Digital Commons Network^™

Rethinking Science Education Through Rethinking Schooling, Jim Davies

2006 - Boosting Science Learning - What will it take?

The Australian Science and Mathematics School was designed explicitly to support a renaissance in the teaching of science and to improve the engagement of students in the disciplines of science through highly engaging authentic learning opportunities. The school has adopted an action research approach as a means of re-thinking the elements of schooling and of its science programs. Its working premise is that quality science education is embedded in quality schooling. Science is learned through an innovative interdisciplinary curriculum with a pedagogy aligned to the inquiry methodologies associated with deep engagement in scientific endeavour. The architecturally designed school has transformed …

No Wonder The Kids Are Confused: The Relevance Of Science Education To Science, Deborah Corrigan

2006 - Boosting Science Learning - What will it take?

My experiences in science have left me wondering if we know what we want to achieve when educating students in science. An important question for science educators is: how authentic is the science presented in science classrooms? To answer this, science educators need a clear idea of what is they believe to be the purpose of science and then how they can portray that in their classrooms. This paper represents my journey in thinking about and researching of these ideas. It is my belief that, if we are to engage students in science, then science education has to be far …

How Can Professional Standards Improve The Quality Of Teaching And Learning Science?, Lawrence Ingvarson, Anne Semple

2006 - Boosting Science Learning - What will it take?

After extensive national consultation the recent Review of Teaching and Teacher Education announced an agenda for action in its report 'Australia's Teachers: Australia's Future. One of its central themes was a call to revitalise the teaching profession. In this vein, the purpose of this paper is to provide a brief review of preliminary work at ACER, conducted in collaboration with the Australian Science Teachers' Association, to develop a standards-guided professional learning system that would lead to professional certification for highly accomplished teachers of science. This paper describes ASTA 's progress towards developing a system of certification, beginning with the development …

The Community's Contribution To Science Learning: Making It Count, Leonie Rennie

2006 - Boosting Science Learning - What will it take?

Underpinning the title of this address are two assumptions. The first is that the community should contribute to science learning. To justify this assumption, I describe a little of what we know about the outcomes of learning science. The second assumption is that the potential community contribution needs some assistance to ‘make it count’. To explain this, I outline community-based opportunities for learning science, meld this with what we know about learning outside of school, and then use case studies to illustrate how we can make it count.

Primary Connections: A New Approach To Primary Science And To Teacher Professional Learning, Mark Hackling

2006 - Boosting Science Learning - What will it take?

Primary Connections is a teacher professional learning program supported by curriculum resources that aims to enhance learning outcomes in science and the literacies of science. The program is based on an innovative model that links science with literacy, uses cooperative learning, integrates assessment with teaching and learning, and follows an inquiry process using open investigations. The program was trialled in 56 schools throughout Australia in 2005. Research has demonstrated that the program improves teachers’ confidence, selfefficacy and practice, students’ learning, and the status of science within schools. The project is an initiative of the Australian Academy of Science, funded by …

Boosting Science Learning Through The Design Of Curriculum Materials, Rodger Bybee

2006 - Boosting Science Learning - What will it take?

How can curricula enhance science teaching and student learning? A slightly deeper and more specific question than that is: what is the form and function of effective curriculum materials? These questions will be addressed in the following discussion. After a brief introduction to BSCS (Biological Sciences Curriculum Study), I will first discuss what we know about how students learn science and introduce an instructional model based on this research from the cognitive sciences. I will then review the curriculum development process at BSCS and describe a contemporary high school program and evidence of student learning attributed to that program.

Creating Powerful Teacher Education Opportunities: The Need For Risk, Relevance, Resource, Recognition, Readiness And Reflection, Susan Rodrigues

2006 - Boosting Science Learning - What will it take?

Two projects described in this paper illustrate what a successful teacher education model can look like, what its aims were, what happened in terms of teacher professional development, and what pupils accomplished as a result. The paper also describes policies, organisational features, resources, and relationships that informed the projects. In effect, both projects involved a community of teachers, educators and scientists working to develop resource materials involving various technologies for classroom use. Data was collected through teacher surveys, online dialogue, interviews, pupil work, teacher ‘show and tell’ and limited classroom observation. The data suggests that pedagogic change warrants the presence …

Science Achievement In Australia : Evidence From National And International Surveys., Sue Thomson

2006 - Boosting Science Learning - What will it take?

What can be said about science achievement in Australian schools? Does it really need a boost? Is science education in Australia engaging and motivating, or is the curriculum irrelevant and students disinterested? Are there particular issues for Indigenous students? Within the National Testing Program, Australia participates in two major international studies with a partial focus on science: the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), conducted with Year 4 and Year 8 students conducted with 15-year-old students. In addition, the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) program provides evidence about the outcomes of education, and the TIMSS Science Video …

Inquiry In Science Classrooms - Rhetoric Or Reality?, Dennis Goodrum

2006 - Boosting Science Learning - What will it take?

If one scans the science curriculum statements of the Australian States and Territories, one will find a consistent theme of inquiry and inquiry pedagogy pervading these documents. With the rhetoric of these policy documents and our sense of science education history, one would expect to see inquiry as an integral part of our secondary science classrooms. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Many secondary students are taught science that is perceived by them to be neither relevant nor engaging. Furthermore, traditional didactic teaching methods that offer little challenge, excitement or opportunities for engagement are common. There is a considerable gap …

Boosting Science Learning - What Will It Take?, Russell Tytler, David Symington

2006 - Boosting Science Learning - What will it take?

In this session Russell Tytler and David Symington will present some data they have gathered from three sources: scientists working in some of Australia’s Research Priority Areas, science graduates working in positions outside their discipline specialisation, and students studying sciences at Year 11. The presenters will explain why they chose to interview these quite different groups of people and give some indication of why they believe the data is relevant to the question driving the conference: Boosting science learning – what will it take? There will then be group discussion drawing on the views and experiences of the group members …

What Science Do Students Want To Learn? What Do Students Know About Science?, Barry Mcrae

2006 - Boosting Science Learning - What will it take?

In 2006, for the first time, science is the major focus of the PISA assessment of 15-year-olds. A major innovation in PISA 2006 is that many of the science units contain one or two items designed to assess students' attitudes towards science – in particular, their interest in learning about science and their support for scientific enquiry. A second major innovation is that some of the items assess students' knowledge about science – that is, their knowledge of scientific methodology. This paper presents some field trial results that shed light on what science students want to learn, and how their …

Towards A Science Education For All: The Role Of Ideas, Evidence And Argument, Jonathan Osborne

2006 - Boosting Science Learning - What will it take?

This presentation offers a critical analysis of contemporary science education and the values on which it rests. Science education wrestles with two competing priorities: the need to educate the future citizen about science; and the need to provide the basic knowledge necessary for future scientists. It is argued that the evidence would suggest that it is the latter goal that predominates – a goal which exists at least, in part, in conflict with the needs of the majority who will not continue with science post compulsory education. The argument is advanced that there are four essential elements to any science …

Addressing The Looming Crisis In The Supply Of Suitably Qualified Teachers, Kerri-Lee Harris

2006 - Boosting Science Learning - What will it take?

No abstract provided.

Research And Boosting Science Learning: Diagnosis And Potential Solutions, Peter Fensham

2006 - Boosting Science Learning - What will it take?

In this paper I want to draw on relevant research to address the theme of this year’s conference in three ways: 1. The nature of the problem 2. Possible solutions 3. Constraints on these possible solutions

Boosting Science Learning - What Will It Take? (Conference Proceedings), Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer)

2006 - Boosting Science Learning - What will it take?

Research Conference 2006 examined recent research and practice directions in the area of science education both locally and internationally. The conference addressed what it will take to boost science teaching and learning.

The proceedings from the conference can be downloaded from thsis page. The slides accompanying the papers presented by various guest speakers are presented as Related Documents (below)

Finding A Way Forward - Panel Discussion

2006 - Boosting Science Learning - What will it take?

PowerPoint slides used by Russell Tytler and David Symington of Deakin University to guide the closing plenary discussion.