Common objects are made of materials that have obvious physical features which, although readily observable, may be overlooked by children. Helping young children to notice characteristic features -- scientifically referred to as properties -- equips them to discern common and distinct (diagnostic) features. Once children begin to recognise…

The topic of living things is ideal for exploring the ideas of children in the early years of school. Preschool and primary school teachers are reasonably confident with the subject matter and all children will have had some life experiences that contribute to their prior knowledge. For this reason, the question 'Is it alive?' is one that…

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) education has been actively implemented around the world recently. ICT curriculum in schools is intended to improve students' programming-oriented thinking rather than to train them as programmers. The core of ICT education is 'computational thinking'. Computational thinking is taking an approach to…

The teaching and learning of design technology that occurs in nature-based early childhood education and care (ECEC) contexts such as nature kindergartens remains under-theorised. There is a growing body of scholarship that describes how teaching and learning occurs in these contexts as well as highlighting the benefits for young children learning…

This paper details a digital technology solution to a problem that arose during a science lesson in an early years class. The teacher used the opportunity to enable the children to apply their knowledge and skills of a software application developed in a recent ICT class. Using the age-appropriate app, the students could communicate their learning…

This paper responds to a growing literature arguing that change in higher education institutions might be better understood and managed if such institutions are understood as complex systems with emergent properties. Based on complexity theory, the paper articulates a set of characteristics that might be expected if institutions are in fact acting…

In many scientific contexts, students need to be able to use mathematical knowledge in order to engage in scientific reasoning and problem-solving, and their understanding of scientific concepts relies heavily on their ability to understand and use mathematics in often new or unfamiliar contexts. Not only do science students need high levels of…

Across Victoria, early childhood practitioners are incorporating science activities into daily experiences for their children. A small research project, which asked teachers to describe what they did in science and how they did it, has highlighted some interesting differences. This paper will describe case studies of four kindergarten settings and…

Children have immense curiosity, a thirst for knowledge and a questioning attitude. They are innate scientists. The challenge for early childhood educators is to fuel this curiosity through the provision of appropriate learning experiences and an engaging environment within early learning centres. This paper presents a detailed case study of how a…

There has been a major and growing international focus on improving the quality of teaching for decades. In Australia, there have been numerous key national initiatives introduced since 2007 with the aim of improving school, teacher and student performance. These include national testing and reporting of student achievement, national professional…

This article presents the findings from classroom based research into the use of SMART Boards (interactive whiteboards) with kindergarten children. SMART Boards have been used successfully over the past 8 years at Abbotsleigh Junior School as innovative ways to enhance teaching and learning and facilitate assessment in primary Science. Key…