DNA barcoding is increasingly being introduced into biological science educational curricula worldwide. The technique has a number of features that make it ideal for science curricula and particularly for Project-Based Learning (PBL). This report outlines the development of a DNA barcoding project in an Australian TAFE college, which also combined…

Computer gaming is a global phenomenon and there has been rapid growth in "serious" games for learning. An emergent body of evidence demonstrates how serious games can be used in primary and secondary school classrooms. Despite the popularity of serious games and their pedagogical potential, there are few specialised frameworks to guide…

The aversion that many girls and boys experience towards mathematics has been one of the author's major concerns since he started teaching. In this article, he describes a project called "Numbers Day" that was designed to improve students' attitudes toward mathematics. There are many features of Numbers Day that teachers might…

This exploratory study investigated the occupational decision-related processes of senior high school students, in terms of the extent to which they may be amotivated in choosing a future occupation. Data were gathered using a newly developed questionnaire, which was largely adapted from a number of psychometrically proven instruments, and…

"The Puppets Promoting Engagement and Talk in Science" project focuses on using puppets to engage children in conversation to develop their thinking about scientific concepts in an inquiring, explorative approach. This project is also about motivating and engaging teachers to link literacy with science in their teaching and learning…

Modern biological sciences require practitioners to have increasing levels of knowledge, competence, and skills in mathematics and programming. A recent review of the science curriculum at the University of Queensland, a large, research-intensive institution in Australia, resulted in the development of a more quantitatively rigorous undergraduate…

Capturing students' interest in science at the junior levels is crucial to not only improving the uptake of science at senior levels but to promoting science literacy in all students in order to prepare them for a society that is very science and technologically driven. This paper presents nanotechnology as an emerging science that is both factual…

"MyScience" ("www.myscience.edu.au") is a pioneering primary science initiative that uses a distinctive team approach, with primary teachers, primary students and volunteer mentor scientists working collaboratively as students conduct authentic scientific investigations to find answers to their own questions. The initiative is…

Involving students in authentic science work is one way to enhance their interest in science. This paper reports a project in which Year 4-7 students actively participated in a study that involved the provision of a suitable nesting site for local turtles. The students collected data on turtle nests at the site and evidence of turtle hatchlings at…

This article is the story of what happens when students are given the opportunity to be part of the decision-making process, both in the negotiation of what takes place in the classroom and in the "action" of the action research process itself. An action research approach was used as the most appropriate method by which to analyse the…

This article examines the perspective of disengaged Grade 6 male students about learning. Nine students were observed and interviewed to identify their views on good learning and on being in control of learning. The boys perceived good learners as quick, smart workers who could achieve high grades; and that being in control was about knowing how…

Concerns have been raised for some time about the preparation of Australian teachers in the area of environmental education. Few tertiary institutions that undertake teacher education in Australia have specific units or modules dedicated to environmental education. This article reports on an evaluation of such a dedicated unit recently introduced…

This paper reports on a classroom investigation of a sequence of cross-disciplinary mapping lessons undertaken by Grade Five students at Black Hill Primary, a Victorian State Primary School in Ballarat. While this activity was broadly framed around Mathematics, there were also important elements from Geography, (a new emphasis in the Victorian…

In K-12 classrooms, as well as on the college and university level, the incorporation of digital games has played a vital role in the educational system. While introducing teachers to new fields, these digital games have been designed and implemented for the classroom and have shown positive results at a variety of educational levels. Cases on…

Whenever a class begins to study a new part of the world, teachers must deal with students' preexisting ideas about the area. Activities which will challenge elementary students' initial impressions of Australia and encourage them to learn more about the country are described. (RM)