The recent implementation of The Victorian Curriculum F-10: EAL requires content teachers who teach EAL students to be familiar with the revised EAL curriculum for the purposes of planning and developing approaches to assist learners' development in English. In the literature and in curriculum frameworks, word knowledge is considered an important…

There is growing interest in the introduction of Einsteinian concepts of space, time, light and gravity across the entire school curriculum. We have developed an educational programme named 'Einstein-First', which focuses on teaching Einsteinian concepts by using simple models and analogies. To test the effectiveness of these models and analogies…

This paper reports on an Action Research project that investigated the integration of Aboriginal and Western knowledge into science learning in a Montessori classroom in regional Queensland, Australia. Drawing on the local knowledge of fauna of community members, the study explored the teaching of science to 12 year 8-9 students in an Aboriginal…

Australian curriculum falls short for gifted students, and many teachers are not able to confidently improvise solutions. Research has painted a poor picture of education for Australian students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, as well as from provincial and remote regions. In 2017, the Australian government commissioned an Independent Review…

In this paper, the authors describe the initial stage of developing a framework designed to support out-of-field, less experiences or isolated mathematics and science teachers to make decisions about the use of resources in their teaching. The process highlighted the complexity and extent of the knowledge on which expert teachers draw in making…

This article demonstrates one particular difficulty of interpreting students' use of language in science classrooms: determining whether a student's writing indicates a misconception or a misrepresentation. Students' written assignments from a case study are used to illustrate instances where multiple interpretations are possible. These examples…

This paper reports multi-layered analyses of student learning in a science classroom using the theoretical lens of Distributed Cognition (Hollan et al. 1999; Hutchins 1995). Building on the insights generated from previous research employing Distributed Cognition, the particular focus of this study has been placed on the "public space of…

Density has been reported as one of the most difficult concepts for secondary school students (e.g. Smith et al. 1997). Discussion about the difficulties of learning this concept has been largely focused on the complexity of the concept itself or student misconceptions. Few, if any, have investigated how the concept of density was constituted in…

Over the past twenty-five years researchers have been concerned with understanding the science student. The need for such research is still grounded in contemporary issues including providing opportunities for all students to develop scientific literacy and the failure of school science to connect with student's lives, interests and personal…

This is the first of two papers that draw on a study of the national BHP Billiton Science Awards, a peak competition funded by BHP Billiton and administered by CSIRO. BHP Billiton, CSIRO and ASTA together oversee the strategic direction of the Awards. This paper reports an analysis focussed on the outcomes for students of participation in open…

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…

Reports on the agenda of an exemplary teacher as she planned for and implemented a visit to an interactive science center by her class of 12-year-old boys. Describes activity in three sections: pre-visit preparation, post-visit activities and reflections, and during the visit. Focuses on the nature of student learning and participant teachers'…

This paper synthesizes research on the value of writing in learning science at all grade levels. Breakthroughs and barriers to the effective use of writing to learn science are discussed. Differences between elementary and secondary teachers are considered with regard to background in language arts, understanding of the writing process, and the…

During 1974, materials developed by the Australian Science Education Projects (ASEP) became available in final published form. The publication of these materials was an especially important undertaking since ASEP was the first national curriculum project, in any subject area, to be developed in Australia. This report presents research into four…

WebQuests are a powerful teaching and learning device that have developed rapidly in recent years, especially in the Humanities. In Australia, the use of WebQuests in Science has become popular. The multimedia product of students' investigations can be shared with a variety of audiences. In this article, I will explain what I understand to be a…