Thermal cameras have shown to have utility in secondary school classrooms and undergraduate courses. In this paper, the author argues for their potential in the primary school classroom and presents a range of activities that can be undertaken with thermal cameras (or supplied images). With limited access in mind, the activities in this paper have…

Science curriculum and pedagogy offer ideal avenues for teaching young people the critical thinking skills they need to live in a post-truth world. Drawing on the theory of epistemic cognition, we present a selection of research-based pedagogies that have been shown to be effective in developing school students' understanding of knowledge and how…

The Australian Curriculum Science has "Patterns, Order and Organisation" as one of its six Key Ideas. In the biological sciences, the structural patterns revealed by observing living things are used to order and organise them in a hierarchical system of binomial nomenclature, in which living things have a generic name and a specific…

This paper, the second in a series of three, explores the representation of Earth System Science (ESS) in the Australian Curriculum (ACARA, 2018a)) through the Cross Curriculum Priority area of Sustainability and the Australian Curriculum: Science (F-12), with a focus on F-10. Part I (in Teaching Science, 68.1) overviewed the current…

In this article, we present some practical tips primary teachers might use to help their students understand adaptations. We also aim to raise awareness of the learning progression towards understanding one of the big ideas of science. A key message is the role that language plays in presenting scientifically accurate ideas about adaptations.

Classroom teaching can be a "wild" experience, but in March three teachers stepped out of the classroom to take on the Tassie wilderness and deliver their students a different kind of lesson. Joining forces with a team of scientists, the teachers delved into the important task of surveying Australia's biodiversity at the Stony Head…

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 Waterhouse Natural Science Art Prize is organised by the Museum of South Australia each year, with the winning works typically touring to other states. Named after the founder of the museum, it features art inspired by science. A recent visit to the finalist's exhibition of the Waterhouse prize had the author thinking about the narrowing of…

This paper, the third in a series on Earth System Science Education, describes various pedagogical ways forward when science teachers are addressing the curriculum implications of the recent interdisciplinary field of Earth System Science (ESS). Parts I and II introduced the key ideas of ESS and the implications for the Australian Curriculum:…

This paper reports on a transdisciplinary approach to science with a Year 4/5 class incorporating citizen science through the Birds in Backyards project. This transdisciplinary approach created opportunities for student engagement through science, mathematics, design and technology, humanities and social sciences (HASS), arts and English, while…

The demand for improving student interest in science has increased efforts toward teaching Einstein's theory of general relativity in schools. Research has already shown that teaching Einsteinian gravity at the secondary level is feasible, however, appropriate resources must be readily available for science teachers to make Einsteinian gravity…

Amidst endorsement of inquiry based learning (IBL) in primary and lower secondary settings in Australia, research indicates that IBL is underrepresented and/or under utilised in senior science education. To investigate this apparent pedagogical misalignment, a phenomenological study was undertaken to explore senior biology teachers' perspectives…

Inquiry skills are universally recognised as being integral to a contemporary science education where students need to understand the nature of scientific practices as well as concepts. Although inquiry learning is a common practice among primary educators, the development and assessment of inquiry skills is far less practised. There is a need for…

In 2020, just as COVID-19 reached Australian shores, a group of enthusiastic teachers had been anticipating their imminent Bush Blitz TeachLive expedition to Rungulla National Park to take part in Australia's largest biodiversity survey. It took two years for their trip to eventuate, but it was worth the wait. Three candidates from the deferred…

Language is a key part of learning science. Many students for whom English is an additional language or dialect (EAL) encounter difficulties learning science because of their lack of proficiency in English (McCallum & Miller, 2013). These students make up approximately a quarter of the population of many Australian schools (ACARA, 2020). This…