital component for engagement in class. There
are positive teacher–pupil interactions between those who see their teachers as supportive of their
learning goals. Less able students or those who simply want quick, easy or right answers are less likely
to perceive their teachers as supportive. This difference affects interpersonal relationships and the
teachers’ perceptions of their students’ ability and willingness to engage in learning.
Class climate and acceptance are identified as being important in creating engagement. With
the exception of mathematics, Marks (2000, p. 164) found that engagement decreased as the student
progressed through school. This study also concludes that because of the cyclical nature of mathematics
(where what is learned this year becomes the basis for the following year’s work), teachers press harder
for engagement.
What is taught and how it is taught are crucial. In science classrooms, many of the factors affecting
the engagement of students revolve around the teacher and the pedagogy used to facilitate learning
(Skinner et al., 2008). They range from how the teacher supports learning and creates a positive
learning environment through to the development of activities that focus on learning and assessment.
Interest and engagement are increased when teachers make learning a positive experience, either by
how they teach or by the activities they plan (Osborne & Collins, 2001).
When students find learning activities enjoyable and interesting, they pay more attention and try
harder (Skinner et al., 2008). In primary and secondary science classrooms there is an added benefit
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of ‘doing experiments’ that students identify as being exciting and the best part of science. Hands-on
exploration separates science from other subjects. The opportunity to participate in authentic tasks
contributes strongly to engagement (Marks, 2000, p. 173). However, even with this drawcard, there
has been a decline in engagement and attitudes towards science. Studies in Australia (Gregson 2003;
Lyons, 2006) and overseas including Sweden (Lindahl, 2003) and England ( Jenkins & Pell, 2006)
report that the decline of interest in science is widespread, often beginning in late primary school
(Fensham, 2006; George, 2006; Gregson, 2003).
This disenchantment with classroom science has been attributed to lessons that do not cultivate
student engagement, particularly during the compulsory years of secondary schooling where many
students find science difficult to understand and unrelated to their interests (Goodrum et al., 2001;
Osborne & Collins, 2001). Concepts covered in primary school may appear to be more engaging than
those covered in secondary school. Exploring ideas for the first time is really exciting, especially if
the students have ownership of the learning. There are also grounds to suspect that current syllabuses
and traditional pedagogies are failing to promote an interest in science as high-achieving students
are failing to choose to study science at tertiary level or to become science teachers (Fensham, 2006;
Gregson, 2003; Keeves, 2004).
School factors
School factors include the culture around learning and student management; relationships and respect
between teacher and students; and the value placed on extracurricular activities. Marks (2000) reports
on a study of 3669 pupils from 24 schools that at all grade levels a positive orientation towards school
predicts engagement as much as a negative approach to school predicts disengagement.
In another study, Bleach (1998) found that in-school professional development and the consultations
that occur during team teaching, lead lessons and lesson observations are invaluable for sharing good
practice and result in more positive academic and social outcomes for all students. One of the first
steps in this process is to raise teacher awareness of students’ academic potential, that is, to convince
teachers to review their perceptions about the levels of student achievement and to consider if they are
a true reflection of the students’ capabilities (Davison & Edwards, 2000). While acknowledging that
the professional judgment of teachers is valued, they found that the outcomes for students improved
when professional development was embedded in a strong school policy.
Parent-related factors
Higher socio-economic standing and greater academic success are strongly linked to high levels of
engagement (Finn, 1989). In their review of 30 years of research on parent involvement in schooling,
Deslandes and Cloutier (2002) found that students of all ages and from all socio-economic backgrounds
are likely to benefit when family members are involved in their schooling. Benefits include higher
grades and higher academic aspirations (Deslandes & Cloutier, 2002). Martin (2002, p. 56) also notes
that effective schools have positive links with families and that families have a ‘significant influence
on educational outcomes’, particularly in the area of literacy.
Recent studies reported that clear communication with families and parental support were found
to be important for academic achievement, particularly of boys. Previous studies conducted by Ofsted
5 Engaging Students in Science
in England (Ofsted, 2000; 2002) found that effective communication between schools and families
also impacted on attendance and academic achievement for Black Caribbean pupils and students in city
schools. This involvement included home–school reading diaries, parent involvement in classrooms,
and information for families about the school’s approach to learning. Deslandes & Cloutier (2002)
found that the more adolescents are willing to support parental involvement the higher their levels of
work orientation and identity.
Family support in the years prior to school and in the transition to school is well documented,
but the importance of parental support for children aged 8–12 years is underestimated according
to the research conducted for the 100 Children Turn 10 study (Hill et al., 2002). This study found
that many families do a lot to contribute to children’s success at school through the provision of
experiences at home with computers, film and video that supplement school experiences and support
academic learning. The type of parent involvement that is effective in improving students’ academic
outcomes differs between primary and secondary school. Deslandes and Cloutier (2002) found that
secondary students wanted their families to be involved in their education, but through interactions
about school at home rather than families visiting classrooms. Girls were found to support parental
involvement to a greater extent than boys.
It needs to be pointed out that the focus on home–school relations has predominantly been on
changing families to fit the ‘systems, practices and emphases of the school curriculum’ (Millard, 2003,
p. 5). MacNaughton and Hughes (2003) identify this type of relationship as a conforming one, where
teachers are viewed as the experts who can teach families about child development and learning.
When teachers are the experts, efforts to involve families in schools are often limited to one-way
communication from the school to the family, focused on what families can do at home to help their
child’s learning. However, when teachers are aware of and respect the diversity of family practices
and understand the importance of the quality of the relationship between families and children,
they are able to move beyond limiting deficit views of families to develop positive partnerships with
families (Lingard et al., 2002). ‘Rejection of a deficit model that characterises negatively all families
from low SES backgrounds can help to reduce the barriers between schools in low SES areas and their
communities, and challenge the damaging stereotypes of poor families’ (Lingard et al., 2002, p. 27).
Family–school partnerships
Partnerships, to be effective, should involve ongoing sharing of information between families and
teachers (Hill et al., 2002). It is essential that teachers find out about individual students’ out of school
experiences so that these can be included in the classroom. Strategies for gathering this information
include interviews and questionnaires with families and/or students, informal conversations with
families and students, regular ‘about me’ sessions, and student choice in research projects (Beecher &
Arthur, 2001; Rowan et al., 2002).
Two-way communication encourages the sharing of ideas and negotiation that is respectful of
families’ perspectives. For example Chandler (2000) documented what happened in one school when
parents were dissatisfied with the teaching of spelling. Teachers surveyed families to investigate their
views and to find out the strategies they used at home. These were collected and formed the basis
of further discussion and negotiation where all views were respected. Effective partnerships build
connections between educators, children, families and communities, and connections to children’s
past and current experiences.
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122
For ideas about how
you can help students
bring their activities
home, see ‘Bringing
science home’ on page
131.
PART 1 | LINKING THEORY TO PRACTICE
Some teachers in the 100 Children Turn 10 (Hill et al., 2002) and Addressing the Educational Needs
of Boys (Lingard et al., 2002) studies had great sociocultural awareness. They recognised that all
students came to school with many experiences but that not all of these had cultural capital within the
school environment. They acknowledged and included the literacy expertise that students brought
from home by providing opportunities for students to bring home-literacy artefacts to school and to
display products of out-of-school learning. By valuing family and community, these teachers enabled
all students to build on their existing understandings and to extend these to school learning.
Community-related factors
For ideas about how
you can link your
students with the
wider community to
enhance their science
understanding, see
‘Linking the classroom
to the community’ on
page 132.
Effective schools link students to the world outside the school (Alloway et al., 2002; Martin, 2002) and
work towards ‘bringing the outside in’ (Alloway et al, 2002, p. 204). Alloway and colleagues (2002,
p. 3) found that effective schools have ‘a repertoire for engaging with and negotiating culture’. There
are many opportunities for students to link community learning to school learning. The community
can also be a source of mentors and role models for students. This may include partnerships with
local businesses, and community members who visit the school and act as role models. However,
schools can make links to students’ community experiences in ways that are ‘limiting, stereotypical
and tokenistic’ or in ways that fail to acknowledge and value the diversity of students’ family and
community experiences.
School–community links can include work-place learning, vocational education, school–
industry links, and community-based learning (Martin, 2002). Linking schools with the outside
world increases the relevance and meaning of school for many students, resulting in higher levels of
engagement and achievement. At-risk students were more willing to stay at school when they were
involved in vocational education.
The strengthening of home, community and school links results in greater sharing and
communication. When schools work collaboratively with families and the local community they can
raise awareness of new approaches to learning and in particular the school’s strategies for enhancing
students’ literacy. Communication methods can include newsletters, family and community evenings,
whole school campaigns, home visits, and the involvement of community leaders (Noble, 1998).
Barriers to engagement in school science
Students remain highly curious about science in the world around them, but in secondary schools
they are choosing subjects other than science to study in senior years and at tertiary level. Many
students are disconnected from school science. Why?
They are disappointed in what they do in science classes
It has been suggested that the decline in interest in science begins in late primary and as children pass
from primary to secondary schooling (Logan & Skamp, 2007; Jenkins& Pell, 2006). My experience
in primary schools shows that science is given a low priority. As such science is not taught on a regular
5 Engaging Students in Science
basis and is either a once-per-fortnight lesson for an hour or a series of fun experiments are run as
part of a science day. In many schools science lessons are handed over to another teacher, such as the
librarian or relief teacher, as the classroom teachers lack the confidence in their ability to understand
and then teach science concepts. Science is often taught with limited equipment and can be limited
to internet research tasks. Students still find primary science exciting as they learn about scientific
concepts for the first time. Through television programs, DVDs and interactive computer games,
students think science is about ‘whiz bang’ experiments. However, students look forward to doing
real science when they reach secondary school.
The perception is that secondary science is all about working in a science laboratory using fancy
equipment, explosions, cutting up animals and lighting Bunsen burners. Students expect Bunsen
burners and explosions every lesson, or at the very least lessons on science that are relevant to their
lives. They are disappointed when taught concepts in secondary science classes that were covered
in primary school. Further alienation occurs when students are faced with theory lessons that focus
on writing.
‘Science is not relevant to me’
Students recognise the value of scientific knowledge for understanding their world and for the
future, but students are not finding what is being taught in science classrooms relevant to their lives.
The reason the students give is that they find many aspects of science too hard and therefore not
interesting (George, 2006; Lyons, 2006; Osborne & Collins, 2001). Unfamiliar language, sustained
effort required, and complex concepts are all cited as reasons. However, Lindahl (2003) would argue
that it is not that the material is too difficult, more that the students are not interested because they
are not told why they are asked to learn the material and how it relates to their lives.
‘Not enough experiments’
In the last 20 years there has been a change in how science is taught. Previously science was taught
through experimentation and then discussing of what was found. Practical work was seen as an
integral part of the teaching of science. By 1997 student-centred learning became more of a focus,
with students having to ‘devise experimental tests’ and the promotion of ‘the individualisation of
science experiences’ (Board of Studies NSW, 1997, p. 10; p. 5). The 1999 syllabuses emphasised
students’ skills in independently identifying a ‘problem’ and planning and undertaking investigation
of that ‘problem’ rather than planning an ‘experiment’. There is less emphasis on doing practical work
and more on preparing students on how to do the activities and evaluate what they found. Thus
teachers would design student learning experiences that separated theory from laboratory work.
Students now engage in activities such as internet research tasks, planning, and evaluating material,
with little time left for hands-on practical work.
Practical work now incorporates any experiment or activity conducted either in the laboratory
or outside it, including fieldwork; interactive CD-ROM exercises; map reading and construction,
virtual fieldwork via computer; use of the internet; library research, construction of diagrams, charts,
tables and graphs; interviewing scientists; excursions; watching DVDs, group work; presenting oral,
pictorial or PowerPoint presentations to the class; completing cloze passages, and observing and
classifying phenomena (Board of Studies NSW, 2000).
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The students in Gregson’s (2003) study confirmed what has been found in studies all over the world.
Students love the practical work and hands-on activities they associate with the study of science and
that differentiate it from the other subjects. They remember experiments such as observing animals,
lighting Bunsen burners and burning magnesium, dissecting rats or eyes, and mixing chemicals to
make revolting smells or cause colour changes (Osborne & Collins, 2001). They love the drama of
science that they can experience by doing experiments and testing their own understandings.
Too much content and too rushed
For ideas about
how you can
engage students by
encouraging them to
plan their own learning,
then giving them time
to develop their ideas,
see ‘Involving students
in planning’ on page
133.
Syllabuses that are jam-packed with content that lacks relevance to the lives of students feature
strongly as a major cause of student disconnection from school science. Science lessons that focus on
theory rather than practical activities have become the norm. Teachers are concerned that syllabuses
have too much content and that national testing has placed a negative emphasis on getting through
the content (see chapter 8 for further discussion). This has led to an increase in traditional pedagogies
that focus on the transmission of information. Getting through the syllabus has become a greater
priority rather than allowing time for the development of students’ own ideas and reflection of what
has been learned. Little time or focus is given to student questions about their world (Tytler, 2007).
Websites such as MySchool are publishing the outcomes of student results in national tests. From
data collected, students, teachers and school are being ranked. Teachers are concerned about rankings
of their students and schools in national tests, so feel pressured into covering all the content and then
spending precious teaching time preparing their students for being assessed.
‘Science is too hard’
When students are asked to choose their favourite subject they will supply a range of answers, but in
primary-school aged students science usually appears at, or near, the top of the list. However, of the
480 students in a study of Years 7–10 only 5% chose science as their favourite (Gregson, 2003). The
result for senior students was less impressive, as not one of the 220 students surveyed selected any
science as their favourite. These results are reflected in Lyons’ (2006) study, where only one-half of
the high-achieving students chose a science even though they expressed an interest in science. Why
is this so? One of the reasons given by students is that science has become too hard. The combination
of the extensive use of technical language, abstract concepts, so much to learn, and the depth of
understanding required to perform well have given the students the perception that science is harder
than their other options.
How science is taught
As students pass from primary to secondary classes there is a change in the way they are taught and
how they spend their time in the classroom. While there are still practical activities, more lessons are
based on theory or teacher-directed reliance on text-based learning (Logan & Skamp, 2007). Writing
has become a large component of what is done in science classes. Copying of the board, summarising
from textbooks or websites, and research tasks dominate pedagogy in science classrooms. Green’s
study (1998) investigated the changes in writing as a student moved from primary to secondary
school, finding that there is a subtle shift in writing strategies. There is a reduction in the range of
5 Engaging Students in Science
125
writing types as students moved from Year 6 to Year 7. Most significantly, most of the writing in Year
7 was note copying and question-and-answer activities. Much of what the students engaged in was
not writing so much as transcription, demanding little student thinking as writing process is replaced
by writing product. One example of such a task is the lab write-up that is emphasised all the time
without actually thinking about the importance of teaching the students about the importance of
the various sections, for example, aim, method, results, with very little focus around discussion and
making personal conclusions.
Writing is acknowledged by students as boring and a task they clearly dislike, whether it is writing
off the board, summarising paragraphs from textbooks or answering teacher questions. In a wholeschool survey on attitudes to science (Gregson, 2003), students made the following statements:
‘There is a lot of writing involved in science.’
‘I hate having to answer questions.’
‘Boring book work.’
‘The writing.’
‘Do more physical stuff and less writing.’
Models of teaching science that lead to
engagement
Models of teaching are representations of teaching strategies that are linked by similar goals, processes
and outcomes. Before you use a model or combination of models you need to identify learning goals
and then select the model that will help you achieve these goals. As with any model it is difficult
to find one that fits perfectly. Using hoses to describe the movement of electricity, sheep hearts
to facilitate the understanding of the human heart, or little balls and sticks to represent chemical
structure are not without problems, as while they provide a good overview, in each case there are
inconsistencies with what we believe is the reality.
Therefore proposed models of teaching provide us with guidelines that are responding to our need
and those of our current students. They need to be flexible enough to allow us to modify our teaching
activities while providing a framework for how we choose such activities.
The way we think about teaching and learning is undergoing change, which is not before time
according to Gough (2007). In recent years teachers and teaching models have been influenced
by constructivist theories that promote pedagogies acknowledging student prior understandings and
whose goals are to provide activities that allow for the incorporation of new knowledge. We are only
now researching the repercussions of national testing, which will be followed by the introduction of
the Australian Curriculum: Science. Early anecdotal evidence suggests that teachers are concerned
about how and what they will teach after the introduction of new syllabuses in the next few years.
But this has been the case with any new syllabus until it becomes understood and domesticated into a
school context. However, Gough is concerned that what is being done in both primary and secondary
teaching models
Theoretical frameworks
that have been
researched and provide
us with ideas about
how to go about
teaching.
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science classrooms is not leading to scientifically confident and literate students. She believes that
there must be change.
Teaching science is concerned with taking concepts that are often complex and abstract and
rearranging them to provide explanations for a diverse group of students. Teaching models provide a
framework and often steps or procedures that can be followed to promote student learning. They can
be divided into three types: mastery learning/teacher-directed, social-negotiated student-centred,
and student directed (referred to as transmission, interactive and discovery approaches by Fleer &
Hardy, 2001). All three types involve social interaction through group or team work, but it is the
value and focus of that interaction that distinguishes between the three. Figure 5.4 groups similar
models under the headings of mastery learning, socially negotiated and student-centred learning,
while comparing the level of teacher-directed versus student-centred that occurs in each.
Figure 5.4
Teaching models
Teacherdirected
Mastery
learning
Socialnegotiated
Studentcentred
::
Teacher delivered (lecture/tutorial approach)
::
Direct instruction (teacher gives information and instructions)
::
Goal-based (teachers plan activities that require the
development, use and application of chosen skills)
::
Teacher and students work together to plan and perform tasks
(Case Study teaching)
::
Guided teaching where models are taught to be applied later in
real-life scenarios (Students prepare products or models)
::
Cooperative learning (Team work for solving problems, producing
products or posters)
::
Constructivist approaches where learning begins from prior
knowledge and extends through to creating new knowledge
::
Process-based learning for authentic problems when teachers
support students’ ideas and development of knowledge and
skills (International Baccalaureate)
::
Discovery learning where content and skills are chosen by the
student (Reggio Emilia)
Studentcentred
5 Engaging Students in Science
Mastery learning teaching models
Teacher-directed models focus on the delivery of information and skills from the expert to the
novice. The pedagogy is transmissive, usually lecture-style lessons for large groups of students or
mastery learning of teacher-prepared material for independent study.
The mastery learning model developed by Bloom (Loughran, 2010) is one such example. In this
model Bloom suggested that information is presented to students in small parcels where students
must master one before moving on to the next. Students are encouraged to learn at their own pace.
While criticised for not allowing student input, teacher-directed learning does have a place in science
education. The student is not a passive participant in the learning but must take the responsibility for
ensuring that the material presented is learned.
1 Direct-instruction pedagogies are designed to teach students essential knowledge and skills
required for the learning that follows (Kuhn, 2007). There are contexts where it is important
that a set of facts be learned, such as chemical formulae and names of parts of plants and animals.
Where occupational health and safety is concerned there are instances where giving the students
the information is a requirement and necessity. Direct instruction has also been found to be
compatible with technology instruction (Alexander, 2006). When the teacher has control of the
instruction the knowledge or skills can be broken down into steps that can then be practised.
Knowledge of atomic structure is needed before students can develop an understanding of the
periodic table, which then assists students in solving chemical equations. These steps can be
moderated to suit the class as a whole, or to suit groups or the individual needs of students.
Once the transmission of the concept has occurred and facts have been memorised, the student is
equipped to apply that knowledge to the understanding of wider concepts.
However, if direct instruction is used solely, rather than as part of a range of teaching strategies,
it may become difficult to maintain student engagement. Likewise, not all students are capable of
retaining large amounts of information, and therefore the teacher will be required to assess each
student’s level of understanding and remediate when required. Of greatest concern to me is that
direct instruction in the form of teacher lectures, notes off the board or copying of PowerPoint
presentations is consistently being chosen as an alternative to practical work on the basis of student
safety or as a classroom management strategy. It relates back to the discussion of motivation to
engage with classroom activities. If the students are not given a variety of activities, no matter
what they are offered they will become disengaged. Steak and vegetables might be a satisfying
and nourishing meal, but if it is given every night appetite will soon turn to boredom and refusal
to eat.
2 Goal-based learning requires the teacher to identify knowledge and skills that the students must
acquire. The teacher can prepare the material or sources (such as in distance learning or problembased learning), and the student engages with that material either individually or as part of a
group. Assessment is focused on the student’s ability to acquire the specified knowledge and skills.
The initial input to the learning activities is done by the teacher. How much the student does
for themselves depends on how much the teacher does for the students and the expectations the
teacher has for the students.
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Think about it 5.4: Considering mastery models
1
Summarise the advantages and disadvantages of direct instruction pedagogies and goal based learning.
2
The text gives examples of where mastery of science knowledge is essential before further progress can be made.
Can you think of any areas of science where it may not be essential to master certain material before moving on?
Socially negotiated teaching models
Student–teacher negotiated teaching models focus on the social interaction between teacher and
students and where understanding is best achieved when tasks are performed by a community of
learners or group environment. Students are given the opportunity to test their ideas. The teacher’s
role is usually one of facilitator, thus setting up the situation to encourage social interaction. Teacherled discussion provides the teacher with the opportunity to share knowledge with students. This is
then followed by teacher–student, or student–student, discussion, research or experimentation, where
the students can clarify their understanding of the concepts presented. This process provides the
students with a break from teacher talk, and if well regulated can allow time for students to test their
ideas against those of their peers before returning to a whole-class discussion. Disadvantages of this
process are that the balance between teacher talk and student discussion can be one-sided if too much
information is given to the students. When the discussion is opened up to the class, too often the same
students respond, thereby limiting the assessment of student learning that can be made.
5Es A five-stage
teaching model that
focuses on students
learning by becoming
engaged in an activity
that links their prior
knowledge with
exploring and then
elaborating on the new
knowledge about a new
concept.
The predict–observe–explain and 5Es teaching models are examples that fit within the
constructivist paradigm in science education, with each requiring understanding to be socially
negotiated and constructed.
1 Predict–observe–explain is a three-step process in which the teacher has set up a situation where
the students need to analyse a particular event and make observations. Once they have observed
they need to formulate an explanation for what they have seen. I have used this activity on
many occasions. For example I fill 8 glass milk bottles with varying amounts of water and cover
the bottles with aluminium foil. Each bottle is then struck with a drumstick or hard piece of
wood. Students are required to listen and make observations about the note made by each bottle.
Students then predict what is in each bottle and provide an explanation for any variations in the
notes made. What is in the bottle is often not ‘guessed’ correctly, but that amounts of water vary
is usually correctly identified. A teacher-led class discussion then unpacks the reasons for the
differences in the notes made.
2 The 5Es developed by Bybee (1997) is a five-stage model that focuses on students learning by
becoming engaged in an activity that links their prior knowledge with exploring and then
elaborating on the new knowledge about a new concept. The 5Es relates well with science as one
of the key ideas is to explore a concept and explain it. The five 5Es are:
For ideas about how
you can use the 5Es in
the science classroom,
see Chapter 6; on page
157.
::
Engage
::
Explore
::
Explain
::
Elaborate
::
Evaluate
5 Engaging Students in Science
Figure 5.5 Summary of the 5Es
Engage is the
first step.
Explore is about
having first hand
experiences
with ideas and
processes.
Explain is the
stage where
students try to
make sense of
what they have
observed.
Elaborate is for
applying the new
knowledge.
Evaluate is
not just about
teachers assessing
student learning.
::
The purpose is to prepare activities that motivate and encourage students to
learn. Engaging activities catch the interest of students and they start to think
about the concepts and ideas being presented.
::
In this step students explore their understanding of ideas and question their
knowledge through observation and manipulation of materials.
::
The activities used to help students explore their own ideas should be handsand minds- on where students have ownership of and take responsibility for
the learning.
::
Students need to work through their prior understanding of the concept and
see if what they observe clashes with or reinforces what they thought. It is
easy when it reinforces what they already know. It can be confusing if the new
knowledge clashes with their previous ideas; and so students need opportunity
and time to reflect.
::
They need to decide whether the new knowledge is more acceptable than the
old and if so will reject the old.
::
Some students will reject the new knowledge if their prior understanding is
held too strongly to be changed.
::
They extend their new knowledge by applying it to new experiences and
contexts. It is a time for reinforcing what they have learnt and to expand their
ideas of the concept. They can also practise the skills they learned during the
explore stage.
::
It is a very valuable stage for learners to identify what they learnt and more
importantly how they learnt it. They can also reflect on the parts that they
need to clarify and establish what skills they need to practise.
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Student-centred teaching models
Student-centred or -directed teaching models provide opportunities for students to have full
ownership of their learning. Students learn by creating solutions to realistic problems for authentic
audiences. The George Betts Autonomous Learning Model is a student-centred program that
recognises the needs of gifted students and proposes the development of activities that allow students
to plan and execute the production of solutions for real-life issues for real audiences (Betts & Kercher,
2000). In schools where the Reggio Emilia and Studio Schools models have been introduced teachers
have completely re-evaluated and restructured learning so that the students have ownership of their
leanring and are supported to plan their own lessons and assessment on a daily basis (Downes et al.,
2005). In such cases the teacher is not the only source of assistance. Mentors, coaches or experts from
the field are called upon to provide support and guidance. In less radical contexts problem-based
learning can offer students the opportunities to work in teams to solve real community problems.
Integrative teaching model
The integrative teaching model has two goals. The first is to help students achieve deep understanding
of organised bodies of knowledge and the second is to develop critical thinking abilities (Eggen &
Kauckak (2012). This is a four-stage model where:
1 the teacher identifies topics and selects specific learning goals that will guide students as they
collect information about the chosen topic
2 students have to collect material and provide explanations for why and how they made their
choices. During this phase the students receive instruction to develop their critical thinking skills
as they learn to determine which data will be included
3 students take what they have learned and apply it to other contexts or situations (this is the
hypothetical stage)
4 learning is brought to closure where the students draw conclusions and generalise to formulate
broad relationships.
For more on digestive
systems, see
Experiment 4, Story
of a Hamburger (page
280).
An example of a lesson using this model could be one on the digestive systems of mammals. Students
are given or find for themselves information about the digestive systems of a range of animals, including
humans. Once they have selected their information they might complete stage two by drawing up
a table that compares structures and functions of parts of the digestive systems. A change in current
conditions is then proposed, such as a digestive disease or global warming that has changed the habitats
and thus the food available for each animal. Which animals will survive? The teacher will need to
help students problem-solve the effect of gastrointestinal diseases or global warming. In the final stage
the students will review their ideas and make generalisations about the similarities and differences in
digestive systems and propose conclusions about the survival chances of the animals.
Guided discovery teaching model
In this model students explore concepts in order to develop deep understanding of the topic. Students
are given either questions to answer or material that they need to understand. The students then have
the responsibility to explore how they can engage with the questions of the material. They get to plan
and choose the methods they will employ to gather information. It is the students who decide how
they will respond, the medium to be used and what the final product will look like. The teacher’s
5 Engaging Students in Science
role in guided discovery learning is to facilitate the learning and to assist the students as they need
self-chosen skills to be developed. This model differs from the Reggio Emilia model (Downes et al.,
2005) in that the students negotiate with the teacher what topic they will spend their time on. All
outcomes, skills and understanding are negotiated between the teacher and the student.
131
For ideas about how
you can use the guided
discovery teaching
model in the science
classroom, see ‘Using
the guided discovery
Connecting with students to enhance engagement
model’ on page 133.
Disconnecting from school learning has become easier as students become more deeply engaged
with cyber worlds. The gap between what is on offer in theatres, on DVDs, via the internet and via
mobile phones and what is on offer in science classrooms widens as the breadth of teacher training
and experience in the programs that students like narrows. To gain their students’ attention, teachers
have to compete with fast moving, Technicolor environments that provide highly engrossing instant
entertainment that does not require students to think too deeply about what they are doing. The
challenge becomes even greater as the expectations of the teachers misaligns with the attitude that
students have to school and science.
Effective teachers can bridge that gap by making their classrooms welcoming and positive learning
environments. By recognising the needs of the students in the 21st century, teachers can provide
learning activities that not only satisfy the rigour of their school, state and national educational
bodies, but also cater for their students.
Summary
Engagement is not about students just paying attention in class. When they engage and
how they engage depends on many factors that are often beyond a teacher’s control.
Being aware of the factors that contribute to engagement can certainly help a teacher
plan activities to enhance engagement by all students. Teachers can also take into
account the barriers that affect students’ engagement and work with them to improve
how they apply themselves in class. We know that this is important because of the
relationship of engagement to motivation and ultimately student success at school.
In the science classroom
Lots of science activities begin at school, but many of these can build on the home–
school relationship by allowing students to continue activities at home. Some ideas
are to:
::
Have students analyse chemicals in packaged foods or household cleaning products.
::
Ask students to design and create something under certain specifications, such as
a bridge or a safety container for an egg. This allows students to work with people
at home, drawing on their ideas. Back in the classroom, students share and extend
these ideas.
Bringing science home
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Curriculum links
Years F–10: Science as Human Endeavour: Nature and
development of science and Use and influence of science
Also refer to: Year 2 Work Sample 2: Grow a plant; Year
9 Work Sample 3: The chemistry of cleaning (Australian
Curriculum, ACARA).
Linking the classroom
to the community
Some further ideas are
::
Completing insect, bird or plant audits of home environments
::
Completing water/power saving audits of the home
Focus Question
List four more activities that could link students’ learning between home and
school.
Many communities have key industries that support the local workforce. One community
may have a large hospital, mining and farming; another community may have tourism,
fishing and kitchen manufacturing: these industries can form the basis of many activities
in the science classroom.
List some of the science required in the industries of the two communities
mentioned above.
This is often a great place to start when exploring links to the local community. With the
fishing industry, for example, students could investigate
::
The types of animals that are fished
::
The processes that keep the fish fresh when being transported for sale
::
The health and safety rules put in place and why they are necessary
::
The impact of weather on the fishing
::
Hazards to the industry, such as pollution (e.g. chemicals such as fertilisers).
Students could complete hands-on investigations such as taking water samples,
investigating the process of keeping food fresh and perhaps designing effective
transportation containers based on certain criteria and using particular materials.
Students’ investigations of the science used in an industry can also be enhanced by
having a guest speaker from that industry, or even a site visit.
Activities such as science competitions also engage students with the local
community: an example that uses both science and technology is the RACV Energy
Breakthrough Challenge, where students design, construct a machine or innovation,
then pit these against other students’ designs (see www.racvenergybreakthrough.net).
Focus Questions
Curriculum links
List three industries in your local area and identify the science involved in each.
Years F–10: Science as Human Endeavour: Nature and
development of science and Use and influence of science
How could you engage your students and the local community with activities like
those suggested above?
5 Engaging Students in Science
There are many topics where you can pose a problem to your students, then encourage
them to plan their learning, conduct an investigation, and reflect on the outcomes.
An example could be testing, over a number of lessons, how an object travels down
different surfaces:
::
Lesson 1: The problem is posed. This could be open—with students free to choose
the object and the different surfaces it travels down—or narrower, with some of
these variables decided. A source of community issues is the local paper. Students
work in groups to plan how to investigate the problem, taking into consideration
variables such as the surfaces, their angle and length, and the object itself, then
determine which variables to fix and which to investigate.
::
Lesson 2: Students carry out their investigation, collecting data and perhaps making
modifications.
::
Lesson 3: Students complete their investigation, collate and analyse the data and
determine what they discovered, then decide how to present their findings.
::
Lesson 4: Students present their results to the class, explaining their experimental
method.
::
The final lesson: The teacher draws ideas together, exploring the science (friction)
more deeply, then perhaps following up with another version of the activity.
There are many simple activities like this that can lead to wide investigation. The
less specific the problem posed, the wider the variation and depth of the students’
investigations and hence responses. Problems could include
::
Investigating which materials will keep a person warmer
::
Designing a boat out of specific materials that floats and supports a specified
minimum weight.
Focus Question
List three activities that students could plan and investigate.
The guided discovery model can allow students to have ownership over their own
learning of a particular topic, and can be used with all students at any age level.
::
For example, Year 4 students could be encouraged to create a working model using
only recycled materials. This would require students to investigate recycled materials,
as well as the materials that could form the components of the working model.
As students research and plan their model, they would need guidance on how to
create some of its working components, including which materials to use. It would
133
Involving students in
planning
Curriculum links
Years F–10: Science Inquiry Skills: Questioning and
predicting, Planning and conducting, Processing
and analysing data and information, Evaluating, and
Communicating
Also refer to: Year 4 Work Sample: Testing friction of
shoes; Year 3 Work Sample 3: Things I know about heat
(Australian Curriculum, ACARA).
Using the guided
discovery model
be important to ‘guide’ rather than ‘tell’ students during this problem solving process.
::
Older students could be set the topic of renewable and non-renewable resources,
with the aim of researching resources and what would happen if a non-renewable
resource ran out. Students could then create a pamphlet stating what to do in this
situation. You might need to guide students in understanding what a resource is,
where to find information on resources, and in identifying which resources are
renewable and which are not.
Focus Question
Consider the topic chemicals in the environment. How could the guided discovery
model be used to facilitate student learning about this topic?
Curriculum links
Year 4: Science Understanding: Chemical sciences
Year 7: Science Understanding: Earth and space sciences
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Further reading
Cheung, D. (2009). Students’ attitudes toward chemistry lessons: the interaction effect between grade level and
gender. Research in Science Education, 39(1), 75–91.
Masnick, A.M., Valenti, S.S., Cox, B.D., & Osman, C.J. (2009). A multidimensional scaling analysis of students’
attitudes about science careers. International Journal of Science Education, 32(5), 653–667.
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Planning for
Engagement
Robyn Gregson
Key ideas
1
Effective teachers ask thoughtful and thought-provoking
questions, develop their understanding of content and teaching
processes, and prepare classroom-ready resources that are
thoughtfully and professionally presented. Throughout the lesson
they are making judgments about learning, respond to the
learning or lack thereof, and reflect after the lesson about what
worked and what could have been improved.
2
The 5Es teaching model is about preparing lessons that will be
engaging for students and enhance their learning.
3
Lesson plans can be presented in a variety of ways but they
should have similar structures and foci. Each lesson should have
an introduction, body and closure that develop student learning
about specific content and skills chosen from the science syllabus.
Key terms
5Es
effective teaching
lesson plans
program
resources
6
Keeping our kids
engaged
It has been my experience that if
students are engrossed in what
they are doing they forget to
misbehave, so they learn and see
others around them learning.
It has been my experience that if students are engrossed
in what they are doing they forget to misbehave, so
they learn and see others around them learning. I used
to get the disruptive students sent to my classes. They
would sit up the back and petulantly refuse to get on
with whatever worksheet they were required to finish.
Meanwhile my students were engrossed in a hands-on
activity that required their own questioning and planning,
trial and error, proposing options and discarding those
not appropriate. It did not take long before the miscreant
was tempted to have an input into the discussions. After
broaching the first idea the student would add more
until they found a group who was doing something that
interested them. They soon became part of that group,
forgetting the reason why they were in my class.
138
So how does this happen? Having a clear idea of
where the students are at and their interests is the
first step.
My very first lesson as a teacher was a disaster. I
was teaching a topic that I knew very well and loved. It
only took 5 minutes into the lesson before I recognised
the ‘glazed eye look’ and that the students didn’t have
a clue what I was talking about. I ended up rewriting my
teaching notes four times before I thought that I had it
pitched correctly. How did I know? There were lots of
nods from the students as I spoke, student questions that
were checking for understanding, recounts from students
retelling me what they had heard, and concept maps
of the day’s lesson. This came about mostly through
planning lessons and resources that fitted the needs and
abilities of the students.
6 Planning for Engagement
139
Teaching and learning are complex, and entire books have been written about many of the issues and
ideas. This chapter will give a broad overview and suggestions for putting into practice ideas that have
been collected over nearly 30 years of teaching. You also get ideas for creating your own activities.
Introduction
I wrote earlier of my experiences of watching young children engage with dinosaur exhibitions while
they plagued their parents with questions about why things happen or don’t happen and how they
happen. Research focused on these young learners acknowledges that ‘children are capable thinkers
who lack knowledge and experience’ (Herrenkohl et al., 2011, p. 1). As teachers we need to harness
their natural curiosity and help our students build their own theories of how the world around
them works. Students need to be provided with opportunities to question their currently held ideas.
The process involves students developing their own questions about scientific concepts, listening
to alternative theories, planning and performing investigations, and, after analysing the evidence,
revising their knowledge and understanding. Helping students through the process of changing their
ideas is not easy; nor is change an automatic result of classroom activities.
What we need is an understanding of the students and the contents we are teaching, and a suite of
pedagogy that we can draw upon. We must also recognise that the sequence and nature of the tasks
that are planned for each lesson determine the scope and potential of the learning (Perrenoud, 1998).
We also need to acknowledge that students don’t stay focused all the time, and as such lessons need to
have variety within and between them.
What effective teachers of science do
Figure 6.1 depicts the components of good teaching practice. The way these components are linked
to each other is too complex to represent, but the diagram reminds us of what we need to do
when planning our teaching activities. There is no particular order or relationship between the
components: you need to do all these things, but how you do them and in what order will depend on
your own context. This is your teaching style, the students you are teaching, your prior experiences
and understandings, the resources available to you and, probably most importantly, the time you
take to learn about and reflect on your practice.
resources The
equipment and
materials needed for
teaching a concept.
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PART 1 | LINKING THEORY TO PRACTICE
Table 6.1
A two-dimensional view of the elements of good teaching
Evaluate learning and
responding through
reflection
Identify and prepare
resources, including
awareness of safety
Teaching for
engagement,
learning and
understanding
Ask questions of
themselves, the
curriculum and their
students
Develop their own
understanding of
concepts
and teaching
Think about it 6.1: Your style
1
What is your teaching style (for example mother hen, sergeant-major, basketball coach, referee)?
2
What are the prior experiences that you have had that will benefit your teaching?
3
What are your strengths as a teacher?
4
What areas do you think you will need to work on so that you can become an effective teacher?
Asking questions
Asking questions is a skill that teachers need to develop early in their careers if they don’t already
have it as part of their nature. The questions you ask, who you ask, and what you do with the answers
all impact on how you teach and on the learning outcomes that are achieved through your teaching.
How you handle the asking of the questions and what you do with the answers also affect your
relationships with colleagues, students, and the wider educational community.
6 Planning for Engagement
141
Effective teachers ask questions of a wide range of educational stakeholders:
::
Colleagues—not to get them to do the thinking for you, but to clarify ideas that may be useful
in the classroom. There will be times when you can’t see options for teaching a concept or skill.
A conversation with a trusted, more experienced colleague allows you to evaluate the ideas you
have and helps you decide which ideas to discard and what you might try. Discussions such as these
keep your teaching fresh as you maintain an open mind to old ideas that are known to work or
new suggestions that have been found through a professional development course or your personal
reading.
::
The wider community—attending meetings of like-minded teachers, professional development
courses, meetings with examiners, Board of Studies workshops, discussions with the Principal or
an executive from your own school and others all provide opportunities for you to question your
profession. This is particularly important when there are major developments such as the National
Curriculum and Assessment Strategies that will lead to pedagogical change, and new syllabuses
that will require new content to be taught.
::
Parents can provide insights into their children that can, at the least, explain some or all of their
educational issues and thus support your interactions with their children.
::
The student—questioning in the classroom is your ‘bread and butter’. How often you question,
who you ask—individuals or groups, and question types—closed (Yes/No answers only), multiple
choice, open-ended (requiring higher-order thinking and planning with no specific correct
answer)—will depend on your experience and confidence in asking questions and on the students
you are teaching. Questions can close down discussion or open up debate, depending on what
you do with the answer.
::
Yourself—What do you know about the topic you are going to teach? How will you find out what
you need to know? How are you going to teach these particular students? How will you know
what they have learned? These are just some of the important questions you need to ask yourself
as you plan and teach your students. Your honest responses to these and other questions will guide
your lesson preparation.
Developing your own understanding of concepts and
teaching
Linked to your ability to question stakeholders in learning is the necessity to identify your current
knowledge and understanding of the concepts you will teach and how you will teach them. In
chapter 2 Westwall and Pannizzon explored the purpose of science education and how it evolves over
time, while in chapter 4 there was extensive discussion on how children learn. As you move closer
to the planning of lessons you need to address your own levels of knowledge of scientific concepts.
For primary teachers the issue may be one of limited exposure to science at both senior secondary
and tertiary levels. Limited content knowledge and practical skills lead to a lack of confidence that
often inhibits primary teachers’ engagement with science. The use of technical language in books
about science is often a barrier to teachers as they try to extend their knowledge of scientific concepts.
As a result, science, as an entity, has all but disappeared from primary classrooms, is attempted
superficially through a limited range of practical experiences and ICT research tasks, or is being
subsumed into the study of human society and its environment. Teachers are often concerned about
effective teachers
The teachers who
use a wide range of
pedagogy to enable
all students to access
the knowledge and
understanding that is
taught.
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PART 1 | LINKING THEORY TO PRACTICE
not knowing as much as their students or about how to answer the many questions young children
ask. You need instead to explore how to use the interests and knowledge of the students.
I often remember with joy those students who had a particular fascination with specific areas
of science. There are those who can tell you all the names of the planets and their moons and
the composition of their atmospheres, and whose ideal gift would be a more powerful telescope.
Then there are the students who love insects, plants, or the giant mammals. All these students
have developed a love for their area of science and need no enticement to seek more information
about their pet topic. They know more about them than you and I will ever know unless we share
these interests.
For ideas about how
you can create openended, student-driven
activities in your
science classroom, see
‘Physical sciences’ on
page 167.
What we can learn from these students is the passion that they feel about science, the depth of
knowledge that young students can have when they are highly motivated, and the way they research
to find out more. I have often modified a lesson or topic to incorporate some of the pet topics, if
only to get that student taking on a leadership role and providing peer instruction. This requires the
teacher to let go of some of the control, but the passion about learning is infectious. We can then
help our less enthusiastic students find areas of science knowledge that they would like to explore for
themselves, and have their peers show them how to do it.
For secondary teachers, the issue is not one of having limited science knowledge but of having
focused on particular areas of science in their undergraduate courses. The syllabus for secondary
students covers a broad range of topics that incorporate units from biology, chemistry, physics and
environmental studies, which are not usually all covered in an undergraduate degree. Therefore
beginning science teachers need to learn with their students. You will need to be prepared ahead
of time to keep your knowledge and understanding ahead of the students and to give you time to
prepare resources. Most importantly, any practical work you do that is new to you must be practised
before class. There is nothing worse than an experiment going wrong in front of 30 pairs of eyes and
not knowing why. I know because I have been there.
One of the assets that primary and secondary teachers have in common is the ability to learn.
Gaining entry to and successfully completing an undergraduate teaching course or a postgraduate
entry-level teaching training course demonstrates the ability to persevere while studying. Utilise
the ideas you hear in lectures and tutorials and pay particular attention to presentations given on
pedagogy. Just because the person speaking is an English teacher it doesn’t mean that they don’t have
good ideas that you can borrow directly or modify for teaching science. The same can be said for
primary and secondary teachers working together. Each can see how the other presents the sequential
ideas from the new syllabus, and this will give you an idea of what the students have already learned
or are about to learn. Although the pedagogies in primary and secondary classrooms differ, observing
each other in the classroom can provide you with ideas for your own classes.
There are those who suggest that teachers need deep understanding, not only of the content
they are teaching but also of the practice of teaching (Bruning et al., 2004). I agree that knowledge
of pedagogy is important. During teacher training courses there will be instruction on pedagogy
and curriculum, and you will practise what you have learnt during your professional experience in
schools. Pre-service and novice teachers develop pedagogical expertise through experience in their
classrooms as they reflect on and modify teaching activities.
Both primary and secondary teachers are sometimes concerned about the content they need to
know, but teachers do not need to know all there is about science to be expert science teachers. With
6 Planning for Engagement
so much science and technology out there it is impossible for anyone to keep up. What is needed is a
mixture of content knowledge, ideas about current ideas, and the skills to research. At first you will
need to be at least one step ahead of the students.
So where do knowledge and understanding come from? While the internet has many sources of
lesson plans and content, wading through hundreds of sites is not always the most effective use of
time. Searching the internet can be time-consuming unless you find a site that has material directly
related to your needs and those of your students. I find having a range of current science textbooks
provides me with the content and pedagogical ideas that can be tailored to suit the class I am teaching.
When planning lessons I will have two or three opened on the same content and pick and choose
text, diagrams and ideas for experiments from across all the books.
143
lesson plans
Preparation of a
lesson that includes:
the concepts that will
be taught, how the
concepts will be taught,
the resources needed,
and assessment of
learning.
Think about it 6.2: Your experiences
1
Think about a science teacher you had at school who you thought taught you well. What was it about them that made you think this?
2
Which of the factors of effective teaching just discussed did you think was the most important? Outline your reasons.
Identifying and preparing resources
Resources to bring into your classroom
Over the years I have found references or textbooks where the author has expressed the content
exactly as I would want it. Using what they have already written has saved me time and energy. Then
there have been the times when what is covered and how it is written does not suit my needs. This is
because I have either a class that needs more sophisticated material or a lower ability class that needs
clearer and simpler explanations. It then becomes necessary for me to adapt the resources for the class
I am teaching.
Whether they are paper-or computer-based, all resources should be carefully and thoughtfully
prepared.
::
Spelling and grammar must be correct and sentences and paragraphs must make sense. It is easy
to do a spelling and grammar check on your computer, but you need to read over the material
yourself to make sure it makes sense.
::
Each resource should have instructions outlining what the students need to do, especially for those
students who are not aural learners.
::
While a resource doesn’t need to be ‘pretty’, with a little effort a resource such as a worksheet
can look presentable and interesting, with borders, diagrams and pictures. These are particularly
useful for poorer readers.
::
Make sure that any diagrams or pictures are located close to the text that they complement.
::
The amount of text on each page will depend on the reading abilities of the students. For poorer
readers, break up large expanses of text.
::
Leave enough room on worksheets for students to answer the questions. The amount of space
provided gives the students an indication of how much detail they need to provide in their answers.
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PART 1 | LINKING THEORY TO PRACTICE
::
Text should be:
::
age appropriate. A readability test such as Fry’s (1977) will help in determining this.
::
in a single standard font such as Arial for easy reading
::
1.5 line spacing and at least 11 point type depending on the reading age and needs of the
students
::
structured using headings that are bold and/or in a larger type size to make them stand out
Factors that inhibit the use of resources
::
Poor preparation, where questions, text and diagrams are not linked clearly.
::
Poor grammar and spelling so that what has been written is difficult to comprehend.
::
Use of too many fonts, coloured shading or highlighting, and pictures that distract the reader
rather than add to their experience.
::
An amount of text that does not match the needs of the readers—too much text that is difficult for
poor readers, or too little text for more experienced and capable readers.
Preparing classroom
resources
The following is a suggested layout for a class worksheet that asks students to read a passage then
provide written answers to questions.
The passage should be provided here. The
amount of text will
depend on the year level and reading ages of
the students.
Diagrams and images can be placed to the
right of the text. For more able readers the
diagrams will be smaller or maybe nonexistent. For younger or less able readers
use smaller amounts of text separated by
questions or images.
Place the questions directly below the
material that relates to the questions.
Focus Questions
1What are four important factors in preparing resources that are classroom-ready?
2Identify three things you should not do when preparing resources.
3Choose a topic and prepare a worksheet that you think would be engaging, promote
student-centred learning, and be achievable within a lesson. Identify the topic and class.
Share this resource with a colleague and ask for feedback.
4Based on the feedback given, modify your resource and then file it under the topic and
Year group for future use.
6 Planning for Engagement
Evaluating learning and responding through reflection
The example given at the start of this chapter about planning lessons at the right level for your
students highlights the need for teachers to be aware of the way that students are engaging with the
lesson activities. This is important for planning future lessons and also for developing a consciousness
of what the students are learning. Part of that awareness is monitoring the students’ engagement in
the activities and the on-task time.
Evaluation of learning
In assignments that include lesson plans or assessment of learning, many pre-service teachers offer
teacher observations and classroom discussions as evidence of learning. More often than not I question
the proferred evidence for several reasons.
In terms of teacher observation during activities, students may seem to be doing the work. They
may be writing or involved in group activities, but how can we be sure they are on task and achieving
the learning outcomes for which the task has been set? Unless the teacher is moving around the room
monitoring the work, what may seem to be learning may be merely distracted time wasting.
Assessment of learning from whole-class discussions is another area of concern. As we are all
aware, there are students who have the confidence to contribute to class discussions and equally there
are those who never contribute. If whole-class discussion is the basis of assessment of learning we can
only assess those who contribute. What experience shows is that it is usually the same students who
raise their hands each time. Therefore the view of learning we get comes from a small number of
students, and we then assume that the whole class has learned the same material as well.
It is difficult to evaluate learning as the activities are happening because the assessment process
could distract students from learning. In chapter 8 we deal more broadly with issues of assessment,
but below are some general ideas for observing how the lesson is going.
::
Observe students’ positive responses to what you are talking about through nodding, smiling,
laughing. etc. These actions mean that the students are following and comprehending what you
are saying. Glazed or blank looks can indicate that you are not connecting with the students.
This could be because your explanation is not clear, does not link with prior learning, or is not
presented in an engaging way.
::
When students have completed a task, get several to tell you how they did it. This gives you the
opportunity to get a wider view of what was being done. You will find that the same students will
answer your questions unless you provide the opportunity for others to feel confident that their
answers will not be rejected and that they will not lose face if their answers are wrong.
::
When students are working in groups, spend time with each group listening to their discussion
and supplying stimulus by offering questions that can guide their thinking. Observations taken as
each child contributes to the group are valuable in terms of teaching individual students and for
assessing how students are going.
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Teaching for engagement, learning and understanding
Chapter 5 stressed the need to provide students with the opportunities to learn in a way that suits
their needs. They require lessons that allow them to test their prior knowledge and then link the
new understandings to what they already know. Planning to achieve these goals begins with teachers
making decisions about what they will teach and when they will teach it on a larger scale. They need
to develop a whole school or science department view of what will be taught. Once this is achieved
individual teachers can plan specific lessons for the class or classes they will be teaching.
Planning for scope and sequence
program A scope and
sequence of a group of
concepts that will be
taught in sequence.
For ways you can
explore shadows
with your class, see
Experiment 5 (page
290).
While we are to be guided by the Australian Curriculum: Science and subsequent syllabuses prepared
by the individual states, what we teach in our classrooms and how we teach it ultimately comes down
to the decisions made at school level. The scope of our program gives us a framework for planning
as it indicates the breadth and depth of the content and skills that will be covered. Teachers in Year
or stage teams will decide on what specific content is appropriate for their students and then group it
into ‘chunks’ (usually referred to as ‘units of work’), giving each chunk a title (such as ‘Mini monsters’,
‘Shadows and light’, or ‘Floating and sinking’). There will usually be a stage/Year and whole school
plan that shows the sequence of how that content will be presented.
Table 6.1 provides a sample scope and sequence for a science program for years F–10. It contains
enough detail for teachers to see the way that science content will be varied within a year to create
engagement and interest. Note that there are topics that may appear to double up over the 11-year
plan. This has been planned deliberately because, as they pass through primary school and then
onto high school, students will often be introduced to more complex concepts and develop a deeper
understanding of concepts already learned that will be further reviewed and explained in greater
detail in later years.
A sample scope and sequence for years F–10
Table 6.1
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6 Planning for Engagement
Year 9
Year 8
Year 7
Year 5/6
Year 3/4
Year 1/2
Genetics and variation
Microbes and disease
Human body
Labs and safety
Living things adapting
How animals live
Plants and animals
Chemical reactions
Mining for resources
Fizz, bang and smell
Matter
Liquids, solids and gases
Melting and freezing
Changes in matter
The properties of objects
Search for ET
Natural disasters
Search for life on Mars
Rocks and landforms
Out of this world
Patterns in nature
Natural and human-made
environments
Weather
Motion and space
Light and sound
Forces
Energy
Simple electric circuits
Heating things up
Light and sound
How objects move
Evolution and adaptation
Motors and machines
Life on Earth
Living things
Reflection and refraction
Fair tests
Toys from around the world
Questions and exploring
Foundation Living things
Year 10
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Planning a unit of work
How big a unit of work is will depend on the time allocated to it. In my experience units of work in
primary schools usually last a term, while in secondary schools they tend to be of three or four weeks
duration because of the extra teaching time allocated to science. Whatever the length, the planning
for a unit of work will be guided by some very important questions. These in turn come from your
ideologies and philosophies of teaching and learning (see chapter 2). You will find similarities among
planning models based on different educational theories, but there are also subtle differences in the
questions you pose. Table 6.2 sets out four models for planning units of work that prescribe questions
that determine actions teachers can consider during the planning phase.
Table 6.2
Four planning models
Planning model
Questions
Actions
Based on behaviourial
theories
What do I want the students to know and
be able to do?
Select syllabus outcomes
What is it that the students currently know
and can do?
Incorporate strategies such as concept
maps and brainstorming to identify what
students know
How will I help them to know and do?
Design, select and sequence strategies
How will I know they have learnt?
Assess outcomes
How will I improve on the teaching
program?
Evaluate the effectiveness of previous and
current pedagogies
What do the students need to learn?
Select syllabus outcomes
What do the students want to learn?
Identify what students would like to learn
about the topic
How do the students learn best?
Reflect on the outcomes of prior
assessment strategies that have been
directly linked to pedagogy
How will students know what they have
learned?
Students evaluate what they have learned
What are the safety concerns to be met?
Risk assessment on activities
How can I create a positive learning
environment?
Reflect on what makes a positive learning
environment, such as acceptance and
inclusion, and incorporate specific
strategies in learning
How can students feel they belong?
Incorporate specific activities that develop
and enhance inclusion
Based on cognitive theories
Based on humanist theories
(continued)
6 Planning for Engagement
Based on social constructivist
theories
What will I do to enhance their selfesteem?
Choose reinforcement that enhances
student self-efficacy and motivation
How can I satisfy their need to grow
intellectually?
Choose activities that provide a link to
their prior knowledge and experiences and
yet allow students to be challenged by
using such activities as problem-solving
and problem-based learning
How can I make what we do relevant?
Select science content and knowledge
that is current and age-appropriate. Allow
students to have ownership
What activities can I plan that develop
social and cultural interaction?
Reflect on previously successful
pedagogies and explore for further
opportunities for students to collaborate in
a variety of different ways
How will the students participate in the
activities I plan?
Plan specific strategies for enhancing
student engagement using content that is
interesting and relevant
What do the students know already?
Incorporate strategies such as concept
maps and brainstorming to identify what
students know
How can I plan activities that allow
students to engage with and have control
over their learning?
Make the decision-making for the content
and activities the responsibility of the
students. They choose what to learn , how
to learn it and how what has been learned
is assessed
Think about it 6.3: Your preferences
Which of the planning models outlined above do you prefer? Why? Discuss with your colleagues.
Developing a unit of work
1 Choose a current unit of work or start a new one.
2 Evaluate the existing unit against the syllabus requirements. These include scientific understanding,
science as a human endeavour, and working scientifically.
3 Write a framework statement by including a brief outline to make a link to a context; identify
the prescribed focus area/s; outline the scope of the domain outcomes and content; make explicit
particular emphases, such as literacy and numeracy focus, research, investigation; identify the
teaching/learning strategy, for example cooperative teams, and provide a scenario so that the
development of skills is seen as relevant for a situation by the students.
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Sample Framework Statement for a unit called Life on Mars
The unit explores how scientists would plan a mission to Mars and possibly the moons of
Jupiter to look for signs of life. The unit reflects the real-life methods of science and gives
students an opportunity to work like scientists for a simulated NASA mission to Mars and
beyond.
Students will work in teams to design a spacecraft and a set of experiments that can be
loaded into a lander for the detection of life on Mars and beyond.
Students will examine microbial life-forms and the necessary conditions for life. Students
learn that ‘life’ is not always intelligent, nor is it always easily recognisable.
Students record their ideas, plans and experiments in a journal as a basis for preparing and
publishing their mission findings as an article for the newspaper or a science magazine.
4 Give it a title.
5 Identify school/faculty priorities (e.g. ESL).
6 Research available resources.
7 Design appropriate activities.
8 Develop indicators—relate to how you will assess achievement of outcomes (evidence of learning).
Planning a lesson
Student engagement is not consistently nor continuously maintained throughout a lesson, according
to Sousa (2008). Prime learning time and engagement are closely linked, with two periods of
engagement separated by a short period of downtime within each lesson. Thus new material is best
presented at the beginning of the lesson to coincide with the period of prime engagement (15–20
minutes of a 40-minute lesson). This should be followed by a practical activity of 10–15 minutes
during the downtime. The remaining time is allocated to lesson closure, when learners have the
opportunity to process and make meaning of what has been learned. The emphasis here is not on
the teacher doing a review of the lesson but on the students checking for understanding and using
questions to clarify misunderstandings.
6 Planning for Engagement
Figure 6.2
151
Retention during a learning episode
60-minute lesson
6
Prime learning time
5
4
Prime time 2
3
2
1
Closure
New information
0
0
5
10
20
30
40
50
60
New information should be presented in prime-time-1 and closure in prime-time-2. Practice is appropriate during downtime.
Different ways of planning science lessons
The 5Es
The 5Es (see chapter 5) is an instructional teaching and learning model developed by Roger Bybee
(1987) is based on the Vygotsky’s constructivist approach to learning. It acknowledges that students
learn best when they are allowed to work out explanations for themselves over time, through a
variety of learning experiences structured by the teacher. Students use their prior knowledge to make
sense of these experiences and then make connections between new information and their prior
knowledge. Students make the connections between what they already know and new information,
and evaluate what they are learning.
Each E represents a step in the learning process. See figure 5.5 on page 129 for a summary of this
model.
5Es A teaching
model that provides
a framework for
improving student
engagement.
• Insists on answers or explanations
Evaluate
Elaborate
Explain
• Works quietly with little or no interaction with others (only appropriate
when exploring ideas or feelings)
• Plays around indiscriminately with no goal in mind
• Stops with one solution
• Tests predictions and hypotheses
• Forms new predictions and hypotheses
• Tries alternatives and discusses them with others
• Records observations and ideas
• Brings up irrelevant experiences and examples
• Accepts explanations without justification
• Does not attend to other plausible explanations
• Questions others’ explanations
• Listens to and tries to comprehend explanations the teacher offers
• Refers to previous activities
• Fails to express satisfactory explanations in his or her own words
• Asks related questions that would encourage future investigations
• Introduces new, irrelevant topics
• Offers only yes/no answers and memorised definitions or explanations
as answers
• Demonstrates an understanding or knowledge of the concept or skill
• Evaluates his or her own progress and knowledge
• Draws conclusions, not using evidence or previously accepted
explanations
• Uses in discussion only those labels that the teacher provided
• Draws conclusions from thin air
• Ignores previous information or evidence
• Answers open-ended questions by using observations, evidence, and
previously accepted explanations
• Checks for understanding among peers
• Records observations and explanations
• Draws reasonable conclusions from evidence
• Uses previous information to ask questions, propose solutions, make
decisions, design experiments
• Applies new labels, definitions, explanations, and skills in new but similar
situations
• Uses recorded observations in explanations
• Plays around with no goal in mind
• Proposes explanations from thin air with no relationship to previous
experiences
• Listens critically to others’ explanations
• Explains possible solutions or answers to others
• Suspends judgment
• Lets others do the thinking and exploring (passive involvement)
• Thinks freely, but within the limits of the activity
• Seeks one solution
Table 6.3
Explore
• Offers the ‘right’ answer
• Shows interest in the topic
• Asks for the ‘right’ answer
• Asks questions such as: Why did this happen? What do I already know
about this? What can I find out about this?
Engage
What the student does that is inconsistent with this model
What the student does that is consistent with this model
Stage of the
instructional
model
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Assessing student responses to the 5Es
6 Planning for Engagement
Interactive teaching and learning
The interactive teaching model developed by Osbourne and Freyberg (1985) involves a series of steps
as shown in figure 6.3 but it can be altered to suit topics and the experience of the teacher and class.
Figure 6.3
A sequence for interactive teaching and learning
PREPARATION
The teacher and class select the
topic and find background information.
PRIOR VIEWS
The class or individuals say what
they know about the topic.
EXPLORATORY ACTIVITIES
Involve the children more fully
in planning to learn.
MORE QUESTIONS
INVESTIGATIONS
Teacher and children select the
questions to explore, say 2 or 3
per session.
AFTER VIEWS
Individual or group statements
are compiled and compared
with earlier statements.
REFLECTION
A time to establish what has
been verified and what needs
to be explored further.
COMPARISON
CHILDREN’S QUESTIONS
A time when the class is
invited to ask questions
about the topic.
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Backward planning
Backward planning or designing focuses on the choice of content and the assessment strategies that
will be used to establish what the students have learnt. Backward design differs from many other
teaching models in that we start by identifying the goal of the unit of work or, more specifically, a
single lesson, that is what we want the students to be able to do and know by the end of the unit/
lesson. The decisions that follow are then focused on knowing that the goals were reached (assessment)
and then planning how to achieve the goals during the lesson (planning the lesson).
According to Weir (2009) the steps in backward planning are:
1 Choose the academic and affective outcomes that will be the goal of the lesson. These need to
identify syllabus points including knowledge and skills as well as take into consideration social skills
such as group work, communication skills, tolerance and acceptance of others that is associated
with the content and classroom activities.
2 Select the assessment strategies for evaluation of the learning. At this stage teachers needs to make
the following choices.
::
formal or informal assessment
::
tests or portfolios
::
performance or criteria-based assessment
::
the criteria for grading of student work
::
nature of the feedback
::
moderation across different classes/grades to ensure equity and reliability across the teachers
involved
::
how the final assessment outcomes will be reported to the stakeholders.
3 Once all the factors above have been considered the teacher can plan the lesson activities where
the pedagogy and student tasks are based on the outcomes already identified as the goal/s of the
lesson. The activities chosen will also be linked directly to assessment strategies.
Think about it 6.4: Applying the backwards planning model
Prepare a proforma for a lesson that reflects the backwards planning model. Use that proforma to plan a lesson. Share this lesson with a
colleague and provide feedback for their lesson.
Problem-based learning
With a move towards more constructivist-based teaching models problem-based learning was
developed as a student-centred pedagogy that focuses on real-world issues. Working in groups or
teams, students identify what they already know about the problem and work collaboratively to
collect information from a wide variety of sources towards finding possible solutions to the problem.
The students cover a range of issues such as policy, moral dilemmas and ethical considerations.
6 Planning for Engagement
Lesson plans
A lesson plan provides a framework for a lesson with a detailed description of what is expected to
happen and the identification of learning outcomes. Lesson plans will vary depending on specific
school requirements, the subject and content being covered, and the needs of the students. A welldeveloped lesson plan reflects what the teacher is trying to teach and incorporates activities that the
students enjoy and learn from.
Identification of the class: Acknowledging the class to be taught is an important reminder of the level
at which you need to prepare the class materials and activities. It also acts as a reminder about the
students in the class and any students who have special needs.
Length of the lesson: Being aware of the amount of time you have enables you to plan the sequence and
number of activities you will be able to fit into each lesson. This is an area that new, and not so new,
teachers often have difficulty with. They often try to put too much or too little in a lesson by underor over-estimating how long each activity will take. The ability to judge this will come with time and
experience, but after 30 years mistakes can still be made. My ruling is to have the next few lessons fully
prepared so that if I get through the material for one lesson more quickly than I expected I have the
next to go on with.
Timing within the lesson: Timing of the activities in a lesson is often the most difficult task for new
teachers. Even for an experienced teacher timing can go awry because student interest or the need
for remediation directs the focus of the lesson away from what you had planned. As I general rule I
multiply the amount of time an activity takes me to do by three, which then approximates the time it
will take the students for most activities, especially assessment tasks.
Title of the lesson: Identifies the lesson and provides a framework as you develop the lesson activities. At
the end of the planning process it is wise to return to the title to see if what you plan reflects the title
you gave the lesson.
Lesson objectives are statements that reflect what you want to achieve in the lesson and what you want
the students to learn.
Lesson outcomes are statements that come from the syllabus that relate to specific skills, knowledge and
understanding that will be assessed during and after the lesson.
Concepts: In this section you identify the scientific concepts that will be covered by the lesson. These
are necessary so that you can refer to the previous and next lessons to ensure that the sequencing of
your lessons enables the students to link the ideas being taught.
Syllabus links: A reminder of what has been covered as you record directly from the syllabus what was
covered in the lesson. Accompanied by a grid for the unit you will be able to identify the syllabus
covered and see what still needs to be done.
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Learning activities: These are the activities you plan that the students will do in or as a result of the
lesson. The focus of each activity should be on student learning and engagement. The activities can be
focused on individual learning or collaborative learning through whole-class or group-based activities.
:: Individual: Independent work done by each student on their own such as reading and summarising,
writing their own ideas or reflections, using drawing activities to represent their ideas about the
concepts being taught.
::
Demonstrations: Where the students can experience a practical activity that may be too dangerous
for them to do or that requires specialised equipment.
::
Small-group work: Students work with others in pairs, threes or fours as a community of learners.
The tasks they do require development, planning and execution so that the group members can
learn from each other and produce information that they share. This type of activity is extremely
valuable as a teaching strategy. It allows the teacher to work with small numbers of students and
assess their levels of social and group skills while supporting their academic achievements. The
teacher can ask questions and respond to students’ questions to stimulate their ideas and progress
their learning.
::
Students within the group can listen to their peers’ contributions and compare their own
understanding with other members of the group. They are often more willing to ask a question
for clarification from their peers in small groups rather than asking when the class is all together.
As a group they evaluate their understanding of the concepts and reflect on the new ideas they
have developed. Their new knowledge can then be distributed to others via a presentation, class
web page, blog, poster or whole class discussion.
::
Whole-class activities. When the whole class is together instructions can be given before the
class divides up so that all students are starting from the same point. The same can be said for the
end of the lesson so that all students can take part in a reflection of what has been learned. The
pedagogy tends to be teacher-directed as the teacher is telling the students what has been planned
for the day. The advantages of whole-class activities are that all students are listening to the same
instructions and they can evaluate the contributions made by their peers when answering teacher
questions. It helps students compare their own understandings with those of their peers.
For ideas about how
a science topic can be
explored using various
types of classroom
organisation, see ‘Plate
tectonics’ on page 168.
Planning your lesson
Every lesson should be divided into three distinction sections: an opening, the body, and closure.
The opening—first 5–10 minutes
From the opening the students should know what they are going to be learning about, how they
will learn it, and how they will know that they have learned it. In the 5Es model the opening is all
about engaging students in order to get them actively involved in what they will be learning about.
The lesson opening is not about getting the roll marked and the students settled. It is more about
establishing the focus of the lesson and setting the scene.
6 Planning for Engagement
The middle or body of the lesson—30–60 minutes
In this section of the lesson the learning should be happening. Students should be engaged in
activities that promote their understanding of new material or the application of what has been taught
recently. They can be doing an experiment, a research task, group-based discussions, or analysis of
data. Activities should provide support for their prior knowledge but also add new knowledge or
understanding so that there has been a net gain in understanding from the lesson.
Lesson closure—the last 10–15 minutes
This is the part of the lesson that I found the most difficult as my students would be so deeply engaged
in an activity that either I would forget the time and we have to pack up quickly or the students were
so engaged that I hated to disturb them. But lesson closure is really a vital part of the lesson. It is a time
for self-reflection on what was learned from the lesson. With the right activities it can also assist the
students in coming to a better understanding of not only what they learned but how they learned it.
Through such strategies as individual reflection writing, think-pair-share and small-group discussion,
students can identify what they have learned and then compare their new knowledge with their peers.
Lesson closure is not about handing out homework, tidying up or handing out detentions; it is
about giving the students an opportunity to discuss what they have learned and to reflect on how well
they learned it and what they may need to do to fill any gaps in their understanding. I believe that
there are more appropriate ways to communicate homework, planning and preparation for upcoming
lessons and projects, such as the use of blogs, text messages, and school intranets.
This model lesson has been prepared to demonstrate the components of a good lesson, how to
sequence activities and how to link activities with resources and assessment. The example given links
to Experiment 3, Electric Circuits, on page 274.
Example lesson plan
Teacher:Class:
‘Class’ is not just about the grade or Year. You need to identify the level that the students are at and any special needs.
Length of lesson: for example 40/45/60/75/90 minutes.
The example used here will be a 60 minute lesson.
Lesson heading/topic:
Provides an indication of the topic, for example ‘Introduction to electric circuits’.
Lesson objectives:
Outlines what you want to achieve in the lesson, for example:
1 Introduce students to the concept of electric circuits.
2
Examine scientific language relating to electric circuits.
3
Improve students’ scientific literacy using an engaging activity.
Key concepts/ideas:
Outline the key scientific ideas, for example:
1 What is a circuit?
2
Series and parallel circuits
(continued)
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3Components of a circuit
4Open and closed circuits
5
Movement of electrons through a circuit
Syllabus link:
You need to identify specific outcomes from your syllabus. Changes in the Australian Curriculum: Science mean that the
terms used may or may not be included in your syllabus. For example:
Scientific Understanding (SU)
Science as a Human Endeavour (SHE)
Working Scientifically (WS)
Plan:
The lesson plan below highlights the different components of planning a lesson that will engage students and
facilitate learning.
Time
Teacher action
Timing is where teachers
can come unstuck. Try to
picture the students doing
the activity and allow
for the slower students.
For writing tasks I allow
three times what it takes
me. For other activities I
double the time.
In this column you need to
record what you will have
done and will be doing to
facilitate student learning.
Student-centred
activities
(including assessment
of learning)
Resources
This section should
include all the material
and resources that will
be needed during the
lesson. It may include
experimental equipment,
DVDs, worksheets,
textbooks, ICT resources.
OPENING
The opening should be
engaging and motivating
with not too much teacher
talk. Get the students
participating in an activity,
quickly. It only needs a
few minutes to settle the
students. Do not waste
valuable time calling rolls.
You can check attendance
during the lesson.
10 minutes
Don’t leave them
trying to do the activity
There should be very little
in this column as we want
most of the activities to be
done by the students.
You do not need to record
word for word what you
will be doing or saying.
For example:
Write the heading ‘Simple
Electric Circuits’ on the
board. Place a battery,
connecting wires and a
globe on each bench.
This section should
show what the students
are doing, for example
investigating, group work,
researching, discussing,
planning.
This part requires careful
planning because if you
forget anything it may
affect the outcome of the
lesson.
For example:
C size batteries,
connecting wire and
cutters (the ends will need
to be stripped so that
connections can be made
between the batteries and
globes.), small light globes
ENGAGE and EXPLORE:
Students problem-solve
how to make the globe
light up.
For example:
6 Planning for Engagement
Time
Teacher action
Student-centred
activities
(including assessment
of learning)
unsuccessfully for too long
as they may get frustrated.
However, allow them
enough time to play with
the resources and have a
go at making them work.
Instruct students to make
the globe work.
Assessment
The teacher can use
a range of strategies
here that may include
another hands-on
activity combined with
a discussion of ideas
followed by an opportunity
for each individual
student to reflect on their
understanding and then
record their ideas.
Students will be required
to think about what they
are doing, to engage in
some critical evaluation
of their ideas and then
record their ideas.
Resources
Some students will be able
to do it right away. Others
will struggle. Some of
the ‘experts’ can help the
ones who could not do the
activity.
MAIN BODY
This is where the main
focus of the lesson is
developed. Ideas are
discussed and students
have an opportunity
to assess their own
understanding.
30–40 minutes
For example:
A blank globe is drawn on
the board.
Students are then asked
to join another globe into
their circuit and make
them both work. Students
will complete this task by
making a series or parallel
circuit. This will provide an
opportunity for students
to compare the circuits
they have made with other
groups.
More globes and wires,
magnifying glasses
Series circuit
For example:
EXPLAIN
Students are asked to
make observations about
a globe and contribute to
labelling the diagram on
the board. This is followed
by a discussion of how a
globe works. Students are
then asked to draw their
globe in their books and
write an account of how
the globe works. They
share these ideas with the
students on their bench.
Series and parallel circuits
ELABORATE
Students add the extra
globe and compare
their circuit with other
groups’. They are asked to
look for similarities and
differences.
(continued)
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Time
Teacher action
Student-centred
activities
(including assessment
of learning)
A class discussion is
an opportunity for the
teacher to provide the
terminology to explain
the different circuits. The
teacher may also provide
an activity that allows the
students to consolidate
their ideas, for example a
worksheet that has two
circuits drawn with spaces
for different components
to be labelled or key terms
with jumbled definitions
that the students have to
match.
They are then asked to
draw their circuit and that
of another group that has
a different circuit.
This section is very
important and brings
together the ideas that
have been developed in
the lesson. It is not about
handing out homework
but about clarifying and
consolidating what was
taught.
Students play with the
motors and get them
working. They then write
down what they did to get
the motor working..
EVALUATE
Assessment of learning:
collection of the
worksheets; teacherled discussions with
individuals or small groups
of students; observations
of the ability of groups
to work together to get
equipment working.
CLOSURE
10–15 minutes
For example:
Provide students with a
motor and see if they can
get it to work.
Provide the students with
an activity that applies
the skills they learned
earlier in the lesson. This
is followed by an activity
to record their findings/
ideas/observations.
Resources
6 Planning for Engagement
Time
Teacher action
Student-centred
activities
(including assessment
of learning)
Resources
Questioning about what
was learned will give the
students an opportunity
to think about what they
did and gives the teacher
an idea of what the
students learned. This can
be achieved orally or in a
portfolio where students
record what they thought
of the lesson and what
they learned.
Evaluation:
This is a valuable exercise that doesn’t take a long time but allows the teacher to review what happened in the lesson.
Even the best planned lesson can go wrong or need some modification. It is a time to allow the teacher to question
what they did, what the students did, and what was learned. The teacher can change the things that didn’t work and
note those activities that worked very well. The following questions may help you.
1 What did I want them to learn?
2
What did they learn?
3
Were all students participating?
4
What was done well?
5
What could be improved?
6
Were the resources pitched at the right level?
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How to get started
Who am I teaching?
After finding out and learning your students’ names, the next important step is to find out what they
know about what you are going to teach them. I once heard a teacher tell her class that they were
going to start a new topic and that topic was about waves and wave motion. This teacher suggested
that they had not studied waves before so they were not to worry if they didn’t know anything about
waves because they would start from the very beginning. However, these students knew a lot about
waves, as the school they attended was a beach-side school and many of the students in that class
went surfing as an extracurricular activity. The teacher did not use the opportunity to bring into the
classroom ideas that were important to the students and very much part of their lives.
What do they already know?
Much of the current research into teaching and learning stresses the need to establish students’ prior
knowledge. However, there are many misconceptions about how this information can be established.
Asking the whole class for information that can be placed on the board may be a quick way to identify
a starting point, but it only provides information about those students who contribute. In my own
teaching in school and at university it is apparent that there are students who willingly contribute to
class discussion, those who will contribute when specifically asked, and those who rarely or never
contribute, no matter what opportunities you supply for them to do so. So we need to find out what
all students know. This is more time consuming but in the end will give you a much better idea of
what level of understanding each of your students comes to your class with.
Concept and mind maps have been around for a while and have tended to be overused (Novak &
Gowin, 1984). However they remain an excellent activity for establishing each student’s knowledge. I
have also used them as an assessment tool (chapter 8). Basically, a concept/mind map is a diagrammatical
representation of words or terms that the students relate to a particular concept. The name of the
concept is written in the middle and then the students provide links from the concept to the words
or terms they already know. I find them very useful when preparing my own work, not only for
establishing the number of ideas that can be linked to the concept but for grouping together like
terms and planning the sequence of what I’ll teach.
Concept and mind maps look very similar, but they have some differences that affect how they are
used and the outcomes. A mind map revolves around a central concept with lines extending from the
central concept (see Figure 6.4). Words are added in levels where the words or terms that are directly
related to the topic are closest to the concept (level 1). Other words can be linked to level 1 words to
become level 2 words, and so on. At the beginning of a topic students usually find that they can supply
only level 1 terms. However, it is exciting for students to redo the mind map at the end of the topic
so they can see what they have learned. This process will be described further in chapter 8. Burzan
(2002) suggests that the use of a coloured key and images aids students by enhancing their memory of
the map while supporting the learning of students who are speakers of English as a second language.
Depending on the concept and student level you may get a mind map such as the one shown in
6 Planning for Engagement
Figure 6.4, which is very simple and has incorrect ideas. You can see that the student has been able
to supply a second link.
Concept maps (see Figure 6.5) show the relationship between words but also identify how the
terms are linked. The words or terms in a concept map are not usually in levels and are more
interrelated than in a mind map.
Figure 6.4
Mind map of animals
Animal
whales
live in the ocean
elephants
lions
dogs
spiders
Words
provided by
the students
Animals
(Concept)
cats
Have four legs
Eat grass and other
animals
whales
Links
Live in the ocean
Either of these types of maps can be drawn on a blank piece of paper, on butcher’s paper in groups,
or using computer programs such as Inspiration.
Figure 6.5 Concept map of roses
vases
fertiliser
posies
displayed in
require
Roses
water
grow in the
garden
have
perfume
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You can use mapping in your class in a variety of ways. For younger students you might supply
pictures or terms and a prepared blank map that the students attach the pictures to. If you are looking
to group their ideas you can supply areas where you would like related words to be placed (Figure 6.6).
Figure 6.6 A partially prepared blank mind map
Digestive system
Nervous system
Body systems
Circulatory system
Skeletal system
Strategies for engaging students
Student questions
I have used a questions strategy in many classes during my teaching. I still use it today with university
tutorials. First I ask students to write a list of questions they would like answered as part of my course.
After 5–10 minutes I ask them to share their ideas with another student or in groups of four. The pair
or group then has to choose their best questions and write them up on the board.
As a class we group the questions. We relegate questions that do not fit within the context of
the course with an explanation or suggestion of where they will get the answers. For the relevant
questions we look at the unit outline and see where the questions are going to be answered. The
questions are recorded and often referred to during the course. You will be surprised by how well
the student questions link to what you have planned for the course. There will be questions that I
had not expected and this is where I tailor activities to ensure that I cover what has been asked for.
At the end of the course we assess how the questions have been addressed and clarify any that are still
not completely clear.
6 Planning for Engagement
KWL
KWL (what I already Know—What I would like to learn—what I Learned) is another form of
questioning that engages students’ interest. It gives them an opportunity to reflect on what they
already know about a topic and what they would like to know about it. This activity usually involves
the use of a table (Figure 6.7). The students reflect on what they know about the topic and write
down their prior knowledge and think of questions they would like answered.
This technique remains useful throughout a topic as students record what they have learned.
When using a KWL table I have asked students to paste the page into their books. I refer to it
regularly and ask students to write what they have learned. By looking at what they have written on
a regular basis I get a view of what the students believe they have learned. It gives me a chance to
look for misconceptions. Having the time to look at every student’s book can become an issue. Using
a discussion board on a website can help with this, and there is the added bonus of having students
confer with each other to stimulate discussion.
Figure 6.7
KWL scaffold
Know
What I want to learn
What I learned
Floor storming
For this activity you need to know your students and they need to know your expectations. It requires
them to walk around the room making observations about images. The desks can be moved out of the
way and the images placed on the floor in a circle that the students move around, or alternatively they
can be pinned up on the wall. Wherever the images are, the students look at them and record their
ideas. Their individual ideas can then be shared in groups then collated to be shared as a whole-class
group or to lead to the production of a poster that is placed on the wall. I have used this technique to
introduce scientific equipment and famous scientists and/or their discoveries. I have also used parts
of the digestive system that they have to name and then place on a large (small human-size) diagram.
It is very entertaining and makes the students realise that they often don’t know as much about their
bodies as they think.
Poster drawing/annotated illustrations
I find the use of pictures an engaging way to introduce complex scientific concepts. The fear of the
science is replaced by the enjoyment of engaging in a context that is real to the students. Pictures
introduce creativity and allow students to use their imaginations without being hampered by scientific
language. You can use photographs to ask students to explain what they see, or students can draw
their own pictures as an explanation of their understanding of a concept. Students can also use digital
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cameras to take images of their work and write comments or descriptions underneath. Whatever the
origin of the picture, students can annotate them before they learn the scientific terminology, or after,
as an assessment tool to see what they have learned.
Write a story
For many students the barrier to deep understanding is the density of the language typically found in
science textbooks. The opportunity to write a story such as ‘A day in the life of a blood cell’ allows
students to use their creativity while using a narrative to explain their knowledge. While the focus
is on the development of the story, students can also incorporate meaningful scientific knowledge.
When teaching a lower ability class a unit on astronomy, I happened on the idea of writing a book.
Many of the students in my class had reading ages well below their Year 9 status. The book was to
be written for a Year 6 class. Students had to identify the concepts relating to astronomy that they
would cover in the six-chapter booklet. Each chapter would have a game and a practical activity at the
end that the students were required to perform to ensure that it worked. Because the book focused
on younger students, we needed to visit a library that catered for younger readers. In fact the books
selected were more appropriate for the reading age of my students. When discussing this activity with
other teachers they thought I was mad to expect lower ability readers and writers to write a book.
Well, they did it. They were able to use many skills they had and work together to produce many
excellent booklets that were shown to family and the school principal. The students realised that they
could be successful at a task they thought they were not capable of achieving. Their parents and the
principal were amazed by the students’ dedication to the task and the final products. Each student
received a full colour copy of their booklet.
The alternative to this activity would have been to work through teacher-selected text and practical
activities that the students may or may not have engaged with. This task promoted student learning
outcomes as well as providing further motivation for engagement in forthcoming science concepts.
Brainstorming
Whether as a whole class, in small groups or as individuals, the use of brainstorming begins the
process of self-evaluation of knowledge. During brainstorming students’ memories are activated as
they try to recall facts and ideas about a certain concept. Their individual knowledge can then be
pooled with their peers in small groups. This process of comparing their knowledge with others in a
small group can further stimulate ideas or challenge currently held ideas. When group members hold
different views, students can debate this understanding as they try to come to a consensus. Some of
these benefits are lost during whole-class discussions where students have to present their ideas to a
larger audience that includes the teacher. Only those students who are confident in their knowledge
and communication skills will contribute in that situation.
Poems/songs
I have witnessed the value of songwriting on many occasions when lower performing, less able
students produce songs that express their ideas in a format that the students relate to. One example
6 Planning for Engagement
167
comes to mind. A student was well-known for getting into trouble in class and was not connecting
with the science content being taught. His teacher found out that he liked rap music and decided to
incorporate the writing of a song into their program. The topic was the environment and what school
students could do to improve their school grounds. The normally disengaged student became focused
on the task. The end product was a recorded song that was used to raise money for the school and it
was played regularly at the end of lunchtime to remind students to consider their own environment.
While not all examples have a happy ending such as this, the teacher involved found a way to engage
the student in science through identifying the student’s personal interests.
Don’t underestimate the value of the fridge door or the end-of-year school magazine. Stories,
songs and poems written throughout the year seem to find their way onto home fridge doors. Even
teenagers take pride in a piece of their work being displayed at home on the fridge door. They are
also thrilled if their work finds its way into the end-of-year school report.
Think about it 6.5: Applying engagement strategies
Take a lesson that you planned early in your teaching or teaching course and add one of the activities suggested above. Analyse how that
activity enhances the lesson and what learning outcomes are now being addressed.
Summary
This chapter discusses the need to provide students with activities that they can relate
to, that challenge their ideas and that they can achieve successfully. The notion of what
effective teachers do is explored and shown to include the questions that teachers must
ask themselves as they plan and develop units of work and lesson activities. Teachers
need to develop their own understanding of the concepts they are teaching and then
identify pedagogy that will support student learning. These ideas are reinforced by being
linked to learning theory and examples of a resource, lesson plan and a scope and
sequence for science from foundation to Year 10.
In the science classroom
Children have a natural interest in the world around them, and simple activities can be
very engaging as students delve into why things work. Some simple activities based
around the physical sciences for primary students are:
::
Investigating the difference between pushing and pulling particular toys
::
Investigating the effect of sliding materials down different surfaces to observe the
effect of friction; this could lead into an investigation about the best surface for, say,
a skateboard ramp.
::
Investigating the effect and results of throwing, dropping, bouncing or rolling
different types of balls. Questions such as ‘Why does a basketball bounce a lot and
a cricket ball does not?’ could be explored.
Magnets are a particularly engaging tool. Students could be provided with magnets,
and allowed to investigate in a completely open-ended way. This would allow the teacher
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to see what prior knowledge students may have about magnets and their properties.
From the investigation, students could share their findings. More structured activities
could include:
Curriculum links
Year 4: Science Understanding: Physical sciences
Also refer to: Year 4 Work Sample 2: Investigation
plan—testing the friction of shoes; Work Sample
5: Investigation—testing bag strength (Australian
Curriculum, ACARA).
Plate tectonics
Curriculum links
Year 9: Science Understanding: Earth and space sciences;
Science Inquiry Skills: Planning and conducting, Processing
and analysing data and information, Communicating
Also refer to: Year 9 Work Sample 5: Slide show
presentation—Plate tectonics (Australian Curriculum,
ACARA).
::
What happens when two magnets are brought together?
::
What types of materials are magnets are attracted to?
::
If more than one magnet is placed together do the magnets get stronger?
::
Can magnets ‘work’ through different materials?
There are many ‘materials’ that students like playing with to discover what happens.
For example: slime/cornflour goo, simple colour changing reactions, the effects of food
colouring on flowers, creating water tornadoes, melting materials, making bread; the list
is endless.
Focus Questions
Consider the topic of heat. How could students be engaged in the topic?
How could it be presented in an open-ended way?
What structured activities could be considered?
Plate tectonics are one of those topics that often spark interest in students, as the effects
are on a large scale and linked to effects such as volcanic activity and earthquakes. Listed
are some different ways to explore the topic, with consideration of class organisation:
::
Individually, students could explore the topic of plate tectonics by conducting
independent research, perhaps through a computer session. This could lead to the
development of a report on the topic.
::
Teacher led demonstrations could be performed to have students consider how they
may investigate the topic in a practical sense. These demonstrations may include
discussion about the role of heat energy and convection currents in the movement
of tectonic plates, along with examples.
::
In small groups, students could create a practical activity/demonstration of the
movement of tectonic plates that may lead to earthquakes or volcanic activity. This
would build on their research and ideas from the teacher led demonstrations.
::
As a whole class, the students could show their activities/demonstrations, describing
the event. General ideas could be drawn from the activities and generalisations
made.
::
Individually, students could reflect on what they learnt about plate tectonics from
their investigation, as well as about aspects of the investigation, such as working
in groups.
Questions such as ‘Is that always the answer?’ and ‘What would happen if …?’
(which were explored in Chapter 1) are ideal for this type of activity and allow students
to investigate why and how different conditions may affect results.
Focus Questions
Consider the topic ‘ecosystems’. Provide examples of how the topic could be explored individually, in groups and as a class.
What demonstrations could be performed by the teacher?
What questions could alter the investigation? For example: What ecosystems could
be found on the moon? How could this be investigated?
6 Planning for Engagement
Further reading
Abdul-Razzaq, W., & Bushey, R. (2009). Generating student interest in physics: using relevant and exciting
curriculum additions. Journal of College Teaching & Learning, 6(2), 35–40.
Cavas, P. (2011). Factors affecting the motivation of Turkish primary students for science learning. Science Education
International, 22(1), 31–42.
King, D.T., Winner, E., & Ginns, I. (2011). Outcomes and implications of one teacher’s approach to context-based
science in the middle years. Teaching Science, 57(2), 26–30.
References
Bruning, R.H., Schraw, G.J., Norby, M.M., & Ronning, R.R. (2004) Cognitive psychology and instruction (4th edn).
Upper Saddle River NJ: Prentice Hall.
Burzan T. (2002). How to mind map. London: Thorsons.
Bybee. R.W. (1997). Achieving scientific literacy: from purposes to practices. Portsmouth NH: Heinemann.
Fry, E. (1977). Fry’s readability graph: clarification, validity, and extension to level 17. Journal of Reading, 31, 234–
237.
Herrenkohl, L.P., Tasker, T., & White, B.Y. (2011). Developing classroom cultures of inquiry and reflection using
web of inquiry. Cognition and Instruction, 29(1), 1–44
Novak, J.D., & Gowin D.B. (1984). Learning how to learn, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Osborne, R., & Freyberg, P. (1985). Learning in science. Portsmouth NH: Heinemann Educational.
Perrenoud, P. (1998). Towards a pragmatic approach to formative evaluation. In P. Weston (Ed.), Assessment of pupil
achievement (pp. 79–101). Amsterdam: Swets and Zeirlinger.
Sousa, D.A. (2008). How the brain learns mathematics. Thousand Oaks CA: Corwin Press.
Weir, C. (2009). Curriculum and assessment: aligning what you value with how you teach. In J. Millwater & D.
Beutel (Eds), Stepping out into the real world of education (pp. 109–132). Sydney: Pearson Australia.
169
Science, Literacy
and the Integrated
Curriculum
Mary U. Hanrahan
Key ideas
7
1
Literacy is fundamental to being successful in school science.
2
Teachers can help students overcome academic disadvantage
caused by a lack of relevant cultural capital.
3
There are many literacies need to be developed in school science.
4
Teachers and students both need to understand that reading is
essentially a problem-solving activity based on prior knowledge in
several areas.
5
Writing can be an effective way of developing understanding in
science when students are supported to use it in combination with
hands-on inquiry.
6
Both reading and writing are genre-based and students need to
be taught the cues and conventions for the various genres.
7
An important question is whether or not students need to use
correct scientific terminology.
8 The teaching of literacy can profitably be linked to the teaching of
science to the benefit of both.
Key terms
critical literacy
everyday literacy
literacies of science
scientific literacy
Can you spot the gap?
The words ‘length,’ ‘increased,’
‘was released’ just aren’t in
their vocabularies … when they
were asked to produce them, they
behaved as if they were lost—just
as though they were asked to state
their conclusions in French or
Chinese.
Come with me, in your imagination, into a science
classroom where the students have been doing an
investigation. The class has just investigated the effect of
weight in slowing down a moving body along an ordinary
surface such as a bench-top. They have been given some
wooden blocks with a hook at the end and some rubber
bands; they also need to use a ruler. They have been
shown how to hold the blocks behind a line while they
stretch the rubber band to a particular length, and then,
when they let the blocks go, to measure the distance they
travel. The class has been doing a unit on forces, and
friction has been one of the major concepts the teacher
has been introducing. The school services a lower socioeconomic area but what I observed happening here could
be true to some extent in almost any school.
My research journal
6 May. I went to the school again this morning to attend
Mrs K’s Year 8 class … they did a prac … I helped a couple
of groups, mainly one pair of girls and thought it went
well … When Mrs K went to sum up what students found
out from the table [drawn up using the results provided
to her by the students], the students weren’t offering any
suggestions, even though I knew that my pair had noticed
that the block had moved further when two rubber bands
were used …
Two things seemed to be happening. Mrs K had
started talking in a different way—more formally, using
particular phrasings, so that what the students came out
with didn’t fit neatly into the sentences she was framing.
She wanted the answers in scientific language, e.g. ‘when
the distance was greater’ and the students weren’t
thinking in those terms. And second, the students were
being asked to focus on a table full of numbers rather
than think about what they had themselves observed. I
think that fazed them a bit.
7 May. Today, thinking back, what strikes me is that …
I have noticed something lacking in Mrs K’s class that I
think [journal] writing might provide … a gap between
what the students did and discovered by doing prac work
and the activity Mrs K expected them to do afterwards—
give her their conclusions in scientific words, e.g. (in
words something like) ‘as the length of the rubber band
increased the block moved further when it was released.’
The words ‘length,’ ‘increased,’ ‘was released’ just aren’t
in their vocabularies, with one or two exceptions, so that
when they were asked to produce them, they behaved
as if they were lost—just as though they were asked to
state their conclusions in French or Chinese.
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The role of language in science education
Our goal in this book is to explore how to create positive science experiences in your classroom,
preferably for all students, not just for students who seem to have prior experience and interest in this
area. Part of our goal is to achieve more equitable outcomes for children from different backgrounds.
This chapter looks at how we can achieve this goal by asking about the language component of
science knowledge and finding out what research tells us about the teaching of language and literacy
in science. In particular this chapter will address how to help students read science texts with
understanding and write in ways that promote learning.
When students begin secondary school, they generally seem to look forward to the hands-on
laboratory work, but students from a middle-class background generally have an advantage when
it comes to classroom discussion and assessment. Such students are more familiar with the types of
reading and writing tasks in science—generally more abstract and impersonal—as well as having a
better grasp of academic terminology generally needed in secondary classrooms (Hanrahan, 1999a).
As suggested by the scenario at the beginning of this chapter, students without the same language
facility quickly find themselves unable to participate easily in classroom discussion at the same level
and do less well on tests where use of science-appropriate language is expected. The failure of such
students to cope could result in curricula for students from lower class backgrounds that are largely
fact-based rote learning, while their more academically advantaged peers are given opportunities to
discuss concepts and so achieve better understanding of the content and make better progress ( Jones,
1988). Bourdieu and Passeron (1977) called this advantage ‘cultural capital’: the cultural advantage of
children whose parents were better educated and who could provide more cultural resources for their
children. This chapter will explore how teachers can help students overcome academic disadvantage
and be successful in science, despite their lack of such cultural capital.
A major attraction of school science is the opportunity to perform hands-on activities as part
of investigations (Goodrum et al., 2001; see also chapter 5 this volume). Students who see Bunsen
burners, test-tubes and flasks as typical scientific equipment would agree. However, Jonathan Osborne
has argued that language activities should be seen as central, since science is about understanding the
world, arguing from evidence to conclusions, and explaining phenomena (Osborne, 2002). The
point of practical investigations is not only to give students experience with scientific phenomena but
also to move them towards conceptualising experience in scientific ways, preferably using scientific
language that is part of scientific theories. It is the discussion that takes place around the investigation
that helps students understand their world in a science-related way. Describing phenomena in
accurate detail, discussing what is observed, arguing a point of view from evidence, and explaining
underlying principles all depend on language skills—specific listening, speaking, reading and writing
skills related to science content.
The importance of language skills should not be interpreted as suggesting that learning science is
merely a matter of learning to use scientific terms and state facts, theorems and principles transmitted
from the teacher and textbook to students. Osborne and colleagues (2003) reviewed the literature
on attitudes towards science and reported that a lack of personal participation associated with rotelearning content can be seen as contributing to a widespread lack of interest in science, especially
when the study of science is seen as having little relevance to the interests, identity, and goals of
students. They found ‘too much emphasis on undemanding activities such as recall, copying and a
7 Science, Literacy and the Integrated Curriculum
173
lack of intellectual challenge’ (p. 1056). Nor should a focus on language in science, in my view, be
reduced to enforcing the use of correct terminology, and accurate spelling and grammar. While these
have their place, there is a danger that they will be seen as what science is about and that the more
important but less obvious language skills necessary for understanding science will be neglected. The
relationship between language skills and science understanding is a more complex one, as implied by
the term ‘science literacy’.
Literacy and literacies in science
The word ‘literacy’ has been used in several ways in relation to science education. The authors
of Primary Connections: Connecting science with literacy, an Australian Curriculum project providing
teaching resources linking science and literacy for primary schools, explain that the term ‘literacy’
can be used in several ways in relation to science, with key terms being:
::
scientific literacy
::
literacies of science
::
everyday literacies (AAS, 2007b)
::
‘critical literacy’ in science (AAS, 2007a).
First, ‘scientific literacy’ (sometimes called ‘science literacy’ without significantly altering the
meaning) is almost universally nominated as a principal goal of science education, though what it
means exactly is keenly disputed and will be discussed further below (cf. Roberts, 2007). Second,
‘literacies of science’ (in the plural), does not refer to these disputed views but rather to the specific
literacy skills needed to understand and communicate in science. Third, AAS (2007b) uses ‘everyday
literacy’ to refer to the non-disciplinary literacy skills used by students to learn the new literacies of
science (AAS, 2007b). And finally, ‘critical literacy’ refers to a way of looking at science texts that
includes an awareness of power relations implicit in them. While these definitions are a start, a deeper
understanding is needed to elucidate what is required of teachers in relation to literacy teaching in
science, so I will briefly address each in turn.
Think about it 7.1: Your science literacy
1
Were you challenged by the literacy demands of science when you were at school? What about now? Do you find science-related articles
intimidating?
2
What techniques do you use to grasp unfamiliar language or ideas?
What is scientific literacy?
There is no simple definition of ‘scientific literacy’ and there has been much disagreement about what
the term implies. The first meaning of scientific literacy refers to all outcomes desired from science
education (Roberts, 2007) and has little to do with literacy in the usual sense of being able to read
and write. In his review of ‘SL’ ( ‘scientific literacy’ or ‘science literacy’), Roberts (2007) wrote ‘With
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very few exceptions, definitions of SL have concentrated on identifying what is of value for students
over the long haul of a lifetime, irrespective of their career preferences and aspirations’ (p. 375). Most
science education authorities now speak of science education goals in terms of developing scientific
(or science) literacy in all students. Whereas once school science was mainly designed to meet the
needs of future professional scientists, in more recent decades it has been less exclusive and designed
to meet the needs of the individual as well as society (Roberts, 2007).
A widely used Australian definition (Hackling et al., 2001), created as the result of a nation-wide
research project in 2001, states that:
Scientific literacy is a high priority for all citizens, helping them to:
::
be interested in, and understand the world around them
::
engage in the discourses of and about science
::
be sceptical and questioning of claims made by others about scientific matters
::
be able to identify questions, investigate and draw evidence-based conclusions
::
make informed decisions about the environment, and their own health and well-being.’
(Hackling et al., 2001, p. 7, bullets added.)
A similar definition was developed for the purposes of the international 2006 PISA (Programme
for International Student Assessment) assessment task, used to compare the achievement of countries
around the world, and hence the comparative success of different systems of science education (OECD,
2007). It is clear from these definitions of scientific literacy that science education is intended to be
interesting and relevant for all students, linking to their own experiences, and enabling them not
only to understand the world around them but also to participate actively in science-related decisionmaking both at school and afterwards, with language competency being part of this. This notion of
what school science is for is in contrast to notions of science being mainly about the transmission of
facts, procedures, and principles in an impersonal and detached manner, which Lemke (1990) found
to be typical of teachers and students late last century.
A second meaning of scientific/science literacy
There is another difference to be noted between older and more recent definitions of SL. The
curriculum was once largely defined in terms of content (including technical processes) so that the
‘literacy’ in ‘scientific literacy’ was taken to be more about knowing the basics (i.e. essential discipline
content) of an area rather than anything to do with language learning (Roberts, 2007). In more
recent years, however, there has, according to Roberts, been more acknowledgment that language
plays a significant role in science learning, some would even say a fundamental role (e.g. Norris &
Phillips, 2003), since a comprehensive understanding of science cannot be communicated without
language. Many authors have commented that science cannot be just about doing, but must also, at
a minimum, involve speaking, writing, and reading (some would add listening, representing, and
viewing), and that these activities involve both particular science-related skills and more general
literacies, including academic and everyday literacy (e.g. AAS, 2007b; Fang, 2005; Hand et al., 2003;
Kelly, 2007; Pearson, et al., 2010).
Hence a second meaning of scientific literacy is about the connections between science knowledge,
the language of science, and how science is ‘rendered in various text forms’ (Pearson et al., 2010, p.
459). Pearson and colleagues are careful to point out that this focus on the language of science should
7 Science, Literacy and the Integrated Curriculum
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not be at the expense of science as doing; rather it is about advancing inquiry science by making
explicit the language features and skills needed. At the same time, however, their research shows
that projects integrating literacy and science can enhance literacy skills as well as science knowledge
and understanding, because ‘so many of the sense-making tools of science are consistent with, if not
identical to, those of literacy … thus allowing a setting for additional practice and refinement that can
enhance future reading and writing efforts’ (p. 460).
Some researchers note that there are particular concerns for students for whom English is not
their first language (Hart & Lee, 2003; Kamil & Bernhardt, 2004), and who are learning English as a
second or additional language (often referred to in Australia as English as second language learners –
ESL but elsewhere they have been referred to as English language learners – ELLs). However, Chinn
and colleagues (2008) advised that the experience of finding the language aspects of science difficult
applies more broadly, noting ‘all learners appear to be second language learners when it comes to
science language, linguistic devices, and discourse patterns’ (p. 149). If this is the case then all teachers
need to pay attention to language and literacy aspects of teaching and learning science.
The interaction between the learning of science knowledge and the learning of language appears
to be a complex one, with implications for both ELLs and those for whom English is their first
language (Saul, 2004). These include whether the content of the curriculum should be taught at the
same time as students are acquiring English, rather than concentrating on English first (Stoddart et
al., 2002), whether content should be taught to ELLs before specialised scientific language (Brown
& Ryoo, 2008), and on the extent to which comprehension depends on prior knowledge of content
and/or prior knowledge of textual genres (Hand et al., 2003; Kamil & Bernhardt, 2004; Saul, 2004).
Genres can be defined in this context as different kinds of literary compositions, each appropriate to
its context in terms of purpose, audience, structure, tone, content, and vocabulary. The laboratory
practical report is a commonly known genre in science, but there are many different genres in science
that are frequently used, or could be used.
What is clear is a new awareness that the language and literacy aspects of science need to be
acknowledged especially for ELLs but also for everybody for whom science seems like a foreign
language. As well as a new awareness of science literacy as fundamentally involving language and
literacy skills, there are three further ways in which the term ‘literacy’ is used in science. A distinction
is now made between different literacies within science and the role of everyday literacy. The
following sections clarify these two further distinctions made by AAS (2007b).
Think about it 7.2: Exploring science literacy
1
Browse the ACS site and make a list of the types of documents students are required to produce in the science classroom. (If you completed
Think about it 1.3 on page 10, find the list of science documents you created.) For each document type, create a mind map detailing its
typical features, for example its components and structure, language used, visual elements, and so on. This task could be split between
you and your colleagues, and the results shared.
2
Consider the Australian definition of science literacy (cf. Hackling et al. (2001), cited on page 174). Which aspects do you think our schools
succeed in developing in our students, and which aspects do you think may be less well developed? Does it matter which are more
developed?
3
From the discussion you have just read, write your own definition of scientific literacy. Provide some examples to help illustrate your
definition.
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Literacies of science
literacies of science
(in the plural) refers
to the specific
literacy skills needed
to understand and
communicate in
science.
The term ‘literacies of science’ has begun to be used in recent years (e.g. AAS, 2007b; Prain and
Kuehlich, 2007) and how this differs from ‘SL’ and ‘literacy’ more generally needs to be clarified.
In some contexts, literacy has been defined simply as being able to read and write at least one’s own
name and a limited range of other texts at a specified age. For example, the Central Intelligence
Agency (1996) notes ‘the most common definition’ as ‘the ability to read and write at a specified age’,
in which case people can be said to be either literate or illiterate, and countries can be described as
having high or low literacy rates. However, there are now understood to be many different literacies
(Gee, 2004; Prain & Kuehlich, 2007; Street, 1995). Literacy is now understood as applying to many
different skills rather than being a singular property that people either have or do not have (such that
people are categorised as being literate or illiterate). Because it is possible to function well in one
area but not another, we can talk of different literacies, such as ‘scientific literacy’, ‘financial literacy’,
‘work literacy’, and ‘computer’ or ‘digital literacy’. And within a particular content area, such as
science, there are specific literacies that are particularly important for that area of learning.
AAS (2007b) defined the ‘literacies of science’ as competency in ‘particular language practices that
record and communicate science activities, processes and findings’ (p. 2.), with examples including:
::
using scientific language and vocabulary
::
reading a weather report
::
using science based learning objects on a computer
::
discussing a new diet and fitness plan
::
reading labels before selecting a product to buy
::
reading graphs, tables, diagrams, charts,
::
keeping records in science journals (AAS, 2007b, p. 2)
AAS cites particular genres relevant to the literacies of science as including procedures, factual
recounts, explanations, information reports, and expositions. Hence the literacies of science, while
being specific to science, can also incorporate everyday literacies.
Prain and Kuehlich (2007) point out that the literacies of science are not just textual literacies but
can be multimodal, such as ‘text, tables, graphs, models, drawings, gestures and role plays’ (slide 11).
Saul (2004) wrote that ‘science uses multiple literacies’, pointing out that:
the language of science is a unique hybrid: It is a natural language as linguists define
it, extended by the meaning repertoire of mathematics … contextualized by visual
representations of many sorts, and embedded in a language or, more properly, a semiotic,
of meaningful, specialized actions afforded by the technological environments in which
science is done.’ (p. 33)
Saul (2004) also pointed out that science texts are typically ‘written in as much of this hybrid
meaning-making system as can be presented on paper or animated on a computer screen’ (p. 34),
that this hybridity means that literacy practices and texts of science are unique to science, and hence
how to read and write them needs to be taught in science. Nevertheless everyday literacies are always
involved. Hence we need to look at how everyday literacies are necessary for and get practised in
science before going on to explore what is known about teaching students how to read and write
science texts.
7 Science, Literacy and the Integrated Curriculum
177
Think about it 7.3: Your literacies
1
What sorts of literacies do you possess? List these, and give examples and genres for each, as has been done for science above.
2
Think about how you learnt these literacies—does this give you any reassurance about gaining the science literacy needed to teach your
future students?
Everyday literacies
Everyday literacies
A third way that AAS (2007b) used the term ‘literacy’ was in the phrase ‘everyday literacies’,
literacies that are used outside the classroom but can also be used in learning science. Prain and
Kuehlich (2007) define literacy as ‘a range of different types of social practices’ and explain that ‘all
literacies may entail reading and writing, talking, thinking, viewing and acting for a wide range
of purposes’ (slide 9). AAS (2007b, p. 1) defines ‘everyday literacies’ as processes and practices that
are used in everyday practice to ‘represent what learners can know, do or demonstrate when they
communicate’ and gives examples such as:
::
using vernacular language and slang
::
reading street signs
::
playing computer games
::
sending and receiving emails
::
talking with friends
::
watching television programs …
::
calculating the correct change when buying something (AAS, 2007b, p. 1).
AAS see science classes as having the potential to practise and help develop everyday literacies
at the same time as promoting scientific literacy. Thus, the ‘literacy focuses’ provided by Primary
Connections units include not only such genres as diagrams (e.g. circuit diagrams, cross-sections),
factual texts, graphs, and information report texts, but also interviews, role-plays, posters, science
journals, storyboards, and ‘word-walls’ (displays in a classroom of words related to a topic area).
In relation to secondary school science, Wellington and Osborne (2001) argued that an important
way of improving the quality of teaching and learning in science classrooms was to pay more attention
to language, including non-technical language. For example, citing the work of Gardner (1975, cited
in Wellington & Osborne, 2001), they pointed out that students’ understanding in science could be
impeded by their misunderstanding of logical connectives (e.g. consequently, conversely, respectively),
everyday literacy
the non-disciplinary
literacy skills used
by students to learn
the new literacies of
science.
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all ‘vital to the logic of science’ (p. 43). Hand and colleagues (2003, citing Norris & Phillips, 2003)
argued that literacy in its fundamental sense—‘being fluent in the language, discourse patterns, and
communication systems of science’ (p. 608)—was crucial for understanding and communicating science.
Critical literacy in science
critical literacy Refers
to a way of looking
at science texts that
includes an awareness
of power relations
implicit in them.
Finally, a more sophisticated perspective on literacy must include critical literacy, that is, consideration
of all texts as being produced by someone for some purpose, and unavoidably embodying values,
making claims and promoting particular ideas (AAS, 2007a; Morgan, 1997). In other words, critical
literacy is the skill of being able to critique texts to determine what claims are being made, what
implicit values promoted, for what purposes and for which audience. AAS (2007a) explains that
science is an evolving body of knowledge and that this has consequences for how science should be
taught and how scientific knowledge can be applied to evaluate a range of texts (one might consider
scientific claims made in advertisements or popular science articles, for example, as well as school
textbooks).
Many of the features of science texts, including the vocabulary and style, and the linking
of verbal, visual and mathematical language, aim to convince readers that the explanations
and findings in these texts are authoritative, reliable, and are based on evidence. In science,
claims and explanations are not fixed forever nor are they beyond question, as new evidence
developed in the future may suggest better explanations.
Students need to learn how and why these texts are constructed this way. They also need
to be sceptical and learn how to question the usage of some ‘scientific’ findings that may not
be reliable, or may be supportive of a suspect purpose. (p. 1)
The definition of science literacy given above includes a questioning or sceptical attitude and
a disposition to make decisions based on evidence. Critical literacy, however, implies more, since
the subtleties of how scientific ideas are presented can influence people without their being aware
of it. Who is advantaged or disadvantaged by the way knowledge is presented, what is included or
emphasised and what is left out, what values are implied, what prior knowledge is being assumed,
all need to be considered in evaluating a text (Morgan, 1997). Hence, as well as developing a critical
attitude in students in the usual meaning of ‘critical’, a critical literacy approach to science learning
and teaching would allow students and teachers to question the way science is presented in a range of
situations, up to and including the values implicit in the science curriculum, why some topics seem to
be given greater importance (e.g. physics topics), and others (e.g. environmental science, psychology
or socio-scientific issues) may only be mentioned in passing or omitted altogether.
In summary, scientific or science literacy has many definitions, but, in the current context of
science education in the early 21st century, it is generally about positive outcomes for all students,
includes attitudinal as well as cognitive outcomes, and requires an active role for students so that they
can become critical participants in their personal and civic contexts and make informed decisions
about personal and social aspects of their lives and environments. In this chapter, it has the additional
meaning of making explicit connections between language and science so that we differentiate
between the literacies of science, everyday literacies, and critical literacy in science. Such definitions,
however, only take us part of the way and we need to think about what they mean for the everyday
teaching and learning of science.
7 Science, Literacy and the Integrated Curriculum
179
Think about it 7.4: Developing your critical literacy
Choose some sample texts that have different functions, for example from a textbook, children’s story, speech/lecture notes and play. For each
of the texts outline:
1
Who do you think wrote it?
2
Who was it written for?
3
Is it meant to be spoken out loud or read to yourself?
4
What is the purpose of the text?
What teachers need to know about reading and
writing in science
If language is important in science learning but the language of science is like a foreign language to
many students, there are implications for teaching and learning. Teachers will need to be familiar
with the ways language is used in science and know how to support their students’ reading, writing
and speaking in science, especially when these differ from what happens in classes on language arts,
social studies, and so on. Fortunately much has been written about teaching reading, writing, and
speaking to help students develop their understanding and practice of science (e.g. Gallas, 1995; Gee,
2004; Hand et al., 2003; Hanrahan, 2009; Kamil & Bernhardt, 2004; Osborne, 2004; Saul, 2004;
Yore, Bisanz & Hand, 2003), and it includes reading for understanding and writing to learn. Another
area of literacy that is very important in science learning is oracy. Much of science learning happens
through discussions, from the early childhood level where children’s questions can be so important
in letting teachers know where to start (Gallas, 1995) through to secondary school and beyond, when
the important role of argument in science is identified (Osborne, 2004). Both reflect the important
role of discussion for scientists in the workplace or doing exploratory research. However, partly
because it is too important a topic to gloss over briefly, the role of talk in science learning—and the
use of gestures and diagrams could be included (cf. Roth, 2004)—has to be seen as beyond the scope
of this chapter, which can only make a beginning in exploring the literacy skills involved in reading
and writing.
The following section looks at the research about what reading in school science involves and how
it can best be supported.
Reading for understanding
Views of reading can be as simple as ‘word recognition and information location in textbooks’ or
as complex as ‘inferring meaning from a variety of texts with varying degrees of credibility and
validity involving the integration of textual information, readers’ background knowledge, and their
concurrent experiences to fashion interpretation of texts’ (Hand et al., 2003, p. 612). As such it is an
interpretive or problem-solving task that is more or less successful depending on:
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::
the reader’s prior knowledge of several areas, including their past experience
::
the (reading) context
::
their knowledge about the textual genre
::
their knowledge about related (e.g. science) texts and content knowledge.
Reading is a complex task and students need to be taught ‘interpretive strategies for coping with
science text’ (Hand et al., 2003, p. 613). Different reading strategies and knowledge are needed to read
different kinds of texts (Gee, 2004; Hand et al., 2003; Kamil & Bernhardt, 2004; Yore et al., 2003),
so students need to be coached in how to read science texts.
Teachers and students need to understand that the structure of science texts is typically different
from much of what they experience elsewhere at school. Sentences, paragraphs and chapters in science
are structured in ways that primary students may not be familiar with and so need to be taught (cf.
Bartlett, 2003; Kamil & Bernhardt, 2004). The following examples from the literature argue that
the structure of expository texts such as those found in science can provide particular challenges for
students. The first compares the structure of typical texts in language arts classes and typical texts
found in science. The second argues that identifying the structure of science texts can help with
understanding, and reports on research on strategies for helping students recognise different structural
forms. Further examples from my own experience and the literature emphasise the importance of
students monitoring their understanding.
Kamil and Bernhardt (2004) focused on text structures and compared those found in different
subject areas. They found that in primary classrooms in the language arts discipline area ‘story’ is
the textual structure most commonly encountered (children tend mainly to read story books) and
point out that stories have a relatively simple text structure in comparison with textual structures
encountered in science, where expository texts are the norm. They noted the variety and complexity
of expository texts and cite Mayer’s five categories of text structure as an example: ‘description,
collection, causation, problem and solution, and comparison’ (p. 129). They found that research on
reading instruction showed that ‘[c]urrent reading instruction deals primarily with the generalizable
reading skills, not with those specific to genres’ and that ‘unique genre skills are not being taught as
a routine part of reading instruction.’ (p. 130). They explain that this leaves students ill-equipped to
deal with reading tasks in science, and suggest that the boredom that results from such reading tasks
can be attributed in part to a lack of understanding of the structure.
For an example of
how knowledge of
top-level structures
can help students, see
‘Identifying top-level
structures case study 1’
on page 190.
Bartlett (2003), also looking at such textual structures, explored the effect of knowledge of ‘toplevel structures’ on reading comprehension—in his words, the ability ‘to process a text at various
levels of critical thinking and memory, and to identify or create its key information’. Bartlett found
very positive outcomes in a range of contexts for students using strategies for top-level structuring in
reading, writing and speaking. He identified the four main ways of structuring paragraphs as being
‘cause and effect’, ‘problem/solution’, ‘compare and contrast’ and ‘listing’, and claimed that ‘students
who do it write better assignments and find textbooks friendlier than they had previously’ and that
university students who are top-level structurers (i.e. people who make use of top-level structures)
generally have higher GPAs (grade point averages).
Getting students to justify their understanding of paragraphs allowed them to generalise the
strategy across a range of learning contexts (cf. Aulls, 1991). In his research Aulls explained a method
of helping primary school students learn a strategy for finding the main point of a paragraph they
were reading. His story is of a sixth grade teacher who trialled the use of particular summarising
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181
strategies over nine weeks, using three groups who differed in how much they used the strategies. For
the first six weeks the teacher used think alouds and charts to get students to be able to identify the
topic, sub-topics and the main idea of paragraphs. For the following three weeks he coached students
in using self-questioning to arrive at a valid question from the main idea. Aulls argued that success
depended on teacher modelling and guided practice with many examples, and on students learning to
justify their answer. Only then did they internalise the procedure. Students who were asked to justify
their answer as part of the process were more able to summarise effectively.
Similarly Palincsar & Brown (1984) had shown that poor readers in seventh grade, when given
successful ‘comprehension-fostering and monitoring activities’ in a ‘reciprocal teaching’ situation (i.e.
they taught each other using a particular reading process), became more successful readers and were
able to compete with their previously more able classmates. In all these cases, it seems that being
taught good reading strategies was not enough; students also needed to monitor their comprehension
and justify their conclusions before they could transfer the strategies and use them independently.
Students may have misconceptions about what reading is and reading does—they may see it as the
simple word-by-word decoding process that Hand et al. (2003) referred to. They fail to understand
the need for interpreting a text in the light of their prior knowledge and experience, a process that
requires active questioning and problem-solving.
As well as generally being more abstract than everyday speech, science writing has several other
features that make for more difficult reading (Fang, 2005). He summarised them as:
1 informational density: number of key words in a given amount of text. Speech is least dense with
inclusion of non-essential words, whereas writing is generally denser. Scientific writing, even in
textbooks for children, is generally very dense
2 abstraction/nominalisation: refers to the use of a word (e.g. weathering) to stand for a whole
process (grammatical metaphor, mentioned above, is one example)
3 technicality: the use of terms that have specific scientific meanings in the context of science
4 authoritativeness: the way science is written as factual and correct, and in an assertive, objective
tone, with the author virtually absent from the text.
Overall then, teachers need to become aware of the complexity of the task of reading in science.
It should not be seen as merely a matter of decoding words and paying attention to technical
vocabulary. Reading for comprehension needs to be seen as a challenging task for most students
because the unique features of scientific texts mean that considerable prior knowledge is needed,
that is, knowledge of content, context and the specific genres and internal textual structures used
in science. As a consequence, all teachers of science need to see themselves as teachers of the kinds
of texts that are to be found in science, texts that are often much more complex than their students
will find elsewhere. They will need to provide strategies for coping with expository texts, including
strategies for recognising top-level structures and peculiarities of scientific texts. More specifically,
they will need to provide students with strategies for noticing non-verbal cues in texts, and for
interpreting texts using active questioning and problem-solving.
However, reading is not the only challenging literacy task in science. Writing in science is just as
challenging and can be the aspect of school science that secondary students most dislike (cf. Gregson
& Aubusson, 2005).
For another example
of how knowledge of
top-level structures
can help students, see
‘Identifying top-level
structures case study 2’
on page 191.
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Writing to learn
Learning science also involves using writing skills. Yore et al. (2003) recount the history of the use
of writing in science classrooms, noting that in earlier times it was mainly a matter of copying text
verbatim from a blackboard, writing science reports in a given fixed format, or using writing for
assessment. They listed such teacher-directed tasks such as ‘keeping accurate records, completing
laboratory reports, and demonstrating an understanding of concepts for assessment purposes’ (p. 713).
Students were typically being expected to write their notes in a particular formal style under the
headings ‘hypothesis, procedures, observations, results and discussions’ (Yore et al., 2003, p. 713).
With regard to assessment, Gregson and Aubusson (2005) reported that secondary science students
generally lacked writing skills, and that, while students often disliked writing, they realised the
importance of writing for achieving success at school.
Much could be said about the various ways that writing is used in school science. Writing to learn
involves students in writing in everyday, non-specialised language as they try to make sense of the
concepts they are learning (Keys, 1999). Keys (1999, citing Britton, 1970) characterised this form as
‘expressive, because it resembles the type of language used in everyday conversation’ (p. 116), both
conveying information and reflecting on that information. In the United States, writing-to-learn
in content areas was seen as evolving out of the ‘writing across the curriculum’ movement that
initially focused on improving exposition of knowledge but moved towards writing more personally
to form meaning (Keys, 1999). It often involved using logs or journals for students to reflect on their
learning in an attempt to ‘personalize the curriculum, foster student ownership and responsibility for
learning’ ( Jones, 1991). This followed a general move towards using journals across the curriculum
(e.g. Fulwiler, 1987).
A successful Australian example of journals being used in primary science was provided by Susan
Swan, an Australian primary teacher and researcher (cf. Swan & White, 1994). Mrs Swan had her Year
3 students write in what she called their ‘thinking books’ to reflect on their learning. This provided
useful feedback about their level of understanding of what she was trying to teach in science, which
then fed back into her teaching. She also used it to prompt further reflection by writing comments in
reply to the students’ ‘thinking book’ entries. Such dialogue was much valued by the students, who
reminded her not to forget their thinking books when they left at the end of the day!
In my own research I worked with a teacher using ‘dialogue journals’ with a Year 8 science class
who, on the whole, had low-level literacy skills (Hanrahan, 1999a). The journals gave them a voice
which the teacher heard and responded to (initially with responses to the journal entries, but later
with responses in what he did in lessons) so that the enacted curriculum became more negotiated
than it would otherwise have been (Hanrahan, 1999a). As a result students became able to come to
terms (to some extent) with some of the difficulties they were experiencing, and this seemed to give
them hope that they could participate in their own learning in science. For example one student
wrote about the use of dialogue journals, in the following words, ‘We can tell you how we really feel
about Science and we should have that more in every subject that we’re having trouble with’ (AR)
and another, ‘Well, the advantages of it, um, like, you, the teachers, know what they have to pick
up in and what they don’t have to pick up in’ (TA) (both quotes cited in Hanrahan, 1999b). Hence
the journals gave students a place to reflect on their learning, gave the teacher useful feedback, and
facilitated dialogue between the teacher and his students. They also provided a non-threatening
7 Science, Literacy and the Integrated Curriculum
learning environment (Watts & Bentley, 1987) and allowed students to communicate their emotional
experience of science and hence played a role in helping them develop their identity as legitimate
science students.
Writing can also be used in more creative, imaginative ways in connection with science learning
in both primary and secondary science. A primary school example combined science learning about
coastal ecology with the writing of a mystery narrative, an ‘eco-mystery’ (Ritchie et al., 2008).
A secondary school example is reported by Hildebrand (2003), who used imaginative writing in
a mixed scientific-literary mode as a way of helping her female students learn science in a more
compatible way, with imaginative writing being used as ‘a link between pleasure and engagement’.
Combining ‘factional’ with ‘fictional’ genres in anthropomorphic writing (animating science by
giving inanimate objects or concepts human characteristics such as intentions) helped the girls in the
study reported by Hildebrand to engage in learning about biological processes in a way that they did
not associate with masculinity. In these cases, it was thought that those who found science too dry
or too culturally masculine could have a new chance to engage with science by being able to write
in genres they already enjoyed. Such diversification of genres used in science writing is intended to
make science accessible to a wider range of students than a strictly traditional scientific approach (such
as that described by Lemke, 1990).
Keys (1999), however, was critical of such expressive and imaginative writing, seeing it as
distracting from the central goal of learning authentic science practices and language. She argued
against the use of too much expressive writing in science, contending that writing in scientific genres
with the goal of informing others (what Britton called ‘transactional’ writing) can be even more
effective in helping students learn. She pointed out that participation in an authentic, sense-making
process of report writing could be just as engaging and much more illuminating about the nature of
science investigation and the thinking skills needed. She wrote:
Writing in the accepted scientific genres can provide opportunities for understanding the
relationship of evidence to knowledge claims, and the tentative nature of the scientific
enterprise. Coupled with opportunities for authentic investigation, writing to communicate
science will provide the opportunity for in-depth scientific thinking and will promote the
crystallization of new understandings through verbal modes of discourse (p. 119).
The work of Keys and colleagues led to a practical application of these ideas in a program that
integrates writing to learn with transactional writing (Keys, 1999). The Science Writing Heuristic
(SWH) (Yore et al., 2003) was developed to help students learn as they undertook inquiry in a way
that gave more of the planning and responsibility to the learner, similar to the way scientists engaged
in inquiry might work in their laboratory. The dialogue that a scientist might have with his or her
team as they go through the inquiry process and write up their results is simulated by a structure
consisting of scaffolding questions for the student, with questions such as, ‘What is my question?’,
‘What did I do?’, ‘What did I see?’, ‘What is my claim?’, ‘What is my evidence?’, ‘What do others
say (i.e. peers or the textbook)?’, and ‘Did I change my ideas?’ (p. 713). It provides students with
scaffolding questions that allow them to play an active role in constructing their understanding and
communicating it scientifically (Yore et al., 2003).
This approach to writing to learn may be most suitable for students who are already on the path
towards identifying with scientists and who want to think and communicate like scientists. Robyn
Gregson (chapter 5, p. X) writes of engagement as being linked to ‘a feeling of belonging and an
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acceptance of the goals of education’ and as being related to gender in science. For students who
may not easily identify with or who may feel disenfranchised by traditional science, such as some
female or minority students (cf. Aikenhead, 1996; Lemke, 1990), such a direct approach may be
less successful. Given the problem of motivation in science referred to by Gregson, teachers need to
address motivational issues as part of teaching science, and this may mean separating out the teaching
of new concepts, the teaching of new scientific terminology and the teaching of new scientific genres,
and finding novel ways of helping students connect learning to the funds of knowledge (cf. Moje et
al., 2004) that they bring from outside the classroom.
In summary, there are several ways that writing has been used in science teaching and learning
over the last few decades. Traditionally it was used mainly for verbatim copying of teacher or textbook
notes, writing reports for ‘cookbook pracs’, and demonstrating knowledge, and these were generally
considered boring or alienating by many students and appeared to contribute to a loss of motivation in
science students who often had very little personal involvement in their learning and little autonomy.
This led to a writing-to-learn movement where students were encouraged to express their own ideas
as they made meaning out of their experiences in science, initially in everyday language but generally
with a goal of helping students move towards understanding and reporting in scientific terms and
genres. It was noted that the approach taken—whether using traditional genres or more creative
genres—may depend on the context and related motivation issues.
Do we need to use the big words?
One area of debate in science education is whether one can learn science without learning all the
jargon, which can be so off-putting to science students for whom it is like a foreign language (cf.
Chinn et al., 2008). Fang (2005) listed ‘technicality’ as one of the four unique features of science
writing that provide challenges for school students.
Some linguists and researchers insist that science language is necessarily dense and abstract because
this is the way science needs to be to communicate arguments based on evidence and build these
arguments into theories (Halliday & Martin, 1993; Keys, 1999; Pearson et al., 2010). While this may
be the case for the development of science where new evidence is used to build a new theory, it is not
necessarily the same for school children and young people encountering many disciplines in quick
succession for the first time.
The vocabulary demands of a typical science textbook or even a science-related trade book (i.e.
a commercially available book produced for reading by the general public) may be significant, with
several, if not dozens, of new words appearing on every page and needing to be understood and
accommodated before the following sentence or paragraph can be understood. This is somewhat
similar to the rate of learning of new words in foreign language study, but it should be noted that
language teachers expect to have students practise the new vocabulary repeatedly in a variety of
meaningful contexts, repeating the new words many times with attention to intonation and any
variations that may be present, and assigning further vocabulary practice for homework.
By contrast, in my experience, in science words are often introduced once or twice, including in
one written exercise, and are then expected to be a natural part of students’ vocabulary thenceforth
7 Science, Literacy and the Integrated Curriculum
without further practice (Hanrahan, 1999b). There is a limit, however, to the number of new words
a student can accommodate in a given time. The American Association for the Advancement of
Science (AAAS, 2000), in Benchmarks for Science Literacy [Project 61], reported that, ‘[t]he curriculum
has become grossly overstuffed with topics … Shallowness is one consequence, incoherence another’.
They recommend reducing the number of topics and the amount of content to be taught, including
unnecessary technical terms: ‘Through eliminating, pruning, and trimming … Benchmarks included
the idea, but not associated terms judged to be unhelpful to understanding or required for science
literacy’ (p. 214), also recommending the pruning of technical terms used ‘for their own sake’
(p. 227).
As well as seeing too much technical vocabulary as placing too great a burden on learners, they
also wrote about the risk that students could adopt it without real understanding. They commented
that a lack of understanding could be cloaked by a student’s ‘glib use of technical terms’ (p. 214), often
learnt by rote. However, AAAS point out that some terms were more useful to keep than others,
noting, ‘Technical language is helpful when the same idea needs to be referred to again and again. If
there is a legitimate reason to refer to where food is oxidized in a cell, it obviously doesn’t make sense
to endlessly repeat “that special part of the cell where food is oxidized”.’ (p. 231). This can be seen
as consistent with Fang’s (2005) comment on ‘abstraction/nominalization’ being a unique feature of
science texts, being used to advance an argument efficiently by standing in for and summarising the
detail of a previous step in the argument. On the other hand, as can be seen above, Watson (1998, p.
150) used the heading ‘Wearing away rocks’ at the beginning of a chapter on weathering and only
introduced the term ‘weathering’ once he had established the idea of the process well, thus illustrating
how to use everyday and technical terms sequentially.
The challenge of being overloaded with numerous new scientific terms at the same time as
unfamiliar genres may be one reason why students may find imaginative writing appealing (cf.
Hildebrand, 1998; 2003), as such writing allows practice in thinking about how different elements in
a system fit in with each other in a way that builds on prior knowledge about both genres and systems.
They can practise new technical terms in the context of a familiar genre. Ritchie and colleagues
(2008) found that the students in their study on writing an eco-mystery had an unexpected long-term
gain in their use and understanding of scientific terms related to coastal ecology.
It appears to be fruitful to separate the learning experience into two stages (Brown & Ryoo,
2008). Stage one is where students learn to understand scientific phenomena in everyday terms before
they learn to understand it in academic scientific language. Brown and Ryoo compared the results
from two groups of ‘language minority’ students, one of which learnt about photosynthesis using
scientific language from the beginning, and one of which was allowed to develop understanding of
the same topic with everyday language before they were introduced to the scientific language. They
called the latter a ‘content-first’ approach. They found that not only did the ‘content-first’ group
develop better understanding of the science, but they also became more proficient in the long run in
using the correct scientific language.
This suggests that using unfamiliar language to teach new concepts leads to poorer understanding,
but that once students have grasped the basic principles and understand the relationship between the
different aspects they are more ready to accept the scientific terminology as meaningful. Students
are likely to learn more deeply if the curriculum is trimmed and there is less of a focus on teaching
technical language for its own sake. And, given that Chinn et al. (2008) advised that science is like
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a foreign language in some aspects for all students, this approach may be equally valid in classrooms
where English is the students’ first language.
In summary then, it seems that expecting students to understand new content when it is
accompanied by unfamiliar technical language may be asking too much, especially if standard
English is also somewhat unfamiliar to the students. However, once such students have understood
scientific phenomena in their own words, they may be able to accommodate scientific terminology
and use it successfully to show their understanding of scientific topics. If the goal is universal scientific
literacy, then some understanding of scientific terminology needs to be achieved, but teachers should
be careful not to introduce new terms at a rate that reduces understanding of the concepts being
taught. When scientific terminology is introduced too quickly, students may pick up and use the new
terms, but, as AAAS warns, may not really understand them. Hence teachers need to be strategic in
supporting their students in learning to use scientific terminology.
Think about it 7.5: Working with jargon
1
Identify 10 jargon words in a discipline area you are most familiar with. You will have to imagine a reader who is not at all familiar with this
area as you’ve probably become so used to them you think of them as everyday language. Think how you can explain them so that such a
reader can understand them. Then repeat this exercise with ESL/ELLs in mind.
2
Did you realise that some of your everyday words are really jargon from your discipline area?
Linking literacy skills with science understanding
As implied above, many researchers are recommending integrating the teaching of literacy and
science, both for primary and secondary science teachers, and for both native English speakers and for
ELLs. There are many reasons for integrating the two areas.
Language is fundamental to school science. Understanding scientific concepts makes significant
demands on literacy skills, many of which students appear to be unable to meet (Fang, 2005; Gregson
& Aubusson, 2005; Hanrahan, 2009; Norris & Phillips, 2003; Pearson et al. 2010; Thier, 2002).
These demands include reading comprehension, writing, and vocabulary skills. Some authors point
out that, even though science teachers believe that most of these skills are (or should be) taught
elsewhere, many are not (cf. Kamil & Bernhardt, 2004; Pearson et al., 2010; Stoddart et al., 2002). In
some cases, even though they could be taught elsewhere, they are key literacies needed for success in
inquiry in school science and hence need to be taught or at least reinforced in science (cf. Keys, 1999).
In any case, such literacy skills are also likely to be good for thinking and writing more broadly, so
linking literacy teaching and science is mutually beneficial (Pearson et al., 2010).
Thus students are not likely to develop understanding in science unless they have sufficient
language skills and/or the opportunity to develop such skills. Teachers can provide such opportunities
by supporting ‘writing to learn’ in a scaffolded but student-centred way in an inquiry approach to
science (cf. Keys, 1999), by encouraging personal journal writing (cf. Hanrahan, 1999), or by using
creative writing (cf. Ritchie et al., 2008; Hildebrand, 2003). Science literacy can also be supported
by helping students develop relevant reading strategies for science texts (Hanrahan, 2009; Bartlett,
2003; Aulls, 1991).
7 Science, Literacy and the Integrated Curriculum
Such integration of the two areas is likely to be necessary because there are features of literacy
related to science that are unlikely to be taught outside science because they are discipline-specific
to science (Moje, 2008; Kamil & Bernhardt, 2004). For example, with regard to ELLs, researchers
such as Kamil and Bernhardt (2004) point out that the specific literacies of science are unlikely to be
taught by literacy-only teachers. Stoddart and colleagues (2002) argued that students needed to learn
content area subjects at the same time as they were acquiring English, because their special English
classes did not prepare them for the special demands of such subjects. With regard to the language
demands of science, they explained:
The science register uses academic language features that include formulating hypotheses,
proposing alternative solutions, describing, classifying, using time and spatial relations,
inferring, interpreting data, predicting, generalizing, and communicating findings … The
use of these language functions is fundamental to the process of inquiry science (p. 665).
Such ways of using language are not typically taught in literacy classes for ELLs, so the latter will
only gain them by participating in science classes where they have the opportunity to practise them.
All science teachers, not only teachers of ELLs, need to remember that there are some literacies
that are specific to science and that these need to be taught as part of science. This advice applies not
only to primary teachers but also to secondary science teachers. The latter may forget that the text
types they are so familiar with are intrinsically difficult for most students, and that students need to be
given strategies to help them read and write expository texts such as those found in science. In both
cases, it cannot be assumed that reading comprehension skills learnt in language arts/English classes
are sufficient for learning science. The kinds of texts read in science, particularly expository texts,
have complex structures whose cues may be invisible to many students unless taught explicitly, for
example, heading levels and top-level paragraph structures. Moreover texts used in science are likely to
have unique science features such as informational density, technicality, abstraction/nominalisation,
and authoritativeness (Fang, 2005). These features make science texts challenging for most students
and some effort is needed on the part of the teacher to help students unpack the meaning in the text.
Integrating the two areas is one way of making time for both science and literacy. Because of ‘high
stakes’ testing and compulsory literacy blocks, science often gets neglected in the primary school
curriculum. (High stakes testing refers to evaluation of student skills in key areas such as literacy
and numeracy, usually with particular outcomes for whole schools and classroom teachers, such as
a quality rating or funding.) Making time for science without taking it away from literacy was one
of the motivations for the project resulting in the set of science materials called Primary Connections
(AAS, 2006) which has been enjoying some popularity and success. Used as an authentic context
for learning literacy by providing many literacy focuses in every unit of work, literacy learning can
be meaningful and enjoyable for most students. They are not reading, writing and speaking just
because the teacher wants them to, but because they want to communicate their own ideas about the
natural world and scientific phenomena, and what they find through their hands-on investigations
and background reading. Some of this communication may be at an individual level, such as making
predictions in an individual journal or reading biographical reports of scientists; some of it may
happen in small-group work, such as discussion of an investigation or group writing of a report; and
some may happen at a whole-class level, such as whole-class discussion, writing in a class journal,
reading or creating posters, and helping create word walls.
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Primary teachers are generally likely to feel much more comfortable teaching literacy than science,
hence—as with the literacy focuses in Primary Connections—they can use and teach genres they are
comfortable with (such as student journals, recounts, and word walls) at least some of the time. This
can reduce their unfamiliarity with teaching science and enhance their confidence that they have
much to offer in the teaching of science. However, not only can they use science to teach everyday
literacy, but as language and literacy teachers they may be more comfortable teaching the literacies
of science than many qualified science teachers. Because they know more about the steps involved in
teaching reading and writing, they may be better able to appreciate the difficulties students may have
with the discourse of science, especially if they themselves are new to it.
An important point needs to be made here about the type of science that is being integrated
with literacy teaching. Most of those advocating paying more attention to the language features of
science advise doing so in the context of inquiry-based science (e.g. Keys, 1999; Pearson et al., 2010;
Stoddart et al., 2002; Yore et al., 2003). Inquiry science is seen as an authentic context for developing
literacies, as students develop their own questions or research a specific context. Pearson et al. (2010)
wrote ‘When literacy activities are driven by inquiry, students simultaneously learn how to read and
write science texts and to do science’ (pp. 459–560). These authors point out that, for scientists, texts
are an important part of inquiry: inquiry begins with questions that arise from texts and texts are
referred to in interpreting data and findings. This inquiry-driven use of writing is consistent with
Keys’ (1999) argument for formal writing during inquiry science. She noted, however, that inquiry
does not necessarily mean student-directed inquiry where the students decide on the question or the
method to be used (Keys, 1999). She gave an example of student inquiry being directed by the teacher
but involving individual projects in an intervention where students had to research zoo animals in
pairs and then write a report (a ‘zoo behaviour report’) on what they had observed, making inferences
based on their minute-by-minute written observations during a half-hour period. She argued that
rather than being boring and alienating, learning to write in a specific scientific genre in the context
of such inquiry makes an ideal context for understanding science more deeply.
Hence, integrating the study of science and the development of literacy appears to enhance the
study of both science and language, particularly when inquiry methods are used. Inquiry science
provides an authentic context for developing literacy skills at the same time as motivating students to
develop their understanding of science.
7 Science, Literacy and the Integrated Curriculum
Summary
Science literacy fundamentally involves language and literacy skills and both everyday
and specific language skills are needed to understand and communicate in science.
Further, critical literacy can help students to be critical of texts both in science and
beyond the classroom. However, the fact that language skills are fundamental to science
provides special challenges for students and teachers.
This chapter addresses reading for understanding and how it is essentially a problemsolving activity requiring prior knowledge not only about content but also about context,
including text types. Science texts, especially expository texts, have been identified as
being especially difficult for most students. Teachers also need to be aware that sciencerelated texts have other unique linguistic features that provide special challenges for
students, such as informational density, abstraction/nominalisation, technicality, and
authoritativeness (cf. Fang, 2005).
A second focus has been writing and how it can help students develop understanding
in science, make science more relevant to their interests and needs, and help them to be
successful in inquiry-oriented science. However, it needs to be used sensitively, with one
eye on students’ motivation to learn science. Ways that encourage interest in science are
most likely to succeed, hence using expressive or creative writing as well as traditional
ways of writing are recommended for students who are typically alienated by traditional
ways of communicating in science.
A third focus has been on the most obvious language feature in science—scientific
terminology—and how it can be best taught and learnt. Research cited indicates that
it may be counterproductive to introduce it too soon or too rapidly. I have argued that
introducing too much new language at the same time as introducing new concepts may
only confuse students so that they learn less well. AAAS (2000) suggests that while they
may use scientific terminology, students may do so without understanding the concepts
it represents. Moreover, Brown and Ryoo (2008) reported that students learn both the
science and the scientific terminology more successfully when substantial understanding
is achieved before new terms are introduced. On the other hand, ELLs should not be kept
out of science classes while learning English because literacies specific to science are
unlikely to be learnt in generic literacy classes (cf. Stoddart et al., 2002).
Assuming that both literacy and science literacy are important for all students, one
of the aims in this chapter has been to help the reader become aware of the possibilities
for teaching literacy through science and/or science through literacy. A second aim has
been to stress the necessity of supporting students in learning the language and literacy
skills necessary to succeed in science. This is obviously relevant to teaching science to
ELLs but is likely to apply more generally as science seems to be like a foreign language
to all students in some aspects (Chinn et al., 2008). Science provides an authentic and
engaging context for students to investigate aspects of the natural world that require
them to engage in discussion and various reading and writing tasks. These will improve
their everyday and academic literacy skills as they develop their understanding of the
science involved and present their thinking to others.
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In the science classroom
Identifying top-level
structures case study 1
Mr Jones employed Bartlett’s four top-level structures with his Year 9 science class as
they read a section in their science textbook. They were studying electricity and as they
identified the structure of each paragraph the top-level structures were helping them
find the main points in what they were reading. Students were told it was not enough
to be able to identify the structure, they also needed to be able to justify their choice,
for example ‘problem/solution’, by stating what the problem was and what the solution
was. They completed a worksheet in which they first identified the top-level structure
of a paragraph with one of the four main ways of structuring paragraphs, and then
provided a reason for their choice of top-level structure (see below).
Table 7.1
Top-level structure proforma completed by Mr Jones’s class
Complete the table
Structure
Reason
1 Overall structure appears to be
I think this because
2 Detailed structure:
Para 1:
Bartlett noted that some people seem to be ‘naturally’ able to recognise key
elements of structure and use that information to distinguish what is important in a
text, but others need to be taught strategies to identify and use such structures to get
the most out of their reading.
These Year 9 boys participated actively in reading using top-level structures, when
one might not expect them to be so interested in reading and summarising science
texts. It seemed to me that once they could distinguish the logic and main point of a
paragraph, previously invisible to many of these students, they could participate more
fully in the science class rather than feel excluded or marginalised as they otherwise
might have. By contrast, in another class a few years earlier, I saw a teacher ask Year 8
students to read a page of a science textbook for homework and make notes on it. The
students were at a loss because they had no such strategy for distinguishing the main
points being made, so that, in many cases, they simply copied the whole text into their
workbooks or gave up before they began.
7 Science, Literacy and the Integrated Curriculum
The teacher, Mrs Savige, was able to help her students (many of whom were ESL students)
read a chapter in a textbook intended for English-speaking Year 9 students (Watson,
1998, p. 150) by modelling successful reading strategies. The class were learning about
weathering (‘wearing away rocks’ as the textbook initially called it) in an earth science
unit, and Mrs Savige showed how she asked herself questions about the text: why a
photograph of a person standing on the edge of a rock overlooking a valley was shown
at the beginning of the chapter (Figure 7.1), why the author had readers thinking about
what it felt like to have sand blown in their eyes on a beach on a windy day, why certain
words were in bold or italics or were in larger bold print.
Figure 7.1
The first page of the science textbook chapter that Mrs Savige was
helping her students read with understanding
Her goal was to have students notice top-level structures such as headings, graphics
and typographical features of the text and understand what the author was aiming to
have students think about and why. For students for whom most words in the technical
text were new or difficult words, including many everyday non-technical English words,
such a text could be too overwhelming for them to notice all the non-verbal cues
which would otherwise help them grasp the main points. This may be true to a lesser
extent for most learners in science classrooms. Mrs Savige also had students notice
more subtle features of the text structure, such as recognisable genres within the text
and typical ways of communicating in science. For example, when the class, who were
reading the chapter as a whole-class group, came across a process in their reading, their
teacher reminded them of what a process was and got them to identify the steps in the
process of frost action. At another time, she remarked on how a particular word could
191
Identifying top-level
structures case study 2
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be converted into a different form for use in a subsequent sentence. (This feature of
language is known by linguists as ‘grammatical metaphor’, and is a very common feature
of scientific writing and one of the features that make reading science texts difficult for
the novice student.) In all, students were learning at least 17 distinct literacy mini-skills
during a double-period science lesson which involved both reading and note-taking
(Hanrahan, 2009).
Focus Questions
Outline the strategies that Mr Jones and Mrs Savige used. Why do you think these
teachers were successful with their students?
Take an expository text, such as an informational science book produced for
children, select a paragraph at random and determine its top-level structure.
Give reasons for your categorisation, then think about whether having to give
reasons, helped you understand the text better.
Further reading
Hanrahan, M. (2009). Bridging the literacy gap: teaching the skills of reading and writing as they apply in school
science. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science & Technology Education, 5(3), 289–304.
Ritchie, S., Rigano, D.L., & Duane, A. (2008). Writing an ecological mystery in class: merging genres and
learning science. International Journal of Science Education, 30(2), 143–166.
Swan, S., & White, R. (1994). The thinking books. London: Falmer.
Wellington, J., & Osborne, J. (2001). Language and literacy in science education. Buckingham: Open University Press.
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The What, Why, Who,
Where and When of
Assessment
Robyn Gregson
Key ideas
1
Assessment has changed. We no longer just look for what
students have learned and give it a mark. The data collected must
be used to direct the actions of teachers when they plan activities
and to inform students of their progress.
2
When assessing student learning it has been found that while
academic performance is important, teachers give more weight
to student effort, academic behaviours such as participation, and
extra work.
3
National testing has made both positive and negative
contributions to education. As we are going to have national
testing for the foreseeable future we must use its strengths and
limit the effects of its weaknesses on the learning outcomes of
our students.
Key terms
criteria
feedback
formative assessment
standards
summative assessments
8
Robert’s story
To my dismay, Robert’s response to
the question ‘Describe the theory of
plate tectonics’ scored zero out of
five … His writing certainly did not
reflect his extensive knowledge of
the topic.
Robert was a hardworking and willing 15-year-old high
school student who was passionate about science. He
often told me about the experiments he carried out, not
always successfully, in his backyard over the weekend.
196
Halfway through the school year, each student in his
Year 9 science class was required to prepare and give a
speech to the class as part of their assessment. Robert
chose to speak on the subject of tectonic plates. He
walked to the front of the room, drew a simple diagram
on the board, and faced his audience. For 45 minutes
he held the whole class spellbound; not an easy task in
this lower-performing group. His speech demonstrated
knowledge well beyond the level expected of a Year 9
student. His explanations were thorough and couched in
sophisticated language. He used correct terminology to
describe the wealth of information he had on the topic.
Furthermore, he was able to adjust his content so that
the rest of the class could understand. He illustrated
his information with examples, and justified all his
statements. He spoke with clarity and without the use
of notes.
Aware of the interest that both Robert and the others
had shown in this topic, and with the need to provide
an opportunity for these lower-performing students to
succeed, I deliberately wrote a question for the yearly
examination on tectonic plates. To my dismay, Robert’s
response to the question ‘Describe the theory of plate
tectonics’ scored zero out of five. He had filled in the five
lines available (such a small space to deal with a complex
topic is not unusual in science tests at his school), but
what he had written neither made sense nor answered the
question. His writing certainly did not reflect his extensive
knowledge of the topic. He, and others in this class, were
very disappointed with their examination results because
they thought that they had studied hard for this test, and
were convinced that they knew the work being tested.
What this story demonstrates is the complexity of
assessment and how traditional forms of assessment
do not always allow students to demonstrate the extent
of the knowledge and understanding that they have
about what they have learned in class.
8 The What, Why, Who, Where and When of Assessment
197
Assessment remains a contentious issue for teachers, students, parents and the broader education
community. While there have been moves to improve the development and use of assessment tasks
in our classrooms, literature attests to the difficulties that still surround assessment of student work
(Dwyer, 1998; Jones, 2010). The issues arise from the conflict between modern theories of education
that focus on student-centred learning, teaching practices, and the introduction of a broad range of
national and international testing practices.
To understand assessment we need to discuss theories of cognitive development that influence
the way we teach and assess. The following outline of recent theorists demonstrates the relationship
between learning, language, knowledge and assessment. There are more theorists discussed in chapter
2 but those below relate directly to assessment.
De Saussure (1857–1913) and Bakhtin (1895–1975) both assert the link between learning and
linguistics. Their focus was on language and how students make meaning of what they read. As
such they suggest that language can be understood only in terms of relationships and contexts. As an
assessment strategy De Saussure might have asked students to write a story about a day in the life of
a water molecule.
Michel Foucault (1926–1984) challenged ideas about how we construct knowledge. He referred to
the roles ‘archaeology of knowledge’ and ‘ethics of self ’ have in developing understanding. He looked
at these ideas in terms of how individuals behave during learning activities and how it affects their
learning outcomes. Foucault would have used a metacognitive reflection activity such as a learning
log when students carried out a scientific enquiry.
Freire’s (1921–1999) work inspired models of pedagogy where the goal of the educator is to engage
with people in their real lives. He viewed the role of educators as not only providing students with
skills but also to facilitate opportunities for students to become critically reflective, problem-solving
and socially and politically conscious. To assess knowledge Freire might have used assignments that
focus on aspects of socio-science issues.
Piaget (1896–1980) proposed a cognitive model of learning now known as constructivism. He
proposed that the individual constructs knowledge where the learner’s progress is a direct result of
the individual’s actions and their understanding evolves as they interact with and reflect about their
own world. Before- and after-concepts maps would have supplied Piaget with an understanding of
the students’ before- and after-comparison of ideas.
Vygotsky’s (1896–1934) social constructivist theory stresses the importance of links between
learning and the learner’s social and cultural world so that learning takes place within a social context
and with an interaction between prior knowledge and held cultural beliefs. Collaborative tasks would
have played a major part in establishing student understanding.
Changes in theories of teaching have led to changes in teaching practices and ultimately assessment
strategies. As teaching practices underwent transformation, assessment changed from the collections
of numerical data about the student and their knowledge to ascertaining student mastery of content
using an extensive array of tests and examinations (both school-based and, now, national testing).
Next to be introduced was standards-based assessment that was aligned with outcomes-based
education. While it is widely acknowledged that assessment and learning are linked (Hargreaves,
1997) the way they are linked is open for discussion.
In their seminal work published in 1998, Black and Wiliam reviewed an extensive range of
research that supports the claim that classroom assessment has the potential not only to assess student
standards provide
information about the
quality and level of
student performance.
They help students
identify what must be
achieved and to what
level, while allowing
assessors to make
reliable judgments
about the students’
efforts in a task.
198
feedback Appropriate
and timely information
provided to
students about their
PART 1 | LINKING THEORY TO PRACTICE
knowledge but also to support student learning. There has thus been paradigm shift from assessment of
learning to assessment for learning and assessment to learn (see below). Black and Wiliam (1998) reported
that a more positive relationship between pedagogy and assessment had developed, where the focus
of assessment was on helping students to learn from assessment as well as to use the feedback given
to improve their understanding of what they should know and how best to learn. Thus assessment
involves making decisions about what the individual student has learned and identifying how they
learn and how their learning practices can be improved.
performance.
What is assessment?
Historically, assessment has been about establishing students’ knowledge and understanding about
what they have been taught in classrooms and about the students themselves. It was about separating
successful learners from unsuccessful learners (Stiggins, 2006). Early assessment practices were based
on rote learning and were mostly informal practical or oral examinations. Written testing, which
is now a feature of educational policy, dates back to the 1860s (Athanasou & Lamprianou, 2002).
Traditionally the giving of grades and marks from these written tests was used to demonstrate and
report student achievement (Tognolini & Stanley, 2007).
The following authors illustrate the breadth and depth of the definition of assessment as it has
evolved over the last 60 years.
English and English (1958): ‘a method of evaluation of a person in which an individual living in
a group under partly controlled conditions meets and solves a variety of lifelike problems including
stress and is observed and rated’ (p. 44).
Stake (1967): Assessment concerns itself with the totality of the education setting and is the more
inclusive term, that is, it subsumes measurement and evaluation.
Bloom (1969): ‘Assessment begins with an analysis of the criterion and the environments in which
the individuals lives, learns and works … it then proceeds to the determination of the kinds of
evidence that are appropriate about the individuals who are placed in this environment’ (p. 31).
Harlen, Gipps, Broadfoot and Nuttall (1994): Assessment in education is the process of gathering,
interpreting, recording and using information about pupils’ responses to an educational task.
Black and Wiliam (1998) describe assessment as the process of seeking and interpreting evidence
for use by learners and their teachers to decide where learners are in their learning, where they need
to go, and how best to get there.
Dwyer (1998): ‘it is clear that assessment is undergoing a conceptual shift … more emphasis has
been given to formative assessment, which highlights the learning process, learner engagement, and
particularly, learning improvement rather than evaluation of products’ (p. 131).
Assessment now encompasses complex processes of evaluation not just of student learning but
also of teaching practices to inform future teaching strategies. Assessment is a professional process
of collation, comparison and judgment of learning outcomes. Consideration is given to student
perceptions of the impact of assessment on them, the different perceptions that students, teachers and
parents have of the role of assessment, and most importantly how the information gained from an
assessment task will be reported and used (Dwyer, 1998). What has become important in assessment
8 The What, Why, Who, Where and When of Assessment
practices is the need to balance summative and formative assessment practices and to juggle
national assessment processes with classroom learning and assessment.
199
formative
assessment
Assessment that
provides an opportunity
Difference between ‘assessment’ and ‘grading’
The term ‘assessment’ in most contexts means the process of forming a judgment about the quality
and extent of student performance across a wide range of specified tasks and processes (Sadler, 2005,
p. 177). It can include such tools as projects, reports and essays. ‘Grading’ refers to the identification of
the level of student performance, either in a particular task or across a range of tasks that encompass an
entire unit, education level or degree. The grade allocated to a student depends on scoring or marks
gained for providing correct responses to questions. Grades are usually represented by letters such as
A, B, C and D, or terms such as high distinction (HD), distinction (D), credit (C), pass (P) and fail
(F). There is usually a range of marks that are acceptable for each grade. Grades are established by
reviewing the mark gained and then allocating a grade from the range that the student’s mark falls
between.
While assessment requires teacher professional judgment and provides feedback of how a student
met certain criteria, marks and grades by themselves do not have meaning. They need to be
referenced to some external criterion for explicit meaning, such as the maximum score or the mean
(Tognolini & Stanley 2007). Marks indicate how much a student’s answer is worth but do not show
where the student has failed to address the question; nor do they provide suggestions for how the
student can improve. The relevance of a mark or grade becomes apparent when marks and grades of
students are compared across classes or Year groups. Grades have high-stake consequences, especially
when applied to external examinations that are linked to employment or tertiary study (McMillan et
al., 2002). Placing marks in order provides rankings. It is the rankings that can indicate how well a
student is doing compared to their peers.
for improvement
on the same task
or within the same
unit. The intention of
formative assessment
is to promote student
learning by giving
feedback on the
progress towards
the achievement of
learning outcomes.
criteria Specific
performance attributes
or characteristics that
the assessor takes into
account when making
a judgment about the
student’s response to
the different elements
of the assessment task.
Think about it 8.1: Your experiences and ideas
How was science knowledge assessed when you were at school? Did you take tests/exams, write reports, do projects? Was this a positive
experience for you, or do you think the assessment could have been improved so that it reflected your true knowledge?
Students’ views of assessment
What are the students’ perceptions of assessment? Some have a clear view of what is valued in terms of
teaching and assessment, whereas others are often unsure of the purpose of assessment tasks (Martin
et al., 2002; Torrance, 1991). While primary school students thought that the assessments they did in
class were primarily for their parents and/or the school, a study of Year 10 students in England found
that the students thought that assessment was a waste of time and an imposition (Torrance, 1991).
Many students felt that grades were the ‘currency’ that teachers used to encourage students to learn,
with learning equated to reproducing what the teacher has taught in class (Berenson & Carter, 1995).
200
PART 1 | LINKING THEORY TO PRACTICE
What is frequently overlooked, however, is the effect that assessment has on students (Martin et al.,
2002). Black and Wiliam (1998) stressed the deleterious impact that assessment tasks have on learning
because of the over-emphasis placed on the marks themselves and the under-emphasis on markoriginated feedback to individual students. On one hand it has been found that assessment promotes
motivation for successful students by reinforcing positive attitudes to study, academic achievement
and aptitude (Martin et al., 2002) while, on the other hand, assessment decreases motivation for
students who ‘fail’ because they have not mastered concepts, either through lack of time to assimilate
the material or through lack of understanding (Deci & Ryan, 1985).
Why assess?
As the story at the beginning of this chapter suggests, assessment of a student’s progress is a key
requirement of teachers. When learning is viewed as the collection of knowledge and skills,
assessment strategies are more likely to seek verification of whether the student has attained them
or not. If learning is viewed as an on-going development of understanding and knowledge that has
been based on prior knowledge, assessment strategies shift from marks and grading to accumulation
of information and feedback that support student learning.
Assessment is undertaken for the following reasons:
::
Government and/or institutional requirement of schools and teachers. Political agendas are driven
by national results in international testing that supply data about the status of education in Australia
and drive funding patterns.
::
Diagnosis of learning in terms of student outcomes at particular levels or standards. Assessment
can also be used to determine teacher effectiveness.
::
Providing feedback to both teachers and students. For teachers the feedback would have provided
information about whether the outcomes of the lessons were achieved and what modifications are
needed. For students the feedback identifies gaps in knowledge and understanding and suggestions
on how the gaps could be decreased.
::
Grading students: For the purposes of selection for particular schools or classes within schools.
Grades can also be used to determine those students who will be offered special programs either
for the gifted or for those students identified as having learning difficulties.
::
Motivating students to try harder and achieve at the level that parents, teachers and often the
students themselves believe that they are capable of. However, if the student is unsuccessful this
strategy can backfire and become a de-motivation instead.
The question remains about what should be the nature and rationale for assessment.
8 The What, Why, Who, Where and When of Assessment
201
The debate over assessment ‘of’, ‘for’ learning and
assessment ‘to’ learn
Assessment of learning is assessment that requires the teacher to provide a number or letter to signify
the student achievement in the task concerned. The focus is on collecting data about what the student
knew about the content covered in class and how they were able to use that knowledge to respond
to teacher-directed questions. A rank for the task can be determined so that students can see where
they are placed within their cohort. Assessment of learning tasks may or may not be returned to the
student. Comments on the task may or may not be seen as necessary. It usually occurs at strategic
times during and at the end of a teaching unit. Teachers can utilise pre-prepared or previously used
testing instruments, which can save time.
Assessment activities include multiple choice tests, examinations, quizzes, worksheets and
presentations.
Assessment for learning refers to assessment practices used by teachers to inform them and their
students about each student’s progress. The tasks are created to identify what the student has learned
and provide feedback for further learning. The tasks assess a variety of skills and knowledge in more
than one way. Feedback to the student is a pivotal part of the assessment process. Feedback does not
necessarily include marks or grades; rather records are kept on how the student has progressed through
a skill and to what level they have achieved understanding of the content. Teachers use the tasks to
evaluate teaching activities so that they can modify their pedagogy if required. The assessment tasks
help them assess which activities worked well and which did not.
Assessment activities include portfolios, tasks made up of several sequential parts where each needs
to be evaluated before moving on to the next, group presentations and discussion, and debriefs of
previous tests or tasks.
Over the last two decades the concepts of learning and ‘assessment to learn’ have become prominent.
The idea of assessment to learn (also known as assessment as learning) is that students not only need
to learn but need to understand how they learn and how to express what they have learned during
assessment tasks (Gregson, 2003). As such the learning process becomes life-long, not just something
done at school (Black et al., 2006). Assessment to learn promotes self-awareness both as individuals
and as part of communities of learning. There is a strong focus on problem-solving and tasks that are
planned, developed and executed by teams of students working together. The process of preparing
the task becomes as important as the content being learned. The tasks are developed with students’
own questions at the centre, giving students ownership of the learning and therefore responsibility
for preparing for the assessment of their learning. Students also take a role in the development of the
assessment of their learning, and assessment criteria are either developed through consultation with
students or at least clearly identified and openly discussed before the task is begun. This is necessary
so that students have a clear idea of what they need to cover and to what level. In-depth feedback on
student work becomes a major priority, not only to support student learning but also to enhance the
pedagogies that teachers bring to the classroom.
Assessment activities include models of alternatives (such as responses that are deemed outstanding
and those that have weaknesses) that can be evaluated by students to develop their own response to
a task, analysis of the structure of questions and tasks, comparisons of different answers, and critical
evaluation of different types and styles of questions.
For examples of
assessment, see
‘Assessment in
learning’ on page 215.
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PART 1 | LINKING THEORY TO PRACTICE
Figure 8.1
The focus of assessment practices
Assessment of learning: to
determine learning such as tests
and exams
Assessment for learning: to
reflect on the learning such as
through analysis of errors
and gaps
Assessment to learn: to support
the learning process; includes the
use of past questions and analysis
of question structure
Since the introduction of NAPLAN researchers report a shift back to
assessment of learning that relates specifically to testing criteria
A conflict arises when teachers want to use teaching to learn strategies that do not seem to align
with the national curriculum and testing strategies. The different notions of learning and knowledge
creates tensions between the focus on problem-solving and critical thinking skills and national testing.
In national testing, learning and understanding are seen as transmissive and assessment as replication
of a set of facts and skills that are measured using pen and paper testing. Individual subjects and the
knowledge and skills are seen as separate entities ( Jones, 2010). In assessment to learn, knowledge
and understanding are seen as collaboratively constructed through a process of questioning, problemsolving, interaction and discussion.
What becomes clear is that the meaning of the term ‘assessment’ has evolved. New models of
learning (see Dwyer, 1998) emanating from cognitive psychology are being applied to assessment.
There has been a shift from a focus on grading and marking student rote learning ‘towards greater
interest in the interactions between assessment and classroom leaning … where classroom assessment
will make a strong contribution to the improvement of learning’ (Black & Wiliam, 1998, p. 7). We
emerged from an era of comparing students with each other to one where student performance
against a set of pre-determined criteria (Stiggins, 2006) was established.
Since the introduction of national testing, pedagogy and assessment practices in classrooms have
been driven by the need for students to do well in the tests. Schools, teachers and students are being
judged by the levels that the students attain. There are concerns that assessment now focuses on a
narrowed curriculum and teaching for the test (see Figure 8.1). It appears that while there have been
educational reforms that focus on constructivist theories of learning, the reality of many science
classrooms in both primary and secondary schools is that teachers are not utilising the types of
assessment tasks that promote learning (Tierney, 2006). While teachers may be aware of, and to some
extent use, a wide range of assessment strategies, the question remains about how well they are used.
Teachers are continuing to use assessment strategies that focus on marks for grading and reporting.
Pen and paper testing items (such as projects and essays, multiple choice and short answer quizzes and
written examinations) still remain the popular choice (McMillan et al., 2002).
8 The What, Why, Who, Where and When of Assessment
The question remains of how to assess the learning process as well as the product of learning.
Assessment of learning traditionally is assessment during or at the end of instruction that focuses on
identifying what a student knows at that particular time about specific content or skills. The tasks are
pen and paper written tests or examinations that provide students with feedback in terms of marks,
grades, or rankings, with some written comments from teachers about the answers given.
Assessment for learning and to learn has been gaining momentum in the last decade. Assessing
students’ learning is a fundamental goal using the information gathered so that teachers can modify
pedagogy and help the students to identify what they know and don’t know and improve their
learning outcomes. As such the feedback given to students, whether numerically, verbally or in written
form, has become a vital step in the process of learning and assessing learning. Basically feedback is
information about performance in a task. Teachers need feedback to evaluate their teaching, and
students need it to assess how well they are learning whatever it is they are trying to learn (Popham,
2008). Sadler (2005) suggests that feedback is about providing information about the gap between
actual levels of understanding and reference.
Think about it 8.2: Exploring assessment of Learning, for
learning and to learn
1Look at a current textbook and classify the types of questions asked as assessment ‘of’, ‘for’ or ‘to’ learn.
2Choose an assessment ‘of’ question and change it into a ‘for’ then a ‘to’ learn question.
Types of assessment
International and national testing
Mirroring the USA and UK experience, Australian education reform has been driven by political
agendas that in turn are driven by the need to assign accountability (Scot, Callahan & Urquhart, 2009).
National and international testing has been introduced by governing bodies so that comparisons can
be made in learning outcomes across states and countries (Perso, 2009). Three such tests are the
Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), Trends in International Mathematics and
Science Study (TIMSS), and Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS). Each tests at
various times and levels and acts as an indicator of system performance and evidence for comparison
of international education systems (Kell & Kell, 2010). PISA tests reading literacy within ‘real life’
settings, whereas TIMSS focuses on proficiency benchmarks based on mathematics and science
curriculum (Kell & Kell, 2010). PIRLS is a comparative study of the literacy skills of 4th graders.
TIMSS and PIRLS are grade-based, while PISA is age-based.
In each assessment strategy there have been questions asked about the comparisons made. There
are those that argue that national performances are not comparable because of age ranges, sampling
procedures and reporting formats that lead to discrepancies in the evaluation of the data collected.
There is also doubt about the value of the data collected.
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NAPLAN (National Assessment Program—Literacy and Numeracy) is the Australian version
introduced in 2008 for Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. This test was intended to provide valuable information
about basic skills, what students know and don’t know, and what teachers need to focus on in their
classrooms (Anderson, 2009). The data from this national test were to be used for ‘quality control’
(Luke & Woods, 2007, p. 16) that would support educational planning for individuals, classes, and
schools, and would inform school systems (that is, Department of Education and Training, Catholic
Education Office and Association of Independent Schools) and the wider community of how schools
in their local areas compared. Funding is also linked to school results in NAPLAN.
What has emerged is the destabilisation of the teaching profession with concerns about teacher
motivation and engagement of students. The role of national testing is currently under surveillance,
with anecdotal evidence suggesting that teachers are yet again changing their teaching and assessment
practices to align with national testing strategies. Teachers are torn between the use of productive
pedagogies and authentic assessment that support academic progress and preparing their students
for high-stakes national testing. Teaching to the test is longer just a concern, but a reality (Luke &
Woods, 2007). A study of the views of teachers by Dimarco (2009) reports that teachers are using
their professional judgment to support student success in national testing that has led to a narrowing
of the curriculum, teacher deskilling and attrition, and corruption of testing procedure and test
scores, with no evidence that the testing has led to improved student learning outcomes.
The effect that NAPLAN has had on teaching practices has been clearly identified. Teachers lament
the climate of quality control and the effect it has had on pedagogy selection and development. As
teaching is now focusing on the national testing material, the redirection of teaching time towards the
assessable items means that less teaching time is spent on creative activities, problem-solving and nonmeasurable areas such as personal development, music and art (Mills, 2008). Valuable teaching time
is ultimately devoted to developing assessment skills and practising testing strategies. The usefulness
of tests taken in May with results not out to September is questionable, as it does not contribute to
enhancing programming for a significant part of the year (Miller & Seraphine, 1993).
Think about it 8.3: Your ideas about standardised testing
Do you think there is any way that teachers can balance the two requirements mentioned above: having students performing well on
standardised tests, and using productive pedagogies and authentic assessment to support students’ academic progress? Discuss with your
colleagues.
Les Vozzo presented Figure 8.2 in a lecture to his pre-service science teachers in 2011. It illustrates
the variety of assessment strategies that can be incorporated into science classrooms. It also mirrors
the food pyramid, suggesting that testing should be used in the smallest ‘amounts’ like fats and
sugars, whereas using individual students’ work samples should be used more regularly, like complex
carbohydrates and proteins.
8 The What, Why, Who, Where and When of Assessment
School-based assessment
Figure 8.2 Types of assessment commonly found in science classrooms
Tests
Multiple choice
Short answer
Practical
Observations
Anecdotal records
Diaries
Work samples
Assignments
Projects
Portfolios
Performance
Oral reports
Demonstrations
Investigations
Experiment reports
Research projects
Field trip reports
Checklists
Inventories
Profiles
(Reproduced with permission Les Vozzo, 2011; pers. comm.)
One of the issues raised from this figure is that those assessment strategies that should be used
more often are more time-intensive in both the production and assessment of the task. For example,
for student portfolios of work produced over a unit or topic, each student needs to address a series of
worksheets or activities that require student input and completion. In order to make this an effective
assessment task that not only gives feedback on learning but aids in the learning process, the teacher
needs to address each piece of every student’s work. This time-consuming process needs to be
performed throughout the unit, not just at the end.
Testing students can help them to focus on the topics that they need to learn and when combined
with other assessment strategies can provide an indication of the learning outcomes that the student
has been able to achieve. While well-developed tests can give you an idea of where a student is in
their learning, there are factors that can affect how each student responds in a testing environment.
::
What the student writes in response to the question is the answer given at that time in that
particular context. If given an alternative assessment strategy, the student may have been able to
demonstrate deeper understanding.
::
Not all students prepare well for tests, and in many cases their fear and stress inhibit their
concentration during the test and their interpretation of the questions.
::
The use of scientific terminology can inhibit a student’s ability to respond to a question or to
express their understanding.
::
Openness is required about what is being assessed. While teachers often identify the outcomes and
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topics that will be tested, the detail is not always apparent in the actual tests. When comparing
learning outcomes and testing questions I have often found that there is a mismatch between what
was taught and what is being tested.
::
Not all students are aware of ‘secret teachers’ business’. Not all students are good at guessing
what teachers will put in the test and what answers they are looking for. Nor will the students
answer in exactly the way that teachers have written their sample answers, so there is a matter of
interpretation when teachers mark students’ answers.
::
Standardisation of marking of the topics being tested can be difficult. Not all teachers make the
same judgments about what is important and what is acceptable in terms of answers.
Components of
effective testing
Criteria that are specific performance attributes. These are used when making a judgment about
the student response to the different elements of the assessment task.
:: Range of items from across content
:: Range of levels of knowledge
:: Different types of items that span a range of testing strategies, such as multiple choice, short
answer, open ended (use of Bloom’s taxonomy would be very useful here)
:: Feedback that is appropriate, and timely information provided to students about their
performance with suggestions for improvement
:: Formative assessment that provides an opportunity for improvement on the same task or within
the same unit. The intention of formative assessment is to promote learning by giving students
feedback on their progress towards the achievement of learning outcomes.
:: Standards that provide information about the quality and level of student performance. These
help students identify what must be achieved and to what level, while allowing assessors to
make reliable judgments about the students’ efforts in a task.
::
When writing lesson plans, pre-service teachers often use observation and discussions as assessment
tools. While observing students during a practical activity will let you know who is working and who
is not, it often won’t inform you of who is on task or which student need extra guidance. As I so often
point out in tutorials, not every member of the class engages during whole-group discussions, and
more often than not the same students respond to questions. Therefore as an assessment tool neither
of these practices gives you an idea of each individual student’s progress.
Performances such as speeches, presentations, role modelling, demonstrations and posters give those
students who struggle with written tests an alternative opportunity to show what they know. In groups
they can be supported by their peers, or as individuals they can show what they have learned as well as
use communication skills that are not often the focus of assessment strategies. Contributions by people
from outside the classroom, if not required, can interfere with the process of assessing a student’s work.
This can be overcome by allowing most of the preparation to be done during class time.
Student work books or selected items of writing and drawing are time-consuming to assess.
However they provide students with an opportunity to record their knowledge as an individual as
well as receive feedback on their work.
Where planning has been a component of the process, assessing investigations allows teachers to
assess a broader range of skills than does testing. The assessment of an experiment allows the teacher
8 The What, Why, Who, Where and When of Assessment
not only to assess the product of the investigation but also the process by which the students planned
and performed the investigation.
Checklists are also useful for determining the ‘what’ and the ‘how’ of what is learned. The
students take ownership of their checklist as they help determine what has been achieved and to what
level. Concept maps can be useful as assessment tools and act like a checklist. At the beginning of
a unit students are asked to draw a concept map of what they already know about the topic. At the
end of the topic the process is repeated and the students make a comparison between the two. Lower
performing students are often surprised by the amount of extra material on the second concept map.
They are able to see what they have learned without being hampered by test questions or sentence
structures and having to incorporate scientific language into responses to essay-style or short-answer
questions. They find it very motivating (Gregson, 2003).
Terms used to describe assessment strategies
No matter which assessment tasks are used, there are some commonly used terms relating to assessment
that we as science teachers need to understand.
Norm-referencing
Tognolini and Stanley (2007) stress that marks on their own provide limited insights to student
achievement. Supplying such information as the average mark and the range of marks gives a clearer
indication of student outcomes by supplying information about the relative difficulty of the assessment
task and where each student’s achievement sits within the group. When the marks of one group are
compared with others who did the same assessment task, the marks are said to be norm-referenced.
As such, a student can compare their marks within their class as well as their Year group, allowing
them an awareness of how they are achieving as individuals and as a member of a class or Year group.
The advantage of norm-referencing is that comparisons can be made of results within Year groups or
between subjects or from year to year. For example a pass mark of 50% can be set in all subjects, with
those below it assigned the lowest marks. The disadvantages of norm-referencing include the lack of
information about student knowledge and understanding or the standard of the task.
Criterion referencing
By the addition of specified criteria to an assessment task, greater information about a student’s
knowledge and understanding can be ascertained. It individualises the information by supplying
an indication of what the student was able, and not able, to achieve during the testing process. The
process of evaluating the assessment task becomes time-consuming as the criteria need to be selected
before the task is done and then each student assessed for every criterion. In some contexts criterion
referencing removes the necessity for marks, as reporting of student outcomes becomes a matter of
determining the criteria that the student has been able to satisfy.
Standards referencing
Standards-based assessment requires the marker to assess the student’s work against a selection of
statements that outline a standard of performance. The overall grade or mark given to the students
is determined by the level of performance in each task or question within the task against pre-
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determined standards. The standard statements are closely linked to learning outcomes that are
described in syllabuses and as such the determination of which outcomes and at what standard needs
to be considered carefully during the development of the task. Standards referencing allows the
students to demonstrate the extent of their knowledge about the content by providing clear indicators
of the levels that are attainable. The marker is then able to indicate to the student at what level they
are operating as they respond to each individual question.
Summative assessment
summative
assessment
Measures a student’s
performance in a unit
and typically occurs at
the end of a series of
learning activities. The
intention of summative
assessment is to verify
performance and award
grades and/or marks.
For more ideas
about how you
can use formative
assessment in the
science classroom, see
Summative assessment was first described by Scriven (1967) and is now commonly referred to
as assessment of learning. Summative assessment is about determining what students know at a
particular time. Summative assessment tasks are traditionally given at the end of a topic to determine
the outcomes of a program and for reporting marks and grades to students and parents. The teacher
prepares an examination, test or quiz that the students sit. The teacher then marks the work and
allocates a mark and/or grade. The information gained can be used for teacher accountability, student
class allocation, or to sum up a student’s performance over a month, year or educational stage.
Formative assessment
Formative assessment is referred to as assessment for learning, as the focus is on learning, not on marks.
Tasks set as part of formative assessment are used as diagnostic tools that provide feedback to teachers
and students. Formative assessment gives students a clear indication about what they have learned and
not learned. Teachers get indications of what has been taught well and not so well as they progress
through a topic. Formative assessment is ongoing and assessments occur at strategic times as skills and
content are being learned. The role of formative assessment is to improve learning and is therefore
linked to the development and evaluation of teaching pedagogy. Collecting data from formative
assessment tasks allows teachers to determine what students already know about a topic and then make
adjustments to sequencing or level of lesson activities. Feedback on formative assessment tasks should
be immediate, where ideally teachers and students participate in the evaluation of individual student
or group work. Pre- and post-testing of content knowledge is a good starting point. Other tasks can
include activities that require individuals or groups to problem-solve, apply content understanding,
develop models, and analyse a variety of answers given for the same questions where students have to
justify their choices.
‘Conducting formative
assessment’ on page
216.
What should assessment include?
Figure 8.3 Steps in developing an assessment task
Planning
Focus
Clearly
defined
criteria
Provide
useful
feedback
Incorporate
student
self-assessment
Records kept
by teacher
and student
8 The What, Why, Who, Where and When of Assessment
Planning
The planning for and of a task is a priority if both the teacher and student are to gain from the process.
Points that need to be considered include:
1 when the task will be given and the date the task is due for completion
2 what time frame is needed for the task
3 whether it is an individual or a group project
4 what weighting it has in terms of unit or yearly assessment programs
5 the format of the task: will it be a test, project, poster or presentation
6 what criteria will the task be assessing
7 how the criteria will be used to assess the level at which each criterion is addressed.
Focus
The focus of the test is the knowledge and skills that will be included in the task. Teachers need to
ensure that there is a direct link between what has been taught and what is assessed. I have seen too
many tasks that include items that do not appear in the teaching program. Mapping the unit outcomes
and objectives will help to ensure that only content taught will be assessed.
Clearly defined criteria
Writing criteria that are clear and give students transparent indications of what will be assessed and
what they must do to achieve in the task is time-consuming and often difficult. The use of a rubric
allows differentiation between the levels of student achievment. The complexity of the criteria will
depend on the age and level of the students. The best idea is to keep the statements simple. Using the
terminology for syllabuses might be useful for older students so that they can see a clear link between
what they have learnt and the assessment task. Simpler wording is needed for younger students.
Provide feedback
Marks on their own tell us very little. Supplying the mean, lowest and highest mark will help students
and their parents identify where the student has come in the class or cohort. If the task is going to be
useful in terms of future learning, more direct and individual feedback is required. A good starting
point is a more positive approach that acknowledges what students have done well. This can be
followed with personalised feedback identifying areas where the student may make improvement.
However there are issues with time constraints and consistency. Where all students have completed
the same task it can be beneficial for the teacher to write an explanation of their overall impressions
of the students’ responses to the task and highlight areas where many or most students did well and
where they need to improve. This can then be supplied as an attachment for all students.
One of the difficulties of assessment in science was highlighted by Owens (2001), who found that
assessment tended to be of the science content and that the feedback was teacher-centred. That is, it
reflects the teacher’s understanding of what constituted correct science, and relied on the teacher’s
interpretation of what the student had written. In her research on student writing and the way
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210
assessors rank student work, Gregson (2003) found a positive correlation between the proportion of
infrequently used words selected by students and the rank assigned to their work; that is, the greater
the use of less common words, the higher the mark given by the teacher.
Incorporate student self-assessment
Going through the task in class can be a rewarding learning process. Either as a whole class or in
small groups or pairs, students can review their answers and compare what they wrote with their
peers. I have found that they really pay attention during this process as they try to find extra marks
for themselves. However it also allows them to compare their answers and see where they may not
have competed the task as well as they thought. It not only helps with content knowledge but also
with developing skills in answering questions.
Record keeping by teachers and students
Teachers are required to keep records of student assessment tasks and these records can be very useful
when preparing reports for interested stakeholders such as parents and school executive. Records
can supply teachers with information about trends in the progress of individuals and about how the
class is developing as a group. Depending on the complexity of the marks recorded, teachers can also
evaluate which particular skills and concepts were well or not so well understood. This information
can provide evidence for modification of teaching programs and lessons and where skills and processes
can usefully be revisited for remediation
Think about it 8.4: Analysing assessment tasks
1
2
Take an assessment task that you have written or that was written for you and analyse it in terms of:
::
what time frame is given for the task? Did it allow you enough time to prepare properly?
::
was it an individual or a group project? What are the ramifications for you as a student if the task is for a group?
::
what weighting did it have in terms of unit or yearly assessment programs? Did this affect how much effort you gave the task?
::
the format of the task—was it a test, project, poster, presentation? Did the task ‘fit’ the outcomes?
::
against what criteria was the task to be assessed? Did the criteria allow you to express your understanding of a range of concepts
taught in the unit?
Re-write the task to incorporate the ideas presented in this chapter.
8 The What, Why, Who, Where and When of Assessment
Complex issues that surround assessment
Figure 8.4 Factors that affect how and what we assess
Effect on the
students’ learning
National
testing
and beyond
school
Assessment in
the classroom
There are many factors that affect how and what we assess. Assessment practices also dramatically
affect teaching practices.
::
Assessment no longer occurs just in the classroom. National and international pressures on
educational outcomes have seen the introduction of NAPLAN, ELLA and the Australian
Curriculum and as a result assessment practices in the classroom have changed. It has become
apparent that teachers are tailoring their teaching and assessment practices to match those of the
national tests. There is concern about keeping students interested and engaged while preparing
them for the testing. Jones (2010 ) summarises studies that have shown how governments from the
United Kingdom, United States and South Korea place much emphasis on the results of national
testing but teachers dispute their effectiveness in raising standards. Teachers are concerned by the
negative effects such as student and teacher stress, disaffection with curriculum, narrowing of
curriculum, and a shift from higher order skills to lower order forms of literacy (Hilton, 2006;
Jones, 2010).
::
Assessment is not just for the teachers to get information about student progress. It is meant
to inform teachers about their pedagogies. However, assessment strategies are being matched
to national testing information about student success or lack thereof. Teacher practices remain
hidden behind the marks and grades that are given to their students after much of the teaching
for the year has happened, yet schools and individual teachers are being blamed for their students’
lack of success.
::
Time is a factor affecting teaching practices and assessment strategies.
::
Science has been relegated, as testing in primary schools focuses on numeracy and literacy.
However scientific concepts are covered in NAPLAN, especially writing persuasive texts.
::
With overloaded teaching programs, teachers feel that they need to return to traditional
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assessment practices as constructivist strategies take teachers away from covering curriculum
and developing student skills required for the national assessment (Tierney, 2006).
::
The development of assessment tasks is time-consuming, especially when using criteriareferenced tasks and performance-band statements (Tognolini & Stanley, 2007).
::
Researchers have found a high degree of variability between markers within schools and between
different schools. Consistency between markers and between schools varies dramatically in the
weight given to different aspects of assessment tasks, their education philosophies, and what is best
for each student (McMillan et al., 2002, p. 212).
::
Teachers often view assessment as a requirement imposed on them by external forces (Dwyer,
1998) where there is too much emphasis on assessing knowledge of rote-learned skills and content
(Tomanek et al., 2008).
::
Teachers are used to collaboration with their colleagues when planning programs and teaching
strategies so they feel disenfranchised by the national testing that has been foisted on them
(Tierney, 2006).
::
There is a need to balance autonomy and community and recognise the needs of different
stakeholders. Parents want marks and rankings, students want information including marks, but
those interested in improving want to know what they have to do to achieve the marks they
want. The wider community doesn’t want marks that are meaningless, it wants indicators of what
students are capable of doing and at what level (Tognolini & Stanley, 2007).
::
What remains important to teachers is academic achievement and the behaviours and attitudes
that lead to success (McMillan et al., 2002). Teachers and students see marks and grades as a form
of payment for work and effort. Of greatest importance is student effort and improvement, while
homework and comparisons with other students and classes remain a low priority.
Think about it 8.5: Exploring the debate over standardised
testing
Access some recent media reports about standardised testing. Try to identify the views and rationales of the key stakeholders. How can
teachers reconcile these differences? Is this possible at all?
How to assess?
Balance is needed between teaching activities that focus on national testing of knowledge and skills,
and maintaining student interest in what is being taught. Thus there also needs to be recognition that
strategies to assess learning need to follow what and how material is being taught. The weighting of
testing activities will be based on the teacher’s philosophy of learning, combined with the needs of
the students, school, parents and the system.
Choosing the right task
Research has shown that teachers’ assessment practices are linked to their values and beliefs about
teaching (Cizek et al., 1995). Most important are their views on fairness and accountability. Teachers
8 The What, Why, Who, Where and When of Assessment
endeavour to produce assessment tasks that allow all students to exhibit the full extent of their
understanding. They are aware that they need to provide a variety of tasks to cater for different
learning styles as well as allowing poorer students the opportunity to show their limited understanding
and skills.
There is much discussion over the differing ways that students learn (chapter 2) but the arguments
for planning individualised or personalised learning programs seem to vanish when we turn to
assessment. The opening story about Rob provides an example of how many of the assessment
strategies used in schools are not allowing students to express their understanding of the concepts
being assessed.
Figure 8.5 Pointers for planning assessment tasks
Identify content
understanding and
skills to be tested
Provide a
multiliteracy and
interdisciplinary
approach
Assessment task
Provide
contexts that
are real and relevant
to the students’
interests and
abilities
Develop a
context where
students can best
demonstrate their
abilities and
knowledge
Assess across a
range of skills and
concepts
We need to consider the following when developing an assessment task:
1 Match specific instructional goals and outcomes with the assessment focus and marking criteria.
2 Make sure the level of content and skills students are expected to attain is transparent.
3 Enable students to demonstrate their proficiencies across all content and skills.
4 Allow assessment of multiple goals.
5 Reflect authentic, real-world context.
6 Allow an interdisciplinary approach.
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Factors that limit
a student’s ability
to demonstrate
understanding
Factors inhibiting
successful
assessment
Reading ability: The readability of the assessment task must match the literacy skills of the
students.
:: ESL: The use of pictures and diagrams will aid ESL in unpacking what the assessment task is
asking. Allowing students to answer the questions in a variety of ways rather than only asking
for written answers will allow all students to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding.
For some students presentations may be the preferred option.
:: Learning difficulties: Provision needs to be made for those students with disabilities and
learning difficulties to be able first to understand what the assessment task is about and
second to be able to present their answers to the questions. This may require the use of
technology and/or personnel to be readers and recorders. Increased time allowances may also
be required.
:: Recall: Not all students can recall everything that has been taught or everything they can
learn, especially under the stress of an assessment task that has a time limit. Provide stimulus
material and use a variety of questioning techniques that don’t rely directly on recall.
:: Concentration: Not all students can concentrate for extended periods of time. Where possible,
provide multiple short amounts of time where students can take a breather between parts of
the assessment task.
::
A tendency for teachers to assess quantity and presentation of work rather than quality of
learning.
:: Greater attention given to marking and grading, much of it tending to lower self-esteem of
students, rather than providing advice for improvement.
:: A strong emphasis on comparing students with each other, which demoralises the less
successful learners.
:: There is too much educational testing. If too much time is spent on assessing students it will
diminish the amount of time that we have to teach and limit the opportunities for students to
learn and reflect about what they have learned.
::
Assessment of teaching activities
It is difficult to cover all aspects of assessment in one chapter, especially when at the time of writing
the National Curriculum for Science has yet to include assessment requirements and achievement
standards across the years and stages. What becomes apparent is the complexity that faces teachers as
they begin to plan for the assessment of student learning.
As a final point on assessment I’d like to focus on assessment of teaching activities which I believe
is important for improving student learning outcomes. Not all teaching activities will produce the
outcomes we wish for. Teachers newly graduated and those with years of experience alike need to
review their pedagogy in terms of its appropriateness for the current students. Worksheets prepared
long ago may still be useful, but not necessarily in their current form. I was once advised that after
each class I should take a minute to review what had worked and what needed to be changed, to
deconstruct the lesson to see how I could improve what I did or what needed to be started all over
again. To this day I still carry out this mental activity that sees me scribble over notes and handouts
for further iterations. I hand this advice on to you.
8 The What, Why, Who, Where and When of Assessment
215
Summary
Assessment of student learning is not a simple matter of writing a test and marking it.
Writing and marking an assessment task is a complex process that requires thought
about how the assessment task assesses student learning and how the marking of
the task will provide feedback for the student, their parents and the teacher. There is
evidence that strategies for assessing have changed as theories of learning evolved.
However international testing is having a reverse effect, where we see a return to
teaching and assessing based on the needs of the testing program rather than on the
needs of students and other education stakeholders. To develop appropriate testing
each teacher needs to address the many issues presented in this chapter and then make
the time to develop assessment tasks that are appropriate for the students and content
being tested.
In the science classroom
All three assessment foci—of learning, for learning and to learn—are important in the
science classroom; following are examples of each in practice.
Assessment in learning
Assessment of learning
::
A multiple choice test at the end of a unit on Chemistry in Year 9
::
A quiz at the end of a section of work on classification
::
A worksheet requiring students to fill in missing elements in the periodic table
Assessment for learning
::
A portfolio of work around the study of the solar system. Each task in the portfolio is
reviewed by the teacher, the student or their peers, thus allowing students to build
on their knowledge.
::
A diary of a particular animal. This contains a number of elements, such as research
about the animal and its environment. The diary is collected at various points and
feedback and evaluation on each element is provided, ensuring that students are
aware of requirements and expectations.
Assessment to learn
::
A design of a water purifying system. Students are encouraged to design their own
assessment criteria for the task prior to commencing. They then plan, design and
receive feedback on their plans, create and trial the system, then discuss, modify and
report. This is completed over a period of time, with teachers, peers or the students
themselves evaluating and providing feedback on each step of the process; through
this process learning is enhanced.
ACARA, Work Sample, 2010
Curriculum links
Year 5, 7: Science Understanding: Earth and space
sciences
Year 2, 4: Science Understanding: Biological sciences
Also refer to: Year 2 Work Sample: Chick diary; Year 4
Work Sample: Yabby diary; Year 7 Work Sample: Process
design—Purifying water (Australian Curriculum, ACARA).
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PART 1 | LINKING THEORY TO PRACTICE
Conducting formative
assessment
Formative assessment can be included in many class activities, as this class investigation
of push and pull demonstrates. Students collect a range of objects—a number of toys,
for instance—and investigate what happens when these are pushed and pulled, and
what effect that has: How do the objects move when pushed and pulled? Do they
change their shape?
There are many opportunities for formative assessment during the investigation, but
to conduct this assessment successfully it is important to consider how you will collect
the data and notes about students’ progress.
Curriculum links
::
Pre-investigation: By questioning the class in a brainstorm-style discussion, the
teacher draws out students’ pre-knowledge on the physics of pushing and pulling,
noting students’ comments next to their names on a class list.
::
Mid-investigation: The teacher can ask students to explain and justify their choice
of toys for the investigation, and how they plan to collect their findings. The level of
explanation and understanding shown is recorded on a table against the students’
names. Questioning is used to draw out students’ knowledge.
::
Towards the end of the investigation: Students present their findings. These are
assessed against a rubric, and feedback provided to the students.
::
Post-investigation: Students are asked to apply their knowledge to a number of
situations by completing a handout; the teacher collects the handout and notes
students’ skills.
Focus Questions
Year 2: Science Understanding: Physical sciences
Year 5, 7: Science Understanding: Chemical sciences
Year 10: Science Understanding: Biological sciences
Also refer to: Year 2 Work Sample 3: Floating and sinking;
Year 5 Work Sample 5: Observable properties of solids,
liquids and gases (Australian Curriculum, ACARA).
Consider the following investigations. Select one and consider what activities
students might do. List three types of formative assessment that could be used
during these learning experiences.
::
Observable properties of solids, liquids and gases
::
Mixtures, including solutions and separation processes
::
The theory of evolution by natural selection.
Further reading
Black, P.J., & Wiliam, D. (1998). Assessment and classroom learning. Assessment in Education: Principles, policy and
practice, 5(1), 7–74.
Dimarco, S. (2009). Crossing the divide between teacher professionalism and national testing in middle school
mathematics. Australian Mathematics Teacher, 65(4), 6–10.
References
Anderson, J. (2009) Using NAPLAN items to develop students’ thinking skills and build confidence. Australian
Mathematics Teacher, 65(40), 17–23.
Athanasou, J & Lamprianou, I. (2002) A teachers guide to assessment. Tuggerah: Social Science Press.
Berenson, S., & Carter, G. (1995). Changing assessment practices in science and mathematics. School Science and
Mathematics, 95(4), 182–186.
8 The What, Why, Who, Where and When of Assessment
Black, P., McCormick, R., James, M., & Pedder, D. (2006). Learning how to learn and assessment for learning: a
theoretical inquiry. Research Papers in Education, 21(2), 119–132.
Black, P.J., & Wiliam, D. (1998). Assessment and classroom learning. Assessment in Education: Principles, policy and
practice, 5(1), 7–74.
Bloom, B.S. (1969). Some theoretical issues relating to educational evaluation. In R.W. Tyler (Ed.), Educational
evaluation: new roles, new means (National Society for the Study of Education Yearbook, Vol. 68, Part 2, pp.
26–50). Chicago IL: University of Chicago Press.
Cizek, G.J., Fitzgerald, S.M., & Rachor, R.E. (1995). Teachers’ assessment practices: preparation, isolation and the
kitchen sink. Educational Assessment, 3(2), 159–179.
Deci, E.L., & Ryan, R.M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. New York: Plenum
Press.
Dimarco, S. (2009). Crossing the divide between teacher professionalism and national testing in middle school
mathematics. Australian Mathematics Teacher, 65(4), 6–10.
Dwyer, C.A. (1998). Assessment and classroom learning: theory and practice. Assessment in Education, 5(1), 131–137.
English, H.B., & English, A. (1958). Comprehensive dictionary of psychological and psychoanalytical terms. New York:
Longman.
Gregson, R.J. (2003). ‘But that’s what I meant to write’: exploring student writing in science. [PhD thesis]. Sydney:
University of Technology.
Hargreaves, D.J. (1997). Student learning and assessment are inextricably linked. European Journal of Engineering
Education, 22(4), 401–409.
Harlen, W., Gipps, C., Broadfoot, P., & Nuttall, D. (1994). Assessment and the improvement of education. In B.
Moon & A.S. Mayes (Eds), Teaching and learning in the secondary school (chapter 34). London: Routledge/The
Open University.
Hilton, M. (2006) Damaging confusions in England’s KS2 reading tests: a response to Anne Kispal. Literacy, 40,
36–41.
Jones, H. (2010) National Curriculum tests and the teaching of thinking skills at primary schools—parallel or
paradox. Education, 38(1), 69–86.
Kell, M., & Kell, P. (2010). International testing: measuring global standards or reinforcing inequalities.
International Journal of Learning, 17(12), 293–306.
Luke, A., & Woods, A. (2007). Accountability as testing: are there lessons about assessment and outcomes to be
learnt from no child left behind? Literacy Learning: The middle years, 6(3), 11–19.
Martin, J., Kulinna, P., & Cothran, D. (2002). Motivating students through assessment. Journal of Physical Education,
Recreation and Dance, 73(8), 18–23.
McMillan, J.H., Myrna, S., & Workman, D. (2002). Elementary teachers’ classroom assessment and grading
practices. Journal of Educational Research, 95(4), 203–213.
Miller, M.D., & Seraphine, A.E. (1993). Can test scores remain authentic when teaching to the test? Educational
Assessment, 1(2), 119–129.
Mills, K.A. (2008). Will large-scale assessments raise literacy standards in Australian schools? Australian Journal of
Language and Literacy, 31(3), 211–255.
Owens, C. (2001). Teachers’ responses to science writing. ERIC Document ED 457 157. Retrieved 20 March 2012 from
<http://eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED457157.pdf>.
Perso, T. (2009). Cracking the NAPLAN code: numeracy and literacy demands. Australian Primary Mathematics
Classroom, 4(3), 14–18.
Popham, W.J. (2008). Transformative assessment. Alexandria VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum
Development.
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Sadler, D.R. (2005). Interpretations of criteria-based assessment and grading in higher education. Assessment and
Evaluation in Higher Education, 30(2), 175–194.
Scot, T.P., Callahan, C.M., & Urquhart, J. (2009). Paint-by-number teachers and cookie-cutter students: the
unintended effects of high-stakes testing on the education of gifted students. Roeper Review, 31, 40–52.
Scriven, M. (1967). The methodology of evaluation. In R.W. Tyler, R.M. Gagné, & M. Scriven (Eds), Perspectives of
curriculum evaluation (pp. 39–83). Chicago IL: Rand McNally.
Stake R.E. (1967). The countenance of educational evaluation. Teachers College Record 68(7), 523–540.
Stiggins, R.J. (2006) Assessment for learning: a key to motivation and achievement. Phi Delta Kappa, 2(2), 3–19.
Tierney, R.D. (2006). Changing practices: influences on classroom assessment. Assessment in Education, 13(3),
239–264.
Tognolini, J., & Stanley, G. (2007). Standards-based assessment—a tool and means to the development of human
capital and capacity building in education. Australian Journal of Education, 1(2), 129–145.
Tomanek, D., Talanquer, V., & Novodvorsky, I. (2008). What do science teachers consider when selecting
formative assessment tasks? Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 45(10), 1113–1130.
Torrance, H. (1991). Records of achievement and formative assessment: some complexities of practice. In R. Stake
(Ed.), Advance in Program Evaluation. Greenwich, UK: JAI Press.
Science, Technology,
Environment and
Society—Where To
from Here?
Susan Harriman
Key ideas
1
The future of science in schools is shaped by changing scientific
practices, changing demands and expectations of students, and by
bringing science learning into the real world of science in society.
2
ICT, the internet, mobile and social computing are essential
ingredients for infusing science education with authentic science
in the world. The challenge for teachers is to capitalise on
emerging technologies for purposeful learning.
3
Future directions in science are as much about changing the
nature of teaching approaches and learning activities as they
are about using ICT. Ideas are provided to stimulate thinking and
enable teachers to create interesting and meaningful learning
environments.
Key terms
authentic learning
digital immigrants
digital native
digitally-rich learning
millennials
project-based learning
social-based learning
untethered learning
9
Sydney Water
Kids’ Design Challenge,
Years 3–4
Throughout the project, students
have … made predictions, conducted
fair tests and interpreted results;
made judgments, argued for
and against ideas and modified
their designs; and worked
collaboratively, negotiating with
each other and reflecting on their
own solutions.
It’s National Water Week and the Powerhouse Museum
is host to the Sydney Water Kids’ Design Challenge (KDC),
where students are showcasing their design solutions
for improving water efficiency in their schools or local
communities. Over 70 Year 3 and 4 classes, involving
2000 students, have taken part in the ten-week program:
investigating water and water use, discovering its place
in local and global environments, and evaluating its use
within and beyond the school. Some of the solutions are
already being implemented in schools and communities
and are expected to make big improvements.
220
Throughout the project, students have communicated
with members of the school community to investigate
water sources and uses; talked to water technicians,
engineers, architects and town planners; made predictions,
conducted fair tests and interpreted results; made
judgments, argued for and against ideas and modified
their designs; and worked collaboratively, negotiating with
each other and reflecting on their own solutions.
The children have learned more about
being independent thinkers and doers than
in any of their previous science work. They
lived and breathed the challenge. It was
indeed a life changing and rich experience.
Teacher evaluation, in Kids’ Design Challenge (KDC) (2010).
9 Science, Technology, Environment and Society
221
What’s next for science education?
As the world around us continues to be shaped by science and technology, a prosperous society requires
well-educated citizens who have the ability and willingness to engage with scientific and technical
concepts. In return, to be successful, scientific and technological endeavours need to consider the
historic, cultural, legal and ethical environments in which they occur.
Once the work of scientists took place beyond the realm of ordinary people. It was sufficient
for experts to make discoveries about how the world operates at some distance from the personal
experiences that may be affected by the innovations that resulted. However, since the explosion of
scientific (and other types of ) knowledge during the last half century, we’ve seen an unparalleled
increase in the presence of ‘the scientific’ in the media, in politics, in personal decision-making in
every part of our day-to-day lives.
Scientific debate is now a part of the public domain, with mainstream media imparting
commentary, informed or not; the internet providing ‘information’ in vast quantity of every possible
quality; and burgeoning personal or social media spreading information and shaping opinions.
Science, pseudoscience, quasi-science, anti-science and just plain misinformation are all available at
our fingertips or delivered directly into our laps. The imperative for education is therefore to engage
students with the world of science and technology in such ways that they may take an informed part
in comprehending and shaping the world, now and for the future.
For science education to take an important place in the school curriculum it must reflect the
nature of scientific endeavour in the community and focus on students’ learning needs. Science
learning and teaching is influenced by a triad of factors that have each experienced significant change
in recent years:
::
the nature of science and purposes of science learning
::
students themselves and the demands of contemporary society
::
the nature of learning environments and technologies, and what they may offer.
The first two factors set the priorities for evolving science pedagogies, now and into the future.
The third provides insights into how educators may respond.
This chapter explores a variety of computer-based technologies, some familiar, some new or
emerging, and the potential roles they play in science learning. For the purposes of this discussion, it
is recognised that commonly used terms such as learning technologies, ICT and digital technologies
apply equally to the full range of computer-based technologies under consideration.
Science in the world and in the school
It is helpful to remind ourselves of how the future of learning in science must be fashioned, first, by
science itself.
Traditional conceptions of the lone scientist testing hypotheses in a laboratory must be transformed to
represent the contemporary experience of scientific research: one of dynamic team-based interaction,
using a range of systematic methods of inquiry, coupled with creativity and imagination. In all
the growing fields of scientific endeavour, workers need skills in collaboration, communication and
For ideas about how
you can deal with
media conceptions
of science in the
classroom, see page
251.
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social understanding, as well as analytical thinking skills and perseverance (Murcia, 2007; Peacock,
2007). Johnson and colleagues (2011) recognise the growing value of innovation and creativity as
professional skills—not only in the arts or design, but also in scientific inquiry. It is interesting to
note that it is scientists themselves who describe the importance of these capabilities, ahead of the
competing conceptual disciplines that dominate arguments during school curriculum development
processes.
Recognition that scientific inquiry provides a distinctive way of interpreting and explaining the
world leads to understanding that processes of inquiry ensure scientific endeavour is dynamic and
ongoing, not an accumulation of unchanging information. In turn, science education must also be a
dynamic part of a changing society, reflecting the way science operates in the community. As society
has changed, science learning should be framed by the needs and demands of the society in which it
lies and for the future for which it is preparing students.
Tytler and Symington (2006), in their interviews with science professionals, highlight the
common response that scientists believe the current school science curriculum holds an outdated
and discipline-bound view of science. They suggest changes to the shape of school science learning
to encourage greater engagement of all young people, rather than focusing on developing future
scientists.
Purposes of science learning
Science education in our schools has always had a dual purpose. As for all disciplines, schooling
should be seen as both preparation for future specialisation and careers, and for engagement in the
functioning of a diverse society.
Some learning areas deal with this duality better than others. While we do not expect many
students to become professional singers or painters, we do expect and encourage children to sing and
create artworks. Teachers of more technical areas appear to be less comfortable with this position.
Too often the ‘preparation for further study of science’ approach dominates the structure of curricula
as well as the content-driven practices of teachers.
There is no doubt that in a world of rapid change and innovation, there is a need to encourage
a generation of graduates who are prepared for advanced study and careers in science-based fields.
However, while for most students, the value of science in schools it not to be trained as a scientist, the
foundations for this are certainly laid in schools. These foundations are, above all, about enthusing
students; fostering attitudes, interest and the spark that leads to focused study later. For most it
should be about engaging with the science that affects our lives (Hurd, 2000; Peacock, 2007) and
to learn how scientists produce knowledge. This demands that science learning is recast to equip
our students to take part in the opinion-forming and decision-making that the sociopolitical world
demands of them as citizens. Such approaches must not be misinterpreted as a ‘dumbing down’ of
science. It is a choice to focus on critical reasoning and thinking skills, on understanding the nature
of scientific substantiation and interpretation of evidence, that enables the real comprehension of
‘content knowledge’.
Many teachers of science (at all levels of schooling) will be familiar with these or similar
propositions. Several waves of change to science curricula have embraced the ‘science, technology,
society’ approaches promoted strongly during the 1980s and 1990s (Bybee, 1987; Rosenthal, 1989;
9 Science, Technology, Environment and Society
223
Yager, 1993) with their emphasis on science ideas organised around personal and social applications.
More recently these ideas have developed a following through commonly used conceptions of
‘scientific literacy’ (Millar, 2006; OECD, 2003) which suggest that students develop:
a general, broad and useful understanding of science that contributes to their competence
and disposition to use science to meet the personal and social demands of their life at home,
at work and in the community (Murcia 2007, p. 16).
In each case the shift in emphasis represents a significant move from a conceptual change model
(constructivist) to one of enculturation to a way of thinking and knowing or sociocultural approach
(Tytler, 2007). Once again, this is not to suggest that content knowledge is discounted; rather it is the
way knowledge is developed and used in teaching that makes a difference to learning (Hattie, 2003).
Doing science is the way to motivate students to learn science rather than focusing only on the science
knowledge that others have created.
Despite several decades of advocacy that the development of traditional scientific concepts and
processes can occur through contexts of personal and local relevance, practice is slow to change. The
way forward is supported by the current Australian Curriculum development, which recognises and
responds to the dual purposes of science education. Priority is given to:
learning science that engages students in meaningful ways and prepares students to use
science for life and active citizenship so that they can function effectively in a scientifically
and technologically advanced society
followed by
specific learning pathways leading to senior secondary science as well as science and
engineering courses at university and technical and vocational education and training.
(National Curriculum Board, 2009, pp. 4, 5)
Similar review of science learning standards is occurring in the United States, where it is anticipated
that engineering and technology will play an even greater role, ‘in recognition of the importance
of understanding the designed world and the need to better integrate the teaching and learning
of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics,’ (Robelen, 2010). This emphasis will take a
further step in moving towards learning in contexts of using ideas, not just acquiring disconnected
facts. ‘Education can be inspirational not just preparation for future activity.’ (PCAST, 2010).
For ideas about how
you can encourage
students to explore
scientific innovations,
see ‘Scientific
innovations’ on page
252.
Think about it 9.1: Your understanding of scientific innovations
1
List three scientific innovations that have occurred during your lifetime.
2
Outline how each innovation has changed the life of people and communities.
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Net geners, millennials or generation M2?
digital natives
Students who regard
computers as a natural
part of their lives; the
virtual world as an
extension of their real
world.
digital immigrants
Are those for whom
engagement with
technology is a
developing process
millennials Are
18–29 year olds who
self-identify their
use of technologies
as their distinctive
characteristic.
Interestingly they are
also described in the
Pew report as ‘the most
The second context of change involves students themselves, and what they bring to the classroom.
Alongside the evolution of ICT in schools, growing discussion surrounds the ways that childhood
and adolescence are being shaped by media and computer experiences, and the associated implications
for teachers, teaching and schools. This growing area of research explores the interplay of changing
society, technology and children.
Prensky (2001) popularised the notion with his ‘digital natives, digital immigrants’ metaphor,
where our digital native students regard computers as a natural part of their lives; the virtual world as
an extension of their real world. Tapscott (2005, p. 1) calls the net generation (‘net geners’) ‘the most
demanding and challenging students in history’. Others have described new skills, new literacies and
new attitudes towards information, authority and notions of veracity, to schooling and to learning
(e.g. Oblinger & Oblinger, 2005; Snyder, 2002)—all of which our students bring to the school
environment. A recent Pew Research Center study (Taylor & Keeter, 2010), identifies ‘millennials’
as 18–29-year-olds who self-identify their use of technologies as their distinctive characteristic (p. 5).
Interestingly they are also described in the Pew report as ‘the most educated generation in American
history’ (p. 2).
For many students, ‘technology use’ is not confined to computers or the internet. ICT includes
any digital application or piece of equipment that allows access to information or communication.
This leads the Kaiser Family Foundation to identify American students as generation M 2—those who
have the broadest-ever range of different media at their disposal (Rideout et al., 2010).
Table 9.1
Media use over time
Among all 8- to 18-year olds, average amount of time spent with each medium in a typical day (hours:minutes):*
educated generation in
American history’ (p.2)
Medium
2009
2004
1999
TV content
4:29
3:51
3:47
Music/audio
2:31
1:44
1:48
Computer
1:29
1:02
0:27
Video games
1:13
0:49
0:26
Print
0:38
0:43
0:43
Movies
0:25
0:25
0:18
Total media exposure
10:45
8:33
7:29
Multitasking proportion
29%
26%
16%
Total media use
7:38
6:21
6:19
Total media exposure is the sum of time spent with all media.
Multitasking proportion is the proportion of media time that is spent using more than one medium concurrently.
Total media use is the actual number of hours out of the day that are spent using media, taking multitasking into account.
* See Rideout et al. (2010) for a more detailed discussion.
Rideout et al. (2010)
9 Science, Technology, Environment and Society
In their third wave of investigation into non-school media use by 8–18-year-olds, they not only
highlight an overall increase in the number of hours that students are using their preferred media,
but also increased use of multiple channels simultaneously, such as social networking at the same
time as watching TV shows on the computer, as shown in Table 9.1. Much of this is attributable to
the explosion of affordable broadband access, availability of rapidly changing mobile devices and the
development of new forms of content that have fuelled increased consumption.
All too often we are told that because of their experiences, students now learn differently and arrive
at school with new and advanced technology skills (e.g. Harter & Medved, 2011; Prensky, 2010).
The sometimes extreme descriptions attributed en masse to students have provoked debate about just
how widespread such characteristics of difference may be, or just how disparate the experiences are
of students and their parents or teachers (Bennett et al., 2008; Owen, 2004). The importance of the
debate lies in challenging the idea that all students are intrinsically motivated by the use of ICT and
online activities; and that they are necessarily proficient, comfortable and frequent users outside school.
This may be the case for those students who do enjoy a wide range of technological experiences at
home and elsewhere. It cannot, however, be assumed for all. It is the awareness of the diversity of
experience of students that has greatest implications for teachers and how they bring ICT and online
learning into their classes.
Students’ technological experiences outside school may well, however, influence how they view
the quality of activities presented in school, with the growing possibility that school-based learning
will not compare well (BellSouth Foundation, 2003; Oblinger, 2003; Selwyn, 2006). For those highlevel users of ICT, interactions with complex game-play or social communications, over long periods
of time, may create a student population that is more action-oriented and interested in creating and
participating in ICT environments, rather than simply consuming electronic products. They may have
high expectations that they will have access to ICT and the web, but despite being proficient in some
ways, our students often have an underdeveloped or narrowly developed range of ICT skills.
Project Tomorrow, a non-profit education group in the United States, describes these students
as ‘free agent learners’ (Project Tomorrow, 2010a). From their 2010 survey of more than 250 000
students asked about their vision for 21st century learning, three essential elements emerged:
Social-based learning—students want to leverage emerging communications and collaboration
tools to create and personalize networks of experts to inform their education process.
Un-tethered learning—students envision technology-enabled learning experiences that
transcend the classroom walls and are not limited by resource constraints, traditional
funding streams, geography, community assets, or even teacher knowledge or skills.
Digitally-rich learning—students see the use of relevancy-based digital tools, content, and
resources as a key to driving learning productivity, not just about engaging students in
learning.
Project Tomorrow (2010a, p. 3)
The real challenge for teachers and schools is to respond to suggestions of changes in students’
interactions with learning; that learning becomes a social activity, less ‘broadcast’ and more studentcentred; more connected and yet self-paced (Anderson, 2009; Tapscott, 2005). New opportunities
are presented to access, create, design and present information in so many new and exciting ways
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that educators are having trouble keeping pace. Teachers need to explore new strategies for using
the growing variety of technologies to provide meaningful opportunities for students to use mobile
devices, online collaboration and digital resources for learning.
Finally, we will soon see growing numbers of net generation teachers in classrooms. These young
teachers will perhaps bring new expectations and willingness to incorporate new forms of practice
within their future classrooms. Emerging evidence based on trainee-teacher feedback suggests that
this is already on the way (Project Tomorrow, 2010b, p. 16). However, their formal training may not
have provided the additional guidance to help them leverage the technologies for learning effectively.
Think about it 9.2: Using multimedia
1
Do you identify as a ‘net gener’? Why/why not? Did your own science or other education incorporate ICT? If so, was this effective?
2
What do you see as the potential of using technology in classrooms? What about the challenges? Try to think of two concrete examples for
each.
3
Choose one outcome from a recent science syllabus and describe how it would be taught traditionally. Using the same outcome, modify
the pedagogy so that it is taught incorporating at least one form of multimedia that is popular with 21st century students. Evaluate each
teaching method and identify the learning outcomes for each. What else are we expecting of learners?
Just as the nature of science and purposes of science education, and even students themselves, have
changed over time, changing social and economic conditions are setting new agendas for school
learning in general.
For the last century or more, schooling focused on helping students to build stocks of knowledge
and skills that could be used later in a variety of situations. Recent demands for students to leave
school prepared for life in an increasingly complex and rapidly changing world have resulted in a
multitude of definitions, descriptions and lists of new skills or dispositions, proposed as the basis of
21st century learning (Dede, 2010; Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 2009; Rivero, 2010; Zhao,
2008). In various guises, it is claimed that students need to be able to:
::
motivate, take responsibility for and direct their own learning
::
engage in creative, productive activities that are relevant beyond the classroom
::
think critically and analytically
::
communicate, collaborate and work with others
::
make decisions
::
be sensitive to multiple cultural and world views.
The forthcoming Australian Curriculum acknowledges that ‘21st century learning does not
fit neatly into a curriculum solely organised by learning areas or subjects’ (ACARA, 2010, p. 18)
and has included a similar set of ‘general capabilities’ (pp. 19–20) to be developed by all students
through engagement with subject-based learning. We are seeing a shift in emphasis for schooling to
produce ‘a kind of person, with kinds of dispositions and orientations to the world, rather than simply
commanding a body of knowledge’ (Kalantzis & Cope, 2001).
9 Science, Technology, Environment and Society
Invariably, the ability to use information technologies creatively and responsibly appears as a
necessity. In fact, ICT use is not only seen as a requirement of a successful education but as a necessary
vehicle for attaining the other attributes (Barell, 2010; Dede, 2000, 2010).
The precise nature of valued knowledge and skill, and the role of ICT in their determination,
continues to be debated (Sawchuk, 2009; Warschauer, 2007). Whether these skill sets are sufficient,
and how they relate to traditional disciplines, is yet to be reconciled in practice. Sawchuk (2009)
explores the contested ground, highlighting in particular the tension between student time spent on
developing generic skills vs ‘core content’. This is similar to the frequently heard complaints from
science teachers who feel the pressure to cover a vast array of topics and concepts while striving to be
practical and process-oriented.
The counter argument suggests that it’s a false dichotomy; skills are not developed without a
content focus. Indeed, it is the integration of 21st century capabilities into F–12 curriculum that allows
students to advance their learning in core academic subjects. Similarly, building of collaborative,
communications or decision-making dispositions does not occur in a single unit of work or a single
class. By thinking of these as capabilities rather than discrete skills, it suggests that teachers cultivate
and encourage their development through every unit or set of activities, developing habits or working
practices that are practised and brought to new situations.
The future of science in schools
Among other things, they need to know how to access books and articles through a library;
to take notes on and integrate secondary sources; to assess the reliability of data; to read maps
and charts; to make sense of scientific visualizations; to grasp what kinds of information are
being conveyed by various systems of representation; to distinguish between fact and fiction,
fact and opinion; to construct arguments and marshal evidence. ( Jenkins, 2009, p. 30)
The challenge for teachers of science, now and into the future, concerns the nature of learning
and teaching—designing learning environments and activities that allow students to engage in the
practices of science, in ways that are meaningful to them. The way science is constructed in schools
needs to be remodelled if students are to develop the positive attitudes to, and informed engagement
with, the science of the world around them, and develop 21st century capabilities.
Science learning, for all students, is about awareness, interest and disposition. The messages from
both students and the science community demand a change in emphasis from developing conceptual
content through learning about science to direct experiences that actively engage students in scientific
endeavours or, as Barab and Dede (2007) succinctly express it, ‘doing science not receiving science’
(p. 1).
In summary, effective science teaching and learning requires that students:
::
are challenged to identify questions of significance and complexity
::
develop skills and attitudes from an early age
::
experience all stages of scientific inquiry:
::
generating questions, hypotheses or testable statements
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::
planning
::
observing, exploring, manipulating
::
data gathering, organisation and analysis
::
developing solutions and using evidence to construct explanations
::
present results for others to understand
::
apply science concepts and understandings to new situations
::
work both independently and in collaboration with others
::
make connections with scientists and the community.
Think about it 9.3: Effective teaching and learning
Observe a science class taught by a highly proficient teacher. To what degree does the lesson fulfil these objectives? If there are some objectives
it doesn’t fulfil, why might this not have been done? Is it possible to cover all of these in each lesson?
Such requirements demand science learning experiences that are practical and issue-oriented,
providing environments where students develop a contextual understanding of scientific concepts or
principles, through scientific processes and activities that develop skills and attitudes.
Striving to enhance science teaching approaches is a common pursuit across many sections of the
world, with a variety of research studies aiming to assess the impact of strategies and innovations on
class practices. The Texas Science Initiative (Neeley, 2005) includes a meta-analysis of national science
education research in the United States that sought to identify the instructional tools and methods
shown to be most effective in improving student achievement. Conclusions include a ranking of the
strategies that demonstrated the greatest effect sizes, as shown in Table 9.2.
Table 9.2
Ranking of teaching strategies with greatest effect sizes
Strategies
Effect size
Rank
Enhanced context strategies (relating learning to students’ previous experiences,
knowledge or interests, e.g. using problem-based learning, taking field trips, using
the schoolyard for lessons, encouraging reflection)
1.4783
1
Collaborative learning strategies (arrange students in flexible groups to work on
various tasks, e.g. conducting lab exercises, inquiry projects, discussions)
0.9580
2
Questioning strategies (varying timing, positioning, or cognitive levels of questions,
e.g. increasing wait time, adding pauses at key student-response points, including
more high-cognitive-level questions, stopping visual media at key points and asking
questions)
0.7395
3
Inquiry strategies (student-centred, inductive instructional activities, e.g. using
guided or facilitated inquiry activities, guided discoveries, inductive laboratory
exercises, indirect instruction)
0.6546
4
Manipulation strategies (opportunities to work or practise with physical objects, e.g.
operating apparatus, developing skills using manipulatives, drawing or constructing
something)
0.5729
5
(Neeley, 2005)
9 Science, Technology, Environment and Society
229
These strategies are well-aligned with those suggested as pivotal in improving science practices,
adding further weight to the following general principles that should shape the design of science
learning in the coming years. Student learning experiences should involve:
::
rich contexts, requiring learning through real-world activities and problems relevant to students,
brought to students through ICT or locally situated in the community within and beyond the
confines of the school
::
open-ended inquiry, field experiences, topical and local issues, responding to students’ own questions,
all enriching the meaning and purpose of investigations through practices that are reflective of the
way science occurs in the world
::
scientific reasoning based on evidence, promoting students’ ability to construct explanations and resolve
claims and counterclaims on the basis of their evidence
::
open classroom structures where varied ideas are sought and valued, and students are encouraged to
take responsibility for their learning
::
opportunities to take risks, in a supported environment where not achieving the predicted result in an
investigation does not mean it ‘did not work’. Simulated environments scaffold problem-solving
while minimising the risks of applying developing ideas and skills in ‘real-world’ settings
::
connections beyond the class and school, both actual and virtual, providing access to professional
expertise, peer collaboration and extended audiences for student activity.
Our snapshot at the beginning of the chapter revealed a project designed with these principles
in mind. Students were presented with real or reality-like issues; they obtained and checked data,
made inferences, and developed an understanding of the problem or issue and experienced how
applications of scientific methods assist decisions in the real world. They debated the impact of new
information, argued their points and arrived at a group solution, with minimal intervention from
the teacher. Activity shifted from ‘finding out’ about events and consequences in a more traditional
content-driven approach, to a requirement for students to participate in the processes of investigating,
building understanding, making decisions and developing solutions.
A project-based approach is taken, characterised by extended engagement and guided inquiry
through complex issues, culminating in students reasoning from their gathered evidence to generate
ideas or conclusions. Project-based learning is a most effective, and commonly advocated, way of
drawing these requirements into manageable class activities.
Project-based learning
Commonly described criteria are used to distinguish project-based learning approaches from other
inquiry-based or experiential activities (Moursund, 2002; Thomas, 2000). Learning activities need to
be implemented as a central part of the class curriculum, promoting increased student autonomy, and
engage students in constructive investigation around concepts of significance, through realistic, non
school-like topics, tasks or challenges. Project-based activities serve a dual purpose of:
1 allowing the development of scientific concepts or grasp of explanations from engagement with
real or reality-like contexts, and
2 allowing students to gain an understanding of how science works by experiencing its processes, as
suggested earlier.
project-based
learning Scientific
concepts are allowed
to develop from
engagement with real
or reality-like contexts.
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For ideas about how
These approaches are not new, having been embraced by individual educators over many years.
Widespread uptake, however, has been inhibited by legitimate difficulties faced by teachers, especially
related to inflexible curriculum, school structures and sometimes even expectations of the educational
and wider communities (Harriman, 2007a). There is a growing trend to suggest that some of these
barriers may be overcome with the use of ICT, especially as educational organisations and ICT
providers are leading the development of applications and environments that offer support for teachers
to engage in new opportunities.
you can use ICT
meaningfully in the
science classroom, see
‘Integrating ICT’ on
page 252.
authentic learning
Learning that focuses
on real-world,
complex problems that
encourage methods
and ways of thinking
that are used by
practitioners
Authentic learning
The other persistent idea that runs through discussions of relevant science learning is the goal of
authenticity: authentic activities, authentic learning, and authentic experiences in science (Rivero,
2010; Tytler & Symington, 2006). Claims to authenticity are particularly linked to the introduction
of new media and ICT (Lombardi, 2007; Rivero, 2010). While authenticity is universally held to
be a positive attribute, there is little elaboration or consensus around what it means or how it can be
achieved, especially for school-based learning.
Much of the research literature around authentic learning focuses on real-world, complex problems
that encourage methods and ways of thinking that are used by practitioners. While useful, a focus on
realistic, work-like settings does not sufficiently capture all the aspects that contribute to authentic
activity, particularly in younger classes. Research into online projects reveals a range of factors that
together form an ‘authentic project framework’ describing the features that contribute to learners’
sense of realism and to connection to disciplinary practice (Harriman, 2007a, 2008). The framework
presents two major groupings or dimensions of authentic activity:
::
field authenticity: related to the nature of the tasks designed for students and the processes used to
complete them, and how they reflect the work of real-world practitioners
::
authenticity of consequence: related to the outcomes of participation; the products students create and
their intended audience.
As illustrated in Table 9.3, the two dimensions are further divided into constituent aspects of
practice that reflect real-world elements.
The framework may be applied in the design or selection of a wide range of learning activities,
including student projects and computer-based or online environments.
Field authenticity
Activities that are authentic to the field engage students in realistic or real-like endeavours or tasks
that involve processes that replicate or resemble situations and practices in the world beyond the school.
These are complementary features, describing what students are expected to do and how they go
about it.
9 Science, Technology, Environment and Society
Table 9.3
Dimensions and constituent aspects of authentic activity
Dimension
Aspects of authentic
practice
Contributing elements
Field authenticity
Authenticity of task
Accuracy and authority
Open-ended or ill-structured problem
Multiple viewpoints and perspectives
Authenticity of process
Roles and relationships
Multiple pathways through open-ended tasks
Modelled and scaffolded processes
Expert guidance and inputs
Authenticity of consequence
Authenticity of product
Real products
Diversity of possible products
Contribution of ICT
Authenticity of audience
Consumers or users of products
Other participants as audience
Expert audiences
Harriman (2007a)
Tasks gain in authority by being developed by or with specialists in the field, who ensure that
‘the science is right’ or that ‘likely if not real’ scenarios are authentic to local issues or contemporary
phenomena or events. As one designer involved in Murder under the Microscope commented, ‘it may be
fiction but it can never be fictional’ (Harriman, 2008). By their design, authentic projects or learning
activities offer complex, problem-solving challenges that reflect the complexity of the real-world
situations. Students take on practitioner roles, and use the tools and techniques of the discipline to ‘do
the work’ of scientists or environmentalists, with expert guidance available where possible.
Despite the potential value of reflecting real-world practices, the impact of activities may not
always produce the enhanced motivational effects promised. Authentic activities need to be personally
meaningful and important to learners as well as reflective of the discipline (Shaffer & Resnick, 1999).
In the case of school students, this means having some immediate impact.
Authenticity of consequence
Learning tasks are elevated to a greater value for students when they include the creation of meaningful
products, intended for a real and immediate audience.
An authentic product is one that has value in its own right, to students and potentially to others.
It should be substantial and useful rather than trivial or contrived. Audiences range from consumers
or users of the products to other project participants or authoritative, expert groups beyond the class.
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232
Being consequential requires that the results of participating in learning activities are as important
as the activities themselves; that students feel that their efforts are significant and have impact beyond
the completion of set tasks and demonstration of competence to teachers (Kraft, 2004; Newmann,
Marks & Gamoran, 1996). The real product and audience are major points of differentiation between
activities that can be seen as authentic and other undertakings that may present an interesting stimulus
for class lessons.
The interacting dimensions and elements of the authentic project framework provide a systematic
way of identifying how class-based activities, whether built by or offered to teachers, may help to
connect learning to the world beyond school and provide immediate engagement for students.
Think about it 9.4: Reflecting on authentic learning
Choose a unit of work or a series of lessons and interrogate either by asking the following questions.
1
2
Does the suggested unit (or lesson sequence) resemble real-world practice?
::
Has it been developed with experts in the field?
::
Does it set up an open-ended, realistic task or tasks that will also be of interest to students?
::
Does it introduce students to, or encourage them to work in ways reflective of, real-world practice, without losing the complexity or
richness of the work?
Is the unit or lesson sequence of consequence to the students?
::
Does the unit or lesson sequence require or encourage the production of a real product or performance, for an audience that is
important to the students?
::
What modifications can be made to improve the unit/lesson sequence?
The challenge of emerging technologies
Perhaps the most conspicuous change in schooling in recent years has been the introduction and
evolution of computer use in classrooms. For all school systems, the incorporation of information
and communication technologies (ICT) and connection to the internet has grown in priority over
the last two decades, with the accompanying expectation that learning would be enhanced. ICT and
internet connection have been normalised through successive investments in evolving hardware;
from desktop computers and internet connection in the 1990s to podcasts, wikis and interactive
whiteboards (IWBs) in the 2000s. Most recently, bandwidth enhancements and the promotion
of mobile devices and ‘connected’ learning have presented a variety of new ICT-based learning
opportunities for all students.
Each wave of ICT innovation has brought with it promises of educational transformation, of new
possibilities, new pedagogies and promises of new learning; that new and emerging technological
innovation will ‘change the way we learn and teach’. For many years the emphasis was on developing
students’ skills in how to use ICT and associated software. More recently this has waned, perhaps in
the implicit realisation that it is almost impossible to keep up with the rapidly changing ICT landscape.
As suggested earlier, there is an ever-increasing diversity of ICT devices and new experiences that are
quickly learnt and enjoyed by students at home and for leisure.
9 Science, Technology, Environment and Society
digital literacy is less about tools and more about thinking, and thus skills and standards
based on tools and platforms have proven to be somewhat ephemeral. ( Johnson et al., 2011,
p. 5)
Harter & Medved (2011) similarly remind us that it is more important for teachers to focus on the
literacy, communication, thinking and learning skills, rather than computer skills.
The rapid change in technologies themselves and the short familiarisation time between new
innovations result in little evidence, initially, of change in practice beyond the replication of existing
activities in electronic form. For many teachers, it seems that the overly enthusiastic and often
uncritical promotion of each successive ‘next big thing’ has produced not so much a reluctance as a
caution in placing too much faith in the ‘revolution in education’ rhetoric. The reality demonstrated
through each wave of changing technology is that effective use of new learning technologies comes
with teachers’ deliberate choice and thoughtful use, to achieve their teaching and learning goals,
rather than activity for the sake of using the technology.
The following sections examine learning-focused uses of ICT, often referred to as learning
technologies, and the abundant opportunities that have emerged with technological change or that
have grown from forward-looking practice. The focus is on the potential for new ways of doing
things, to assist the change in pedagogy that may make a difference to science in schools. Lankshear
and colleagues (2000) suggested early on that one of the beneficial outcomes of the pressure on
schools to ‘technologise learning’ (p. xiv) is that it may force a reconsideration of the overall purpose
and priorities in schooling.
Digital technologies have the capacity to:
::
provide a wealth of information and resources unimaginable in the past, at speeds that allow access
to new ideas as they evolve
::
increase engagement with learning, as students are positioned to be creators as well as consumers
of information
::
assist a shift from teacher-centred learning to practical, student-centred learning, where students
are positioned to inquire, critique, collaborate, problem-solve, and create understanding
::
improve connections across sites of learning, and with the real world, through formal and
informal online networks and access to global communities with expertise and perspectives that
can enhance and enrich learning
::
promote implementation of authentic tasks and assessments, peer scrutiny, immediacy of
interaction, and publication to authentic audiences.
In summary, ICT in partnership with good pedagogy can encourage students to discover, create,
connect to, contribute to, say something about and participate in things that matter; things they
couldn’t do otherwise. The often-quoted motivational effects of using computer-based technologies
are sustained beyond the novelty of new software only if the task itself is relevant, purposeful and
challenging. Remember that students clearly indicate that they are hoping for social learning
opportunities, in interesting contexts that engage them in the rich media that abound outside school.
By consequence, the real importance lies in teachers taking up the challenge to be adventurous
in their use of digital resources, networks and environments. Class activities that dwell on the ‘how
to use’ stage of interactions with ICT not only limit students’ development of skills to those linked
to tools and platforms that are quickly superseded, but also diminish the quality of thinking and
learning that may be promoted.
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Think about it 9.5: Using digital technologies: Your ideas
Brainstorm a list of social networking and internet applications. How could these be harnessed for use in the science classroom? Think of one
example for each application.
An expanded repertoire for science teaching and learning
Learning technologies offer students and teachers ways of working that extend their repertoire of
investigative and creative endeavours and alter the methods of achieving familiar science learning
objectives. The focus is on thinking, reasoning, seeking evidence, and argumentation using evidence.
For teachers, this means selecting the right resource or technological system to meet the class’s
curriculum and learning needs. Most importantly, teachers need to be digitally literate themselves.
Mapping the learning technology landscape is never easy. New applications continually emerge,
shifting the boundaries and opening up new opportunities. Familiar technologies are becoming faster,
easier to use and more reliable. A more sophisticated range of quality resources has evolved from
early, lower-order drill-and-practice games, internet search ideas and information sites. The following
exploration of ICT applications and resources provides only a sample of the abundant range of materials,
activities and environments that are increasingly affordable for schools and are available online.
Figure 9.1 presents a simplified progression of learning technologies, , starting with the equipment
and software that can enhance investigative processes in the classroom. The growing availability of
internet-based opportunities has allowed learning to extend beyond the classroom, so that students
can increasingly access information, use remote investigative tools and make connections to others.
Figure 9.1
Progression and domains of learning technology use in schools
Class-based
technologies
Internet connections
Immersive
or virtual
environments
Social and collaborative
Augmented reality • Immersive internet
Beyond the social facilities of ‘web 2.0’, virtual environments offer more immersive experiences,
moving students to the driving position in environments that extend beyond their personal experience.
Looking even further ahead, the landscape promises to bring ICT into our real environments
through augmented realities, as well as moving our real selves into technological environments. Each
9 Science, Technology, Environment and Society
expansion generates new ways of learning and perhaps new ways of being part of the scientific world.
Each change brings with it new challenges: the need for discriminating use, new literacy demands,
new sets of skills and responsibilities.
By comparison with other countries, Australian teachers of science seem to be in a relatively
strong position to make good use of these expanding opportunities (Ainley et al., 2010). As broadband
infrastructure has become more reliable and more affordable for high-speed services, virtual resources
have blossomed into a range of resources that include more sophisticated activities involving realtime data use, direct connection to people and places through video conferencing, and high-speed
connections.
Table 9.4 presents an overview of how digital resources and practices can assist in creating dynamic,
investigation-centred learning experiences for students.
Popular interest in the newest and flashiest uses of computing applications has seen web 2.0
capabilities dominate recent discussions of learning with ICT. Before linking students to the wider
world of science, it is useful to remind ourselves of developments that have enriched class-based
computing in all its forms. Note that web-based contacts for all software, websites and other products
included in the following sections are provided in the Web references list at the end of this chapter.
235
• video conferencing
• simulations
• cameras
• Seeing Reason
• graphic organisers
• projects: contributing to shared
information
• text and graphic presentation: Prezi
• text and graphic presentation: posters,
slideshows
• audiovisual presentation: photo stories,
slowmation, video
• present results for others to
understand
• collective environments
• science professionals—virtually
• experts; email, projects; data sharing
• projects: whole class, group
• science professionals—in person
• science in a box/suitcase
Work both independently and in
collaboration with others
Make connections with scientists
and the community
• data sharing
• sequenced/levelled learning products
Apply the science concepts to new
situations
• direct access to high-quality tools
• expert blogs
• live simulations
• game-based environments
• video conferencing
• thinking tools: Showing Evidence
• slowmation
• audiovisual presentation: video,
podcasts
• text and graphic presentation: glogs,
blogs, vlogs
• projects, guided inquiry
• argumentation
• live simulations
• Visual Ranking
• data manipulation: spreadsheets, graphing,
flow charts
• photo/video sharing
• direct access to high-quality tools
like telescopes, scanning electron
microscopes
• virtual excursions
• data logging
• thinking tools:
• real-time data tools—remote access
• virtual labs
• HoverCam
• live simulations
• manipulatives /interactives
• digital microscopes
• investigative tools:
• aggregating
• web cams
• YouTube, TeacherTube, SchoolTube
• social bookmarking
• develop solutions and
use evidence to construct
explanations
• analysis
• data gathering
• research
• primary sources online
• WebQuests
• mind mapping, graphic organisers
• game-based environments
Social and collaborative
• guided inquiry
• guided inquiry
Experience all stages of scientific inquiry:
• online projects
• competitions, challenges, special events
Connecting online
• topical issues, students’ interests
Class-based
ICT and online learning supports …
Table 9.4
Are challenged to identify questions
of significance and complexity
Effective science teaching
and learning requires that
students:
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Digital technologies supporting effective science teaching and learning strategies
9 Science, Technology, Environment and Society
237
Class-based computing
The value of ICT comes from enabling students to do things that can’t be achieved in other ways, or
that can’t be achieved with the same ease or accuracy.
As hardware devices have become more compact and affordable, and the variety of purpose-built
software grows, new options become available at all levels of schooling, increasing student action and
decision-making in their processes of investigation.
Students can engage in open-ended investigations, making use of the digital devices and software
that assist in:
::
initiating and planning investigations
::
data gathering, organisation and analysis
::
documenting and presenting findings.
Initiating and planning investigations
The impetus for investigative activities can come from a myriad of sources to complement the
requirements of syllabuses or school planning. Topical issues, students’ interests or local events are all
great ways to involve students in real ways.
External projects or events provide additional motivation and support for teachers and students to
work through structured, open-ended investigative processes, individually or in team or whole class
groups. The following examples each position students as investigators, needing to identify an issue,
topic or project to explore and pursue to a conclusion. Particular value is added to student learning as
the wider community becomes an audience as well as a resource for the learning.
::
::
Kids’ Design Challenge: as described at the start of this chapter, class-based projects connect students
to real-world practices in investigating and designing and making. Students investigate a topical
problem or issue and generate innovative solutions that they present to practitioners and other
students. They show initiative, make decisions, manage time and resources. A range of projects
are available for classes in Years 1 to 8.
CREativity in Science and Technology (CREST): awards offered by the CSIRO for teachers and
students undertaking open-ended science and technology investigations, as class or individual
activity.
::
Young Scientist Awards/Science Talent Search: offered by the Science Teachers’ Associations in each
state, leading to the national BHP Billiton Science Awards. Awards are offered at all age levels for
students carrying out open-ended scientific investigations.
::
Enviro Inspiro: prizes for video or multimedia presentations documenting successful student-led
environmental projects.
::
60 second science and Sleek Geeks Eureka Science Schools Prize: each offered for communicating
scientific concepts in a way that is accessible and entertaining.
For ideas about how
a project like the Kids’
Design Challenge can
inform activities in the
science classroom, see
‘Kids’ Design Challenge’
on page 253.
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Once the topic or area of investigation is decided, graphic organisers assist students in identifying what
they already know, exploring what they need to discover, and planning directions for investigations.
A wide range of organisers are available in print form: KWL charts (Know, Want to know, and have
Learned), learner’s questions, concept mapping, brainstorming and ranking strategies. Visual
representation enables students to construct and retain new information: actively making, or seeing
connections between ideas, helping to plan and organise investigations, adding questions, sections or
layers as needed.
Software packages such as Kidspiration (for younger students) and Inspiration provide easy-to-use
brainstorming and mind mapping facilities that can be completed individually or as a whole class,
as shown in Figure 9.2. Links can be made between ideas, and gaps can be identified for further
investigation.
Figure 9.2
Kidspiration and Inspiration used to map existing ideas and identify areas to explore
Additional functions support planning of investigations, prompting students to think through
questions, equipment and materials, timing, team roles, and data recording requirements.
9 Science, Technology, Environment and Society
Assisting investigations: enhancing observations and data collection
Practical investigations are greatly enhanced by the use of devices that improve students’ ability to
observe, measure and record information. Not only do they promote experiences that replicate the
work of scientists, devices such as digital microscopes, data loggers and even digital cameras promote
speed and accuracy of data collection, provide immediate feedback, and make complex tasks more
manageable.
::
Digital microscopes: linked to the computer that controls the microscope, images are displayed via
data projector or interactive whiteboard for the whole class to observe, and can be saved for later
use. Measurement software allows data to be transferred directly into a spreadsheet, promoting
easy manipulation, creation of graphs to share information, and analysis of changes over time.
::
Data logging: probes and sensors are used to collect, process and store measurement data. Using
computer-based data logging has several advantages:
::
Reproducible data can be collected rapidly and accurately, with high frequency data sampling.
::
Students are able to modify experimental design easily and validate modifications, or re-run
investigations to compare and confirm results.
::
Multiple readings can be taken over extended periods of time, without students being in
attendance. This is particularly useful for monitoring changes in environmental conditions,
such as air temperature, wind speeds or water turbidity.
::
HoverCam/document scanners: affordable and portable, these simple stand-mounted cameras,
connected to a computer or IWB, allow 3D objects as well as print materials to be observed
and displayed to the whole class. They are particularly useful for easy viewing of demonstration
activities that cannot be undertaken by students, or ‘live action’ monitoring such as the Year 3
class who used the HoverCam to observe chicks hatching, taking periodic screen captures to record
the process.
::
Digital cameras, video cameras and audio recorders: each assists in recording and documenting
observations, processes and events; especially useful to examine objects in fine detail and to
illustrate complicated projects.
Still cameras can be used to observe objects and phenomena closely; sequence events or
document change over time, such as growth of living things or physical changes in the environment;
illustrate steps in an experimental procedure; record results and findings. The list is only limited
by the resourcefulness of teacher—and the students.
Digital video features are useful in allowing movement to be slowed down for analysis, or sped
up for presentation of processes occurring over extended periods of time.
Recording, analysing and interpreting data
Databases, spreadsheets and graphic organisers assist students to systematically record data from direct
observations, data logging or other experimental processes. Spreadsheet calculations are used for data
analysis, graphing, making comparisons and asking ‘what if ’ questions. Graphic organisers encourage
students to see links between data, compare findings, and structure data to inform problem-solving
and decision-making. Students are able to revise and add to their original mind maps in the light of
their findings.
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Documenting, presenting, persuading: student media projects
Graphic organisers again play a major part here, allowing students to scaffold the organisation of
information and findings to be presented to others. Packages such as Inspiration provide outlining
facilities that convert the map or diagram view to an ‘outline’ of text, ordered into sections and
subsections (Figure 9.3) ready for preparing written reports or automatic creation of presentations.
Visual representations are useful to prompt students’ ability to explain phenomena or events
supported by clear text, audio or graphic annotations.
Figure 9.3
The Inspiration outline tool converts the mind map to a text outline
Electronic presentation methods not only assist in clarifying understandings for students, but also
for many it results in a more polished product. Since the earliest days of computing in schools this has
been one of the major benefits cited for students, promoting better use of their time and encouraging
greater attention to the content of their presentations. However, it has not always proven to be the
case. We have learnt over the years that a flash-looking product can obscure low-quality content, and
that the time taken to learn how to use software packages, initially at least, may get in the way of the
science learning outcomes. The promised motivational effects have also been seen to fade quickly,
when the same digital publishing task became a repetitive activity in unit after unit (Hayes et al.,
2005).
Once again teachers need to be as creative in their expectations as the students are themselves. A
wide variety of presentation opportunities are now available, providing a range of ways of constructing
ideas as well as presenting them. Suggestions include:
::
Text and graphic presentations, and combining audio with visual presentation: extending students’
skills beyond the familiar PowerPoint or similar slide shows.
Photomontage software, such as Photo Story or PhotoStage, provide students with ways of
presenting ideas, demonstrating understanding, explaining a concept, or mounting an argument
and providing evidence for their positions.
Unlike online versions (see below), individual files are created to be viewed and shared without
the need for an internet connection.
9 Science, Technology, Environment and Society
::
Animation/slowmation: animation has always been appealing to students, and as a way of presenting
their own ideas it has become a popular medium for even young children to use. The concept of
slowmation (Hobban, nd) uses stop-motion techniques at reduced speed to capture images and add
labels and commentary to create a simple explanation of events or concepts.
::
Digital video has become an inexpensive, relatively user-friendly medium, enabling students in a
range of age groups to plan, shoot and edit their own video products involving live action as well
as animation. The knowledge that students bring to the medium is enhanced as they learn how
to construct messages in concise and engaging ways. The advent of competitions such as Enviro
Inspiro or Sleek Geeks, mentioned earlier, add extra value to their efforts, beyond the significant
motivational effects of having peers as the audience.
Making connections with scientists and the community
While it may not always rely on the use of ICT, the value of making real connections to science
practices and practitioners in the community is too important to overlook. Aside from the familiar
excursion and incursion options, it’s worth seeking out both informal and formal opportunities to
connect students to science in the community.
The value of science professionals, in person, as a learning resource is often overlooked in a busy
class program. The local community is a useful starting point, with parents or friends of students
providing invaluable models for students as well as expertise for the class. Formal programs that
supplement local resources include:
::
Scientists in schools: available across the country, the Australian Government supports this CSIRO
program to promote in-person interaction between individual classes or whole schools and a
selection of science practitioners who assist in the completion of investigative projects
::
Kids’ Design Challenge: a key component of the program is connection to industry professionals,
who work in person with students and act as the authentic audience for their endeavours
::
Tall Poppies Reaching Students program and Young Tall Poppy Seminars: these not only recognise and
celebrate Australian intellectual and scientific excellence, but promote science study and careers
among school students and teachers as well as an understanding and appreciation of science in the
broader community.
Science in a box/suitcase: several scientific and cultural organisations host outreach programs that
provide artefacts, materials and equipment, supported with teaching and learning materials, in
portable forms for lending to schools, usually at minimal or no cost. These are particularly valuable
for primary classes where facilities are not easily available.
Museum programs such as the Australian Museum’s Museum in a Box provides themed boxes
containing real museum specimens, supported by DVDs, CDs, games, books and web resources,
linked to the current syllabus requirements. Equivalent projects operate in most states, for example
Museum Victoria, South Australian Museum. The Science in a suitcase program offered by the
Victorian Discovery Science & Technology Centre provides similar resources, but also offers the
opportunity for students to be involved in the creation of the kits, working alongside their Outreach
Education officers.
Quillen (2011) recently observed that there may be no more appropriate place than in science
education to capitalise on the great potential to transform teaching with multimedia tools. However,
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the exponential growth of information sources and ways of accessing and organising ideas requires
that teachers place explicit emphasis on the skills of critical selection and use of information—even
before we consider the impact of going online.
Going online
Online learning encompasses activities that make use of internet facilities, resources and materials in a
wide variety of forms. Features of the internet have been explored and documented many times, with
each new feature promoted by its producers as the best way to change learning, and by early adopters
as an indispensable tool without which ordinary teachers are just not keeping up.
As access to and use of internet technologies have expanded in schools, so has the range of available
learning materials and opportunities. Exponential growth and ubiquity of the web has made ‘finding
it on the internet’ the default response to both the simplest and the most complex questions.
The defining feature of the internet is, and always has been, the ability to be ‘connected’—
to information, to products and to people and places (Harriman, 2007b). The benefits to science
learning depend on how resources and facilities are used as part of students’ active participation in
investigative processes.
Table 9.5
Typology of online connections
Connecting online to:
Information
New sources and forms of information
Web cams
Online resources; RSS feeds
Complex questions; higher order activities
Products
Scaffolding scientific processes; thinking tools
Topic-specific online activities
Virtual tools and laboratory experiences
People and
places
Interpersonal communications
Information collection and analysis
Problem-solving
The following sections describe various types or categories of online resources currently available,
as set out in Table 9.5. As change occurs quickly on the internet, the high quality examples cited
here may disappear or change at any time. The categories of resources will also evolve, with new and
different technologies adding to the catalogue of resources available to students and teachers.
Seeking information is still the most common use made of the internet in schools. Previously,
emphasis has been on teaching students strategies for effective information retrieval and critical
evaluation of web sources. These remain important activities, particularly as the web is ever more
congested with materials of dubious credibility. However, just as sources of information of doubtful
quality have increased in number, so too have resources provided by authoritative bodies: cultural
9 Science, Technology, Environment and Society
institutions, universities, scientific organisations, and education authorities. Many sites are enriched
with high-quality multimedia resources, primary source images and documents, and engaging ways
of presenting information.
Web 2.0: adding community to collaboration
Web 2.0 technologies are those that create web-based environments where users both contribute to
and access content and events. Participation and collaboration are claimed to be the distinguishing
features of web 2.0 environments, allowing people with common interests to generate and share
ideas, take part in common experiences and virtual events, and collaborate in innovative ways.
There is some debate as to whether web 2.0 is necessarily providing anything different from
existing online functions. In a 2006 interview, Tim Berners-Lee (credited with the establishment of
the world wide web in the early 1990s) suggested that the collaborative features have been ‘what the
Web was supposed to be all along’ (Laningham, 2006 p. 4).
It is clear however, that the arrival of online applications such as social networking sites, blogs, wikis
and virtual communities have added the next layer of facility that extends the scope of educational
experiences further beyond the confines of classrooms and schools, adding new forms to existing
ways of being connected to people as well as information.
The promise of many of the web 2.0 formats is that students will become collaborators with other
students and engage in group problem-solving to take on important issues. McKenzie (2008, p. 1)
points out that such collaboration ‘might result if the activities are structured in ways that produce
those results’. As with all other ICT environments, it is the task or activity that makes the difference,
not use of the technologies or applications per se. McKenzie continues with the obvious warning that
‘quality is unlikely to result from throwing folks together in groups while leaving issues of process to
happenstance’ (p. 1).
What has become apparent is that so-called web 2.0 environments have made publishing,
especially multimedia publishing, easier and more effective for all users, opening up the potential for
active co-construction within communities of contributors.
Dede and Barab (2009) describe a three-tier grouping of web 2.0 applications based on appraisal
of common uses and potential to promote creativity, collaboration and sharing, as shown in Table 9.6.
Table 9.6
Groupings of web 2.0 media applications
Sharing
Thinking
Co-creating
communal/social
bookmarking, photo/video
sharing, social networking,
writers’ workshops,
fanfiction; slideshare;
glogs, vlogs
blogs, podcasts,
online discussion
forums, glogs
Wikis, collaborative file creation, mashups/collective media creation,
collaborative social change communities
Dede & Barab (2009)
Web 2.0 has resulted in an explosion of competing applications, with almost as many proponents
and sites explaining and cataloguing them. One useful directory is Web 2.0: Cool Tools for Schools
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(Shearing, 2011) which uses a wiki space to provide definitions, descriptions and comments on a wide
range of applications, particularly in terms of their usefulness in education.
The following facilities may add value (and fun) to science learning and offer additional ways for
students to engage in active investigative activities or research, analysis and presentation as producers
and publishers of their ideas.
Social bookmarking and aggregating
Bookmarking allows users to save a list of favourite websites, making it simpler to organise resources
into common groups and to return to sources at a later date. Common applications such as Delicious,
Diigo and flickr use tagging to organise and retrieve the bookmarked items. These aggregated resources
can be shared between users or provided to students by authoritative sources.
Aggregating sites for music, photos and video are commonly used by students to share their
personal resources among friends. Variations of these have been developed for educational use,
enabling students to present results of their investigations just as easily.
Photo and video sharing
Photo sharing, website sharing and video sharing can all be useful for making connections between
individuals. Some structure is needed to make best use of these facilities for science learning. For
example, links between students worldwide can be made through shared experiences of common
phenomena, with the focus on using visual tools to prompt thinking as well as communication.
Planet FOSS is a photo-sharing website for middle school courses. Students submit photos in
response to FOSS challenges to form collections illustrating specific phenomena, such as chemical
reactions, weathering, or optical illusions. The process adds value to student work as images are
accepted for publication, while students are required to explain the phenomena illustrated. Viewers
can commend the photos using ‘stickers’. Google maps, embedded in the application, show the source
location, allowing students to see similarities and differences in experiences around the globe.
Figure 9.4
Planet FOSS photo template
9 Science, Technology, Environment and Society
Blogs, glogs and wikis
The scope for creating publicly shared documents has grown rapidly with the proliferation of blogging
and other social networking environments. The intention is to create social communities where
students communicate, work with, and assist one another in accessible online spaces.
::
Edublogs, Classblogmeister and Primary Blogger have all been developed specifically for educational
use, while Edmodo and Kidblog provide secure, closed communities or microblogging platforms.
Students can share their ideas, communicate with classmates, access activities and organise items
however they like. Blogs follow the conventional structure of log entries, useful for chronological
entries that record ideas, document events or develop opinions over time.
::
More expansive and less linear publishing can be achieved with multimedia poster pages, known
as glogs. Combine images, video, music, photos, animations and other creative elements to create
glogs, using Popplet, Wix or Glogster EDU (shown in Figure 9.5). As with other products, there is
often a free version with limited features and functions.
Figure 9.5 Sample student glog at http://edu.glogster.com
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::
Wikis ostensibly provide collaborative spaces where multimedia documents can be co-constructed
by multiple ‘members’. In practice, it is the simple and easy-to-use publishing features that
have become most popular. These may be used to build shared products, especially for group
presentations where all members can create the final product jointly.
::
Developments on the idea of collaborating within a document environment have produced realtime sharing applications such as PiratePad, where the pad text is synchronised so that multiple
users can view the changing page simultaneously. This allows students to collaborate seamlessly
on documents.
::
OpenStudy is a social learning study group where students ask questions, give help, and connect
with other students studying the same things, all in real time. The aim is to create a live help
centre for students worldwide, regardless of school, location, or background.
The major pedagogical change in all these cases lies in the increased emphasis on the agency of
students: encouraging participation, interactivity, mutual support, and collaboration. Students are
positioned to take responsibility for being active, in learning from others, for making a difference and
contributing to a bigger awareness than their own local experiences.
Lastly, but equally importantly, web 2.0 supports teachers’ professional growth. Increasingly
teachers are joining or creating professional learning communities and seeking information and ideas
from other teachers, at times, in places and in ways that suit their individual preferences.
Web 2.0 applications have brought with them the usual expectations of transformation of learning
practices. Advocates promise an ideological shift, away from the internet as a ‘one way street where
someone [else] controls the content’ to a place where anyone can be a valued contributor (Solomon &
Schrum, 2007), where the sharing of ideas and information by students is somehow privileged over
‘traditional’ learning processes.
There are two obvious difficulties presented by this position. First, the purpose of school learning
is to extend students’ knowledge and skills through engagement with new experiences and ideas,
hopefully from authoritative sources. Second, the evidence from several years of practice indicates
that students are not taking up these opportunities. A clear digital disconnect exists between the
promise and the reality of web 2.0 (Selwyn, 2010), even in well-equipped schools where attitudes to
ICT use are strongly favourable. Luckin and colleagues (2009) points out that evidence from a range
of studies suggests uses of social applications are narrow and traditional, dominated by accessing
information and superficial communications, rather than ‘critical enquiry or analytical awareness’
with ‘few examples of collaborative knowledge construction and little publication or publishing
outside of social networking sites’. It seems that even when students make frequent use of social
networks for communication, they are reluctant to see them as workspaces for mutual construction
or to make significant changes to the work of others (Selwyn, 2010).
This is certainly not the first time that educational technologists have expressed disappointment
with the outcomes of computer use in schools. Complaints that schools are not making effective use
of web 2.0 applications because of inadequate technical support, rigidity of curriculum or teacher
reluctance in adopting collaborative practices are reminiscent of similar accusations levelled regarding
each previous new wave of ICT innovation.
9 Science, Technology, Environment and Society
Mobile, immersive and augmented realities
Mobile technologies
With phones now more powerful than the computers of a decade ago and laptop computers becoming
smaller and more affordable, we are on the brink of another rapid change. Mobile phones are in
almost every pocket. Some students have their own personal digital assistants (PDA). iPads, Touchpads
and other mobile tablets are eminently portable, easy-to-use and ready to open up a whole new range
of opportunities.
At one level, mobile technologies simply provide on-the-spot access to all the applications and
ideas already discussed in this chapter, whether on netbooks, PDAs, tablets, or a mobile phone. To
date, school laptop programs have not produced the radical changes in classroom practice or student
achievement expected of them, despite the 1:1 and flexible learning promises they extolled. The rapid
addition of educational applications for mobiles, however, and their growing ubiquity in teachers’
personal lives, may make a difference to the uptake of mobile learning in schools.
Mobile devices have, for the first time, truly enabled access to educational technologies to become
‘any time and anywhere’. Flexibility of this sort is more useful in terms of the design of learning
activities, especially for young children, than the previous suggestions of students accessing educational
services 24/7 in a totally independent way. There is growing discussion in the United States of
how to make use of students’ own mobile devices for class purposes, sometimes for economically
driven reasons, sometimes just because it may work to open up opportunities for motivating or
self-directed learning.
Science-specific apps for mobiles and the use of mobile tablets in locations outside the school are
two new opportunities that are emerging for mobile learning.
As quickly as new ICT devices arrive, so too do a range of applications, in this case apps, to give them
effect. Many providers, including education authorities, are aggregating resources to make mobile
manipulatives and interactives widely available, for example the Victorian Education Department’s
Science Apps. Often these are simpler versions of similar computer or web-based applications that
provide immediate-use, self-contained objects.
Location-based applications create new ways of engaging with places. Recent examples include
use of PDAs or tablets in excursion venues, such as zoos or environmental centres, or Sydney’s Royal
Botanic Gardens (The Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust, 2010). Students work in small
groups to locate and explore programmed activities or stories via audio, video and text, accessible
when they reach a particular location in the gardens. As with all ICT applications, the value of mobile
content comes with the curriculum or learning purposes that direct its use.
Immersive environments: games, simulations and MUVEs
Much of the discussion throughout this book seeks to promote the design of learning environments
where students:
::
are active participants, connecting learning content to the real world
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::
make decisions and take risks, enabling development and testing of ideas in a social context (not
working alone)
::
receive relevant and timely feedback, including indicators of success
::
have opportunities to apply knowledge to purposeful tasks or contexts.
Add to these ideas a novel or interesting narrative and the result sounds like the features of
collaborative, game-based environments, virtual worlds or multi-user virtual environments
(MUVEs). Such immersive systems move beyond simulation to create environments where users (or
players) step into the action via avatars, or digital representations of themselves, and participate with
others within the parameters and rules of the defined world.
Experiments or trials of virtual worlds for learning are beginning to emerge. Second Life is
probably the best-known virtual environment, with several universities creating Second Life virtual
classrooms and environments for distance learning. Examples are British Open Learning, MIT, and
Harvard. The NASA Learning Technologies (LT) team is developing several virtual worlds and
education projects in Second Life. For school-aged students, multi-player game environments are
being developed to support science, technology, engineering and mathematics learning and career
exploration. The ‘proof of concept’ project Moonbase Alpha (Figure 9.6) is intended to provide a fun
game and inspire interest in science education.
Figure 9.6 Moonbase Alpha
In Moonbase Alpha, you assume the exciting role of an astronaut working to further human expansion and research. Returning
from a research expedition, you witness a meteorite impact that cripples the life support capability of the settlement. With
precious minutes ticking away, you and your team must repair and replace equipment in order to restore oxygen production to the
settlement. (VirtualHeroes.com, 2010)
While some Australian educational bodies, including some school settings, are currently using
virtual environments for learning (Salomon, 2010), it is too early to see definite patterns of wider
uptake. However, many students, particularly boys, are proficient with immersive games that
challenge their thinking and demand strategic action, in collaboration or in competition with
other players.
9 Science, Technology, Environment and Society
The quality of game-play of well-designed examples may be beneficial in educational settings,
establishing collaborative spaces or allowing students to engage with learning that cannot be accessed
from, or created in, a real classroom (Dede & Barab, 2009). Proponents emphasise the value of gamebased activities in promoting experimentation, exploration of ideas and constructive experience of
failure. Because immersive environments are most commonly web-based, participants can take part
from anywhere that has an adequate internet connection.
Bennett and colleagues (2008) suggest that virtual environments show promise in the areas of
science and engineering for modelling and controlling complex systems. They also point to the
paucity of research that demonstrates gains in deep learning from game-based environments built
on recreational games models, or that focuses on how to design games that would provide strong
curriculum effects as well as promoting high levels of student engagement (Bennett et al., 2008).
There is some concern that the strength of student agency in virtual environments comes with
increased risk that learners will end up with little cognitive gain, or worse, develop misconceptions
or omissions in understanding (Bennett et al., 2008).
One of the major challenges will be to design environments where the available options and
feedback to participants foster understandings that are consistent with science learning goals. Those
environments that provide authentic experiences, developed by authoritative sources in partnership
with educators, are the most likely to inspire the confidence of teachers as well as the enthusiasm
of students.
Augmented reality
Imagine …
Students and teachers look through a viewing device or at a monitor to see virtual objects
such as planets, volcanoes, the human heart, or dinosaurs embedded within their real-world
environment—and they can interact with and manipulate those objects to receive associated
information (Devaney, 2010).
Augmented reality mixes virtual elements with the real environment, using location-aware devices
such as mobile computing coupled with a GPS receiver. As users move around a physical location,
virtual features are displayed or superimposed on the real space, adding to or augmenting the
experience of the location.
Dede (2009) describes the potential for a learning process where the ‘augmented reality and GPS
software trigger video-, audio-, and text files, which provide narrative, navigation and collaboration
cues, as well as academic challenges’ (p. 68).
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Figure 9.7
Augmented Reality Development Lab (ARDL) module
http://augmentedrealitydevelopmentlab.com/modules
Other augmented reality resources use purpose-built perception devices to ‘display’ 3D graphics.
Developers such as Augmented Reality Development Lab (ARDL) use online modules to demonstrate
the potential to bring ‘anything to life’, as shown in Figure 9.7. Rather than positioning participants
within a virtual, simulated world, augmented reality is designed to blur the line between the real
world and the enhanced perceptions provided by the technology. To date, examples have been used
to add features such as virtual objects in exhibitions, museums, games and books.
How augmented realities will arrive in the day-to-day practice of schools is yet to be seen,
although proponents are, as expected, already making promises of enhanced learning experiences
and engaging lessons. In the words of Scott Jochim, speaking of ARDL (Devaney, 2010) ‘This … is
clearly going to revolutionize education’.
Summary
Science learning is all about enabling and inspiring our children to understand and take
part in the world in which we live.
Throughout the last three decades, technological innovations have been invested
with the potential to revolutionise teaching and learning, in science and elsewhere. It
seems that we are not good at remembering the outcomes, repeated time and again,
that demonstrate that it’s not the ‘next big thing’—that new piece of hardware (in
the 1980s and 90s); internet connection, podcast or wiki (in the 2000s) or mobile and
virtual experiences (in 2011 and beyond)—that will ‘change the way we learn and teach’.
Nor is it likely to be the next iteration of the world wide web, however soon it evolves.
Rather, it is teachers and what they do with these technologies, and what they allow
and encourage students to do, that will enliven science and make it an important part
of children’s lives and learning.
This chapter has roamed through a diversity of digital environments, a burgeoning
wealth of packaged resources, and ambitious new applications that should be challenging
9 Science, Technology, Environment and Society
251
the way we think about engaging with learning. The consistent message that emerges
is one of expanded opportunities to support a different way of approaching science
learning. The issue remains one of purposeful use of digital resources. Quality of task
is paramount. No amount of technical gadgetry will help if the learning activity is of
a low level and lacking in intellectual challenge for students. It is the teacher’s role to
design learning experiences to capitalise on the enhanced interest and active learning
on offer. Developing successful lessons that incorporate the use of technology requires
thoughtful planning and attention both to the purpose of the instructional activity and
to the needs of the students.
In the science classroom
A flick—or surf—through most newspapers will reveal articles, stories or advertising
based on ‘science’, many of which contain scientific inaccuracies. It is important that
students are critical users of media and apply their science knowledge in assessing
and considering the different conceptions or misconceptions media present, as the
Curriculum acknowledges (see ‘Science Understanding’).
Dealing with media
conceptions of science
To address media conceptions of science in the classroom, you can choose a topic, for
example space, then have students investigate how they might verify or disprove the
arguments or ‘facts’ presented in relevant articles and media comments. It is sometimes
more effective, however, to examine a topic that is creating headlines. When there is a
major medical discovery or environmental incident, for instance, there are often reports,
footage and so on from many sources that students can collect and compare. The
science behind the event can be drawn out and misconceptions discussed, leading to
classroom investigations that address these. (This links to Science as Human Endeavour
and Science Inquiry Skills in the Curriculum.)
Advertising is another fruitful area for analysis. Students could examine the science
behind claims such as ‘X product cleans any surface’, and perhaps even experiment with
products to draw their own conclusions.
Popular television shows also invite in-depth science discussion and analysis: think
about crime shows, science shows like ‘Mythbusters’ or shows that examine the science
behind cooking.
Curriculum links
Focus Question
Year F–10: Science as Human Endeavour
Look in a newspaper or magazine to find an advertisement, then list the science
related to the product advertised. What could students do to investigate this
science and the advertiser’s claims?
Year F–10: Science Inquiry Skills
Also refer to: Year 7 Work Sample 6: Feral Fox (Australian
Curriculum, ACARA).
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Scientific innovations
Australian scientists have played an important role in scientific innovation. To examine
this, students could
::
Create a large timeline of Australian scientific innovations, including dates, images
and details.
::
Research Australian scientists and the roles they have played in these innovations,
then present these to the class.
::
Track an innovation, such as the bionic ear, from its beginning to the current day.
::
Working within the topic of water, examine innovations in areas such as water
purification, water conservation and limiting water pollution. After researching the
topic, different groups could present their ideas to the class.
::
Examine how science was researched 100 years ago, and the extent to which the
community and press accepted it, then compare this to 50 years ago and to today.
::
Predict what might happen in the future, perhaps with land conservation or animals
Curriculum links
Year F–10: Science as Human Endeavour; Science Inquiry
Skills
Also refer to: Year 5 Work Sample 6: Australian Scientists;
Year 5 Work Sample 2: Famous scientists; Year 7 Work
Sample 1: Purifying water (Australian Curriculum, ACARA).
Integrating ICT
nearing extinction, and what part science will play in this.
Light is an important element of our lives, and is a fruitful topic for classroom investigation
using ICT. First, students could complete project-based learning to investigate shadows
and the absorption, reflection and refraction of light. After investigating the science
behind each of these four phenomena, students can consider these as they occur in a
particular context, for example in lighting for a stage show, in photography, in a home
cinema or at a party/disco.
ICT could be used in the investigation in many ways, for example:
::
Digital photography could be used to record the different examples of reflection,
refraction and absorption of light.
::
Flip cameras could be used to record video of students completing the tasks or
reporting and explaining findings.
::
Students can display photos then descriptions and diagrams on interactive
whiteboards or televisions.
::
Presentation media can be used to complete and display reports.
::
Tools such as Skype could be used to link up with a ‘lighting expert’ who, working
on-site, could talk students through how lighting is used in his/her profession.
Students could then apply their knowledge to create and organise the lighting for an
event at the school, for example a concert.
Curriculum links
Year 5: Science Understanding: Physical sciences
Also refer to: Year 5 Work Sample 5: Can light go around
corners? (Australian Curriculum, ACARA).
Focus Question
Consider the topic of organisms, which includes the study of classification and food
chains and webs. How could this be presented to a Year 7 class in a projectbased format, and how could ICT be used in this study?
9 Science, Technology, Environment and Society
Kids’ Design Challenge, a NSW initiative, allows students to be actively involved in their
own environments and communities, to investigate real issues and design ideas and
solutions. The TechnoPush challenge, for example, has primary students designing,
constructing, then using a pushcart. This culminates in an event for students across the
state. (There are similar activities in other states such as the RACV Energy Breakthrough
in Victoria.)
Kids’ Design Challenge
There are many activities students can do in the classroom as part of the challenge,
including
::
Reading and interpreting design criteria
::
Researching, analysing and using the information about different pushcarts; they
could also contact experts via internet link ups
::
Designing their own pushcarts, individually or in groups
::
Analysing and comparing the designs against the criteria.
Once the design phase is completed, students can
::
Source materials, using ICT to calculate costings
::
Learn from an expert about how to use tools and the importance of safety.
In the construction phase that follows all students should have a role.
Other tasks students could perform include
::
Keeping a record of the project in a journal
::
Costing/budgeting of the pushcart
::
Fundraising for the project
::
Taking photos/video to record the journey
::
Collating designs and plans.
There are many opportunities for cross-curricular links such as to literacy and maths, as
well as many opportunities to use ICT like computers, the internet, digital cameras and
video cameras.
Focus Question
Choose one of the other Kids’ Design Challenge topics—Built Environment, Go 4
Grains or KDC for Little Kids—and list some of the classroom activities that can
be used in completing the challenge.
Further reading
Dede, C., & Barab, S. (2009). Emerging technologies for learning science: a time of rapid advances. Journal of
Science Education and Technology, 18(4), 301–304.
Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. (2010). Teaching and learning with Web 2.0 technologies:
Findings from 2006–2009. Melbourne: Communications Division for Innovation and Next Practice Division,
Department of Education and Early Childhood Development.
Selwyn, N. (2010). Web 2.0 and the school of the future, today. In Centre for Educational Research and
Innovation (CERI) (Ed.), Inspired by technology, driven by pedagogy: a systemic approach to technology-based school
innovations (pp. 24–44). Paris: OECD Publishing.
Tytler, R. (2007). Re-imagining science education: engaging students in science for Australia’s future. Melbourne: Australian
Council for Educational Research.
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Web references
Reference is made in this chapter to the following applications, products or websites:
Competitions and challenges
60 second science <www.60secondscience.net>
BHP Billiton Science Awards <www.scienceawards.org.au/default.asp>
CREativity in Science and Technology (CREST) <www.csiro.au/crest>
Enviro Inspiro <www.sustainableschools.nsw.edu.au/Default.aspx?tabid=646>
Kids’ Design Challenge (KDC) <www.kdc.nsw.edu.au>
Sleek Geeks Eureka Science Prize—Primary and Secondary school <http://eureka.australianmuseum.net.au>
Young Scientist Awards <www.stansw.asn.au/ys>
Hardware and software
HoverCam <www.thehovercam.com>
Inspiration <www.inspiration.com>, also Kidspiration, InspireData and Webspiration
Intel Thinking tools <www.intel.com/about/corporateresponsibility/education/k12/tools.htm>
PowerPoint 2010 <http://office.microsoft.com/en-au/powerpoint>
Photo Story 3 <www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=11132>
PhotoStage <www.nchsoftware.com/slideshow/index.html>
Connections with the science community
Museum in a Box <http://australianmuseum.net.au/Museum-in-a-Box>
Museum Victoria Learning Kits < http://museumvictoria.com.au/search/?q=learning%20kits>
Science in a suitcase <www.discovery.asn.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=97&Itemid=97>
Scientists in schools <www.scientistsinschools.edu.au>
South Australian Museum Discovery Cases <www.samuseum.sa.gov.au/education/inyourschool/discovery>
Tall Poppies Reaching students <www.aips.net.au/tall-poppies/tall-poppy-campaign/tall-poppies-reachingstudents-program>
Young Tall Poppy Seminars: search the Tall Poppy site for activities in each state or territory <www.aips.net.au/
tall-poppies>
Young Tall Poppy Videoconferences <www.aips.net.au/education/nsw-education/nsw-school-events>
Multimedia resources
ABC Science Show [audio podcasts] <www.abc.net.au/rn/scienceshow>
ABC Teaching and Learning Resource Pilot <www.abceducation.net.au>
cogito.org [blogs] <https://cogito.cty.jhu.edu>
Conundrums <www.abc.net.au/science/surfingscientist/conundrums>
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eplo.tv, Exploratorium <www.exploratorium.edu/tv/archive.php?presentation_type=webcasts>
Exploratorium (for Educators) <www.exploratorium.edu/who/educators>
Great Barrier Reef biodiversity, Queensland Museum: <www.qm.qld.gov.au/microsites/biodiscovery/02videos/
index.html>
National Geographic science blogs <http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science>
reef ED’s movie library <www.reefed.edu.au/home>
science.TV <www.science.tv>
SchoolTube <www.schooltube.com/videos>
Sites2See guides <http://lrrpublic.cli.det.nsw.edu.au/lrrSecure/Sites/LRRView/12058/index.
htm?Signature=(beaa2b77-7bc2-4150-9d7a-98f51a649259>
Slowmation <www.slowmation.com.au>
Space Place Live! <http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/space-place-live/en>
The Surfing Scientist <www.abc.net.au/science/surfingscientist>
TeacherTube <www.teachertube.com>
YouTube <www.youtube.com>
Webcams
Australian Antarctic stations <www.antarctica.gov.au/webcams> including ‘Krill Cam’: <www.antarctica.gov.au/
webcams/krill-cam>
Hancock Wildlife Foundation <www.hancockwildlife.org>
Hawaiian Volcano Observatory <http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/hvo/cams>
International Space Station <www.nasa.gov/multimedia/isslivestream.asx> (live streaming with audio)
Kruger National Park <www.sanparks.org/webcams/cams.php?cam=orpen>
NASA’s Next Mars Rover Being Built Via Live ‘Curiosity Cam’ <www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/building_
curiosity.html>
WebCam Galore <www.webcamgalore.com/EN/theme.html>
Directories and online resource locators
Access Excellence <www.accessexcellence.org/AE/ATG>
Access Excellence Resource Center <www.accessexcellence.org/RC>
Australian Academy of Sciences Back to Basics <www.science.org.au/scied/basics.html>
Interactive Science websites <http://jc-schools.net/tutorials/interact-science.htm>
Welcome to Cursions <www.cursions.com.au>
Sign up for regular updates by RSS or email
ABC Science updates <www.abc.net.au/science/contact/lists/updates>
CSIRO Science by Email <www.csiro.au/services/Science-By-Email-Main.html>
NASA education’s EXPRESS Email <www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/Express_Landing.html>
Science Hub Australia <www.sciencehub.com.au>
Guided inquiry, WebQuests and scavenger hunts
Bugwise-for-Schools (Australian Museum) <http://australianmuseum.net.au/Bugwise-for-Schools>
9 Science, Technology, Environment and Society
Electrify me! Help find a solution to energy shortages in your city <http://questgarden.
com/127/05/2/110619190123/index.htm>
Internet scavenger hunts <www.cli.nsw.edu.au/cli/e-learning/studentsites/scavenger/index.htm>
Paper or Plastic? Take on a role and work with others to collectively decide which bags to provide at the
supermarket <http://ace.schoolnet.org.za/cd/infomanagement/websites/paperplastic/index.htm>
QuestGarden <http://questgarden.com/index.php>
WebQuests developed by UniServe Science <http://sydney.edu.au/science/uniserve_science/school/quests/index.
html>
WebQuest.org <http://webquest.org/index.php>
WebQuests developed by UniServe Science—Years 7–10 only <http://sydney.edu.au/science/uniserve_science/
school/quests/index.html>
WebQuest Direct <www.webquestdirect.com.au>
Wild Backyards (Queensland Museum) <www.qm.qld.gov.au/microsites/wild/index.asp>
Online products
BBC Science Clips <www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/index_flash.shtml>
Bitesize Science <www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/science>
Cells Alive <www.cellsalive.com>
Drug scene investigation <http://dsi.dsihome.org>
DIY Science <www.csiro.au/Portals/Education/Programs/Do-it-yourself-science.aspx>
Engineering interact <www.engineeringinteract.org/interact.htm>
Exploratree <www.exploratree.org.uk>
Freezray Investigation planner <www.freezeray.com/flashFiles/investigationPlanner.htm>
LucidChart <https://www.lucidchart.com>
MindMeister <www.mindmeister.com/36440895/language-development>
The Mission Science Lab <www.nf bkids.ca/lamission/home_e.php>
NASA’s Space Place <http://spaceplace.nasa.gov>
NobelPrize.org <http://nobelprize.org/educational>
Outbreak at WatersEdge (Access Excellence®) <www.mclph.umn.edu/watersedge>
Physics Education Technology [PhET] Project <http://phet.colorado.edu>
Powering your Community: how to power a developing community <www.energex.com.au/switched_on/media/
flash/pycgame/pyc.html>
SCORE Science [Schools of California On-line Resources for Education] <http://scorescience.humboldt.k12.
ca.us>
SimBio Virtual Biology <http://simbio.com>
Uniserve Science <http://science.uniserve.edu.au/school/curric/k_6/index.html>
Wonderville <www.wonderville.ca>
Learning objects
FOSS: Full Option Science System <www.fossweb.com>
The Learning Federation <www.thelearningfederation.edu.au>
The ScIslands <www.questacon.edu.au/scislands>
Virtual FishTank™ ‘Build-Your-Own-Fish’ <www.virtualfishtank.com/main.html>
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PART 1 | LINKING THEORY TO PRACTICE
Virtual tools and labs
Chickscope <http://chickscope.itg.uiuc.edu/explore>
iLab Central <http://ilabcentral.org/radioactivity/cellphoneradiation>
Jason Mission Centre: Digital Labs & Games <www.jason.org/public/JMC.aspx>
Radioactivity iLab <www.ilabcentral.org/radioactivity/cellphoneradiation>
Stellarium <http://stellarium.org>
UVA Virtual Lab© <www.virlab.virginia.edu/VL/home.htm>
The Virtual Microscope <http://virtual.itg.uiuc.edu>
Virtual Science <www.demoscience.org/resources/category/128>
Ask an Expert
ABC Science <www.abc.net.au/science/askanexpert>
Ask the SEED experts <www.planetseed.com/faq_ask>
Center for Innovation in Engineering & Science Education, Ask An Expert Sites page <www.k12science.org/
askanexpert.html>
Jason Project Live events , e.g. Meet a … Climatologist <www.jason.org/gated/Pages/LiveEvents.aspx>
Queensland Museum <www.sciencentre.qm.qld.gov.au/Find+out+about/Ask+an+Expert>
Space Place Live <http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/space-place-live/en>
Video conferences
The Australian Museum <http://australianmuseum.net.au/event/Video-conferencing-for-schools>
NASA Chats <www.nasa.gov/connect/chat>
Rediscovering Science <www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au/secondary/science/downloads/index.htm>
Shout online conferecne series <www.smithsonianconference.org>
Tall Poppies Reaching Students program: Young Tall Poppies <www.aips.net.au/education/nsw-education/nswschool-events> (NSW)
<www.vssec.vic.edu.au/vssec-interactive/video-conferencing/tall-poppy-video-conference-program> (Vic)
Personal connections
Environment Online (ENO) <www.enotreeday.net>
NASA connect <www.nasa.gov/connect/index.html>
Niche communities
Cogito: Connecting Young Thinkers Around the World <https://cogito.cty.jhu.edu>
Young Scientists of Australia <www.ysa.org.au>
YouthCaN <www.youthcanworld.org>
Online project collections
Center for Improved Engineering & Science Education: Classroom Projects (CIESE) <www.ciese.org/currichome.
html>
Global School House’s Projects Registry <www.globalschoolnet.org/gsnpr>
9 Science, Technology, Environment and Society
International Education and Resource Network (iEARN) <www.iearn.org>
iEARN Australia <www.iearn.org.au>
Online projects
Center For Improved Engineering & Science Education (CIESE) <www.ciese.org/currichome.html>
Challenge-based learning <http://ali.apple.com/cbl>
Down the drain (CIESE) <www.ciese.org/curriculum/drainproj>
e-Mission™ <www.e-missions.net>
Eradication of Malaria (iEARN) <http://media.iearn.org/node/174>
Global School House <www.globalschoolnet.org/gsh/pr/_cfm/index.cfm##sec1>
Global Sun Temperature Project (CIESE) <www.ciese.org/curriculum/tempproj>
The Globe Program <www.globe.gov>
Human Genetics Project (CIESE) <www.ciese.org/curriculum/genproj>
Hurricane Alert! e-Mission™ <www.e-missions.net/HurricaneAlert/?sid=2&pid=78&cat=71>
Journey North <www.learner.org/jnorth>
Murder Under the Microscope <www.microscope.edu.au>
NASA Quest Challenges <http://quest.nasa.gov/index.html>
Online Science-athon <http://scithon.terc.edu/SciThonIndex.cfm>
Shout: Explore, Connect, Act <http://shoutlearning.org>
Tsunami Surge <www.ciese.org/realtimeproj.html>, <www.ciese.org/curriculum/tsunami>
Virtual excursions and adventures
Alaskan SeaLife Center, Seward, Alaska <http://dartconnections.org.au/BookingRetrieve.aspx?ID=133326>
COSI Video Visits <http://dev.cosi.org/educators/videoconferencing>
Dive In: On-Line Expeditions <www.ceoe.udel.edu/expeditions/index.html>
Following the Ice: One hundred Days on the Greenland Ice Sheets <http://followingtheice.blogspot.com>
Great Barrier Reef aquarium <http://dartconnections.org.au/BookingRetrieve.aspx?ID=125473>
Mars Rocks! <www.vssec.vic.edu.au/vssec-interactive/video-conferencing>
NASA Virtual Field Trip: Pilbara <http://quest.nasa.gov/vft/#wtd>
Nautilus Live <http://nautiluslive.org>
Online Expeditions <www.whoi.edu/page.do?pid=9545>
Ridge 2000 Expeditions <www.ridge2000.org/science/outreach/expeditions.php>
World Wind <http://worldwind.arc.nasa.gov>
Real-time tools
Bugscope <http://bugscope.beckman.uiuc.edu>
CIESE Real time data projects <www.ciese.org/realtimeproj.html>
The Faulkes Telescope Project <www.faulkes-telescope.com>
NASA’s Virtual Microscope <www.nasa-inspired.org/cogs/Cogs_learn.htm>
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Social network sites and aggregators
Audacity <http://audacity.sourceforge.net>
Classblogmeister <www.slideshare.net/hseufert/class-blogmeister>
Delicious <www.delicious.com>
Diigo <www.diigo.com>
Edmodo <www.edmodo.com>
Edublogs <http://edublogs.org>
flickr <www.flickr.com>
formatpixel <www.formatpixel.com/go/en/index.php>
Glogster EDU <http://edu.glogster.com>
Kidblog <http://kidblog.org/home.php>
LetterPOP <http://letterpop.com>
OpenStudy: Biology; OpenStudy: Physics <http://openstudy.com>
PiratePad <http://piratepad.net/front-page>
Planet FOSS <www.fossweb.com/planetfoss>
PodBean <www.podbean.com>
Podomatic <www.podomatic.com>
Popplet <http://popplet.com>
PreZentit <http://prezentit.com>
Prezi <http://prezi.com>
Primary Blogger <http://primaryblogger.co.uk>
scrapblog <www.scrapblog.com>
slideshare <www.slideshare.net>
SoundsXtras <www.soundsxtras.com>
Soungle [royalty free] <www.soungle.com>
Web Poster Wizard <http://poster.4teachers.org>
Wix <www.wix.com/web_builder/fish>
Mobile, immersive and augmented realities
Augmented Reality Development Lab (ARDL) modules <http://augmentedrealitydevelopmentlab.com/modules>
Moonbase Alpha <http://store.steampowered.com/app/39000>
Science Apps (Department of Education and Early Childhood Development) <www.ipadsforeducation.vic.edu.au/
education-apps/7-science>
Second Life <http://secondlife.com>
Time Travel by Satellite (Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust) <www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/education/school_
excursions/Time_travel_by_satellite>
Matrix of experiments
Science Understanding
2
Year level/skill level
Biological
sciences
Chemical
sciences
Earth and Space
sciences
Foundation
Story of a Hamburger
Sherbet
Shadows
Lower primary—years 1–3
Story of a Hamburger
Sherbet
Shadows
Lower secondary—years 7 & 8
Story of a Hamburger
Sherbet
Shadows
Secondary—years 9 & 10
Story of a Hamburger
Sherbet
Shadows
Physical sciences
Electric Circuits
Crash Testing
Electric Circuits
Crash Testing
Crash Testing
EXPLORING THE
WORLD THROUGH
EXPERIMENTS
Experiment 1:
Sherbet
Timing
Year level
Foundation to lower secondary
This experiment has been done with students from foundation up to secondary (lower
and upper). The level of scientific language used and the expectations of the students,
pedagogy and outcomes differentiate how this experiment is presented to students.
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Connecting with the science
Time to complete: 60–80 minutes
11
Taste (lower primary)
11
Chemical reactions (lower secondary)
11
Acids and bases (upper secondary)
Links to:
Chapter 1, p. 9
Chapter 2, p. 48
Chapter 8, pp. 203–8, 212
Chapter 9, pp. 230, 236–7
11
Citric and tartaric acids are acidic substances
11
Acids make a tingling sensation on your tongue
11
Sodium bicarbonate is a type of base
11
Acids and bases undergo a chemical reaction when mixed together
11
One of the products of the reaction between citric acid and bicarbonate is a
gas called carbon dioxide
Key terms and definitions
Acid
Carbonate
One of a class of substances that
neutralise and are neutralised by alkalis.
Acids can be identified as solutions
that taste sour, such as lemon juice
and vinegar, and have a pH lower than
7. Chemicals or substances having the
property of an acid are said to be acidic.
A carbonate consists of one carbon atom
surrounded by three oxygen atoms. When
a carbonate is mixed with an acid, carbon
dioxide (gas) is given off.
Alkali
An alkaline solution has a pH greater
than 7.
264
Reaction
A chemical reaction is a process that
leads to a different substance being
formed when two chemicals are added
together. You can tell if a chemical
reaction has occurred if there has been a
colour change; bubbles of gas are given
off; the mixture gets hot or cold; or a
solid (called a ‘precipitate) is formed.
Experiment 1 | Sherbet
Skills
265
Key links
11
Using equipment safely
Links to literacy
11
Making observations:
11
Using scientific terms correctly (see page 184)
11
about an object and situation
11
Written scientific literacy (see page 182)
11
that describe change
11
Use of diagrams to show understanding
11
Students could prepare a report, explanation
or outline the sequence of what they did, and
supply a conclusion.
11
Drawing a diagram from observation
11
Measurement and graphing
11
Making comparisons
11
Supplying ideas about the activities
Links to assessment
11
Giving reasons for observations
11
Explaining observations by converting visual understanding into written text
11
Recording observations accurately
11
Making conclusions on the basis of the observations
11
Developing questions about the activity and planning how to get answers to the
questions
Students use photographs of themselves and
their sherbets to record what they did and what
they found out. Assessment can be based on
the processes used and the conclusions that the
students write.
11
Listening to explanations of others
11
Working as a member of a team
Links to human endeavour
11
The colours and flavours of our foods come
from chemicals that can be either natural
or artificial. Many food flavours are now
produced artificially, especially those used in
sweets.
11
Children need to develop decision making
skills across all areas of life and they need
to learn to look for evidence to support their
decisions
Safety requirements
11
Jelly crystals should not be used for students who are vegetarian, have food
colouring allergies or have religious reasons for not eating gelatine, which is an
animal protein. If use of jelly crystals is a problem, replace them with pure icing
sugar.
11
Students will need to be reminded (constantly) about no double-dipping of spoons
or paddle-pop sticks
Background
We keep dry ingredients such as bicarbonate of soda and citric acid in our cupboards
for months and they do not change. Even when they are added together no reaction
happens. However, when ingredients such as citric acid and bicarbonate are added
together and we eat them, the saliva in our mouth provides the water required for a
reaction to occur. When they are mixed with the saliva the acid causes the release of
carbon dioxide from the bicarbonate of soda, leaving a salty taste in our mouth (which
is usually why we add sugar to the ingredients).
citric acid + bicarbonate of soda → salt
C 7 H 4 O7
+
3NaHCO3
+
→ Na3C 7HO7
carbon dioxide + water
+
3CO2
+
3H2O
and
tartaric acid + bicarbonate of soda → salt
C4H4 O6
+
2NaHCO3
+ carbon dioxide + water
→ Na2C4H2O6
+
2CO2
+
2H2O
Reaction summary: When an acid and carbonate are added together in water, bubbles
of carbon dioxide are produced.
Links to other curriculum areas
11
Mathematics: Ratios, measurement
11
Health: Understanding what is a healthy food
11
Commerce: Marketing
266
Part 2 | EXPLORING THE WORLD THROUGH EXPERIMENTS
Pre-experiment
Some students have never tasted sherbet so
you might like to buy a packet of fruit tingles so
that they get a sense of what they are looking
for.
Also if you want to demonstrate the reaction
so that they can see it, you (teacher) or the
students could place some bicarbonate of soda
in a clear soft bottle and then pour in vinegar
to produce lots of small bubbles.
Experiment
Aim
Younger students: To make a batch of sherbet that tastes good.
Older students: To show that a reaction occurs between an acid and carbonate to
produce bubbles of gas.
Equipment
11
Containers of citric acid (sour), tartaric acid (sour), and bicarbonate of soda (all
readily available at grocery stores)
11
Patty pan cases (like those used for chocolate crackles)
11
Packets of jelly crystals (for colour and sweetness)
11
Pure icing sugar
11
Plastic spoons (for younger Year groups, to measure out their ingredients)
11
Electronic balances for more advanced groups
11
Paddle-pop sticks for tasting their sherbet
Experiment 1 | Sherbet
Per group
11
One container of each ingredient
11
Paddle-pop sticks
11
Patty pan cases
Steps
1Groups of students are to be given a container with each ingredient. Each
container should be labelled. These containers can be plastic cups but must not
be beakers that have been previously used for other experiments.
Have a camera ready. The faces that the students make are very useful for school
magazines and the reports that they write.
Each student is to use a paddle-pop stick ONLY ONCE for each end to sample
each of the ingredients.
2Once each ingredient has been sampled the students make their first batch of
sherbet. For older students get them to record the amounts of each ingredient to
use later in graphing their results.
3Students are to name their sherbet creation and test the first batch. Once they
have tested it they will modify their ingredients and make a second batch which
they will compare with the first batch. They continue for 5 or 6 batches until they
think they have produced their best.
4They record their ingredients on the board/PowerPoint slide/interactive
whiteboard for comparison with other groups later.
5Once they have identified their best batch it is brought to the front of the room.
Each student samples the other groups’ best batch and a vote is taken on the
best batch.
6As a class they compare the ingredients used by the winning group with their
own. They can make suggestions as to why they think the best sherbet was the
best.
Recording results
Record how much of each ingredient groups used and compare to see how the best
one was different from the others.
Amounts
of powders
Group 1
Group 2
Group 3
Group 4
Group 5
Citric acid
Tartaric acid
Bicarb of soda
Icing sugar
Jelly crystals
Students can then graph their sherbet ingredients using a column or pie chart.
If the students do not
use consistent units of
measurement they will find it
difficult to graph. A very useful
lesson on units.
267
268
Part 2 | EXPLORING THE WORLD THROUGH EXPERIMENTS
modify the inquiry or
investigation
Foundation
Try spooning out the powders for the students.
Lower Primary
Students will still need support in spooning out
the ingredients but allow them to add some
of the ingredients such as the jelly crystals
themselves.
Experiment closure
Students write up their experiment as a blog entry, report, story or narrative that
incorporates some images taken during the experiment, especially of their faces
when tasting the separate ingredients. They can explain what they did and what
they found.
Questions to further discussion
1
How do you know when a reaction has occurred?
2
What did it feel like?
3
Which batch of sherbet did you prefer?
Upper Primary
4Can you explain why?
Add the step that the students do the
measuring of the ingredients themselves.
Students need to be given the opportunity to assess how much they learned from
the experiment. This can be achieved by each student preparing a personal concept
map or diagram and then outlining what they did. A report text type report can then
be prepared that includes the photographs that the students took.
Lower secondary
Add the word equation for the reaction
between acids and bases.
Secondary years 9 & 10
Add the chemical equation between the acids
and bases.
Depending on the level of prior knowledge and literacy levels, this section is
basically the ‘so what?’ section. Here the students can comment about the taste
of the ingredients and explain about the necessity for water to be present to
start the reaction. This section is not about repeating or summarising the results.
Extension activities
For more advanced classes a whole-class discussion about the chemical reaction
can incorporate some of the information about the reactions between acids
and bases.
Experiment 2:
Crash Testing
Timing
Preparation time: 60 minutes
Time to complete: 60 minutes + 40 minutes
for the report
Links to:
Chapter 1, p. 8
Chapter 7, pp. 179–88
Chapter 8, pp. 203–8, 212–13
Chapter 9, pp. 230, 236–7
Year level
Upper primary to lower secondary
This experiment can be completed with students from primary level up to secondary
(lower and upper). The level of scientific language used and the expectations of the
students, pedagogy and outcomes differentiates how this experiment is presented
to students.
Connecting with the science
::
There are always effects resulting from collisions.
::
Force, momentum, speed, velocity and weight are just some of the factors in
collisions.
::
Different effects can be seen in different types of collisions, i.e. frontal, side
impacts and rollovers, collisions between 1 vehicle and an object, between 2
vehicles, and so on.
::
Safety devices can lessen the impact of the collision on drivers and passengers.
::
Forces (upper primary), Physics: force, impact, speed, weight (lower secondary),
collisions (upper secondary).
Key terms and definitions
Force
Newton’s Laws
Any influence that causes a free body to
undergo a change in speed, a change in
direction, or a change in shape.
::
First law: Every object remains in
a state of rest or uniform motion
(constant velocity) unless it is acted
upon by an external unbalanced
force.
::
Second law: A body of mass m
subject to a force F undergoes
an acceleration a that has the
same direction as the force and
a magnitude that is directly
proportional to the force and
inversely proportional to the mass, i.e.
F = ma.
::
Third law: The mutual forces of action
and reaction between two bodies are
equal, opposite and collinear.
Collision
e
xp
270
An isolated event in which two or more
objects (colliding bodies) exert relatively
strong forces on each other for a
relatively short time.
Momentum
The product of the mass and velocity of
an object.
Speed
The distance travelled over a certain time.
Velocity
The distance travelled in a certain
direction over a certain time.
Weight
Force exerted by an object upon its
support against gravity.
Experiment 2 | Crash Testing
Skills
271
Key links
::
Making observations
Links to literacy
::
Explaining phenomena
::
Modification of experimental design
::
Data collection
::
Analysis and justification of data
::
Representing findings
::
Discussion of factors that might affect an experiment
::
Developing fair tests
::
Listening to ideas of others
::
Working in groups to complete a task
Students will be recording their observations and
collecting data from the activity. They will be
making a group decision of the most effective
way to collect this data. Students will be creating
a report either manually or electronically for
sharing purposes. ‘Writing to learn’ (page 182)
emphasises the importance of using student
writing during experiments, with students
recording what they did for later discussion and
revision.
Safety requirements
::
Students need to be careful of fingers when crashing the carts. They need to work
in a suitably sized space and be mindful of others around them.
::
The teacher needs to be aware of any personal issues within the class, as this may
be a sensitive topic for some students.
Background
There are various scenarios in vehicle collisions, for example car is stationary and hit by
another car, car is moving and hits a stationary object, two cars collide, frontal impacts,
side impacts, and rollovers. Physics plays a large role in understanding this: speed, force,
and impact. There are also many other elements involved, including the vehicle having a
passenger, car seat, or objects in the back of the car that are not secured.
Road accidents do occur, so safety elements are used in cars help lessen the impact
(e.g. seatbelts, air bags). The understanding of the collision itself and the impact of the
safety device can lead to a deeper understanding of the value and importance of these
devices.
Links to assessment
Students’ ability to work in a group to achieve
the aim of researching the effect of collisions
and safety devices can be assessed. This will be
evidenced by the ability to report to the group on
one scenario, and then in producing a report.
Links to human endeavour
Accidents in vehicles do happen, so safety devices
are important, as is understanding and valuing
their importance.
Links to other curriculum areas
Mathematics, ICT, biology, technology
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Pre-experiment
Brainstorm and discuss with students what
happens in a collision with a car. Think about
various scenarios, for example car is stationary
and hit by another car, car is moving and hits
a stationary object, 2 cars collide, frontal
impacts, side impacts, and rollovers. Discuss
the fact that accidents do occur and explore
the safety elements used in cars to help
lessen the impact (e.g. seatbelts, air bags).
Have students consider scenarios such as a
passenger, car seat, or objects in the back of
the car that are not secured.
There are many videos of crash testing that
could be watched prior to the activity. Some
examples include: <www.mynrma.com.au/
motoring/reviews/ancap-crash-test-videos.
htm> (which has numerous examples of tests
on different types of vehicles). Also a search on
YouTube or teachertube will result in numerous
examples.
Experiment
Crash testing is a process that enables research about the effects of collisions to
take place.
Aim
To investigate the effects of crashing a vehicle and the impact of adding safety
devices.
Equipment
::
Crash karts (if available); these are essentially a wooden block with 4 freerotating wheels. If not available, students can construct these as part of the
investigation, thus wheels and a body (perhaps cardboard boxes) could be
used.
::
Plasticine (people)
::
A variety of materials such as ribbons, string (seat belts), balloons, flour,
sugar or sand (air bags), paddle-pop sticks, offcuts of wood (bumper bars),
paper, cardboard, small containers, fabric
::
Sticking materials such as glue or Blu-tac or masking tape
::
Scissors
::
Video camera or flip camera (one for each group if possible)
Experiment 2 | Crash Testing
Steps
1Have students work in small groups. Provide each group with 2 crash karts, and
plasticine.
2Have the groups brainstorm the scenarios they wish to investigate, keeping
in mind they need to investigate the before and after of adding the safety
device.
3Place the remaining materials at the front of the room so students can collect
the materials as required.
4Have students complete their research, reminding them to collect data in
an appropriate format, as they will be required to share results with the
class.
5The teacher roams around the class, assisting students as required. Take video
footage of each of the groups, or if each group has the equipment, remind
students to collect footage.
6 With 5 minutes to go, stop the class and ask them to finalise or select a scenario
to share with the class.
7Have each group share one example with the class.
8Allow dismantling and pack up time.
Experiment closure
Have students decide if they could have improved their experiment, such as in the
way they collect their data. Once the activity is complete have students present a
report of their findings. This could be completed as a group or individually. It could be
completed electronically, embedding the video.
Questions
1
What happened when no safety devices were included?
2
What safety device did you find the most effective, and why?
3Have students share what surprised them with the collisions. For example,
students are often surprised by the effect of having unsecured objects in a
vehicle.
4
Depending on the level of prior knowledge and literacy levels, this section is
basically the ‘so what?’ section. Link some of the physics terminology to the
discussion, for example force, impact, collision. Have students evaluate the
different safety aspects. Did any of the groups come up with something new or
different?
Extension activities
::
It may be an option to share the findings with other classes or via a digital
TV or digital photo frame.
::
This activity could be extended with students creating safety posters that
promote seat belt use.
modify the inquiry or
investigation
Foundation
Toys with wheels can be rolled down slopes
to see how fast or slow they move. Two cars
can be rolled at the same time from opposite
directions and students observe what happens
when they hit each other.
Lower Primary
This activity could be modified by examining
the impacts of collisions and just one safety
device, such as seatbelts.
Upper Primary
This activity is planned for this level.
Lower secondary
Other factors such as road conditions, weather,
driver attitude and awareness, material
and design of the car could be included for
students to investigate.
Secondary years 9 & 10
A greater focus could be placed on scientific
methods of collecting data. If video was
being used then footage could be slowed
for students to complete the calculations
associated with the collisions.
Alternatively data logging equipment could be
used.
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Experiment 3:
Electric
Circuits
Timing
Preparation time: 60 minutes
Time to complete: 60 minutes
Year level
Upper primary to lower secondary
Connecting with the science
11
Science investigations
11
Simple electric circuits
Key terms and definitions
What is a circuit?
An electric circuit is a chain of components
that are linked together by connecting
wires. There needs to be a source of energy
such as a battery, and a variety of electric
components such as light globes, motors or
buzzers that use the energy from the battery.
Links to:
Chapter 1, pp. 8–9
Chapter 2, p. 50
A series circuit has all components in line
one after the other. When one globe blows all
globes go out as the circuit has been broken.
A parallel circuit is made when each
component is independently connected to
the energy source. Even if one globe blows
the others remain glowing.
How light globes work
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The electricity passes into the globe
through one of the contacts that can be
found on the base of the globe or on the
side. The electrical energy then passes
through the filament, which is very fine
wire.The wire gets hot because of the
friction in the wire, turning it red and then
white. It is the white heat that gives us
the light.
Note that globes can also be referred to
as bulbs.
Open and closed circuits
If the components are not all connected to each other and the energy source, the globe
will not light up. This is said to be an open circuit. When all connections are firm and
complete the circuit is said to be closed, and this allows the energy to move around the
circuit.
Experiment 3 | Electric Circuits
Skills
275
Key links
11
Using equipment safely
Links to literacy
11
Making predictions about how the globe works
11
Using scientific terms correctly (see page 184)
11
Making observations:
11
Written scientific literacy (see page 182)
11
Use of diagrams to show understanding
11
about an object and situation
11
that describe change
11
Drawing a diagram from observation
11
Drawing an electric circuit diagram
11
Supplying ideas about the activities
11
Giving reasons for observations
11
Explaining observations by converting visual understanding into written text
11
Recording observations accurately
11
Making conclusions on the basis of the observations
11
Developing questions about the activity and planning how to get answers to the
questions
11
Listening to explanations of others
11
Working as a member of a team
Safety requirement
The connecting wires can get very hot so remind students to hold them where the wire
is covered in plastic, not where it has been exposed or where the paper clips attached
to the wire.
Background
This is an introductory lesson that can be taught to Years 3–7. In the earlier years the
explanations will mostly come from the children and be supplemented by age- and
experience-appropriate information. For Years 7 and 8 and more able younger students
this lesson should be an introduction that is followed by the drawing of circuit diagrams
and the naming of more complex electric equipment. They could also get experience
with using motors and buzzers. Students can add a paddle-pop stick with a small hole
midway down the stick so that they make a fan. Switches can also be incorporated into
the circuit. Older students who have access to more equipment will then go on to use
transformers, ohmmeters, voltmeters and ammeters to record resistance, voltage and
AC current. Fuses can be introduced by adding a cork that has two pins placed about
1.5 cm apart. The pins have been connected using a strand of steel wool. When the
circuit is turned on the wire across the pins in the cork will break very easily.
Links to assessment
Formative assessment can include the collection
of the worksheet and drawings; teacher-led
discussions with individual or small groups of
students; student-prepared explanation or report
about their experiment.
Links to human endeavour
How we use energy is becoming increasingly
important to the environment and to the
budgets of families. It is important that students
understand how electrical equipment works and
how energy is changed from the chemical energy
in the battery into light and heat in the globe and
wires.
Links to other curriculum areas
Mathematics: For older students, calculating
resistance.
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Experiment
Aim
To show how a battery, light globe and wires can be connected to make the light
globe shine.
Equipment
11
Plastic-coated wire
11
Wire strippers
11
Paper clips
11
Size C batteries
11
1.5 V light globes
11
For additional activities you can add buzzers, motors with paddle-pop sticks
attached to make a fan, make a switch from paper clips.
Electrical components are available at the time of writing from www.arcade-gamesales.com/products/ge63-light-globes/4092-1.html
Experiment 3 | Electric Circuits
Per group
11
Two connecting wires (plastic-coated wire with both ends exposed and
wrapped around a paper clip)
11
Large size C battery or two smaller ones joined by masking tape. To aid younger
students a thick elastic band is placed end to end, under which they can slip the
ends of the wires that are attached to the paper clips
11
Small 1.5 V light bulb
Steps
1Students are given the wires, battery and globe, and are given a maximum of 10
minutes to get it to work. They are required to problem solve and work as a team
to get the globe to light up. After about five minutes those who have been able
to get the globe working can assist those struggling.
2
Debrief what they had to do to get the globe to work. Record with video or
photos that can be annotated later.
3
A blank globe is drawn on the board and students provide the labels.
4Students draw a labelled diagram of the globe in their books or computers and
provide an explanation of how it works.
5Students are then asked to join another globe into their circuit and make
them both work. Students will complete this task by making a series or parallel
circuit.
6Students compare their circuits with those made by other groups.
7
A class discussion provides an opportunity for the teacher to provide the
terminology to explain the different circuits.
8Consolidation of knowledge and understanding. For example a literacy scaffold
that has two circuits drawn with spaces for different components to be labelled,
or key terms with jumbled definitions that students have to match.
Experiment closure
Discussion can occur on how and where series and parallel circuits are used in our
lives. Students can predict what happens in each circuit when a globe blows.
Students need to be given the opportunity to assess how much they learned
from the experiment. This can be achieved by each student preparing a personal
concept map or diagram and then outlining what they did. A text type report can
then be prepared that includes the photographs that the students took.
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Extension activities
11
11
Students can apply the knowledge they earned about making globes
work and make fans out of small motors or use buzzers. More advanced
students could make a model house that incorporates the use of globes,
buzzers and fans, or traffic lights that incorporate parallel circuits and a
switch.
An activity can be planned where students look at the amount of
energy used by household appliances. Electricity bills can be used for
mathematics activities including calculations of daily energy use.
modify the inquiry or
investigation
Foundation
Not appropriate.
Lower Primary
This activity could be modelled by the teacher.
Upper Primary
This activity is planned for upper primary
students.
Lower secondary
Students could build a battery-run car using
a motor, wires, plastic wheels and paddle-pop
sticks.
Secondary years 9 & 10
Students could investigate the activity with
different types of battery-run applications.
Experiment 4:
Story of a
Hamburger
Timing
Year level
Foundation to lower secondary
This experiment can be completed with students from foundation level up to
secondary (lower and upper), though it is best suited to upper primary students. The
content focus can shift from nature to science concepts, such as learning about the
parts of the digestive system and types of digestion, to biochemical processes involved
in digesting different types of food.
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Connecting with the science
Time to complete: 30 minutes
11
Digestion
11
The needs of living things
11
Living things need energy to do things
11
Physical and chemical breakdown of food
Links to:
Chapter 2, p. 46
Chapter 5, p. 130
Chapter 7, pp. 179–88
Chapter 8, pp. 203–8, 212
Chapter 9, pp. 230, 236–7
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Skills
11
Making observations
11
Interpreting data and diagrams
11
Building a pictorial and annotated model of the digestive system from a creative
text
11
Presentation of prior knowledge
11
Proposing explanations to explain concepts
11
Exploration of how our bodies work
11
Representing undertstanding of concepts using models and pictures
11
Evaluating their own learning and understanding of concepts
Key terms and definitions
Digestion
Alimentary canal
The process where food is mechanically
and chemically broken down into
smaller components that are more easily
absorbed into a bloodstream. Mechanical
digestion involves the action of teeth,
tongue and cheeks to mechanically break
the food into smaller bits; and in the
stomach where muscles churn the food.
Chemical digestion occurs in the mouth
and stomach and involves enzymes and
chemicals produced by the body to alter
the chemical structure of the food so that
it can pass into the bloodstream.
Tract that food is passed through from
the mouth where food enters the body
to the anus where undigested food
and body wastes pass out of the body.
Various organs are connected to the
alimentary canal and play different
functions in maintaining healthy digestion
and body functioning. Food moves
around the alimentary canal through the
wave-like movement of muscles, called
peristalsis. Valves prevent the backwards
movement of the digesting material.
Experiment 4 | Story of a Hamburger
Safety requirements
Safe use of scissors and sticky tape
Background
Digestion is the mechanical and chemical breakdown of food from larger pieces into
smaller components that are more easily used by the body to provide energy and
substances for daily activities.
Food enters the body when it is bitten off and chewed by the teeth. The tongue
rolls the food around the mouth so that the food gets wet by the saliva, which contains
water and some of the chemicals that start the process of digestion. The saliva is
produced in salivary glands that are found in the neck and inside the walls of the
mouth. Once the food has been chewed and made wet it travels down the oesophagus
into the stomach, where it is mixed with stomach acid and churned around by the
stomach walls so that all the food gets mixed with the acid. It takes about 2–3 hours
for food to be broken down in the stomach. The broken-down food then passes into
the small intestine where the useful substances are absorbed into the bloodstream.
After leaving the small intestine the leftover material moves into the large intestine,
where water, minerals and some vitamins are absorbed. The waste products move
through into the bowel before being eliminated from the body.
281
Key links
Links to literacy
11
Reading of creative text (see page 179) and
representing the key elements of the text as
a physical model.
11
Analysing visual texts.
Links to assessment
11
Formative either testing or worksheets used
to ascertain students’ growing understanding
of the digestive system.
11
Students’ group diagrams of the digestive
system can be compared and the students
choose the best one and explain why they
think it is the best.
Links to human endeavour
Appreciation for the complexity of the human
body.
Links to other curriculum areas
Food technology, and health.
Exploring the need for food.
Part 2 | EXPLORING THE WORLD THROUGH EXPERIMENTS
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Pre-experiment
11
Eat a plain biscuit. Draw a representation
of what you think happens to the biscuit
inside your body. Avoid any that may
contain traces of nuts or sesame. If you
have any students with coeliac disease rice
crackers may be a safe option.
11
In groups, draw an outline of a body on two
pieces of butcher’s paper that have been
joined together, and draw what you know.
11
Link in other parts of the body that interact
in some way with the digestive system.
Questions
1
What body system do you know the most
about?
2
What questions does this activity raise for
you?
3
What does it reveal about what you do and
do not know about the digestion of food?
Experiment
Aim
To develop an understanding of the human digestive system, the components and
their functions.
Equipment
11
Story of a Hamburger print out (Appendix 1)
11
7 colours of wool/yarn (can be pre-cut in lengths as indicated on cards)
11
Cards—print digestive tract labels on pink paper and the organ labels on blue
paper (Appendix 2)
11
Photos of digestive system (optional)
11
Torso from butcher’s paper (if including a torso)
11
Sticky tape
Experiment 4 | Story of a Hamburger
Steps
1Use cards with the names, descriptions, and the length of each part of the
digestive system. Have students match the cards, either in a line or on the
diagram of the body generated in the pre-experiment.
2
Students review what other groups have done and choose the one they think is
the most correct. They need to explain why they think this is the case.
3
Students record the best one in their books/in a word document/blank sheet of
paper.
4Read ‘The Story of a Hamburger’ aloud (Appendix 1).
5 Students re-use their cards and pictures, and place them in a line using the
ideas they got from the story. (The line can be string that is attached to the
wall around the classroom.) The end result will show the length of the digestive
system, with labels to show what happens in each section.
6Annotations to show how other organs and body systems interact can be
incorporated.
7Follow up with showing a labelled picture of the digestive system so that
students can check their work.
modify the inquiry or
investigation
Foundation
Students recognise different parts of the body.
Lower Primary
Students could investigate the digestive
systems of other animals.
Upper Primary
Students could investigate the physical
digestion of food including the action of the
teeth and represent the wavelike motion of
peristalsis using a model.
Lower secondary
Students could simulate the chemical and
physical digestion of different materials.
Links made to other body systems.
Experiment closure
11
Discussion could focus on the complexity of the human digestive system and
how it interacts with other systems in the body.
11
Models completed and explanations developed within the groups are supplied
to the rest of the class.
Extension activities
11
Students could repeat the same trace activity from the pre-experiment (maybe
in a different colour) to evaluate their developing understanding of digestion.
Alternatively, use a smaller diagram and place names and functions of the parts
of the digestive system either into the diagram or into a table.
11
Write a report to explain what they learned about the digestive system.
Secondary years 9 & 10
Students can investigate diseases of the
digestive system and examine the effects
these have on our communities.
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Appendix 1
Story of a Hamburger
The story we’re about to tell is of stormy seas, acid rains, and dry, desertlike conditions. It’s an arduous journey that traverses long distances and can
take several days. It’s one in which nothing comes through unchanged. It’s
the story of your digestive system, whose purpose is to turn the food you
eat into something useful—for your body!
It all starts with that first bite of a hamburger. In your mouth, your teeth
tear off a big bite. Your saliva glands start spewing out spit like fountains.
Your molars grind the roll, meat, pickles and cheese into a big wet ball.
Chemicals in your saliva start chemical reactions. Seemingly like magic,
starch in your hamburger begins to turn to sugar! A couple more chews,
and then your tongue pushes the ball of chewed food to the back of your
throat. A trapdoor opens, and there it goes, down the back of your throat!
Next, your muscles squeeze the wet mass of food down, down, down
a 25 cm tube, or oesophagus, the way you would squeeze a tube of
toothpaste. It’s not something you tell your muscles to do—they just do
it—in a muscle action called peristalsis. Then, the valve to the stomach
opens and hamburger mush lands in your stomach!
Imagine being inside a big pink muscular bag—sloshing back and forth
in a sea of half-digested mush and being mixed with digestive chemicals.
Acid rains down from the pink walls, which drip with mucus to keep them
from being eroded.
Sound a little like an amusement ride gone crazy? Every time you think
you’ve got your equilibrium back, the walls of muscle contract and fold in
on themselves again. Over and over again, you get crushed under another
wave of slop. Every wave mixes and churns the food and chemicals together
more—breaking the food into even smaller and smaller bits. Then another
valve opens. Is the end in sight? you ask, as the slop gets pushed into the
small intestine.
Inside the small intestine, chemicals and liquids from your gall bladder,
liver and pancreas break down and mix up the slop. The pancreas makes
juices that help the body digest fats and protein. Bile, a juice from the largest
organ in the body, the liver, helps to absorb fats into the bloodstream.
The gallbladder serves as a warehouse for bile, storing it until the body
needs it. If stretched out the small intestine would be about 7 m in an
average adult and 4.5 m long in an eight-year-old child. It looks like a
strange underwater world filled with things that resemble small finger-like
cactuses. But they’re not cactuses, they’re villi. Like sponges, they’re able
to absorb tremendous amounts of nutrients from the food you eat. From
the villi, the nutrients will flow into your bloodstream. The nutrient-rich
blood goes directly to the liver for processing. The liver, which is located on
the right side of the body near the lowest rib, filters out harmful substances
or wastes, turning some of the waste into more bile.
Experiment 4 | Story of a Hamburger
But hold on! The story’s not over yet—the leftovers that your body can’t
use still have more travelling to do! Next, they’re pushed into the large
intestine. It’s much wider and much drier. The large intestine is about
7–10 cm in diameter and 1.5 m long and its main function is to absorb
nutrients from the food mixture. You find that the leftovers are getting
smaller, harder and drier as they’re pushed through the tube. After all, this
is the place where water is extracted and recycled back into your body. In
fact, the leftovers that leave your body are about one third the volume of
what first arrived in your intestines!
Finally, the end of the large intestine is in sight! Now the drier leftovers
are various handsome shades of brown. They sit in the rectum, at the end
of their journey, waiting for you to expel them—out your anus. Of course,
you know the rest! A glorious, if slightly stinky, journey, don’t you think?
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Appendix 2
Digestion card game
Digestive system Card Activity Answers
Mouth
8 cm
Digestion begins here with chemical and mechanical
digestion.
Oesophagus
25 cm
Soft muscular tube that moves food from the pharynx
to the stomach. Food is moved by means of a series of
muscular contractions called peristalsis.
Liver
Largest internal organ. Performs many tasks, including
storing energy and helping the body get rid of toxins
(poisons). Releases enzymes into the small intestine to
aid chemical digestion.
Gall bladder
Small pouch that stores bile. Releases this bile into the
duodenum to help digest fats in the food you eat.
Stomach
15 cm
Pancreas
Contains gastric juices and hydrochloric acid to kill
bacteria and chemically digest food. Has a lining that
can withstand the highly acidic environment, and
muscles that churn the food into smaller pieces.
Makes hormones (including insulin) to regulate the
blood glucose level. Also makes enzymes to break down
food in the intestines.
Small
intestines
7m
Long tube surrounded by muscles that push the food,
now called chyme, along. Nutrients and water move
through the lining into the bloodstream.
Large
intestine
1.5 m
Indigestible wastes move into the tube where water is
removed from the food. This tube is shorter but fatter
than the small intestine.
Rectum
20 cm
Stores faeces until it is ready to leave the body.
Anus
0.5 cm
Food is expelled from the body.
Experiment 4 | Story of a Hamburger
Digestive Tract Cards (1 per person)
Mouth
Oesophagus
Stomach
Small intestine
Large intestine
Rectum
Anus
✂
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Digestive Tract Cards and string (1 per person)
✂
8 cm
Digestion begins here with chemical and mechanical digestion.
25 cm
Soft muscular tube that moves food from the pharynx to the
stomach. Food is moved by means of a series of muscular
contractions called peristalsis.
15 cm
Contains gastric juices and hydrochloric acid to kill bacteria and
chemically digest food. Has a lining that can withstand the highly
acidic environment, and muscles that churn the food into smaller
pieces.
7m
Long tube surrounded by muscles that push the food, now called
chyme, along. Nutrients and water move through the lining into the
bloodstream.
1.5 m
Indigestible wastes move into the tube where water is removed from
the food. This tube is shorter but fatter than the small intestine.
20 cm
Stores faeces until it is ready to leave the body.
0.5 cm
Food is expelled from the body.
Experiment 4 | Story of a Hamburger
Organ Cards (1 per person)
✂
Liver
Gall bladder
Pancreas
✂
Largest internal organ. Performs many tasks, including storing
energy and helping the body get rid of toxins (poisons). Releases
enzymes into the small intestine to aid chemical digestion.
Small pouch that stores bile. Releases this bile into the duodenum to
help digest fats in the food you eat.
Makes enzymes to break down food in the intestines.
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Experiment 5:
Shadows
Timing
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Time to complete: 60 minutes
Year level
Foundation to lower secondary
Connecting with the science
11
Science investigations
11
Making observations
11
Introducing students to the concept of shadows and how they are created
11
Examining scientific language relating to shadows
11
Improving students’ scientific literacy using an engaging activity
11
What happens to shadows as the light source changes position?
11
How does the position of the light source change the size of a shadow?
Skills
Links to:
Chapter 1, pp. 8, 13
Chapter 6, p. 146
Chapter 7, pp. 179–88
Chapter 8, pp. 203–8, 212
Chapter 9, pp. 230, 236–7
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11
Making predictions about what will happen to their shadow as the day progresses
11
Making observations:
11
about an object and situation
11
that describe change
11
Drawing a diagram from observation
11
Drawing a diagram demonstrating changes that occurred
11
Explaining observations by converting visual understanding into written or visual text
11
Recording observations accurately
11
Making conclusions on the basis of the observations
11
Developing questions about the activity and planning how to get answers to the
questions
11
Listening to explanations of others
11
Supplying ideas about the activities
11
Working as a member of a team
11
Using scientific terms correctly
11
Written scientific literacy
Experiment 5 | Shadows
Key terms and definitions
Key links
What is a shadow?
Links to literacy
A shadow is a dark image that is produced on a surface that takes the shape of the
object in front of it.
11
Using scientific and descriptive language to
describe light and shadows.
11
Observing, predicting and measuring the
size of shadows in relation to the size of the
object that is making the shadow.
How is a shadow created?
A shadow is created when a solid object blocks the path of light.
What is a light source?
A light source can be any form of natural or artificial light, for example sunlight or a
torch.
Safety requirements
Links to assessment
11
Students record predictions of how long
shadows will be.
11
Students use reports to record their findings.
11
Diagrams are used to ascertain student
knowledge
11
Students apply their knowledge to produce
shadow puppets and use technology to
record their images.
11
Students compare their puppet shadows with
others and choose the best and explain why
they chose it.
As students need to work outside on a sunny day, hats will be required.
Background
This introductory lesson is designed to introduce students to the concept of shadows
and how they are created. The lesson is targeted at a Foundation level, but it can be
modified and adapted to meet the learning needs of students from Years 1–6. At an
earlier Year level students will learn through exploration, hands-on experiences and
trial and error. Students will develop their understanding by examining what they
see and asking questions until they develop an awareness of what phenomenon
is occurring. In the later years students will examine why shadows change size
and shape.
291
Links to human endeavour
Shadows are used in photography and other
forms of art.
Links to other curriculum areas
Use of creative props to make creative shadows.
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Experiment
Aim
To demonstrate how shadows are formed when the path of light is interrupted.
Equipment
11
Large sheet of cardboard
11
Overhead projector and screen
11
One piece of A3 paper for each student
11
Chalk (one piece per pair)
11
A sunny concreted area
Optional for extension activities
11
Extra cardboard to make shapes to make funny puppet shadows in the
classroom
11
1-metre ruler or tape to measure the distance from the object to the shadow
and the height of the shadow
Please note that:
11
to complete this experiment successfully you will need a sunny day
11
steps 1–3 should be completed the day before completing steps 4–9
Experiment 5 | Shadows
Steps
1
Classroom teacher sets up the overhead projector and screen. Students are given
the opportunity to make shadow puppets. Start simple, with just hands, and see
what shapes students can come up with.
2
Using the A3 sheet of paper ask students to draw a picture of what they were
just doing.
3Take students outside to a sunny area first thing in the morning. In pairs, one
student draws a cross on the ground and their partner stands on it. The student
with the chalk then traces around the shadow their partner makes.
4At midday, take students outside again and repeat step 3.
5At 2:00, take students outside again and repeat step 3.
6As a class, discuss with students what happened to their shadows throughout
the day and why that was.
7
Consolidation of knowledge and understanding—ask students to draw a picture
on their A3 paper of what they did today. (More able students will be able to
write a sentence or two and label their diagram.)
Experiment closure
11
11
Students engage in group discussions about shadows. Students choose a
way to report their findings such as a blog, news report, poster, picture, story
board. ‘Writing to learn’ (page 182) emphasises the importance of using student
writing during experiments, with students recording what they did for later
discussion and revision.
Students record five things they learned today and share their list with a
partner.
Extension activities
11
Measurement of shadows
11
Ratios of shadow image to the original object
modify the inquiry or
investigation
Foundation
Students use shapes to make shadows.
Lower Primary
This activity is set for this level.
Upper Primary
Include the extension activities that include
taking measurements of the height of
shadows and working out ratios of object to
image height based on distance between the
object and the image.
Lower secondary
Relate the knowledge gained to real-life
situations such as shadows from buildings
and use digital cameras to record different
shadows.
Secondary years 9 & 10
Use knowledge to relate the formation of
shadows to eclipses of the Sun and Moon.
293
Glossary
absolute
The notion of a truth separate from other factors.
alternate view
The notion that not everyone learns the same concept the same way and as such we can
have different views about the concept.
authentic learning
Learning that focuses on real-world, complex problems that encourage methods and ways
of thinking that are used by practitioners.
constructivism
Notion that individuals build their ideas about the world from the interplay of present and
past experience.
content areas
Areas of the curriculum where expository text is a common teaching and learning resource.
contextualising
Giving science meaning for students by using a local and relevant context.
conventionalism
Notion that language is an agreed code that need not rest on a knowable world beyond our
senses.
criteria
Specific performance attributes or characteristics that the assessor takes into account
when making a judgment about the student’s response to the different elements of the
assessment task.
g
294
critical literacy
A way of looking at science texts that includes an awareness of power relations implicit in
them.
critical thinking
A complex combination of skills including rationality, open-mindedness, self-awareness,
discipline. Critical thinkers consciously apply tactics and strategies to uncover meaning to
ensure their understanding.
cultural capital
The cultural advantage of children whose parents were better educated and who could
provide more cultural resources for their children.
culture
Collection of beliefs, values, language and practices shared by a distinguishable group of
people.
curriculum
The term is used in a variety of senses, ranging from education as a whole through what
children do in school to official documents setting out what should be taught.
curriculum mapping
A representation of all the components of the curriculum within a particular context to
show the connections, relationship and the whole picture of what is occurring.
Glossary
curriculum planning models
The different ways that designers put together the curriculum. They are based on those aspects of the curriculum most
important for achieving the goals established by the decision-makers in the school, or at the state or national level.
digital immigrants
Those for whom engagement with technology is a developing process.
digitally-rich learning
The use of relevancy-based digital tools, content and resources as a key to driving learning productivity.
digital natives
Students who regard computers as a natural part of their lives; the virtual world as an extension of their real world.
discourse
1. Language practice in authentic contexts (usually written with a lower case ‘d’); 2. the specific language practices of a
particular community who share those language practices (often spelt with a capital ‘D’).
effective teachers
The teachers who use a wide range of pedagogy to enable all students to access the knowledge and understanding that is
taught.
ELL
English language learner, often called ESL learner (English as a second language) but, given that a student may have
acquired several languages before they begin to learn English, ELL is preferred.
enacted curriculum
What actually happens in the classroom from day to day, as the teacher makes daily choices about content and activities,
as opposed to the official or intended curriculum, set out for the teacher to follow.
engagement
A complex multi-dimensional term that means that students are feeling deeply involved with their learning and not just
doing what they are told, which leads to surface learning.
5Es
A five-stage teaching model that focuses on students learning by becoming engaged in an activity that links their prior
knowledge with exploring and then elaborating on the new knowledge about a new concept.
everyday literacy
The non-disciplinary literacy skills used by students to learn the new literacies of science.
expository text
Text whose main function is to inform, instruct and explain content, typically using textual structures such as description,
sequencing, comparisons, and passages presenting a problem and its solution or a cause and its effect.
falsificationalism
Notion that ideas cannot be reliably confirmed, only contradicted. This is because any confirmation may be overturned by
future experience, while falsification is logically stronger.
feedback
Appropriate and timely information provided to students about their performance.
formative assessment
Assessment that provides an opportunity for improvement on the same task or within the same unit. The intention of
formative assessment is to promote student learning by giving feedback on the progress towards the achievement of
learning outcomes.
295
296
Glossary
fruitfulness
Combination of problems, puzzles, incomplete research agendas, predictions and explanations that characterise a
successful model. Models may be more or less fruitful but all eventually become barren as these things began to fail.
‘Internal’ fruitfulness interacts with ‘external’ social support to drive the development of science in particular places,
according to the socio-intellectual interaction approach to understanding change in science.
gender
Socially constructed masculine and feminine roles; distinct from biological categories of male and female.
genres
(in literacy) Different categories of literary composition, each appropriate to its context in terms of purpose, audience,
structure, tone, content, and vocabulary. Genres include procedures, factual recounts, explanations, information reports,
expositions, diagrams, graphs, interviews, role-plays, posters, science journals, storyboards, ‘word-walls’, and narrative
(including eco-mystery).
high-stakes testing
Evaluation of students’ skills in key areas such as literacy and numeracy, usually with particular outcomes for whole schools
and classroom teachers, such as a quality rating or funding.
hypothesis
An educated guess or a tentative explanation for a problem that will be investigated.
hypothetico-deductive methodology
Cycle of proof based on public testing of falsifiable predictions.
ideas framework
A framework of overarching ideas that form the basis for the curriculum planning design and become the foundation of the
curriculum document.
inductivism
The notion that true ideas arise from accumulation of unprejudiced observation.
inquiry
Scientific processes (i.e. observation, hypothesising, predicting, measuring, analysing data) combined with scientific
knowledge, scientific reasoning and critical thinking.
intellectual
Referring to the development and organising of ideas, or a person whose work involves such activity.
jurisdiction
Area controlled by a particular legal and bureaucratic system. Australia comprises seven educational jurisdictions.
learning theories
ideas that have been researched and formulated that can guide our thinking about learning.
lesson
A sustained learning experience that a teacher prepares as part of a unit of work. A lesson will usually last between 30
minutes and an hour but may involve an entire morning or afternoon.
lesson plans
Preparation of a lesson that includes: the concepts that will be taught; how the concepts will be taught; the resources
needed; and assessment of learning.
literacies of science
The specific literacy skills needed to understand and communicate in science.
Glossary
literacy blocks
It has become common in some states for teachers to be required to teach literacy (and numeracy) in sustained blocks
(usually one and a half to two- hours each) either daily or for a certain number of days per week (typically in the morning).
logical positivism
The notion that only statements resting on public experience or logic have meaning; associated with the hypotheticodeductive method of science.
millennials
18–29 year olds who self-identify their use of technologies as their distinctive characteristic. Interestingly they are also
described in the Pew report as ‘the most educated generation in American history’ (p. 2)
misconception
What occurs when what is learned has been only partially understood or has been completely misunderstood.
models
Sets of theories that become so widely accepted by scientists that they become pictures of that part of the universe
on which particular scientists work. If a model lasts long enough, it can become a lens through which scientists see the
universe. Such models define what can be noticed and described and what is beneath notice because the model suggests
that it cannot exist.
motivation
A student’s drive and willingness to expend energy to learn and achieve their potential.
narrative
A story or an account of a series of events.
non-verbal
Without words; hence non-verbal cues in writing refers to images, graphs, some tables, and typographical features such as
text size and font choice.
oracy
The skill of speaking; oral literacy.
PCK (Pedagogic Content Knowledge)
The unique contribution of the teacher, variously described as the interaction between content, pedagogy and context;
discipline, curriculum and learning; content, psychology and sociology; or discipline, teaching and learning. The notion that
effective teaching requires integration of disparate fields is central, whatever way the fields may be identified.
pedagogy
The art and science of teaching. It refers to the schooling or education of children but is also used to refer to the correct
use of teaching strategies in instructional theory.
pedagogy of engagement
The strategic selection and correct use of teaching practices that engage students in the learning process in order to
improve student achievement.
prior knowledge
All the skills, knowledge and understanding that a student has already attained before coming into your classroom.
productive pedagogies
Strategically chosen teaching practices that when combined and correctly used in teaching improve student learning and
achievement.
297
298
Glossary
program
A group of concepts that will be taught in sequence.
project-based learning
Learning that allows scientific concepts to develop from engagement with real or reality-like contexts.
questioning
A basic pedagogical strategy, in most instances used to extract information already known from students, but open-ended
questions encourage students to think more deeply about their scientific understanding.
realism
Notion that there is a world beyond our senses that is (potentially) knowable.
relative
The notion that the nature of something depends on other things.
resources
The equipment and materials needed for teaching a concept.
revolution
A complete cycle of change.
science as human endeavour
The critical premise that science is created through the activities and thinking of people so that ideas change over time,
resulting in a growth of scientific knowledge and understanding. Hence, science is not a fixed body of knowledge but
dynamic in nature.
scientific literacy/science literacy
The scientific knowledge, skills and attitudes we would like all students to obtain from school science, including a
disposition to use these to participate in informed decision-making about matters pertaining to their personal life and
the environment.
social-based learning
Students’ leverage of emerging communications and collaboration tools to create and personalise networks of experts to
inform their education process.
society
An organised group of people.
solipsism
The notion that there is no necessary connection between our sensations and anything beyond our skin.
standards
Attributes that provide information about the quality and level of student performance. They help students identify what
must be achieved and to what level, while allowing assessors to make reliable judgments about the students’ efforts in
a task.
standards framework
A set of content standards designed to encourage the highest level of achievement of every student, based on knowledge,
understanding and skills.
students’ worlds
The range of interests, knowledge and skills children bring into our classrooms.
Glossary
summative assessment
Measurement of a student’s performance in a unit; typically occurs at the end of a series of learning activities. The
intention of summative assessment is to verify performance, and award grades and or marks.
syllabus
Authoritative curriculum document that guides teacher preparation of units of work.
teaching models
Theoretical frameworks that have been researched and provide us with ideas about how to go about teaching.
Technological Pedagogical and Science Knowledge (TPASK)
The result of combining the pedagogical science knowledge with pedagogical technological knowledge.
tentative
Suggested and potentially useful, but also open to later modification.
theory
A statement about a concept or idea that can be tested.
top-level structure
An outline showing how a writer has structured expository text such as is found in science texts. Bartlett simplified this to
four patterns: cause and effect, problem/solution, compare and contrast, and listing.
unit of work
Sequence of lessons that a teacher plans in response to centralised syllabus demands, local imperatives, and their own
view of the best interests of the children in their care. Units of work may last from several weeks to an entire term.
untethered learning
Technology-enabled learning experiences that transcend the classroom walls and are not limited by resource constraints,
traditional funding streams, geography, community assets, or teacher knowledge and skills.
verbal
To do with words (also used more colloquially to mean oral/spoken, but not by me).
word walls
A classroom display of the words used in a lesson or unit.
writing to learn
Student-centred writing using everyday, non-specialised language with the goal being for students to make sense of the
science concepts they are learning, and/or express their feelings, as opposed to writing to inform another person.
299
Index
5Es teaching model 128–9, 151–2
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders
39–40, 72
academic success and engagement
116–17
Addressing the Educational Needs of Boys
Alloway, N.
122
28, 43, 122
alternate views and knowledge 29
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) 185, 186
annotated illustrations (student engagement)
Aristotle
92, 102–3
Asimov, Isaac
8
Ask an Expert
260
assessment
197–215
165–6
complex issues 211–14
criterion referencing
definition
198–9
formative
208, 216
and grading
199
207
international and national testing
and learning
201–3, 215
norm-referencing
practices
202
school-based
205–7
207
in science classrooms
205
standards referencing
207–8
standards-based
198
strategies, terms used to describe
students’ views of
summative
i
300
203–4
207–8
199–200
208
task 208, 212–14
of teaching activities
types of
203–8
what should it include?
why assess?
214
208–10
200
see also ELLA; NAPLAN
assessment for learning
201
assessment of learning
201
assessment to learn 201
augmented reality
249–50
Augmented Reality Development Lab (ARDL)
Aulls, M.W.
250
180–1
Australian Curriculum (AC)
58, 125, 173, 211, 223, 226
Australian Curriculum: Science (ACS)
actions identified within
65
aims 63–4
content standard
66, 67
39, 63–70, 92, 95, 125, 146
Index
content structure
66–7
clearly defined criteria (assessment task) 208, 209
cross-curriculum themes
72
Cloutier, R.
120, 121
ideas framework
66–9
cognitivism
30, 31–2
importance of
63–5
community links
and interchange of knowledge
internationalising
70–1
57–8
to learning
knowledge and skills interdependence within
standards framework
structure
65–9
authentic learning
230–2
authenticity of consequence
Baarda, F.
69
154
95
Bailey, Liberty Hyde 7
197
Bandura, A.
30, 31, 116
barriers to engagement in school science 122–5
Barrs, M. 42
180
behaviourism
30–1
Bellarmine, Robert
93
Bernhardt, E.B.
180, 187
Bigler, R.S.
41
Black, P.
197–8, 200
blogs
245–6
35, 37, 206
Bourdieu, P.
172
42–3
92, 94, 102–3
brainstorming (engagement strategy)
Brown, A.L.
181
41
Bybee, R.W.
128, 151
connecting with students to enhance engagement
131
contemporary theories and practices in learning
34–6
content-based curriculum
60–1
contextualising
13
conventionalists
101
Copernicus
93–4, 102, 103
criteria
270–3
199
criterion referencing (assessment strategy)
critical literacy
178
critical realism
101
critical thinking
7, 16–17
71
cross-curriculum themes
71
informal or hidden
61
national science
62–3
planning models
61–2
purposes of
59–61
science
91–2
types of
59–61
what does it mean
58
Curriculum: Science (ACS); science curriculum
curriculum mapping 71
curriculum planning models
61–2
descriptive models
62
importance of
Carnap, Rudolf
95
Chandler, K.
121
Chinn, P.W.U.
175, 186–7
class-based computing
141–3
see also Australian Curriculum (AC); Australian
Bruner, J. 30, 31, 32
Buck, G.A.
166
62
technical models
237–42
classrooms see science classroom
122
162–4
process-based 60
Brady, L. 61
198
237–42
content-based 60–1
Bloom’s taxonomy
Broadfoot, P.
257
computing, class-based
curriculum
35, 37, 127, 198
Brahe, Tycho
competitions and challenges
cross-curriculum themes
Bloom, B.S.
boys, science and technology
28
community-related factors and engagement
crash testing (Experiment 2)
Barab, S. 227–8, 243
Bartlett, B.J.
132
concepts and teacher understanding
40
Bakhtin, M.
70
concept maps
231–2
backward planning (science lessons)
Bacon, Francis
to the classroom
cyclical science
98–9
De Bono, E.
34
De Saussure, F.
197
61–2
207
301
302
Index
Dede, C.
227–8, 243
Deslanders, R.C.
120, 121
Digestive Card Game (Appendix 2)
286–9
English, A.
198
English, H.B.
198
English as a second language (ESL)
40–1, 175
175, 186–7, 189
digital immigrants
224
English language learners (EEL)
digital natives
224
evaluation of learning
145
digital technologies 23, 27, 233, 236
everyday literacies
direct-instruction pedagogies 127
experiments (barrier to engagement in school science)
177–8
directories and online project collections 260–1
123–4
drawing/annotated illustrations (student engagement)
exploring the world 7–13
165–6
Dreaming stories
27, 28
Dwyer, C.A.
198
effective teachers
141
falsificationist logic 97–8
families
and science
131–2
support for student learning
27–8
electric circuits (Experiment 3) 274–8
family–school partnerships and engagement
Elkjaer, B. 34
feedback 198, 209–10
ELLA
field authenticity
211
email, sign up for regular updates
engagement
258
138–9
and academic success
116–17
230–1
floor storming (engagement strategy)
focus (assessment task)
208, 209
formative assessment
208, 216
connecting with students to enhance 131
Foucault, M.
definition
113, 114–15
Foundation to Year 10 (F–10) 67
elements of
115
Frater, G. 42
30, 33, 34, 197
and motivation 116
Freire, P. 30, 33, 198
and science
113–14
Freyberg, P.
strategies
164–7
teaching for
146–7
153
Gagné, F. 30, 32
Galileo Galilei
engagement, factors affecting 117–22
community-related factors 122
family–school partnerships
92–4, 101–3
game-based environments
121–2
Gardner, H.
248
35–6
120–1
gender, science and technology 41–3
student-related factors
118–19
general teaching pedagogies
teacher-related factors
119–20
parent-related factors
school factors
gender stereotyping 42
120
generation M
2
engagement, models of teaching science that lead to
5Es
128–9, 151–2
mastery learning
126, 127
socially negotiated
126, 128
globalisation
122–5
disappointment in science classes
122–3
not enough experiments
123–4
relevance of science
123
science is too hard
124
too much content and too rushed
gifted learners
37–8
girls, science and technology
engagement in school science, barriers
124–5
224–5
Gibson, K. 40
Gipps, C. 198
student-centred 126, 130–1
how science is taught
82
glogs
41–2
57–9
245–6
goal-based learning 127
Goodrum, D.
45
Google maps
244
Gough, A. 125
grading and assessment
124
Green, P. 124
199
165
121–2
Index
growing seedlings
18–19
Jones, H. 211
guided discovery teaching model
130–1, 133
guided enquiry, WebQuests and scavenger hunts
Hackling, M.
258–9
45
hands-on teaching strategies (HOTS)
80
Kamil, M.L.
180, 187
Kavsut, G.
29
Kegan, R.
34
Kennedy, K.
61
hardware 257
Kepler, Johannes
92, 102, 103
Harlin, W. 198
Keys, C.W.
182, 183
Harter, D. 233
Kid’s Design Challenge
253
knowing and science
95–103
Heron, J. 34
hidden curriculum
61
Higgins, S.
42
interchange of 70–1
Hildebrand, G.
183
misconceptions/alternate views
Hodgson, Mark
14
student
Hofstede, G.
33
Kuehlich, I.
176
Hughes, P.
121
Kuhn, Thomas
95, 101
humanism
30, 33
KWL (engagement strategy)
Humes, W.
62
hypothesis
97
ideas framework
66–9
knowledge
24–7, 162–4
165
language
role in science education
science
184–6
Illeris, K. 34
Lankshear, C.
233
immersive environments: games, simulations and MUVEs
Lave, J.
247–9
Lemke, J.L.
inductivist logic
29
96
172–3
34
174
learning
informal curriculum 61
and assessment 201–3, 215
information and communications technology (ICT)
224–7, 232–46
challenge of emerging technologies
232–46
80,
authentic
230–2
and behaviourism
30–1
community links to
28
class-based computing
237–42
contemporary theories and practices 34–6
digital technologies
23, 27, 233, 236
evaluation of
145
going online
242–3
family support for student 27–8
integrating
252
goal-based
mobile technologies
247
science teaching and learning
Web 2.0 technologies
inquiry in science
7
integrating ICT
252
127
how students learn
234–6
243–6
interactive
and multimedia 45
problem-based 154
and science
integrative teaching model
130
interactionist science
99–103
interactive teaching and learning
89–91
teachers’ concerns about students
teaching for
152
146–7
text-based
international testing 203–4
through reflection
247
Jimoyiannis, A.
124
145
learning abilities, catering for different
learning disabilities (LD)
Jarvis, P. 34
80
45–7
and technology 234–6
International Baccalaureate (IB) 60
iPads
29–33
152
learning objects
259
38
50
303
304
Index
learning theories
30
lesson plans
143, 150–61
multimedia resources
multi-user virtual environments (MUVEs) 248
lessons, different ways of planning science
Lindahl, J.
257–8
151–4
123
Munns, G. 115
NAPLAN (National Assessment Program—Literacy and
literacies
Numeracy)
202, 204, 211
176–7, 186–8
narratives, using
109
national testing
203–4
critical
178
nature of science
16
scientific
6, 173–5, 186–8
everyday
177–8
of science
literacy
Newcomen, Thomas 104
skills, linking science understanding with
literacy and literacies in science
186–8
173–8
Nuttall, D.
97
online products
124
121
Marks, H.M.
119, 120
Marzano, R.J.
72
Maslow, A.
30, 33
online projects
126, 127
meaning in secondary science 14–15
media conceptions of science 252
Medved, J.
233
Mezirow, J.
34
Middle Years Program (MYP)
224
mind maps
162–4
60
262
mobile technologies 247
100
models of teaching science that lead to engagement
128–9, 151–2
mastery learning 126, 127
126, 128
student-centred 126, 130–1
42
Osbourne, R.
153
Owens, C.
209
Palincsar, A.S.
181
120–1
172
direct-instruction
127
of encouragement
78–9
general teaching
82
integrated
82
productive
79–80
personal connections
Pew Research Centre
224
photo and video sharing
244
physical sciences
167–8
Piaget, J. 30, 31, 32, 33, 197
244
planning (assessment task)
114
and engagement
116
multimedia and learning
45
260
personal digital assistants (PDA)
Planet FOSS
motivation
definition
6–7, 172, 177
pedagogy 72, 73–6
mobile, immersive and augmented realities
Moseley, D.
246
Osborne, J.
Passey, D. 42
29
socially negotiated
OpenStudy
Passeron, J.
misconceptions/alternative views and knowledge
modelling mountain building
258
parent-related factors and engagement
Millard, E. 43
millennials
260–1
261
online resource locators
mastery learning (teaching model)
25, 121, 122
259
online project collections
MacNaughton, G.
5Es
198
100 Children Turn 10 study
Luckin, R. 266
Lyons, T.
niche communities 260
norm-referencing (assessment strategy) 207
97–8
inductivist logic 96
positivist logic
42
Nicholas, Marianne 12
logic
falsificationist logic
Newmarch, E.
planning a lesson
150–61
closure
157
example
157–61
208, 209
247
Index
framework
155–7
reading science (teachers need to know) 179
middle or body 157
realists
opening
reality, augmented
249–50
real-time tools
261–2
156–7
science lessons 151–4
planning a unit of work
148–50
planning for scope and sequence
planning models
record keeping by teachers and students 210
146–7
reflection, learning and responding through
148–9
Reggio Emilia
planning science lessons
5Es
Rennie, L. 45
backward planning
154
interactive teaching and learning
problem-based learning
resources
152
factors that inhibit the use of
154
retention during a learning episode
166–7
Roberts, D.F.
173, 174
Popper, Karl
95
Rowan, L.
42
positivist logic
97
RSS, sign up for regular updates
poster drawing/annotated illustrations (student
Saul, E.W.
165–6
practice, linking to theory in science education
Prain, V.
16–17
176
Prensky, M.
224
Priestly, M.
62
Primary Connections: Connecting science with literacy
173, 177
Primary Connections Program 63
primary teachers
120
school science engagement (barriers)
122–5
disappointment in science classes
122–3
how science is taught
124–5
not enough experiments
123–4
relevance of science
123
science is too hard
124
60
problem-based learning
154
science
process-based curriculum
60
productive pedagogies
79–80
project-based learning
229–30
Project Tomorrow
schools, science in
24
changes
program 146
Programme for International Student Achievement (PISA)
6, 57, 174, 203, 174, 203
Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS)
203
222–3, 227–32
108
content standard
65, 67
content structure
66–7
critical literacy
178
cyclical
98–9
and effective teachers
139–46
and engagement
113–14
and English as a second language (ESL)
Ptolemy 94, 102–3
Foundation to Year 10 (F–10)
and gender
41–3
questions
gifted learners
37–8
teachers skill at asking
questioning
140–1
12
reading for understanding
164
interaction with technology
interactionist
99–103
introductory stories
179–81
124
205–7
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders 39–40
225
student (engagement strategy)
258
176
school-based assessment
prior knowledge
151
school factors and engagement
too much content and too rushed
141–2
Primary Years Program (PYP)
144
identifying and preparing 143–4
168
poems/songs (student engagement)
engagement)
145
60, 126, 130, 131
relevance of science 107
151–2
plate tectonics
101
and knowing
95–103
language
184–6
89
67
103–5
40–1
305
306
Index
science (cont.)
5Es
in the learners’ world
89–91
and learning disabilities (LD)
38
learning and responding through reflection
lessons, different ways of planning
151–2
backward planning
154
interactive teaching and learning
145
151–4
problem-based learning
science signature pedagogies 78–81, 83
linking science understanding with literacy skills 186–8
sciences, physical
literacy and literacies
173–8, 186–8
scientific innovations
media conceptions of
252
scientific inquiry and investigation
nature of
16
reading and writing (teachers need to know)
relevance of
179
107
167–8
scientific literacy
6, 173–5
scope, planning
146–7
Scriven, M.
208
252
resources, identifying and preparing 143–4
secondary school science
in schools
secondary science, meaning in 14–15
222–3, 227–32
signature pedagogies in
and students
79–82
self-assessment
and students, how they like to learn 43–4
teachers’ concerns about students learning
178
210
sequence, planning 146–7
45–7
Shadows (Experiment 5)
290–4
teaching
91–2, 105–6, 126, 179, 234–6
Sherbert (Experiment 1)
264–8
understanding
92–4, 186–8
signature pedagogies in science
184–5
78–81, 83
simulations
247–9
Skinner, B.F.
30, 31
what does it mean to us? 88
Smith, Keri
7
in the world
222–3
social bookmarking aggregating
and writing
124–5, 179
social constructivism
30, 33
social conventionalists
101
ways of understanding change in
95
see also teachers, science
science classroom
17–19, 83–4, 107–9, 131–3, 167–8,
190–2, 215–16, 251–3
assessment
205
community links to
lesson plans
secondary
social networks and aggregators
262
socially negotiated teaching models
126, 128
songs (student engagement)
122–3
standards referencing (assessment strategy)
standards-based assessment
123–4
177
too much content and too rushed
166–7
Stake, R.E. 198
124–5
143
not enough experiments
244
software 257
132
disappointment in science classes
how science is taught
16
secondary teachers 142
37–43, 133
vocabulary demands of
152
154
Stanley, G.
207
steam engine
104–5
197
124
stories and understanding science
92–4
science community, connection with the 257
Story of a Hamburger (Appendix 1)
284–5
science curriculum
Story of a Hamburger (Experiment 4)
280–3
story writing (student engagement)
166
strategies for engaging students
164–7
91–2
implementation 58
why a national science
science education
62–3
5–11, 221–3
lessons, different ways of planning science
151–4
brainstorming
166
floor storming
165
linking theory to practice
16–17
KWL 165
role of language in
172–3
poems/songs
166–7
science graduates
74–7
poster drawing/annotated illustrations
science learning
222–3
story writing
science lessons, planning
207–8
166
student questions
164
165–6
Index
student learning
primary
141–2
family support for
27–8
highly accomplished
how students learn
29–33
pre-service
teachers’ concerns about
45–7
reading/writing science
student questions (engagement strategy) 164
student record keeping
210
student self-assessment
210
student understanding
214
student-centred teaching models
secondary
77–8
77
179
142
understanding concepts
141–3
teaching
activities, assessment of
126, 130–1
214
four dimensions of effective
80
student-related factors and engagement 118–19
for engagement, learning and understanding
students’ backgrounds
how to get started
students and science
37–43, 51
37–43, 133
interactive
connecting with students to enhance engagement
131
teaching models
5Es
disappointment in science classes
122–3
152
125, 126
128–9, 151–2
guided discovery
130–1, 133
how science is taught
124–5
integrative
how they like to learn
43–4
mastery learning
126, 127
not enough experiments
123–4
socially negotiated
126, 128
student-centred
126, 130–1
and planning
133
130
primary students
44
relevance of science
123
effective teachers
science is too hard
124
elements of good teaching
secondary students
44, 177
for engagement, learning and understanding
teaching science
91–2, 105–6, 126, 179
139–46
too much content and too rushed
124
models that lead to engagement
what do they already know
24–7, 162–4
and technology 234–6
students’ knowledge
24–7, 162–4
students’ technological expertise
teaching strategies, hands-on (HOTS)
224–7
80–1, 84
students’ worlds
24
technologies
Symington, D.
222
challenge of emerging
digital
61
Tannenbaum, A.J.
32
teachers and record keeping
210
teacher-directed models
126, 127, 156
teacher-directed questions
182
early career
75–6
77
effective teachers
graduate
73–6
lesson plans
143
139–46
mobile
247
Web 2.0
243–6
and students
103–5
234–6
124–7
see also information and communications technology
(ICT)
76–8
curriculum knowledge
80
232–46
science teaching and learning
140–1
concerns about students learning in science
125–31
23, 27, 233, 236
and science interaction
teachers, science
characteristics
146–7
technology
teacher-related factors and engagement 119–20
asking questions
140
technological, pedagogical and science knowledge (TPASK)
students’ views of assessment 199–200
Taba, H.
146–7
162–4
45–7
technology signature pedagogies
Tennant, M.
testing
34
205–7
international and national 203–4
see also assessment
Texas Science Initiative
text-based learning 124
228
82
307
308
Index
theory, linking to practice in science education
Tognolini, J.
207
top-level structures (case study)
Touchpads
16–17
190–2
244
Walker, D.F.
62
Watson, R.
30, 31
Watt, James
104–5
weather activities
50
Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study
Web references
257–62
(TIMSS) 203
Web 2.0 technologies
Tyler, R.W.
61
Tytler, R. 222
WebQuests
Weir, C.
understanding
linking science understanding with literacy skills 186–8
reading for
179–81
and students
214
teaching for
146–7
understanding concepts and teachers
understanding science
149–50
planning a
148–50
Wenger, E.
34
Wheaton, C.
39
245–6
to learn
virtual tools and labs
261
166
179
Ziehe, T.
260
visual, auditory, kinaesthetic (VAK) learning styles
vocabulary demands of science
30, 31, 33, 151, 197
184–5
35–6
182–4
science (teachers need to know)
Young, M. 59
260
virtual excursions and adventures
197–8, 200
story writing (student engagement)
and science
Vialle, W. 40
Vygotsky, L.
177
writing
Usher, R. 34
video conferences
41
Wellington, J.
Williams, D.
92–4, 186–8
258–9
154
Weisgram, E.S.
wikis
141–3
unit of work
developing a
243–6
webcams 258
34
124–5
Engage—Enhance—Experience
Knowing involves building relationships and
connections by concentrating on the process
of understanding.
Engage in learning about teaching science through linking theory
with practice. Enhance your learning through activities and adaptable
experiments.
Part 1 builds knowledge for teaching science to children from early
childhood through to the middle years. It combines theory and research
with an array of activities for pre-service teachers to practise. The
influence of social constructivism and inquiry learning is explored and
examined in the context of creating cooperative classrooms and other
learning environments.
Part 2 showcases five experiments to demonstrate how science
teaching connects to theory. Each of these experiments contains
multiple learning areas, and is adjustable for older and younger
learners and for a range of learning abilities. All link back to the
theories in Part 1, and encourage pre-service science teachers to ask
questions and to be creative with approaches to teaching science.
Key features include
•
A rich selection of reflective and practical activities;
•
Correlation to the Australian Curriculum to ensure that pre-service
teachers are prepared for the science classroom;
•
Close examination of the issues surrounding literacy in science;
•
The most current research with links back to practice; and
•
Additional resources at the Oxford Education Hub: oup.com.au/oeh.
Robyn Gregson is a Lecturer in the School of Education at the University
of Western Sydney.
ISBN 978-0-19-557530-9
9 780195 575309
visit us at: oup.com.au or
contact customer service: cs.au@oup.com