School innovation in science: improving science teaching and learning in Australian schools

School Innovation in Science is a major Victorian Government initiative that developed and validated a model whereby schools can improve their  science teaching and learning. The initiative was developed and rolled out to more than 400 schools over the period 2000-2004. A research team worked with 200+ primary and secondary schools over three years, supporting them in developing new initiatives in science, and monitoring the impact on school and classroom practice, and student outcomes. The research effort underpinning the development phase included the development and validation of a set of components describing effective teaching, the refinement of a school and teacher change strategy, the development of instruments to monitor teacher classroom practice and a variety of student outcomes, and the development of insights into the change process using questionnaires, observations, and interviews across four years. This paper describes the project and its major outcomes, and raises a number of issues concerning the nature of school and teacher change, pedagogy, school and community, and student learning, and the way these interact. A number of research issues are raised by the size and developmental nature of the project, the range of research methods, and the different audiences served by the research. The issue of sustainability of such system-wide change initiatives is discussed.

Effectiveness of recording in primary science : a study of the ability of junior primary school pupils to use drawing as an effective method of communication in science lessons

Drawing as a means of recording is a very common practice in junior primary science lessons. This is largely due to the availability of necessary materials. Also, most youg children have some degree of drawing skill and enjoy drawing activities. Since 1956 the science curriculum to be implemented in primary classrooms in Victoria has changed from one that was based largely on nature study (biological) to one that includes physical and technological aspects. Further, there have been changes in the teaching methodologies advocated for use in science lessons. A modified Interactive Teaching Approach was used for the studies. Drawing was the main means by which the children recorded information. The topic of 'shells' was used to enable collection of data about the children's enjoyment of the activity and satisfaction with their achievement. This study was replicated using the topic 'rocks'; again data were collected concerning satisfaction and enjoyment. During a series of lessons on 'snails' data were collected concerning the achievement of 'process' and 'objective' purposes that teachers might have in mind when setting a drawing activity. In addition to providing data about purposes the study stimulated some questions regarding the techniques the children had used in their drawings. Accordingly, data concerning the use of graphic techniques by the children were collected during a series of lessons on 'oils'. The data collected and analysed in the various studies highlighted the value of drawing in junior primary school science lessons. It also validated strategies developed by the author and designed to help teachers and children use drawing effectively in science activities.

Examining how teachers use web 2.0 technologies in Science lessons to promote higher order thinking in teaching science

During 2007 several independent Victorian secondary schools participated in a study exploring the ways in which the use of learning technologies can support the development of higher order thinking skills for students. This paper focuses on the use of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) including Web 2.0 technologies for promoting effective teaching and learning in science. A case study methodology was used to describe how individual teachers used ICT and Web 2.0 in their settings. Data included interviews (focus group and individual), questionnaires, monitoring of teacher and student use of smart tools, analysis of curriculum documents and delivery methods and of student work samples. The evaluation used an interpretive methodology to investigate five research areas'. Higher-order thinking, Metacognitive awareness, Team work/collaboration, Affect towards school/learning and Ownership of learning. Three cases are reported on in this paper. Each describes how student engagement and learning increased and how teachers' attitudes and skills developed. Examples of student and teacher blogs are provided to illustrate how such technologies encourage  students and teachers to look beyond text science.

Transition of understandings in science and SOSE : a case study

The newly developed Curriculum Standards Framework lacked supporting school documentation to implement an effective program in Science and SOSE. The task was to create it, together with the knowledge and understandings that were required to apply it. The thesis demonstrates the difficulties faced in actively pursuing curriculum change in a primary school.

An innovation framework based on best practice exemplars from the Australian School Innovation in Science, Technology and Mathematics (ASISTM) project

This report describes research into 16 ASISTM projects selected to be broadly representative of exemplars in innovation. Case studies of each project were constructed from interviews with a range of key participants, and used to develop and refine an innovation framework that is used to make sense of and describe the key features of each project. The major issue binding these projects was found to be that of student interest and engagement, and this was pursued through involving students in contemporary science, technology and mathematics (STM) practices in authentic settings. The findings point to an enriched set of purposes of STM education implicit in these projects, a set of pedagogical practices that are varied and consistent with contemporary educational thinking, and a varied array of 'actors' recruited to these projects.

A framework for re-thinking learning in science from recent cognitive science perspectives

Recent accounts by cognitive scientists of factors affecting cognition imply the need to reconsider current dominant conceptual theories about science learning. These new accounts emphasize the role of context, embodied practices and narrative-based representation rather than learners’ cognitive constructs. In this paper we analyze data from a longitudinal study of primary school children’s learning to outline a framework based on these contemporary accounts, and to delineate key points of difference from conceptual change perspectives. The findings suggest this framework provides strong theoretical and practical insights into how children learn and the key role of representational negotiation in this learning. We argue that the nature and process of conceptual change can be re-interpreted in terms of the development of students’ representational resources.

Stories of reform in science education : commentary on opp(reg)ressive policies and tempered radicals

This response to the two papers (by Rodriguez and Carlone et al.) on science education reform acknowledges first the coherence of the arguments presented around four reform narratives; that of the process of becoming science-enthusiastic, the nature of beliefs of science reform teachers, the barriers to reform, and the institutional expressions of these barriers. In the commentary I first discuss the reform ‘problem’ in terms of two interacting issues—the purposes of school science and the value placed on it in an elementary school curriculum. The insights produced in these papers are then used to reflect on a range of experiences and current policy debates in Australia. Finally, in this commentary, I point out: (a) the relationship of the papers to the reform issue of opposition to Standards Based Science (SBS) from proponents’ traditional conceptions of science education, discussing how this more specific reform question relates to the two papers; and (b) the singular nature of the I-meanings characterised in the Carlone et al. paper, describing (using Australian examples) how the notions of tempered radicals and I-meanings might also be used to characterise complexities in the processes of school science reform.