K-6 Educational Resources — Board of Studies, New South Wales, Australia
Primary Matters
Primary Matters May 1998
From Board Bulletin, May 1998
Support for Science & Technology K-6 Update on HSIE K-6
The Board of Studies' website will soon include a new feature in K-6 News, entitled ‘Science and Technology in Action: Updates from the Classroom'. Several articles will be posted over 1998. These will be aimed at supporting teachers in this key learning area. The first three-part article is entitled ‘Engaging Students in the Design Process'. This article features a senior primary class implementing a unit of work about ‘Space'. It follows the teacher's observations and planning through the unit, commentary related to the syllabus and examples of student work.
The major issues focused on in this article are:
- students developing an understanding of the designing and making process;
- the features that need to be included on a plan;
- students' need to continually link what they plan with what they are producing.
The article also discusses integration in units of work, resource management and student learning logs. The members of the Human Society and Its Environment K-6 project team have been working during February and March to develop the draft Human Society and Its Environment K-6 Syllabus. They are well on the way to finalising the draft syllabus for consultation and have mapped the content, outcomes and indicators across the strands and stages. This has produced a more consistent and comprehensive document than was possible in the writing brief.
A number of meetings were held in March to discuss work in progress on the syllabus. At these meetings, teachers were invited to comment on the draft material. The initial advice has been very positive, with teachers appreciating the direction provided through explicit learning experiences and teaching strategies.
Units of work have been planned to cover the scope of the content. Titles and formats for these units were given to teachers at the March meetings. The feedback has been very valuable in the project team's ongoing work, with teachers appreciating the scope and sequence plans.
In addition to the draft syllabus and units of work being developed by the project team, student work samples are being collected for incorporation in the final HSIE K-6 package. Support material for parents is also being developed as part of this package.
If you would like further information regarding these items or K-6 curriculum matters in general, contact Margaret Malone, Inspector, Primary Education, ph (02) 9367 8199 or fax (02) 9367 8476.