Engaging Primary Science Education In Australia

In Australia and throughout the rest of the world there is concern with how to engage students in Science to equip and prepare them to be scientifically literate. Engaging primary science education is vital to enable student to become scientifically literate. Although there has been a major disengagement in the area of science with primary science being considered the cause for a decline in secondary and further education in the field of science, that has been linked to a shortage of workers with science, engineering and technology skills (Goodrum & Rennie 2007).This essay will delve into the role of the teacher in equipping and preparing student to be scientifically literate. Looking at what ‘scientifically literate’ means, contemporary teaching

These are the 5E model and the Project/Problem-Based Learning (PBL) model. A new innovative national curriculum and professional learning initiative from the Australian Academy of Science called Primary Connections has been developed and trailed extensively in Australian schools. Primary Connections was introduced for several reasons has several reasons, to improve the teaching of science in

Primary Connections initiative revolves around a research-based 5E learning model (Bybee, 1997). The 5E model (engage, explore, explain, elaborate, evaluate) has five consecutive parts each with its own specific purpose. Cooperative learning is an integral component and it stresses literacy–science connections, multiple literacies and multiple representations. Social constructivist emphases are readily apparent. During each stage of the 5E model the teacher’s role changes. During the engage stage the teachers role is to stimulate interest and curiosity The teacher should structure tasks, elicits students’ prior knowledge and supports them to make connections to past learning experiences (Victoria State Government Department of Education and Training, 2013). During the next stage students will be given opportunities to explore with the teacher supporting students as they generate and investigate questions, gather relevant information and develop ideas. The teacher’s role is to students to expand their perspectives and reflect on their learning. The next stage in the model the role of the teacher is to provide chances for students to show their current level of understanding through verbal and non-verbal means. Assisting students to represent their ideas, using language and images to engage them in reading, writing, speaking, listening and viewing. Teachers will progressively assess students’