Science and Technology Review and Development
- Where is the project up to?
- What has the NSW project shown in relation to the content of a contemporary, research-based Sciences curriculum?
- What is included in Working Scientifically and Technologically?
- Working Scientifically
- Working Technologically
- What is included in Science and Technology in Society?
- What is included in The Natural and Made Environments?
- How can I continue to be involved in the national developments?
Where is the project up to?
While considerable progress has been made on the draft Science and Technology K–6 Syllabus project, the Board of Studies has decided to suspend further work on the draft in light of the pending development of the national curriculum in Science K–12. It is anticipated that insights gained from the NSW project will assist in the national curriculum in Science K–12 consultation process.
The purpose of this document is to provide interested teachers with a succinct reference to the characteristics of a K–6 curriculum that reflect current research and thinking. More detailed information is contained in the Science and Technology Draft Writing Brief Consultation Report, Evaluation Report, Literature Review and Symposium Report, available on the BOS website.
What has the NSW project shown in relation to the content of a contemporary, research-based Sciences curriculum?
The NSW project has confirmed the importance of actively engaging students in developing scientific skills and learning about science through application of these skills. A process-based approach which emphasises active participation through projects relevant to their context was considered sound and contemporary.
The study of science and technology should provide opportunities for students to foster a sense of wonder and curiosity of the natural and made environments. Active investigation should be central to the teaching and learning processes. The general aims that emerged included:
- actively engaging students in their learning to develop a sense of wonder and curiosity about the world around them, fostering interest and enthusiasm in science and technology
- developing students’ confidence, competence and creativity in applying processes of science and technology to appreciate and understand their natural and made environment
- engaging responsibly with personal, social and environmental issues.
The design-and-make approach is fundamental to the study of technology. It includes the ability to act critically and creatively, to reason and to develop new working solutions and ideas in response to opportunities and questions. It also includes an understanding of the tools, materials and techniques chosen and why such a choice was made.
Prior national research identified three interrelated elements for Science. They are Science as a way to know, Science as a body of knowledge and Science as human endeavour.
In the Science and Technology Draft K–6 Project these three broad elements were addressed through the strands: Working Scientifically and Technologically, Science and Technology in Society, and The Natural and Made Environments.
The following overview provides an indication of the scope intended in each of these areas and how it develops to meet the needs of students as they progress from Kindergarten to Year 6.
What is included in Working Scientifically and Technologically?
Working scientifically and technologically actively engages students in learning about and learning to understand and apply the processes of investigating, and designing and producing.
Students suggest and plan scientific investigations, including fair tests, to inform or evaluate their designing and producing. They reflect on their designing and producing to stimulate ideas for scientific investigations and vice versa. With safety, they learn about, select and use a range of specialised tools, equipment, materials and techniques, including computer-based technology where appropriate.
Working Scientifically
In the early years students investigate scientifically by exploring their immediate surroundings through purposeful play, manipulating, observing, questioning and communicating what they already know, what they observe, what they did and how they feel about it. They progress to using what they know to question and predict via a range of techniques including:
- exploration, surveys and field work
- displaying and interpreting data and/or information using concrete materials and pictorial representations
- communicating and reflecting on their evidence
- evaluating what they did.
As they progress through the primary years, students use their own and existing scientific explanations to formulate questions that they investigate scientifically for themselves, including testable questions. They select from a range of techniques, including designing fair tests, to gather data and/or information first hand and from reliable secondary sources, checking observations and measurements by repeating them where appropriate. They analyse and interpret their data and/or information to develop shared evidence-based conclusions and explanations. They reflect on their evidence in relation to the process undertaken.
Working Technologically
Students recognise problems and respond to opportunities, needs and wants in their world for which possible solutions can be designed and produced.
In the early years, students design and produce using a structured series of activities, including exploring a set task, by observing and experiencing existing products and places in relation to their purpose. Students reflect on their experiences and observations to develop ideas and produce solutions with identified purposes using play and trial and error to manipulate materials.
As they progress through the primary years, students develop design criteria that include social and environmental considerations and think about a range of constraints in planning their designing and producing. They select appropriate creative and research techniques to generate design ideas and incorporate detailed plans and specifications to communicate these ideas to others. They produce their solutions following their own plans and production sequences while continuing to evaluate in relation to their established criteria and constraints.
What is included in Science and Technology in Society?
Science and Technology in Society is concerned with issues such as:
- ways in which people work with science and technology beyond the classroom
- how science and technology can contribute to solutions to social issues and everyday problems, including environmental sustainability
- the impacts of past and contemporary developments and applications of science and technology on people’s quality of life
- how science and technology impact on, and are influenced by, people’s thinking and decision making.
As they progress through the primary years, students examine the impact of science and technology on people today and the implications for future generations.
What is included in The Natural and Made Environments?
This strand introduces key concepts fundamental to scientific and technological understanding about the natural and made environments. Students recognise and describe the range of materials, products, information, places and spaces people use and create to suit particular purposes in their immediate and local made environment. Students describe change, patterns and relationships in the natural environment and describe the specific ways people interact with, design and produce the made environment.
In the early years students explore, recognise and describe diversity, order and organisation that exist in their immediate and local natural environment. They explore how they use forces, such as magnetic, wind and water forces, to do things in everyday situations.
As they progress through the primary years, the study of the natural environment is enhanced through the introduction of more specific and focused areas of study such as Life and Living, Force and Energy, and Earth and Space. Similarly, the study of the made environment leads to more detailed study of Products, Built Environments and Information.
How can I continue to be involved in the national developments?
NSW primary teachers should continue working with the current Science and Technology K–6 Syllabus (1991) and Science and Technology K–6 Outcomes and Indicators including the Foundation Statements (2006) until further notice.
Teachers are encouraged to register for the BOS RSS feeds. This is the best way of keeping up to date with any news from the Board of Studies. Log onto the Board website at http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au. Click on Board Bulletin on the left hand side of the home page and follow the prompts.
Visit the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority website at www.acara.edu.au. A registration process will enable you to access papers and provide feedback.
Be ready to contribute to consultation in early 2010.