Premier’s Macquarie Bank Science Scholarship
Implications of classroom pedagogy
for science teaching
Kevin Cousins
Nimbin Central School
Sponsored by
The focus of the study is the implication of classroom pedagogy on the learning
outcomes of students of mixed ability, particularly in small schools. One of the
difficulties facing classroom teachers of science in small schools such as Nimbin Central
School is the diversity of the abilities of the students. Typically, Nimbin, a rural Priority
School Funding Program (PSFP) central school, has in year 7, a cohort which ranges in
reading age from 8 to 18, requiring individualised learning plans. I would like to alter the
delivery of the Science syllabus to the middle school, to involve all students actively in
learning by changing the pedagogy of the classroom.
Summary
Warwick University has, through its National Academy of Gifted and Talented Youth
(NAGTY) initiative, implemented a program of curriculum reform based on pedagogical
change. Through its ambassador schools and other contributing schools, NAGTY has
promoted the implementation of curriculum review across a very broad spectrum of
schools. This has resulted in a very diverse range of approaches being taken to
accommodate the NAGTY guidelines while still complying with the National
Curriculum.
The approach taken by schools such as Northampton School for Boys, a state school of
approximately 1500 students, is very conventional, with a program of visiting mentors
working with gifted children during lunch hours and after school. Campion school’s
approach, on the other hand, has incorporated the Opening Minds program in Year 7
and is in the process of writing it into all junior classes by 2008. This program caters for
all abilities within a non-streamed class by moving away from a traditional Science
curriculum to a strongly thematic approach.
Of the ambassador schools implementing a pedagogical change, most chose to
implement a thematic approach to the Science curriculum. The reasons for this are many,
but primarily a thematic approach allowed the schools much more flexibility in dealing
with a wide range in abilities of their students and a diverse range of interests among
their teachers. Campion School in Bugbrooke offered a non-selected group of year 7 (2
classes out of 8) a radically different curriculum based on the Opening Minds project.1
The success of this project has encouraged Helen Boyle, leading teacher, to implement a
program for both year 7 and year 8 in 2007. Deer Park, Cirencester, also offers a
thematic curriculum, particularly in middle school years. This is accomplished by means
of a very close relationship the school shares with a number of nearby science-based
businesses and allows the school to offer units in conjunction with a joint replacement
manufacturer in one instance and an industrial chemistry workplace in the other.
All of the schools visited in England offer a more globally oriented curriculum than is
generally offered in New South Wales schools. This takes the form of reciprocal school
exchanges, expeditions and school contacts across the world. Australia is isolated from
much of the world; however, some English schools such as Cirencester are in continuous
contact with schools as far away as Japan. Cirencester’s aim is to develop a global student
for whom as much of the curriculum as possible is based on the principle that each
student would eventually assume a place in a global society. In fact, global citizenship
featured strongly in most of the schools visited.
Implementation of thematic curricula makes application of cross-curriculum material
easier and of more relevance. The ambassador schools of the University of Warwick’s
NAGTY have embraced the idea of pedagogical renewal through thematic units of work
and in doing so have stimulated many schools across the United Kingdom to follow a
similar path.
A brief summary of the findings are:

The concept of curriculum integration has developed over several decades. There is
currently renewed activity and interest in this area, coinciding with educational
reform and the development of curriculum and assessment standards.

Much of the debate in the area appears to be around promoting a student-centred
approach that takes the experiences of young learners as a starting point for the
curriculum as well as the need to maintain the integrity of subject areas.

Many teachers are suggesting that this should not be an issue and that both concerns
can be accommodated through multi-, inter-, or intradisciplinary approaches. Some
writers, such as Beane (on the integration side) and Klein (on the non-integration
side), argue that this is too much of a compromise and serves neither side well.

Curriculum integration is occurring in a variety of ways, although there is no
agreement on what that means.

Curriculum integration requires more than just curriculum change. It also requires
subject specialists looking beyond established boundaries. The prospect of
decompartmentalisation becomes imperative.
Thematic curriculum and pedagogy
The Premier’s Macquarie Bank Scholarship allowed an opportunity to examine the way
integrated thematic science programs were used to address a wide variety of needs within
English schools. Of particular interest was the way in which these programs were used to
address the needs of a wide range of abilities within the one school. In this context,
‘cross-curricular’ and ‘integrated curriculum’ are used synonymously and within the
confines of this report, the term ‘thematic’ refers to the use of a program of study
focusing on a practical area of investigation which readily allows and encourages
intellectual digression. The National Academy of Gifted and Talented Youth is referred
to as NAGTY.
The thematic curriculum
The thematic curriculum is not new. Most stage 1, 2 and 3 programs are and have been
based around various themes. Sesame Street and Playschool, to name just two, have been
based on the provision of a theme as a platform for an investigation across mathematical,
scientific and social ideas. The Middle School Curriculum in England has been
approached in very different ways by various schools. Some of these approaches are of
great interest to those interested in integrated and thematic units of work. The National
Teachers’ Research Conference in Birmingham in 2006 showed how a number of
schools have adapted either parts or the whole of the National Curriculum to suit their
particular needs.2 Black Firs Primary School, Cheshire, in 2005 and 2006 have
implemented a thematic curriculum under the direction of the students themselves.3 The
teaching area has been redesigned to be an open plan, generating a wider range of
contact time with more teachers, and independent study was used as a basis for the
development of a theme for students to investigate. The themes were deliberately crosscurricular, involving selected areas such as music, sociology, maths and visual art.
Campion School similarly delivered a curriculum centred on the following areas of study:
English, Citizenship, Geography, History, ICT, Religion and PE.4 The units of work
cover learning styles, ethics and citizenship, and the function of the brain.
Penair School in Cornwall (another ambassador school) took a slightly different
approach in that the units were more readily identified as science-based. For example,
chocolate was a theme investigated by year 7 students. It readily lends itself to a number
of approaches: Chemistry, Botany, Sociology, Physiology and Geography. Looking in
more detail at this unit, it closely fits the model for a thematic, integrated unit for lower
secondary students. The chemistry of chocolate lends itself to practical investigation,
such as research on theobromines and caffeine, as well as designing experiments to
measure melting points and differences in composition of all of the various types of
chocolate. The botany of the fruit and how it is prepared is also of interest, as is the
geography of those countries growing it. The sociological aspects are interesting in that
the students can investigate chocolate addiction, cacao growing and child slavery, and Mr
Cadbury’s experiments in model workforces. All of these support and reinforce the
investigative processes taking place in the laboratory.
Beverley High School, York, similarly offered junior secondary students a work unit
called Forensic Science. This incorporates the science of forensics, the sociological
aspects of crime and detection and an investigative laboratory experience for students
solving problems, as well as the historical aspects of crime and the analysis of evidence.
The New South Wales Science Syllabus for stages 4 and 5 does not define a context in
which the Prescribed Focus Areas and the Domains are to be interpreted, encouraging
instead a school-specific context: The Science Years 7–10 Syllabus does not specify the
contexts because the choice of these will depend on the societal context of the students.
The syllabus identifies the purposes for which contexts may be chosen, that is to
increase:





Motivation;
Conceptual meaning;
Scientific literacy;
Communication skills;
Personal and societal power.
Science, Years 7–10 Syllabus, Board of Studies NSW, 2006, p16
The NSW Public Education Enquiry identified a series of key areas of interest needing
urgent attention within New South Wales Schools.5
The foregoing discussion of curriculum issues has contained constant references to
curricula being developed with insufficient regard to the practical realities
associated with its implementation. They have included: the inappropriateness of
basic course content in some subjects for average ability students; the unavailability
of learning resources, from textbooks and industrial arts and science equipment, to
accessible web sites; the questionable value of train-the-trainer courses to prepare
teachers for new syllabi; and the lack of authoritative answers to teachers’ questions
about curricula.
2001 Public Education Inquiry NSW
http://www.pub-ed-inquiry.org/reports/final_reports/02/Chapter_2.html
By using an integrated approach to implementation of the Prescribed Focus Areas and
Domains, the teacher retains a local control of both the course content and the level of
suitability. Lingard’s case for pedagogical change is well suited to the application of
integrated curricula.6 He foresees a school where both teachers and students are actively
engaged in a relevant learning, whose style is dependant on both the experiences of the
students and the teachers. Integrated curricula offer teachers a high level of control over
the content and the direction of learning, which in turn allows teachers to cater for a
wide range of abilities.7
Not all researchers are comfortable with the idea of an integrated curriculum based on
thematic units.8 The compartmentalisation of the curriculum has been and is a stumbling
block for curriculum integration. Although integrative curricula have been something of
a mantra for primary and middle schools, their impact on ‘standard’ stage 4 and 5 Science
classes has been minimal. Part of the responsibility for this must lie with the desire to
meet the outcomes as specified in the syllabus of the various subjects. Curriculum
change, however, is driven by a range of social contexts such as those outlined by
Michele Bruniges.9 The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) highlights
the fact that Australian students of both mathematics and science have a higher disparity
among students than most other countries.10 This is manifest as an increasing focus on
equity-driven programs in some cases, but in other countries there has been an increasing
focus on cross-curricular programs.11 Kabba Colley encourages teachers to use integrated
programs to increase students’ understanding of science and maths utilising projectbased instruction.12
The Board of Studies acknowledges the significance of the way in which each of the
syllabuses has an overlap of content, intent and skills. Each of the syllabuses shows
where the integration occurs, but there is no encouragement to actually integrate them.13
Within the Science Syllabus, the choice of context is the teacher’s prerogative and by
selecting a cross-curricular theme, outcomes of several syllabuses can be addressed. An
example of how such a unit might fit into the outcomes of the Science, History,
Geography and ICT syllabuses can be found at the end of this report.
In the case of a small central school, the need to offer a cross-curricular unit is driven by
a number of social and educational contexts. Small schools have limited capability to
effectively deal with students outside the normal range of abilities, both at the higher and
lower ends. Traditional classroom pedagogy often encounters classroom management
problems derived from the pressures on teachers to meet all of the students needs. The
Quality Teaching Program offers teachers a range of tools with which classroom
pedagogy can be altered.14 The Quality Teaching Program model for Science, however,
was based on changing the role of the teacher to accommodate different learning styles
within the classroom, which is an excellent beginning for bringing about real pedagogical
change within delivery of the Science syllabus.
Not all researchers see pedagogical change as an issue of teacher delivery. The
Curriculum Corporation’s Conference in Adelaide in August 2006 was clearly directed at
a technological shift to bring about pedagogical change.15 Interactive whiteboards and
data projectors do not of themselves mitigate pedagogical change within a classroom, but
they may precipitate a discussion about the nature of learning and the structure of a
classroom.
One disappointing feature of the Curriculum Corporation’s 2006 Conference, A Vision
Splendid, was a lack of discussion about the nature and structure of the classroom in the
21st century, relying instead on tacking new technology to an old framework. The
National Teacher Research Panel Conference, Birmingham in March 2006, on the other
hand, presented a number of schools’ work which demonstrated that schools are
thinking about the physical structure of the schools’ curriculums. Schools such as
Campion and Black Firs have gone beyond the vertical integration model of the Junior
Curriculum and provided an integrated approach, on a trial basis, to non-streamed
classes. This arises directly from the approach to curriculum modification of Warwick
University’s NAGTY.16 This program is of intense interest to small schools such as
Central Schools, whose options for curriculum innovation are in some ways limited by
their size. However, the limitations in size also allow a wide latitude not available to
larger schools in such areas as curriculum design and classroom innovation across a
grade. Berkeley and Colorado State universities conducted a wide-ranging literature
review of the advantages of smaller schools and concluded that there are significant
learning advantages associated with smaller schools.17
Quality Teaching and thematic integrated units
The inclusion of the Quality Teaching outcomes within the working programs of both
secondary and primary classes across several states is made easier by incorporation into
thematic or integrated work units. The American experience is reflected in the work of
Newmann et al., which demonstrates that increasing intellectual quality of the assessment
tasks is not at the cost of skills and does in fact result in measurable gains for students.18
Integrated thematic units offer students an opportunity to extend their learning as
interest dictates and it offers teachers an opportunity to involve quality teaching
outcomes as an integral part of unit planning.
Of the three criteria (and fourteen elements), all are easily addressed by integrated
curricula; in fact, it is easier to address such elements as connectedness, knowledge
integration and higher order thinking using project-oriented work across several
curriculum areas than it is to select just one, such as Science.19 Lake’s paper on integrated
curriculum begins with an accurate assessment of the subject:20
Within this framework there are varied levels of integration, as illustrated by Palmer
(1991, p. 59), who describes the following practices:





Developing cross-curriculum sub-objectives within a given curriculum guide;
Developing model lessons that include cross-curricular activities and
assessments;
Developing enrichment or enhancement activities with a cross-curricular focus
including suggestions for cross-curricular ‘contacts’ following each objective;
Developing assessment activities that are cross-curricular in nature;
Including sample planning wheels in all curriculum guides.
Dressel’s definition goes beyond the linking of subject areas to the creation of new
models for understanding the world:
In the integrative curriculum, the planned learning experiences not only provide the
learners with a unified view of commonly held knowledge (by learning the models,
systems, and structures of the culture) but also motivate and develop learners’
power to perceive new relationships and thus to create new models, systems, and
structures. (1958, pp. 3–25)
Kathy Lake, Integrated Curriculum p1
School improvement Research Series, 1994
Matching the outcomes to the program
Time: 1 term (12 weeks)
Stage: 4
Year: 7
Context
Sustainability refers to the ability of the human population to indefinitely utilise the
resources of the planet without causing either a collapse in the living standards of the
developed countries or preventing the development of higher living standards in the
poorer countries. Students live in a world of decreasing access to some resources such as
water and increasing consequences such as CO2 production. There is a constant trade-off
between the need for conservation and the need for natural resources such as in
Tasmania’s old growth forests. Students will develop an understanding of the processes
of conflict resolution between competing sectors such as tourism, conservation and
resource utilisation such as mining. The role of science and scientists provides a basis for
the investigation.
The unit of work will revolve around the issue of sustainable resource management, but
the direction of the investigations will be determined by the other issues highlighted
above. This is not an exhaustive list. Urban classrooms would have a different emphasis
than rural classrooms, which should be encouraged. The extent to which the unit will
incorporate other syllabuses is strictly arbitrary. The History, Geography and ICT
syllabuses readily lend themselves to incorporation. The more integration involved, the
broader the topic becomes and the greater the involvement of other staff.
EDUCATION
EQUITY
How does the
distribution of
wealth affect our
use of resources
CONFLICTING
DEMANDS
How do we manage
these?
How does education
of the population
affect the way we
use resources
SUSTAINABILITY
Does the use of
energy differ in
countries?
How does this
affect the way we
use resources
How does the
population size
matter?
ENERGY
POPULATION
STANDARD
OF LIVING
References
1. Boyle, H. (2006) In National Teacher Research Panel, Birmingham.
2. The National Teachers’ Research Panel, Birmingham, March 17, 2006.
3. Casserley, M. (2006) In National teacher Research Panel, DfES Innovation Unit,
Birmingham.
4. Boyle. op.cit.
5. DET, D. o. E. a. T. (2001).
6. Bob Lingard, D. H. a. M. M. (2003) Pedagogy, Culture and Society, 11.
7. Freeman, C.C., Sokoloff, Harris, J. (1994). In paper presented at the American
Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, New Orleans, Lousiana, University
of Pennsylvania, pp. 29.
8. George, P.S. (1996). Middle Year School Journal, September 1996.
9. Bruniges, D.M. (2005). In Curriculum Corporation Conference.
10. Ibid.
11. Miller, K., Davison David. (1997). Thematic integration and curricular reform.
12. Kabba, E. Colley (2005). Radical Pedagogy, ISSN: 1524-6345.
13. Board of Studies Science 7–10 Syllabus, p24
14. NSW Quality Teaching Program 5.2 and 5.4 Science Projects © Commonwealth of
Australia 2003.
15. Curriculum Corporation Conference, Adelaide, 14–15 August 2006.
16. Eyre, D.P. (2005) Warwick, pp. paper on NAGTY’s approach to curriculum reform
for g
and t.
17. Bomotti, S. (2005). Office of Vocational and Adult education, Ed, MPR Associates
Inc., Berkeley CA, pp. 85.
18. Newmann. Fred, B.A., Nagoaka. Jenny, (2001). In Consortium on Chicago School
Research.Chicago, pp. 48.
19. D.E.T., D. o. E. a. T. (2004) Quality Teaching in NSW Public Schools, Professional
Learning Directorate, Sydney.
20. Lake, K. (1994). NWREL School Improvement Research Series.