| Semester 1, 2020 On-campus Toowoomba | |
| Short Description: | Science in Primary School |
| Units : | 1 |
| Faculty or Section : | Faculty of Business, Education, Law and Arts |
| School or Department : | School of Education |
| Student contribution band : | National Priority - Teaching |
| ASCED code : | 070100 - Teacher Education |
| Grading basis : | Graded |
Staffing
Examiner:
Requisites
Pre-requisite: EDX2260 and Students must be enrolled in one of the following Programs: BEDU (Primary) or BEDU (Primary + Special Education) or BEDU (Special Education) or BEDU (HPE Primary) or BEDU (SHPE Primary) or BPED
Rationale
Science is a dynamic, collaborative and creative human endeavour arising from our desire to make sense of our world through exploring the unknown, investigating universal mysteries, making predictions and solving problems. Primary children are natural scientists who ask many questions. Teaching science effectively requires a clear understanding of the nature and philosophy of this subject. This second course in primary science aims to enhance pre-service teachers’ knowledge and understanding of science and ways to teach it to children in Years 3 - 6. As such, this course deals with the formation and challenging of naïve theories about science that children develop at these ages. Constructivism theory underpins modern science teaching, so this is modelled by the course adopting a constructivist approach. The course also makes use of other evidence-based strategies such as collaborative learning and analysis of scenarios of teaching and learning. The course explores the science ideas required at levels based on current science education research, and will afford opportunities for achievement of several national standards aligned with science education at a higher level than in the previous compulsory course.
Synopsis
This is the second course in a suite of two supporting the teaching and learning of primary science. Pre-service teachers will advance their understanding of the nature of science and the organisation and structure of the Australian Curriculum: Science. They will develop an understanding of the content and pedagogical content knowledge required to teach all four Science Understanding sub-strands across Years 3 - 6, and how children learn science. Pre-service teachers will apply these understandings in the development and implementation of science units of sequential lesson plans. They will develop assessments to provide diagnosis of prior learning and feedback on the progress of learning. Pre-service teachers will experience collaborative and problem-based learning strategies, and will be required to demonstrate how they can integrate ICT and design technology with science for diverse learners.
Objectives
The course objectives define the student learning outcomes for a course in accordance with the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership’s (AITSL) Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST). On successful completion of this course pre-service teachers should be able to:
- analyse and evaluate different views of the nature of science and how children learn science (APST 1.2, 2.1);
- develop understanding of the science concepts and related pedagogical content knowledge relevant to Years 3 - 6 across all four Science Understanding sub-strands (APST 2.1, 4.2);
- develop awareness of misconceptions common to learners in Years 3 - 6 and how these misconceptions could be avoided or challenged (APST 2.1, 2.2);
- apply their understanding of science concepts and pedagogical content knowledge in developing and implementing units or sequential science lessons (APST 2.2, 2.3, 3.2, 4.2, 5.2);
- demonstrate how they can integrate ICT and design technology resources into their science teaching for diverse learners (APST 2.6, 3.3, 3.4, 4.1);
- apply ethical and safety standards in managing practical science experiences (APST 4.2, 4.4);
- develop assessment tasks to diagnose learners’ prior knowledge and to provide feedback on the progress of learning (APST 2.3, 5.1, 5.2).
Topics
| Description | Weighting(%) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Nature of science and integrating ICT and design technology with science in Years 3 - 6 | 10.00 |
| 2. | Teaching science in Year 3 | 20.00 |
| 3. | Teaching science in Year 4 | 20.00 |
| 4. | Teaching science in Year 5 | 20.00 |
| 5. | Teaching science in Year 6 | 20.00 |
| 6. | Integration and inclusivity in science in Years 3 - 6 | 10.00 |
Text and materials required to be purchased or accessed
ALL textbooks and materials available to be purchased can be sourced from (unless otherwise stated). (https://omnia.usq.edu.au/textbooks/?year=2020&sem=01&subject1=EDX3160)
Please for alternative purchase options from USQ Bookshop. (https://omnia.usq.edu.au/info/contact/)
(Supported by module How to teach Science from .)
(Text is retained from Science 1 and is required for elective science courses if they are to be undertaken in the future.)
Reference materials
Student workload expectations
| Activity | Hours |
|---|---|
| Directed ¾«¶«´«Ã½app | 80.00 |
| Independent ¾«¶«´«Ã½app | 85.00 |
Assessment details
| Description | Marks out of | Wtg (%) | Due Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ASSIGNMENT 1 | 50 | 50 | 27 Mar 2020 | |
| ASSIGNMENT 2 | 50 | 50 | 29 May 2020 |
Important assessment information
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Attendance requirements:
It is the students' responsibility to attend and participate appropriately in all activities scheduled for them, and to study all material provided to them or required to be accessed by them, to maximise their chance of meeting the objectives of the course and to be informed of course-related activities and administration. -
Requirements for students to complete each assessment item satisfactorily:
To satisfactorily complete an individual assessment item a student must achieve at least 50% of the marks for that item. -
Penalties for late submission of required work:
Students should refer to the Assessment Procedure (point 4.2.4) -
Requirements for student to be awarded a passing grade in the course:
To be assured of receiving a passing grade a student must achieve at least 50% of the total weighted marks available for the course. -
Method used to combine assessment results to attain final grade:
The final grades for students will be assigned on the basis of the aggregate of the weighted marks obtained for each of the summative items for the course. -
Examination information:
There is no examination in this course. -
Examination period when Deferred/Supplementary examinations will be held:
There is no examination in this course, there will be no deferred or supplementary examinations. -
¾«¶«´«Ã½app Student Policies:
Students should read the USQ policies: Definitions, Assessment and Student Academic Misconduct to avoid actions which might contravene ¾«¶«´«Ã½app policies and practices. These policies can be found at .
Assessment notes
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Referencing in assignments must comply with the APA referencing system. This system should be used by students to format details of the information sources they have cited in their work. The APA style to be used is defined by the USQ library's referencing guide. This guide can be found at .
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Students are required to demonstrate competence in and appropriate use of academic language and literacy, including spelling, grammar, punctuation, and referencing in all assessment responses. Marks allocated to the aforementioned criteria will be specified in the criteria for assessment of all assessment items.
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Students are required to submit ALL assignments to evidence meeting or exceeding the mandatory requirements of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APSTs).
Evaluation and benchmarking
In meeting the ¾«¶«´«Ã½app’s aims to establish quality learning and teaching for all programs, this course monitors and ensures quality assurance and improvements in at least two ways. This course:
1. conforms to the USQ Policy on Evaluation of Teaching, Courses and Programs to ensure ongoing monitoring and systematic improvement
2. forms part of the Bachelor of Education and is benchmarked against the:
- internal USQ accreditation/reaccreditation processes which include (i) stringent standards in the independent accreditation of its academic programs, (ii) close integration between business and academic planning, and (iii) regular and rigorous review
- Queensland College of Teachers
- Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) of the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL).
Other requirements
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Participation: Students can expect it will be necessary to participate in and contribute to a range of learning opportunities in this course including online study activities, lectures, tutorials, seminar presentations, group discussions and self-directed study activities in order to apply the coursework that will enable quality assessment tasks to be submitted as evidence of professional development.