AusVELS
Unpacking Secondary Years
Science
Maria James
22 August 2013
1
Getting started
What is
your most
‘burning’
question?
2
Education research: content
Research by Nuthall shows half (and
perhaps more) of all material taught in
any class is already known by
the students.
Nuthall (2005), The cultural myths and realities of classroom teaching and learning: a personal
journey?, in Teachers College Record, 107 (5), 902-903.
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Assessment
“ … the fundamental purpose of assessment
is to establish where learners are in their
learning at the time of assessment.”
Masters G (2013), ‘Reforming Educational Assessment: Imperatives, principles
and challenges’, Australian Education Review, 5-6
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Prior knowledge
How familiar are you with AusVELS Science?
A
B
C
D
E
Wouldn’t even know where to find it
Looked at it quickly just before this session
Have spent some time reading it
Have spent some time working with it
Have spent significant time working with it
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Science research: The ROSE Project
The Relevance of Science Education (ROSE) project surveyed students from many
countries.
Findings include:
• The more developed a country, the less positive the view of science by students
• In the UK, 14-to 15-year-old students were surveyed:
– 11% agreed with ‘I like school science better than other subjects’
– 8% agreed with ‘I would like to become a scientist’
• These figures are consistent with studies in Australia (for example, PISA results)
Sjoberg S & Schreiner C (2005), How do learners in different countries relate to science and technology?,
Asia Pacific Forum on Science Learning and Teaching, 6 (2), 1-17.
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International testing: TIMMS Year 8 Science
Country/State
Singapore
1994/5 mean
2002/3 mean
2010/11 mean
580 (5.5)
578 (4.3)
590 (4.3)
Finland
552 (2.5)
England
533 (3.6)
544 (4.1)
533 (4.9)
USA
513 (5.6)
527 (3.1)
525 (2.6)
ACT
529 (12.7)
551 9.2
NSW
517 8.2
532 10.1
Australia
514 (3.9)
Victoria
497 (6.2)
New Zealand
511 (4.9)
520 (5.0)
512 (4.6)
Norway
514 (2.4)
492 (2.2)
494 (2.6)
510 (3.7)
426 (6.3)
Malaysia
527 (3.8)
519 (4.8)
513 (7.5)
Notes : 1. standard errors shown in parentheses
2. statistically significant differences from 2011 mean shown in red (positive) or in purple (negative)
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International testing: PISA (15-year-olds)
Country/state
2006 mean score
2009 mean score
Finland
563 (2.0)
554 (2.3)
New Zealand
530 (2.7)
532 (2.6)
ACT
549 (4.9)
546 (6.0)
Western Australia
543 (6.8)
539 (7.3)
New South Wales
535 (4.6)
531 (5.7)
Queensland
522 (4.2)
530 (7.5)
Australia
527 (2.3)
527 (2.5)
Victoria
513 (4.9)
521 (4.9)
United Kingdom
515 (2.3)
514 (2.5)
United States
489 (4.2)
502 (3.6)
Norway
487 (3.1)
500 (2.6)
Average
498 (0.5)
501 (0.5)
Note: Standard errors for means are shown in parentheses.
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A research base for Australian Curriculum: Science
The framing paper for the Australian Curriculum:
Science draws on two particular research reports
which synthesise national and international research
on school science education:
• Australian School Science Education National
Action Plan 2008-2012 (Goodrum & Rennie, 2007)
• Re-imagining Science Education: Engaging
students in science for Australia’s future (Tytler,
2007)
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Research: Fensham
A study of Beijing’s heads of the top 11 science
research institutions to determine desirable qualities
for their scientists, beyond knowledge, listed the
following:
Rank
Desired quality
Most important
Creativity
Very important
Personal interest in science; perseverance; willingness
and desire to inquire
Important
Ability to communicate; social concern; team spirit
Fensham P (2004). Engagement with science: An international issue that goes
beyond knowledge. Paper presented at the SMEC Conference.
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Urban legends and investigable questions
‘Science is a dynamic, forward-looking, collaborative
human endeavour arising from our curiosity and interest.’
From the Shape of the Australian Curriculum: Science paper, May 2009.
Hmm… an
inquiry
approach!
• Can the unaided human
voice shatter glass?
• Can diving underwater
protect a person from
gunfire?
• Is grass still green at night?
Sport … music …
updating Facebook
profiles … latest diet
fads … catching up
with friends at the
weekend … pets …
Science?
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Where can I find AusVELS?
VCAA websites
Curriculum website:
http://ausvels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/
Resources and implementation support website:
http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Pages/foundation1
0/curriculum/index.aspx
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Age-relevant curriculum
Curriculum focus
• Foundation – Level 2: awareness of self and the local
world
• Levels 3 – Level 6: recognising questions that can be
investigated scientifically and investigating them
• Levels 7-10: explaining phenomena involving science
and its applications
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Overarching ideas
Six overarching ideas underpin the
development of AusVELS Science
•
•
•
•
•
•
Patterns, order and organisation
Form and function
Stability and change
Scale and measurement
Matter and energy
Systems
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Strands and sub-strands in AusVELS Science
strands
Science
understanding
Biological sciences
Science as a
human
endeavour
Nature and
development of
science
sub-strands
Chemical sciences
Earth and space
sciences
Physical sciences
Science inquiry
skills
Questioning and
predicting
Planning and
conducting
Use and influence
of science
Processing and
analysing data and
information
Evaluating
Communicating
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Science disciplines
Click on the “vote” button to indicate your science
specialty:
1. Biology
2. Chemistry
3. Physics
4. Multidisciplinary
5. Forced to teach science by my principal even
though not qualified.
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AusVELS Science Level 7: Screen shot
http://ausvels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Science/Curriculum/F-10#level=7
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The Science as a Human Endeavour strand
Two sub-strands
Nature and development of science
• How do scientific ideas develop?
Use and influence of science
• How is science used in work and leisure?
• How do science and technology affect our
environment and our lives?
• What is the scope of science-related careers?
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Revised standards: Level 7 and 8 biological science
• Science Understanding (SU):
They analyse the relationship between structure and function at
cell, organ and body system levels. They use dichotomous keys to
identify and classify living things. They explain how living organisms
can be classified into major taxonomic groups based on observable
similarities and differences. They predict the effect of
environmental changes on feeding relationships.
• Science as a Human Endeavour (SHE):
They discuss how science knowledge can be applied to generate
solutions to contemporary problems and explain how these
solutions may impact on society.
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Revised standards: Level 9 and 10 biological science
• ACARA achievement standard:
They explain the processes that underpin
heredity ...
• AusVELS strengthened achievement
standard:
They explain the role of DNA and genes in cell
division and genetic inheritance.
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Revised standards: Level 9 and 10 chemical science
• ACARA achievement standard:
… students analyse how the periodic table organises
elements and use it to make predictions about the
properties of elements.
• AusVELS strengthened achievement standard:
They explain how similarities in the chemical behaviour of
elements and their compounds and their atomic structures
are represented in the way the periodic table has been
constructed. They compare the properties of a range of
elements representative of the major groups and periods
in the periodic table.
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Revised standards: Level 9 and 10 physical science
• ACARA achievement standard:
They apply relationships between force, mass
and acceleration to predict changes in the
motion of objects.
• AusVELS strengthened achievement standard:
They give both qualitative and quantitative
explanations of the relationships between
distance, speed, acceleration, mass and force to
predict and explain motion.
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Inquiry-based curriculum
The Australian Curriculum: Science emphasises inquiry-based
teaching and learning
Level 5-6:
With guidance,
select
appropriate
investigation
methods to
answer
questions or
solve problems
… decide which
variable should
be changed and
measured in fair
tests
Teacher driven
inquiry
Semi structured
inquiry
Student driven
inquiry
Opportunities for student-led open inquiry should be provided
within each phase of schooling
Level 7-8:
Collaboratively and individually plan
and conduct a range of investigation
types … in fair tests, measure and
control variables, and select
equipment to collect data with
accuracy appropriate to the task
Level 9-10:
Formulate questions or
hypotheses that can be
investigated scientifically … plan,
select and use appropriate
investigation methods… select
and use appropriate equipment
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A model for examining ideas about inquiry
1. Level of integration of skills and domain knowledge:
• Skills taught as separate unit ‘the scientific method’
• Science skills used to reinforce application of knowledge
• Content and skills integrated through the unit
• Context provided for content and skill integration
2. Level of student direction or choice/level of scaffolding needed:
Prescribed processes  independent task
• Focus on reasoning ability
• Focus on identifying variables
• Assessing evidence and developing understanding
• Report writing
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Assessment of inquiry
• Assessment of students’ learning should
include measures of inquiry expertise
• Consider the sub-strands of the Science
Inquiry Skills (SIS) strand
• Importance of listening to students’ ideas as a
measure of learning
• Role of student self-evaluation (e.g. SOLO
taxonomy for assisting students identify the
complexity of their thinking)
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How familiar are you with SOLO taxonomy?
Please use the ‘vote’ button to enter your response to
the above question:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Never heard about it
Vaguely heard about it
Started working with it
Worked extensively with it
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SOLO taxonomy
Structure of the Observed Learning Outcome (SOLO)
• first described by John Biggs and Kevin Collis in
Evaluating the Quality of Learning: The SOLO
Taxonomy, New York Academic press, 1982
• enables assessment of student work in terms of
quality rather than how many bits of this and that a
student described correctly
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SOLO taxonomy levels
SOLO is divided into a number of levels of learning:
• Prestructural where a child needs support in expressing an
idea on the topic.
• Unistructural where a child can express one relevant idea.
• Multistructural where the child can express a number of
relevant ideas e.g. defines, describes.
• Relational where a child makes connections and
links between these ideas e.g. compares & contrasts,
analyses.
• Extended abstract where a child thinks beyond the subject or
takes the learning into a new context e.g. generalises,
hypothesises.
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Scenarios for inquiry: Stinking fish
Hundreds of stinking dead fish dumped at
Portarlington jetty have angered local
fishermen.
Surfcoast Times, 2 September 2011
Newspaper articles can be edited so that
students may be encouraged to generate
questions/propose possible
explanations/suggest methods of inquiry
which involve collection of primary and
secondary data/ differentiate between
investigable and non-investigable
questions.
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Planning assessment: a sunscreen pill
British scientists, inspired
by samples of coral taken
from the Great Barrier
Reef, hope to produce a
sunscreen in a pill that
gives weeks of protection
after working out how
coral shields itself from the
harmful ultraviolet rays in
sunshine. The pill could be
tested on people in 5
years.
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Themed units of work: integration of sub-strands
Opportunities for delivering science curriculum:
• Themed units of work, e.g. driver education
• Outside-class activities: e.g. school camps:
ecosystems; astronomy; biology; water quality
• Other school subjects: e.g. plate tectonics studied in
Geography
• School activities: e.g. guest speakers at school
assemblies, linking “jeans for genes day” to a study
of genetics
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Driver education – links to the Science Understanding strand
Sub-strand
Science understanding
Biological
science
Multicellular organisms rely on coordinated and interdependent
internal systems to respond to changes to their environment
Chemical
science
• Chemical reactions, including combustion and the reactions of
acids, are important in both nonliving and living systems and involve
energy transfer
• Different types of chemical reactions are used to produce a range of
products and can occur at different rates
Earth and
space
sciences
Global systems, including the carbon cycle, rely on interactions
involving the biosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere
Physical
science
• Energy conservation in a system can be explained by describing
energy transfers and transformations
• The motion of objects can be described and predicted using the
laws of physics
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Driver education – Links to the Science as a Human Endeavour strand
Sub-strand: Nature and development of science
Advances in scientific understanding often rely on developments
in technology and technological advances are often linked to
scientific discoveries
Sub-strand: Use and influence of science
• People can use scientific knowledge to evaluate whether they
should accept claims, explanations or predictions
• Advances in science and emerging sciences and technologies
can significantly affect people’s lives, including generating new
career opportunities
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Driver education– links to the Science Inquiry Skills strand
Sub-strand
Science Inquiry Skills
Questioning and
predicting
Formulate questions or hypotheses that can be investigated scientifically
Planning and
conducting
Plan, select and use appropriate investigation methods, including field
work and laboratory experimentation, to collect reliable data; assess risk
and address ethical issues associated with these methods
Processing and
analysing data and
information
Analyse patterns and trends in data, including describing relationships
between variables and identifying inconsistencies
Evaluating
Critically analyse the validity of information in secondary sources
and evaluate the approaches used to solve problems
Communicating
Communicate scientific ideas and information for a particular purpose,
including constructing evidence-based arguments and using appropriate
scientific language, conventions and representations
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Linking science to literacy and numeracy
What
does the
community
think?
What do
I think?
Risks?
Bellarine, Great Ocean Road off-limits
Wind farms banned
The Bellarine Peninsula and Great Ocean Road
have been made no-go zones for wind farms under
extensive new planning rules.
In addition, developments will be blocked if they
are within 5km of a major regional centre or within
2km of an existing dwelling unless the owner gives
written consent.
The Surfcoast Times, 2 September 2011
How can I
decide
what to
do?
Benefits?
Who
should
decide?
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Planning assessment: ‘wicked problems’
• Socio-scientific investigations involve a complexity (and hence the term
‘wicked problem’) which often make them difficult to utilise in the classroom.
However, if students are to be taught how evidence is developed and used in
science in authentic settings, this issue requires addressing.
• A solution: case studies may provide data from real situations, or simulated,
to allow students to explore questions that might be posed, or which they
generate themselves, through representations of the data and analysis.
Example:
A data bank was made electronically available to students from an Antarctic
expedition concerning body weight, breeding patterns and mortality of
mutton birds. Students could then pose questions, construct hypotheses,
make predictions and construct data sets to explore these.
Gott R, Duggan S & Roberts R (2000), The science investigation workshop (CD), Durham: University of Durham.
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Contacts
Maria James
Curriculum Manager, Science
Email: james.maria.m@edumail.vic.gov.au
Telephone: 9032 1722
AusVELS Unit
Email: vcaa.ausvels@edumail.vic.gov.au
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