tag:theconversation.com,2011:/au/topics/science-curriculum-18320/articlesscience curriculum – The Conversation2023-10-30T04:17:57Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2055692023-10-30T04:17:57Z2023-10-30T04:17:57ZAustralian school students are experimenting with ‘space veggies’ in a NASA initiative<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556542/original/file-20231030-29-ezg678.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C1997%2C1715&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://science.nasa.gov/sciact-team/growing-beyond-earth/">Growing Beyond Earth</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A pink glow is shining on the faces of enthusiastic students as they tend to plants in purpose-built grow boxes for space stations. </p>
<p>These students are the first in Australia to experience <a href="https://science.nasa.gov/sciact-team/growing-beyond-earth/">Growing Beyond Earth</a> – a schools citizen science program from NASA and Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in the United States.</p>
<p>In Australia, Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria is working with the La Trobe Institute for Agriculture and Food, and Melbourne Archdiocese of Catholic Schools. The educational initiative ties into the Australian curriculum and gives students a unique introduction to gardening through science.</p>
<p>In this project, students grow plants in controlled conditions to test if they would be suitable for NASA missions, to help feed a future cadre of astronauts.</p>
<p>Plants evolved on Earth, so they might not grow so well in space. Before we start sending plants “off-world” to the Moon and Mars, we need to test their suitability. That way we can select the best for success. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556474/original/file-20231030-15-9wvlbl.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A photo of three Catholic Regional College students posing with a plant inside a growth chamber." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556474/original/file-20231030-15-9wvlbl.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556474/original/file-20231030-15-9wvlbl.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556474/original/file-20231030-15-9wvlbl.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556474/original/file-20231030-15-9wvlbl.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556474/original/file-20231030-15-9wvlbl.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556474/original/file-20231030-15-9wvlbl.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556474/original/file-20231030-15-9wvlbl.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Catholic Regional College students Zalaika Farrugia, Natalie Duquemin, and Hamish MacGregor with a growth chamber.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria</span></span>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/humans-are-going-back-to-the-moon-and-beyond-but-how-will-we-feed-them-189794">Humans are going back to the Moon, and beyond – but how will we feed them?</a>
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<h2>Gardening on the Moon and beyond</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis/">NASA Artemis</a> mission aims to establish a long-term presence on the Moon and send astronauts to Mars. If all goes to plan, humans will be living and working on the Moon by 2030. </p>
<p>Currently, astronauts on the International Space Station rely on a pre-packaged diet that is frequently resupplied. But in the long term, space gardens providing fresh, edible plants will be essential to maintain astronaut health and wellbeing. </p>
<p>For Growing Beyond Earth, students build the “growth habitat” inside a box roughly the size of a large microwave fitted with LED lights and sensors. </p>
<p>Then they plant the seeds of a leafy green called misome, which grows reliably and quickly – both on and off-Earth. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556513/original/file-20231030-25-11of4i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A closeup photo of the green leafy vegetable misome growing in a bed of soil" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556513/original/file-20231030-25-11of4i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556513/original/file-20231030-25-11of4i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556513/original/file-20231030-25-11of4i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556513/original/file-20231030-25-11of4i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556513/original/file-20231030-25-11of4i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556513/original/file-20231030-25-11of4i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556513/original/file-20231030-25-11of4i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The green leafy vegetable misome grows well on Earth and in space.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/healthy-asian-greens-including-bok-choi-422775190">Jacqui Martin, Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>The students gain valuable experience in running their own experiments, including planting the seeds in pots and using growth media that match the NASA Vegetable Production System (<a href="https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/veggie_fact_sheet_508.pdf">Veggie</a>). </p>
<p>They monitor growth and water use, making notes about plant size, colour and fitness. Students learn what plants need, how fast they can grow, what can be recycled and how much can be harvested. Also, would anyone want to eat it?</p>
<p>Students can extend their skills in a second experiment to test other plant types. So far, nearly 200 plants have been trialled and several new candidate plants, including pak choi, cress and kale, were found suitable.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Introducing Growing Beyond Earth (FairchildChallenge)</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Supporting the curriculum and connecting to nature</h2>
<p>Growing Beyond Earth ties into the Australian curriculum through “science as a human endeavour”. This relates to the role of science in society, including how scientific knowledge influences people’s lives and can be used to make decisions.</p>
<p>A growing body of evidence shows student-led, activity-based projects lead to <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1223709">better learning outcomes</a>. When students are exposed to real-world content, they remember it better, earn better grades and improve their critical thinking and problem-solving skills. These students can then apply their knowledge to new situations.</p>
<p>Another important part of the project is the connection with plants and nature. The positive effects of nature on wellbeing came to the fore during COVID lockdowns. Studies show indoor plants helped <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360132322010290">reduce mental stress during isolation</a>, and people <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1618866722000267?via%3Dihub">chose to garden</a> to connect with nature, release stress and address issues with food supply. </p>
<p>Nature has a strong influence on student learning too. Greater academic achievement and personal development comes from connection to the environment. For example, students in classrooms that have a view of nature report <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00305/full">lower levels of stress and perform better on concentration tests</a> compared to windowless rooms.</p>
<p>Better learning could also simply come from being in a good mood. Students are more interested and self-motivated during nature-based activities. This finding has very real implications for students who are normally disengaged.<br>
Time spent with nature also has a greater influence on how we view the environment than knowledge of conservation alone. Simply knowing climate change is contributing to species loss is less likely to inspire conservation action than frequently observing environmental change during time spent outdoors.</p>
<p>Emotional connection with nature <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0959378016305787?via%3Dihub">promotes interest in learning</a> about sustainability and in turn, caring for natural resources. </p>
<h2>Exploring an exciting new frontier</h2>
<p>The influence of the Growing Beyond Earth program on student attitudes to gardens, conservation and food is still being assessed. As the program expands to more countries, it will track student achievement, career paths and leadership. </p>
<p>So far, surveys reveal Growing Beyond Earth students are more knowledgeable and confident about science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) topics and related careers.</p>
<p>These students may go on to play crucial roles in building future crop production systems on Mars, designing space plants for food and medicines, and using nature to improve the wellbeing of people experiencing isolation.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205569/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kim Johnson works for La Trobe University, conducting work on growing plants in controlled environments. She is an investigator in the Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence in Plants for Space and collaborates on the NASA Growing Beyond Earth program with Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden and Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. She receives funding from ARC and Australian Government Department of Industry, Science and Resources. </span></em></p>Astronauts living and working on the Moon will need something to eat. The Growing Beyond Earth program supports international space crop research.Kim Johnson, Senior lecturer, La Trobe UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2092322023-07-07T03:47:04Z2023-07-07T03:47:04ZNZ curriculum refresh: the world faces complex challenges and science education must reflect that<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536195/original/file-20230707-19-4ntx5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5526%2C3084&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/Ground Picture</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Long-standing debates about the purpose and focus of a school science curriculum have resurfaced this week as New Zealand is refreshing its approach to science education. </p>
<p>Some responses to an early draft of a proposed science curriculum warned it would “<a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/andrew-rogers-school-science-is-being-minimalised-wake-up/UMCLSNDOQNAQNPMGZE7AEJELXQ/">minimalise science</a>”. But an updated curriculum for today’s world presents an opportunity to <a href="https://pisa-framework.oecd.org/science-2025/">engage all students in science</a> through contexts that matter. </p>
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<p>As we witness record-breaking temperatures on land and in the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/may/15/oceans-have-been-absorbing-the-worlds-extra-heat-but-theres-a-huge-payback">ocean</a>, “<a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2023/07/05/health/pfas-nearly-half-us-tap-water-wellness/index.html">forever chemicals</a>” contaminating drinking water in the US, and <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/32707/food-energy-water-systems-achieving-climate-resilience-and-sustainable-development-in-the-21st-century">food and energy systems under strain</a> globally, it is clear <a href="https://www.abebooks.com/9789087905057/Scientific-Literacy-Hodson-Derek-908790505X/plp">science literacy</a> is not just about “learning the basics”. </p>
<p>Teaching science should instead be about developing <a href="https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/education/agency-in-the-anthropocene_8d3b6cfa-en;jsessionid=SOgyghUBGkTzVtpo9yelYisuVbirqpJK7udVUScO.ip-10-240-5-56">systems thinking and agency, or “the ability to recognise and take action within complex systems”</a>. A meaningful and robust science education is increasingly <a href="https://pisa-framework.oecd.org/science-2025/">important for all students</a>, not just those who want to become scientists. </p>
<p>Students must learn to <a href="https://www.nzcer.org.nz/research/publications/enduring-competencies-designing-science-learning-pathways">critically evaluate and apply science knowledge</a>, alongside other forms of knowledge, to make informed decisions and act on issues that matter. </p>
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<h2>Curriculum change is necessary</h2>
<p>Decades of research have shown that school science that focuses predominantly on decontextualised scientific facts and theories has <a href="https://www.nzcer.org.nz/system/files/inspired-by-science.pdf">not supported student learning</a>. This approach has ill prepared students to engage competently or critically with science, and has failed to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.21774">expand participation</a> in science careers or degree programmes. </p>
<p>Enrolments in traditional science programmes at New Zealand universities are <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/fears-proposed-science-curriculum-will-turn-out-ill-informed-students/LWUHI37MSNEBFAZVRHG7OAPT3I/">declining</a>. Fewer 15-year-old New Zealanders see the <a href="https://ero.govt.nz/news/supporting-science-teaching-with-new-science-reports">value of science</a> compared to international peers. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/stem-learning-should-engage-students-minds-hands-and-hearts-140008">STEM learning should engage students' minds, hands and hearts</a>
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<p>As former chief science advisor Sir Peter Gluckman <a href="https://www.dpmc.govt.nz/sites/default/files/2021-10/pmcsa-Looking-ahead-Science-education-for-the-twenty-first-century.pdf">pointed out</a> in 2011, New Zealand needs radical changes to the science curriculum to better prepare students for the complex issues of our time. </p>
<p>A 2022 <a href="https://www.nzcer.org.nz/research/publications/enduring-competencies-designing-science-learning-pathways">background report</a> to the <a href="https://curriculumrefresh.education.govt.nz/">New Zealand curriculum refresh</a> reinforced this perspective. It highlighted how science education needs to prepare students for a world characterised by increasing disinformation campaigns, and growing environmental and other science-related social concerns. </p>
<h2>What needs to change</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwj254OI0vn_AhUCpVYBHS1zBAYQFnoECA0QAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fnzcurriculum.tki.org.nz%2Fcontent%2Fdownload%2F1108%2F11989%2Ffile%2FThe-New-Zealand-Curriculum.pdf&usg=AOvVaw0lKnZ53z-1PuohiAQ_4UKk&opi=89978449">current New Zealand curriculum</a> states the purpose of science education is to ensure students “can participate as critical, informed, and responsible citizens in a society in which science plays a significant role”. </p>
<p>But as a <a href="https://ero.govt.nz/news/supporting-science-teaching-with-new-science-reports">recent report</a> issued by the Education Review Office revealed, New Zealand is far from achieving this goal. Students’ awareness of environmental problems has <a href="https://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/publications/series/he-whakaaro/he-whakaaro-how-enviornmentally-aware-are-new-zealand-students">declined since 2006</a>. A <a href="https://www.newsroom.co.nz/kiwis-still-dont-understand-how-to-fight-climate-change-poll">recent poll</a> showed New Zealanders don’t understand how to act on climate change. </p>
<p>Faced with interrelated changes in the environment, <a href="https://www.dpmc.govt.nz/sites/default/files/2021-10/pmcsa-Looking-ahead-Science-education-for-the-twenty-first-century.pdf">science itself is changing</a>. It is becoming more interdisciplinary. We see new fields emerging at the intersection of physics, chemistry and biology.</p>
<p>Scientists are increasingly working alongside Māori and other Indigenous leaders, drawing from multiple knowledge systems to <a href="https://www.canterbury.ac.nz/courseinfo/GetCourseDetails.aspx?course=MAOR172&occurrence=23S2(C)&year=2023">collaborate on complex science-related problems</a>. A science curriculum for today’s world must be interdisciplinary and reflect these changes.
Students need to be able to see <a href="https://books.google.co.nz/books?hl=en&lr=&id=-9wABAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA395&dq=interdisciplinary+science&ots=gijIOLFA5J&sig=PvFWflX8GaLgVqieIt--EkiWvH4&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=interdisciplinary%20science&f=false">connections between traditional disciplines</a>. </p>
<h2>Teaching science in context</h2>
<p>Research shows that students learn fundamental science concepts better when they are <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-27982-0_9">contextualised within real-world problems and issues</a>. A contextualised curriculum also creates space for <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1013151709605">other valid knowledge systems</a> such as mātauranga Māori and Indigenous knowledge. </p>
<p>Such an approach supports learning in <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11165-019-9854-8">multilingual science classrooms</a>, which is particularly important given the growing diversity in New Zealand schools. </p>
<p>A science curriculum focused on contemporary issues will not only help prepare all students to engage more competently with science, it can also inspire more students to consider science-related career paths they might not have otherwise.</p>
<p>Curriculum wars in science are not new. Debates over the goals and content of a science curriculum are <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s42330-020-00114-6">not uncommon</a>, and meaningful curriculum change that disrupts the status quo is difficult. </p>
<p>It requires a bold vision but must also be buttressed by extensive support for teachers. Some non-Māori science teachers are keen to make the change but have expressed concerns about lacking skills; for example, how to <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/493288/i-don-t-know-enough-science-teacher-concerned-about-integrating-matauranga-maori">teach mātauranga Māori</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/future-teachers-often-think-memorization-is-the-best-way-to-teach-math-and-science-until-they-learn-a-different-way-142448">Future teachers often think memorization is the best way to teach math and science – until they learn a different way</a>
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<p>Teachers are currently <a href="https://socialsciences.org.au/publications/climate-change-education/">not well prepared</a> to teach science in the context of the critical issues of our time, such as climate change. Teacher education and professional development will need to be “turbo-charged” with <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-should-we-teach-climate-change-in-schools-it-starts-with-turbo-charging-teacher-education-207221">robust and sustained investments</a>. </p>
<p>However, the goal of curriculum reform is to lay out a <a href="https://www.ets.org/Media/Research/pdf/reiser.pdf">bold vision for education</a>, which then drives and catalyses the required resourcing.</p>
<p>Fortunately, there are <a href="https://www.royalsociety.org.nz/what-we-do/funds-and-opportunities/science-teaching-leadership-programme/teacher-profiles/2023-teacher-profiles/bronwyn-hooper/">schools</a> and <a href="https://gazette.education.govt.nz/articles/science-and-culture-help-estuary-and-build-school-kaitiakitanga/">kura</a> in New Zealand currently leading the way. We can look to them to see what is possible and be inspired by all that science education can be.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/209232/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sara Tolbert receives funding from the Teaching and Learning Research Initiative (TLRI). She also consults for the New Zealand Ministry of Education and is a co-writer to the New Zealand Curriculum Refresh for the science learning area.</span></em></p>We know students learn science concepts better when their learning is embedded in real-world issues. But teachers are currently not well prepared to teach science in this way.Sara Tolbert, Associate Professor of Science and Environmental Education, University of CanterburyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1557112021-03-29T12:08:37Z2021-03-29T12:08:37ZProject-based learning deepens science knowledge for 3rd graders in Michigan<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390482/original/file-20210318-19-1fgxpiw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C3%2C2400%2C1591&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Project-based learning gets kids to explore natural phenomena and solve real-world problems.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/children-look-at-plants-and-insects-in-the-garden-of-news-photo/564054715?adppopup=true">Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take about interesting academic work.</em></p>
<h2>The big idea</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.lucasedresearch.org">Project-based learning</a> – a teaching approach whereby students explore and solve real-world challenges – can improve third graders’ scientific knowledge as well as their social and emotional skills.</p>
<p><a href="https://mlpbl.open3d.science/techreport">Our study</a> evaluated 2,371 third graders in 46 Michigan schools. Approximately half of the sample received an intervention called Multiple Literacies in Project-Based Learning. The others received traditional science instruction. </p>
<p>The project-based learning program is a yearlong science intervention that includes materials for curriculum, teacher professional development and student testing. It aims to develop students’ science knowledge to understand their world by drawing on their individual and cultural life experiences. At the same time, it also builds reading and math skills and improves social and emotional learning. </p>
<p>Each unit starts with a driving question such as: “How can we design fun, moving toys that any kid can build?” From there, students ask their own questions and investigate what causes moving objects to start, stop or change directions. They collect and analyze data to use as evidence to support their claims and build models to show their thinking. They go on to design and develop products which they share with their classmates, family and school community. For instance, in the toy unit, third grade students received suggestions from first graders to build a toy car or boat that can move fast, straight and go a long distance.</p>
<p>Students in the project-based intervention scored 8% higher on the Michigan state science test than the group of students who received traditional instruction. They also demonstrated greater social and emotional learning compared with the other group, based on surveys done at the start and end of the school year. The survey measured collaboration, ownership and self-reflection.</p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>K-12 students need to learn scientific ideas – such as balanced and unbalanced forces and adaptation – to understand the world, including the pressing environmental problems they are likely to face as a result of climate change. The COVID-19 pandemic further highlights the importance of evidence in making scientific claims. </p>
<p>Unlike a traditional elementary school science curriculum, which relies on textbooks and covering information, project-based learning students learn how to explain natural events such as why dinosaurs died out but tiny mammals survived, and why objects start or stop moving or change directions. They design solutions to engineering problems, and acquire the intellectual tools to seek out additional knowledge when needed. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390486/original/file-20210318-15-483nbp.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Kids work together on sidewalk in snow" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390486/original/file-20210318-15-483nbp.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390486/original/file-20210318-15-483nbp.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=380&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390486/original/file-20210318-15-483nbp.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=380&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390486/original/file-20210318-15-483nbp.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=380&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390486/original/file-20210318-15-483nbp.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=478&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390486/original/file-20210318-15-483nbp.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=478&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390486/original/file-20210318-15-483nbp.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=478&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Michigan elementary school students measure their shadows for a lesson on using the sun and stars to navigate.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Create for STEM Institute</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Multiple Literacies in Project-Based Learning program was designed using principles supported by research and aligning with <a href="https://www.nap.edu/catalog/13165/a-framework-for-k-12-science-education-practices-crosscutting-concepts">recommendations</a> from the <a href="https://tethys.pnnl.gov/organization/national-research-council-national-academies-nrc">National Research Council</a> on how to support student learning, such as using engineering practices to help make sense of compelling phenomena.</p>
<h2>What still isn’t known</h2>
<p>We expect – but do no yet know – that if students continue to experience the project-based curriculum in fourth and fifth grades, their knowledge of science, social and emotional learning and creative problem-solving will continue to grow. We also expect that as teachers gain experience teaching project-based learning, their students’ science knowledge and creative problem-solving will increase even more. </p>
<p>We are also learning ways to better capture and keep children’s attention with challenging real-world problems and compelling phenomena.</p>
<h2>What other research is being done</h2>
<p>We have conducted a similar project-based intervention in high school chemistry and physics. Our findings show that it increased science achievement and interest in pursuing STEM careers for all students, regardless of ability and backgrounds. We are currently exploring how to make project-based learning usable and lasting in various environments, including virtual, hybrid and face-to-face instruction.</p>
<p>[<em>Like what you’ve read? Want more?</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=likethis">Sign up for The Conversation’s daily newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/155711/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joseph S Krajcik receives funding from George Lucas Educational Foundaton. The work we are writing about was funded by the George Lucas Educational Foundation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Barbara Schneider receives funding from George Lucas Educational Foundation. The work we are writing about was funded by the George Lucas Educational Foundation.</span></em></p>Students who took part in the program scored 8% higher on the state science test than students who received traditional instruction, and demonstrated greater social and emotional learning.Joseph S. Krajcik, Professor of Science Education, Michigan State UniversityBarbara Schneider, Professor of Education and Sociology, Michigan State University, Michigan State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1502742020-12-06T18:54:36Z2020-12-06T18:54:36ZAustralia hasn’t performed well at maths and science recently. We’re about to find out if we’ve improved<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/372972/original/file-20201204-23-vbzt81.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/vector-cartoon-illustratioon-hands-holding-banners-1386828638">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Every four years, the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (<a href="https://www.iea.nl/node/1580">IEA</a>) releases data on how effective countries are in teaching mathematics and science in Years 4 and 8. Called TIMSS, (<a href="https://timssandpirls.bc.edu/timss2019/international-results/">Trends in International Mathematics and Science</a>), the 2019 results will be released tomorrow evening. </p>
<p>This is the seventh time the TIMSS test has been administered. Over the years, the results have attracted considerable attention from <a href="https://www.chiefscientist.gov.au/sites/default/files/2-Science-and-Maths-in-Australian-Secondary-Schools-datasheet-Web.pdf">governments</a> and those <a href="https://www.afr.com/policy/health-and-education/wakeup-call-as-aussie-kids-outgunned-in-maths-by-us-canada-england-20161129-gszla2#ixzz4RRT1WSrr">interested in education</a>.</p>
<p>The first TIMSS test was in 1995. Results from the last cycle, <a href="https://research.acer.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context=timss_2015">TIMSS 2015</a>, showed the maths and science achievement of Australia’s Years 4 and 8 students had flatlined. But many other countries had improved — including the United States and England. </p>
<h2>What is TIMSS?</h2>
<p>What many are wondering about the results tomorrow include:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>how does Australia’s education system compare internationally – which countries are doing better than we are and which are doing worse?</p></li>
<li><p>how are we doing internally — across states and territories, between girls and boys, or children from different socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds?</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Year 4 and Year 8 students involved in TIMSS complete tests in maths and science. They also answer questionnaires on their background and experiences in learning maths and science at school. </p>
<p>School principals and the students’ maths and science teachers also complete detailed <a href="https://timssandpirls.bc.edu/timss2019/frameworks/framework-chapters/context-questionnaire-framework/">questionnaires</a>. </p>
<p>This information helps to paint a picture of what happens in schools and classrooms and what might influence student learning.</p>
<p>TIMSS is a <a href="https://timssandpirls.bc.edu/timss2019/methods/chapter-3.html">sample assessment</a>. It’s not possible to test every Year 4 or Year 8 student (that would take too long and cost too much). </p>
<p>So a representative random sample is drawn from all schools in each system being tested. One class from each school is then randomly selected to complete the paper-based or online assessment of maths and science. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australian-schools-continue-to-fall-behind-other-countries-in-maths-and-science-69341">Australian schools continue to fall behind other countries in maths and science</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>TIMSS was not designed to provide scores for individual students or schools — students don’t even complete the same test as all of the other students in the room. In TIMSS 2019, for example, there were more than <a href="https://timssandpirls.bc.edu/timss2019/frameworks/framework-chapters/assessment-design/">14 different test forms</a>, covering different parts of the assessment. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/372973/original/file-20201204-17-183vwjn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="An illustration of the earth rotating on its axis in relation to the sun." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/372973/original/file-20201204-17-183vwjn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/372973/original/file-20201204-17-183vwjn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372973/original/file-20201204-17-183vwjn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372973/original/file-20201204-17-183vwjn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372973/original/file-20201204-17-183vwjn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=535&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372973/original/file-20201204-17-183vwjn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=535&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372973/original/file-20201204-17-183vwjn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=535&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">TIMSS tests maths and science concepts, like the effect of the earth rotating on its axis.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/24-hours-day-night-cycle-diagram-1216358518">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Those test scores are then put together statistically to form an overall picture of achievement.</p>
<p>In Australia, 571 schools and 14,950 students participated in TIMSS 2019.</p>
<h2>What the test looks like</h2>
<p>TIMSS looks at how well Year 4 and Year 8 students have mastered the factual and procedural knowledge taught in school <a href="https://timssandpirls.bc.edu/timss2019/frameworks/">maths and science curricula</a>. </p>
<p>For example, do students know: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>how many legs an insect has </p></li>
<li><p>what causes rust</p></li>
<li><p>what happens when light passes through a prism</p></li>
<li><p>what is the sum of the angles of a triangle </p></li>
<li><p>how to convert ¾ to a decimal</p></li>
<li><p>how to calculate an average. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>Test questions can either be “constructed response” or “multiple-choice”.</p>
<p>For “constructed response” questions, students are asked to give a written response that could be as short as a single word or number, or as long as a couple of sentences. </p>
<p>Here’s an example of a constructed response question from Year 4 mathematics: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Hanif starts to write a number pattern: 6, 13, 20, 27 …
He adds the same number each time to get the next number.
What is the next number he should write in his pattern? </p>
<p>Answer = 34.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>For multiple-choice questions, students select the correct answer from a selection of pre-written options. Here’s a multiple-choice question from Year 8 science: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Earth rotates on its axis. What does this cause?</p>
</blockquote>
<ul>
<li><em>A. the seasons</em></li>
<li><em>B. a solar eclipse</em></li>
<li><em>C. day and night</em></li>
<li><em>D. high and low tides</em></li>
</ul>
<blockquote>
<p>Answer = C. day and night.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>TIMSS is different to other international tests</h2>
<p>TIMSS is not the only international assessment Australia participates in.</p>
<p>In December 2019, results from the <a href="https://www.oecd.org/pisa/">OECD’s PISA</a> (Programme for International Student Assessment) made headlines as Australia’s PISA scores in maths and science were the lowest they had ever been.</p>
<hr>
<p><iframe id="tc-infographic-450" class="tc-infographic" height="400px" src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/infographics/450/1dfde5e7ef453dc463a581efdf72dc01acca6ab5/site/index.html" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<hr>
<p>While both TIMSS and PISA test maths and science, they are very different in terms of <a href="https://www.iea.nl/publications/series-journals/iea-compass-briefs-education-series/september-2020-international-large">who they test and what the test is like</a>. There are three main differences:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>TIMSS tests students in middle primary and lower secondary. PISA tests 15 year olds, who are usually in Years 9, 10 or 11 in Australia and nearing the end of their compulsory schooling in many countries</p></li>
<li><p>TIMSS focuses on how well students have learnt the content of a defined curriculum. PISA focuses on how well students can apply reading, maths, science skills to real-life situations</p></li>
<li><p>TIMSS assessment content is jointly developed by participating countries based on a detailed analysis of national curricula. PISA assessment content is developed by OECD-selected experts based on the skills they think students should have mastered.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Testing at Year 4 and Year 8, rather than at the end of school, allows countries to see how well students are doing early in their education journey and where more effort might be needed. Focusing on a defined curriculum can help find where gaps in a country’s own curriculum might lie.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-pisa-world-education-test-results-are-about-to-drop-is-australia-getting-worse-127011">The PISA world education test results are about to drop. Is Australia getting worse?</a>
</strong>
</em>
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<p>TIMSS also provides a lot of contextual information collected through questionnaires from school principals, teachers and students. The questionnaire examine what is intended to be taught in science and maths (the intended curriculum) and how these things are actually taught (the implemented curriculum). While the assessment describes what students have learned (the attained curriculum).</p>
<p>Together, information from TIMSS can help improve Australia’s maths and science curricula and, ultimately, the educational outcomes of all Australian students.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/150274/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sue Thomson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Data are about to be released on how well countries teach Year 4 and 8 maths and science Results from the last cycle of testing in 2015 showed Australia’s students achievement had flatlined.Sue Thomson, Deputy CEO (Research), Australian Council for Educational ResearchLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/927512018-04-15T08:44:40Z2018-04-15T08:44:40ZA more flexible curriculum approach can support student success<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/208653/original/file-20180302-65516-ll6cxo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=2%2C4%2C995%2C672&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Young people don't always know exactly what they want to study, or what their interests are. Flexibility helps.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Financial access is extremely important for poor and working class students wanting to get a foot in the door at universities. But on its own this isn’t a guarantee of success.</p>
<p>South Africa has very poor student throughput (that is, from enrolment to graduation) and low retention rates in <a href="http://www.che.ac.za/">undergraduate education</a>. Only 30% of students complete a three-year bachelor’s degree in three years. And less than two-thirds complete within an <a href="http://che.ac.za/sites/default/files/publications/CHE_South%20African%20higher%20education%20reviewed%20-%20electronic_1.pdf">additional two years</a>. </p>
<p>A <a href="http://www.africanminds.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/9781928331698_web.pdf">recent study</a> of students’ experiences in BA and BSc degree programmes found that curriculum structure and flexibility can play a crucial role in students’ progression and success.</p>
<p>The study traced the influence of higher education on the lives of 73 young people who had registered for a BA or BSc at one of three South African universities. In-depth interviews were carried out with them six years after their first year at university.</p>
<p>We found that most students didn’t enter university with fully formed ideas of their interests and strengths. The experience of knowing exactly what they wanted to do, coming to university and seamlessly doing it, was rare.</p>
<p>Our study found that flexibility in the structure of BA and BSc degrees was important. It helped students to find their strengths and passions, and to allow them to change direction during the degree if they needed to. This in turn helped them complete their studies.</p>
<p>In narrowly specified programmes with limited choice or flexibility, students could be left feeling trapped in programmes that no longer matched their interests or strengths. </p>
<h2>Different experiences</h2>
<p>Curriculum structure in the formative science and arts degrees varies substantially across the country’s universities. Some universities offer flexibility of subject choice within the BA and BSc degree structures (taking into account prerequisites for senior courses), or even the choice of a few electives in other faculties. </p>
<p>In at least one university in South Africa, students can select a mixture of BA and BSc subjects, in a very flexible, <a href="https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED415738">liberal arts type approach</a>. Including Philosophy in a Science degree, taking Zoology with Psychology, or Law with Geography, allows students to engage with a broad spectrum of concepts and ways of thinking. </p>
<p>Other institutions have more highly specified offerings - for example, a BA in Tourism, or a BSc in Biological Sciences. These sort of programmes were introduced in some South African universities in the early 2000s, in response to <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/B:HIGH.0000035544.96309.f1">a policy move</a> away from the traditional bachelor degree. </p>
<p>This was intended to make undergraduate degrees more “relevant” and to lead more directly to particular employment options. In these rigid degree programmes, subjects are tightly specified with little room for choice of elective modules or for curriculum flexibility. </p>
<p>Our study found that flexibility really helped students. This is not surprising, considering that most of the young people we interviewed came from schools that offered limited career guidance. Also, many are first in their families to enter university; they have <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-class-and-social-capital-affect-university-students-92602">limited family experiences</a> of higher education to draw on.</p>
<p>Change in direction of study was easier for those in BA programmes, since the BA rules of subject combination allowed for more wrong choices and changes in direction without leading to an extra year of studying.</p>
<p>This is to be expected as the sciences have hierarchical knowledge structures: senior BSc courses have junior courses as prerequisites. Failure in key first year science courses meant that students could be barred from progressing to the second year of study. If there was no chance to retake these courses during the year, a whole extra year of study was required. </p>
<p>So what can universities learn from these students’ experiences?</p>
<h2>Rethinking structure</h2>
<p>There has already been one significant proposal around curriculum restructuring in South African universities; it suggested lengthening the three-year bachelor’s <a href="http://che.ac.za/sites/default/files/publications/Full_Report.pdf">degree to four years</a>. This is unlikely to be adopted given the current financial pressures on the country’s higher education sector. </p>
<p>But we do think there is still scope to address some curriculum issues our study has highlighted within the current BA and BSc structures.</p>
<p>Universities should know that students don’t enter higher education with a full sense of their strengths and interests. A curriculum needs to make some trial and error possible. Professional degrees such as medicine or engineering may need a more specified curriculum, but the relative flexibility in the formative BA and BSc degrees is important. This allows students to try out different disciplines and find their passions.</p>
<p>In a degree with limited choices and, at some universities, very fixed prerequisites, many students fall by the wayside and can’t easily get back on track. For these students, mounting debt tends to compound the challenge of academic progression.</p>
<p>The academic year could also be better structured to enable flexibility. Vacation periods could be used for students who need time to resit assessments, repeat prerequisite modules or attend credit-bearing summer schools. This would support students’ progression through the curriculum.</p>
<h2>Flexibility matters</h2>
<p>A more flexible programme, coupled with strong <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-universities-need-to-invest-in-strong-advice-systems-for-students-92750">academic advising structures</a>, allows young people to find their strengths and interests – and to change direction, if need be. </p>
<p>It can also allow them to develop the sort of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/blog/2013/aug/12/students-interdisciplinary-teaching-research-university">interdisciplinary perspectives</a> needed to address the key issues facing society in the 21st century.</p>
<p>Universities will need to rethink curriculum structures to enable rather than constrain students’ success and progression through higher education. </p>
<p><em>This is an edited abstract from “Going to University: The influence of Higher Education on the lives of young South Africans” (2018) Case, J., Marshall, D., McKenna, S. & Mogashana, D. African Minds. Available for <a href="http://www.africanminds.co.za/dd-product/going-to-university-the-influence-of-higher-education-on-the-lives-of-young-south-africans/">download here</a>.</em></p>
<p><em>The other authors of the book from which this piece is extracted are Professor Jenni Case (Head of Department of Engineering Education at Virginia Tech), Professor Sioux McKenna (Head of Postgraduate Studies at Rhodes University) and Dr Disaapele Mogashana (student success coach and consultant at <a href="http://www.mytsi.co.za/">True Success Institute</a>).</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/92751/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors of the book 'Going to University: The influence of higher education on the lives of young South Africans' are grateful for the financial support of the NRF.</span></em></p>Curriculum structure and flexibility can play a crucial role in students’ progression and success.Delia Marshall, Professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of the Western CapeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/745232017-03-14T19:14:49Z2017-03-14T19:14:49ZScience curriculum needs to do more to engage primary school students<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/160655/original/image-20170314-10759-1wm9vxx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">How can we get students more engaged in science?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A <a href="http://www.nap.edu.au/docs/default-source/default-document-library/20170309-nap_sl_final.pdf?sfvrsn=2">new report</a> around science literacy in primary school shows that while most students appear to be interested in learning new things in science – which includes learning about science and doing science-based activities – many students do not relate science to their own lives.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.nap.edu.au/nap-sample-assessments/science-literacy">2015 NAP science literacy</a> report is based on sample assessments of Year 6 students. The test happens every three years, and in 2015 the test went from paper-based to online. </p>
<p>The results show that the understandings and inquiry skills of students have not changed since 2006, revealing a stagnation consistent with our performance history in the large international <a href="https://theconversation.com/pisa-results-dont-look-good-but-before-we-panic-lets-look-at-what-we-can-learn-from-the-latest-test-69470">Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA)</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/australian-schools-continue-to-fall-behind-other-countries-in-maths-and-science-69341">Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS)</a> tests.</p>
<p>Just over half of Australian students reached the “proficient” standard, which refers to what is expected by students at that year level.</p>
<p>Despite rhetoric from governments at all levels about their commitment to science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) education, this stagnation could reflect the <a href="https://theconversation.com/factcheck-is-australia-below-the-international-average-when-it-comes-to-school-funding-72189">relatively low levels of funding</a> for education in Australia.</p>
<h2>Redefining science literacy</h2>
<p>To improve the teaching and learning of science in primary schools, we need to re-consider what we mean by “science literacy”.</p>
<p>The idea of <a href="http://www.pisa.tum.de/en/domains/scientific-literacy/">“science literacy”</a> has pervaded thinking about the purposes of school science since the 1990s. It reflects concerns that school science should prepare citizens generally to engage with science as well as prepare them for science-related careers. </p>
<p>According to the latest NAP report, science literacy refers to a student’s capacity to master the literacy practices of science, which enable them to conduct investigations, collect and interpret data, critique claims, and make informed decisions.</p>
<p>This focus on students learning to understand and interpret science was a significant departure from <a href="http://research.acer.edu.au/aer/3/">previous thinking</a> about the purposes of science, which focused much more on recall and interpretation of science concepts.</p>
<p>However, this version of science literacy still focuses on the knowledge and processes of science, rather than its human side or wider context.</p>
<h2>Teaching students to think critically</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.sensepublishers.com/media/1149-the-re-emergence-of-values-in-science-educationa.pdf">Research</a> over the last two decades tells us we need for us to go beyond a focus on knowledge and skills and attend to values and attitudes/dispositions in teaching science. This includes focusing on building students’ identity in relation to thinking scientifically.</p>
<p>Students are not engaged with their learning unless it matters to them, and they need to be active generators rather than absorbers of science questions, processes and ideas. </p>
<h2>Ways to make science more engaging</h2>
<p>What is the use of science knowledge if you are never inclined to use it once you leave the reward systems of schooling? </p>
<p>For example, we have worked with primary teachers on an approach that asks students to actively generate drawings, models, or digital animations to respond to questions. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.sensepublishers.com/media/1564-constructing-representation-to-learn-in-science.pdf">Teachers report</a> that this leads to more engaged students and longer, higher-level class discussion of ideas and deeper understandings.</p>
<p>The NAP reports that students are interested in science. We need to build on this interest to create science programs that engage our students in scientific thinking and working in ways that build their capacity to critically and creatively reason. </p>
<p>This is the challenge for 21st century schooling – to create agile and flexible <a href="http://www.chiefscientist.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/STEM_AustraliasFuture_Sept2014_Web.pdf">problem solvers</a> prepared to engage with a world that demands high level skills and innovative thinking. </p>
<p>We need an expanded version of thinking scientifically to include the active engagement of students in using the tools of science to reason and understand.</p>
<h2>Some primary schools are already doing this</h2>
<p>This sense of the wider context of science is apparent in many primary schools we have worked with. </p>
<p>Some schools are involved with major investigative projects, for instance into the local environment. Many are involved with <a href="https://theconversation.com/partnering-with-scientists-boosts-school-students-and-teachers-confidence-in-science-58416">scientists as partners</a>, who provide role models and insight into what it is to think and work scientifically.</p>
<p><a href="http://remstep.org.au/">REMSTEP</a> is a major program investigating how to represent scientists’ and mathematicians’ practices in school curricula.</p>
<p>Much of the impetus for the current advocacy of STEM as an interdisciplinary approach comes from a push to <a href="http://research.acer.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1277&context=research_conference">engage students in problem solving</a> in authentic contexts, including engineering design and digital technology.</p>
<p>These approaches are also evident in the <a href="http://littlescientists.org.au/">“Little scientists”</a> initiative.</p>
<p>The Australian Academy of Science initiative “Primary Connections” is now pervasive in primary schools, and we suspect it has been influential in increasing the amount of science taught in schools. </p>
<p>However, research into schools’ use of the program has indicated that while teachers are committed to the explore part of its inquiry model, they often truncate the central literacy aspects of <a href="https://primaryconnections.org.au/about/history/research-and-evaluation/teaching-primary-science.pdf">explaining science</a>.</p>
<p>There is a need in primary schools for a cadre of enthusiastic teachers of science who can support teachers to engage with students’ critical and creative thinking. <a href="http://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/educationstate/Pages/specialist.aspx">This is the rationale</a> for the Victorian Department of Education Primary Mathematics and Science Specialist initiative.</p>
<h2>Assessment tools need to catch up</h2>
<p>Can this expanded version of science literacy we are advocating be reliably assessed? </p>
<p>With current advances in online assessment there exists the possibility of much more interactive forms of assessment activity that go beyond what the NAP was able to put in place for 2015. </p>
<p>For instance, the latest PISA assessment included many items where students could <a href="http://www.oecd.org/pisa/PISA2015Questions/platform/index.html?user=&domain=SCI&unit=S623-RunningInHotWeather&lang=eng-ZZZ">interactively build and interpret investigation</a>.</p>
<p>PISA has also developed assessment in <a href="https://www.oecd.org/pisa/pisaproducts/Draft%20PISA%202015%20Collaborative%20Problem%20Solving%20Framework%20.pdf">collaborative reasoning</a> to support collaborative skills for problem solving. </p>
<p>If we are to ensure the longer-term success of science education in schools, we need to find ways of harnessing it to engage students’ critical and creative reasoning in ways that go beyond current conceptions of science literacy.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/74523/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>What is the point of science knowledge if you are not likely to use it once you leave school?Russell Tytler, Professor of science education, Deakin UniversityVaughan Prain, Professor in Science Interdisciplinary Education Research, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/733702017-02-22T05:54:46Z2017-02-22T05:54:46ZNew physics syllabus raises the bar, but how will schools clear it?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/157821/original/image-20170222-20324-1i2prvd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Will NSW physics students learn what these lines represent?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">starsandspirals/Flickr</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The New South Wales Education Standards Authority (<a href="http://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/home">NESA</a>) has <a href="http://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/about/news/media-releases/media-release-detail/new-hsc-syllabuses">just released</a> the <a href="https://syllabus.bostes.nsw.edu.au/physics-stage6/">new Physics Stage 6 Syllabus</a> along with those for the other sciences, maths, English and history. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/syllabus_hsc/physics.html">current physics syllabus</a>, which dates back to 2000, has long been a point of contention among some teachers and universities. Most notably, <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/education/feminised-physics-a-formula-for-failure-says-michelle-simmons/news-story/b26b46725b1d0a97e57585aabea20f37">last month</a> Professor Michelle Simmons of UNSW attacked the “feminisation” (a disappointing use of the term) of high school physics during her Australia Day address. </p>
<p>This new syllabus, however, is being <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-02-21/nsw-hsc-syllabus-gets-radical-overhaul-year-12-teaching-changes/8288000">widely lauded</a> as a “return to science”. </p>
<h2>So what’s changed?</h2>
<p>The new syllabus is certainly a return to more traditional content. It is explicitly more mathematical, with 82 equations compared with the current 40, with mandated derivations. </p>
<p>There is also a return to the fundamental physics of thermodynamics and optics. (You might make a quick buck investing in calorimeters and diffraction gratings, which were all thrown out of schools years ago.) Also, particle physics is mandatory rather than being optional (but alas, no <a href="http://www.animations.physics.unsw.edu.au/mechanics/chapter4_simpleharmonicmotion.html">simple harmonic motion</a> as mooted in the <a href="https://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/syllabuses/curriculum-development/pdf_doc/st6-physics-draft-syl-16-v5.pdf">prior draft syllabus</a>, which is a shame, because I love it!). </p>
<p>Conversely, there is the loss of the much-decried social and historical contexts of the current syllabus. It should be noted, however, that the <a href="http://www.stansw.asn.au/">Science Teachers’ Association of NSW</a> raised concerns that this could potentially lead to a <a href="http://www.stansw.asn.au/default.aspx?nav_id=26&child_id=274">loss of narrative from new teachers</a> who are unaware of the historical linkages and societal implications.</p>
<p>The biggest difference will be in the nature of exam questions, slated for introduction in 2019. In contrast to recent questions such as: “Assess the impact of the use of transistors on society” (<a href="https://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/hsc_exams/hsc2012exams/pdf_doc/2012-hsc-exam-physics.pdf">HSC 2012, Q25</a>), a 5-mark essay-style question, students will most likely face questions like: “Derive the expression v=√(2GM/r) for escape velocity”.</p>
<h2>Equity of access?</h2>
<p>The current commentary would seem to imply that not only will these changes increase the rigour but also the <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/nsw-hsc-back-to-the-future-in-first-major-overhaul-of-the-syllabus-in-20-years-20170220-gugoum.html">number of students studying physics</a>. </p>
<p>However, it’s quite possible that numbers will drop. While policymakers have declared their intent to lure back high-achieving students currently studying the humanities solely to play the ATAR (Australian Tertiary Admission Rank) game, <a href="https://syllabus.bostes.nsw.edu.au/assets/global/files/physics-stage-6-draft-syllabus-consultation-report-2017.pdf">teachers have suggested</a> that increasing rigour will mean net numbers will drop sharply.</p>
<p>So if academically stronger students will be attracted back to the subject, but the total number studying physics is predicted to drop, who won’t be taking physics any more? </p>
<p>Well, it won’t be children from selective schools that already run multiple HSC physics classes. Their numbers might even increase. </p>
<p>No, the students will be lost from regional, remote and low socioeconomic status schools that already struggle with small class sizes (many as low as one or two). If these schools lose just a few students, they will no longer be able to run physics at all. </p>
<p>If aspirational parents identify that a school no longer offers physics, they will send their children elsewhere, and so a malaise and residualisation of disadvantaged schools may proliferate. If we implement this new syllabus without safety measures for these schools, we will be complicit in widening the gap between the haves and have-nots. </p>
<p>Every child should have access to a physics education. It would be unconscionable that students capable of succeeding in physics cannot study it in this rich democracy just because they don’t live in the right area.</p>
<h2>Wanted! Physics (trained) teachers</h2>
<p>Compounding the already existing inequity of disadvantaged schools is the shortage of teachers trained in physics. There are not enough physics teachers period. But again, high socioeconomic and high achieving schools suffer from this shortage much less. </p>
<p>Recent analysis from the <a href="http://research.acer.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1001&context=policyinsights">Australian Council for Educational Research</a> shows that more than 20% of physics teachers are teaching out of subject (often retraining from biology or even physical education), and more than 40% of physics teachers are retiring in the next few years with nowhere near enough being trained in their stead. It would be both elitist and immoral to machinate reduced student numbers to address this teacher shortage.</p>
<p>We need a <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/maths-and-science-must-be-the-top-priority-in-our-schools-says-prime-minister">national strategy</a> to incentivise, recruit, retain and train up enough physics teachers to address this impending disaster. </p>
<p>In addition, given the differences between the new and outgoing syllabuses, many new physics teachers, and most retraining teachers, will need to be brought up to speed with the new material. Conducting <a href="http://tutor-homework.com/Physics_Help/polarized_light.html">investigations into Malus’s Law</a>, for example, is difficult if you’ve never heard of it. </p>
<p>In implementing this new syllabus, NSW must ensure that all physics teachers receive the necessary professional development and support to be in a position to deliver the new content. </p>
<p>This new high school physics syllabus should not be about attracting more and better students to study the discipline at university. Only a minority of high school students will ever go on and study it at uni. </p>
<p>A physics syllabus should be rigorous yet accessible – in the practical sense.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/73370/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Simon Crook is the Founder of CrookED Science, a STEM education consultancy. He is also a member of the Science Teachers' Association NSW and has taught physics in high schools since 1994 in the UK and Australia. </span></em></p>NSW’s proposed new rigorous physics syllabus refocuses on the fundamentals, but it’ll require investment in teaching skills so all students can benefit from it.Simon Crook, PhD confirmed - Physics Education Research, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/697702016-12-02T04:42:36Z2016-12-02T04:42:36ZThree ways to boost science performance in Australian schools<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/148364/original/image-20161202-25677-6o588x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Australia needs an agreed approach to quality science teaching.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/australian-schools-continue-to-fall-behind-other-countries-in-maths-and-science-69341">latest</a> Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) results has predictably triggered a round of national soul-searching as the realisation dawns that in both mathematics and science we are increasingly falling behind countries traditionally regarded as our inferiors.</p>
<p>While we can question whether such tests should be the sole arbiter of the worth of our education system, they contain important measures of our students’ capabilities on agreed educational benchmarks. </p>
<p>We have far fewer students performing at high reasoning levels, and far more students not reaching minimum science literacy standards (a serious question of equity), than the top performing countries. </p>
<p>Australia’s performance in science continues to slide due to ineffective, traditional teaching practices and an outdated curriculum, which is leading to students becoming <a href="http://research.acer.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context=aer">disengaged with the subject</a>.</p>
<h2>Disengaged students</h2>
<p>We have long <a href="http://research.acer.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context=aer">identified problems</a> with engaging students in deeper learning, largely due to the way science is taught in a very abstract way in the classroom.</p>
<p>In this model, students are given little opportunity to express and critique ideas, or participate in discussion of evidence and explanation. </p>
<p>It is rare for them to seriously discuss the personal and societal entailments of science that might inspire serious commitment to scientific ways of thinking, or move them to take up further study in this subject.</p>
<p><a href="http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.829.719&rep=rep1&type=pdf">Research shows</a> that despite years of research-based advocacy of inquiry approaches, traditional teaching models prevailed. </p>
<h2>Old-school teaching styles</h2>
<p>In primary schools, science is seriously underrepresented in terms of time allocation, with mathematics and literacy dominating the curriculum. </p>
<p>Yet there is abundant research that says these primary school and early secondary school years are crucial for establishing strong commitments to science learning and science futures.</p>
<p>There is an enormous fund of enthusiasm and commitment in the science teaching profession in secondary schools, with many enthusiastic and dedicated primary teachers devoted to promoting science in their schools. </p>
<h2>Solutions for science</h2>
<p>The problem is, how do we harness this to turn around practice in effective, system-wide and sustainable ways? </p>
<p>There is a <a href="http://research.acer.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context=aer">wealth of research here</a> in Australia and overseas demonstrating how we can lift student performance and engagement, much of which has been collaboratively developed with committed teachers. </p>
<p>How do we use this to bring about a change in the culture of science teaching and learning in Australian schools? </p>
<p>Let’s look at some ideas for ways forward that have been based in serious research.</p>
<p><strong>Improve science teaching</strong></p>
<p>The first relates to professional learning. In a recent 26 country science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) <a href="http://www.acola.org.au/index.php/projects/securing-australia-s-future/project-2">comparison study</a> we found that top performing countries in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) had strong national agendas for improving science and mathematics curriculum. </p>
<p>Their teachers had high status, strong disciplinary expertise, and continuous professional learning was an important aspect of their practice. </p>
<p>In a recent <a href="http://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783319443812">video-based comparison</a> of how quality primary teachers in Australia, Taiwan and Germany supported reasoning in their science classes, it was clear that the Taiwanese teachers had a more coherent program supported by an enormous range of textual and online resources. </p>
<p>They demonstrated high-level knowledge and their style, while strongly teacher driven, incorporated advanced conceptual challenges for students. </p>
<p>The Australian teachers were impressive, but they often needed to draw on their own resources in constructing coherent sequences. </p>
<p>If Australia is serious about systemic change, we need a nationally agreed approach to quality science teaching, including professional learning and resources. </p>
<p>We need to move beyond election-cycle approaches and invest serious thinking into a longer-term strategy.</p>
<p><strong>Make science curriculum engaging and current</strong></p>
<p>Science in schools needs to better reflect science in the world. </p>
<p>There is considerable interest in the <a href="https://theconversation.com/partnering-with-scientists-boosts-school-students-and-teachers-confidence-in-science-58416">STEM community in engaging with education</a> and harnessing this, through <a href="http://www.scientistsinschools.edu.au/downloads/SMiSEvaluationReport2015.pdf">local scientists working with teachers</a>, is one way of inspiring students.</p>
<p>Students can explore contemporary scientific research and societal issues through <a href="http://remstep.org.au/exemplars/stem-cells/">novel means such as drama</a>, or collaborative reasoning and debate about sustainability issues.</p>
<p><strong>Get schools and scientists working together</strong></p>
<p>More than this, though, is the need to align school science practices with scientific working and thinking. </p>
<p>There is considerable evidence that engagement with deeper learning results when students are given the opportunity to generate their own ideas and critique and refine these with teacher guidance. </p>
<p>We have been working, for instance, with <a href="https://www.sensepublishers.com/media/1564-constructing-representation-to-learn-in-science.pdf">an inquiry approach</a> in which students construct and refine drawings, models, or animations in response to conceptual challenges. We believe this brings the culture of science classrooms closer to authentic practice.</p>
<p>Teachers report increased engagement of students with high level discussion and the creation of scientific ideas. Test results consequently show substantial improvements in learning.</p>
<p>However, with these shifts from a focus on straightforward application of scientific knowledge to higher level argumentation, investigative design, critique, and the exercise of imagination, we need to develop improved approaches to assessment that will clearly articulate and measure the capabilities we want to develop.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/69770/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Russell Tytler does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Australia’s performance in science continues to slide due to ineffective, traditional teaching practices and an outdated curriculum. Here’s what needs to change.Russell Tytler, Professor of science education, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/670222016-11-16T16:04:50Z2016-11-16T16:04:50ZThe school science curriculum needs input from real, working scientists<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/145975/original/image-20161115-30777-1fuf0ku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Science teaching needs to engage all pupils, whether they're future scientists or not.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>School science education is important for those who want to pursue a career in the sciences – and for those who don’t. Sadly, the first category seems to have been the main target for those designing science curricula. Their aim has been quite narrow: to lay a foundation for pupils so that they keep studying with the goal of becoming professional scientists. </p>
<p>But increasingly the second category of students – who aren’t interested in becoming professional scientists – has become more important in the eyes of curriculum designers. This shift has been encouraged by the recognition of science’s increasing influence on everyone’s lives. Many jobs now require science as a knowledge area. For example, technicians who monitor the quality of a town’s water supply may be trained in routine chemical analysis but they also need an understanding of chemistry when the instruments show readings that are not in the manual.</p>
<p>The trend towards educating science-literate citizens is well illustrated by the recommendation in a 2006 report on <a href="http://hub.mspnet.org/index.cfm/15065">science education in Europe </a> which stated:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The primary goal of science education across the EU should be to educate students both about the major explanations of the material world that science offers and about the way science works. Science courses whose basic aim is to provide a foundational education for future scientists and engineers should be optional. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>The distinction that’s being made here is between “normal science education” and “science education for all”. This is the difference between preparing a minority of pupils for tertiary-level science and educating all pupils to deal confidently with a society that runs on applications of science knowledge and the steady flow of science information in the media.</p>
<h2>“Normal science education”</h2>
<p>“Normal science education” characterises <a href="http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/thomas-kuhn/">normal science</a> as puzzle-solving within a framework of established paradigms. This leads to school science curricula that support “normal science” and which, according to Dutch university chemistry teacher Bernard van Berkel tend to <a href="http://dspace.library.uu.nl/bitstream/handle/1874/8093/?sequence=13">be isolated</a> from common sense, everyday life and society. </p>
<p>These curricula are also removed from the history and philosophy of science, other sciences, technology and contemporary research. </p>
<p>This suboptimal state of affairs is reflected in surveys of learners’ views about the relevance of science education. In one, the <a href="http://roseproject.no/network/countries/norway/eng/nor-Sjoberg-Schreiner-overview-2010.pdf">Relevance of Science Education project</a>, there’s a general recognition among participants that science has great benefits for society. This view is held particularly strongly among learners in developing countries. Six countries in the survey were from Africa: Ghana, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Lesotho, Botswana and Swaziland.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/145974/original/image-20161115-30782-13b4ylj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/145974/original/image-20161115-30782-13b4ylj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/145974/original/image-20161115-30782-13b4ylj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/145974/original/image-20161115-30782-13b4ylj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/145974/original/image-20161115-30782-13b4ylj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/145974/original/image-20161115-30782-13b4ylj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=527&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/145974/original/image-20161115-30782-13b4ylj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=527&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/145974/original/image-20161115-30782-13b4ylj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=527&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Children in Cameroon get to grips with a science lesson.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wits School of Education</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In response to the statement “I would like to become a scientist” less than 40% of learners in developed countries agreed, while 70% of those from developing countries did. </p>
<p>The survey report notes that in poor countries <a href="http://roseproject.no/network/countries/norway/eng/nor-Sjoberg-Schreiner-overview-2010.pdf">“everybody” wants to become a scientist</a> or to work with technology. But very few get the opportunity. </p>
<h2>Science education for all</h2>
<p>The idea of “science education for all” is linked to the concept of scientific literacy and public understanding of science. The aim is to prepare future citizens to function more effectively in an increasingly science-driven future. </p>
<p>Examples of how several countries are moving in this direction can be found in their <a href="http://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/twenty-first-century-science">science curriculum documents</a>, even though some of their existing science curricula remain firmly “normal”.</p>
<p>The challenge is to develop curricula that are suited to the goal of scientific literacy. One way of <a href="https://www.oecd.org/pisa/pisaproducts">expressing</a> this is: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>The capacity to use scientific knowledge, to identify questions and to draw evidence-based conclusions in order to understand and help make decisions about the natural world and the changes made to it through human activity. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>School curricula have been developed for this purpose in the <a href="http://ngss.nsta.org/applying-knowledge-in-context.aspx">US</a> and <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09500690600702512?journalCode=tsed20">Germany</a>, for example. Science that students learn in context – rather than science as isolated knowledge items – can deliver both scientific literacy and positive learner interest. </p>
<p>It is evident that the contexts must have relevance to national circumstances. They cannot be taken thoughtlessly from Europe or the US. But some contexts – water and the hydrosphere, or mining and mineral processing – can suit many countries.</p>
<h2>Challenges and opportunities in Africa</h2>
<p>Berhanu Abegaz, the executive director of the <a href="http://aasciences.ac.ke/">African Academy of Sciences</a>, has highlighted the lack of relevance of most teaching materials, the need to encourage critical thinking and to equip learners to tackle complex issues such as environmental, energy-based and economic questions. </p>
<p>Abegaz has focused on the challenging character of <a href="http://www.readcube.com/articles/10.1038/nchem.2533">chemistry education</a> and research in Africa. But his insights can be applied to other sciences too. </p>
<p>There is clearly a case for school science curricula that provide science education for all and recognise that scientific awareness in rapidly developing societies depends on being <strong>practically</strong> involved with science.</p>
<p>Abegaz remains optimistic despite the challenges. He notes that Africa has <a href="http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21679781-fertility-rates-falling-more-slowly-anywhere-else-africa-faces-population">youth on its side</a>. This “makes investment crucial: to provide good-quality, relevant education which will lead to employment opportunities”. </p>
<p>Many scientists in Africa are interested in improving school science. They may not have pedagogical expertise. But this is input that educators can provide. Scientists have something different to contribute – up-to-date school science for budding professionals. They can also get involved by encouraging and advising on science curricula for a wider range of pupils.</p>
<p><em>This is an edited version of an article that first appeared in Science Policy Africa, the <a href="http://aasciences.ac.ke/updates/publications/science-/sciencepolicyafrica-vol-20-no-3-september-2016/">newsletter</a> of the African Academy of Sciences.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/67022/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Science that students learn in context - rather than science as isolated knowledge items - can deliver both scientific literacy and positive learner interest.John D Bradley, Honorary Professor, University of the WitwatersrandPeter Moodie, Visiting Lecturer, University of the WitwatersrandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/428012015-06-30T10:16:55Z2015-06-30T10:16:55ZCurriculum matters when it comes to kindergarten friendships<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/86746/original/image-20150629-9099-2kdx8z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Friendships could prevent later bullying.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mariagraziamontagnari/14569889109/in/photolist-ocuuqD-dv8Waf-896DDk-4vqYZ4-8p4Gy-fjBQ7x-5ZZxpm-dLVgxC-pNJEyw-8rUrs1-bDPF8J-piiFnK-8xxtPy-4TWtdB-8rRtjp-8aZks2-4fta2J-aW1PoH-nYTdHE-7AiWEt-pigvHv-9yaPbz-dgZQXD-9ydKRW-61tTpN-64Ueo1-4meLqv-oEiRRP-e57Neq-5gYoFa-9ydKRJ-9ydKRS-9ydKRC-8VDxcE-6AhXfg-8rUvkE-8rUtwb-4iWh2R-6FUhqH-pDP1WN-qGhXLa-8HpsMe-8vVqqW-ERpHQ-4juZU1-5XSvon-ax5Yo-cLQ4D5-8HGgYT-9ydKRq">Maria Grazia Montagnari</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Friendship is often described as a major outcome of <a href="http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/DEC_NAEYC_ECSummary_A.pdf">early childhood inclusive</a> classrooms that support all children, irrespective of their abilities.</p>
<p>Friendships provide children with joy, laughter and comfort. They may also prevent later <a href="http://ecx.sagepub.com/content/80/3/368.full.pdf">bullying</a> and support smoother <a href="http://ies.ed.gov/ncser/pdf/20093016.pdf">transitions</a> into kindergarten for children with a range of disabilities. Friendships are considered a vital developmental milestone for <em>all</em> children.</p>
<p>Yet, <a href="http://www.wsj.com/video/the-end-of-the-childhood-best-friend/2EF37676-8028-4BCE-9880-2EA6879B02BB.html">developing close relationships</a> may be difficult for some children. This is especially true for children who enter school without well-developed <a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2015/05/28/404684712/non-academic-skills-are-key-to-success-but-what-should-we-call-them?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=socia">social-emotional</a> skills. About <a href="http://ectacenter.org/eco/assets/pdfs/childoutcomeshighlights.pdf">40% of children</a> with disabilities, for example, enter kindergarten without developing age-appropriate skills in this area. </p>
<p>So, what impact does curriculum have on the development of friendships for children with disabilities? And how can teachers help nurture these friendships? </p>
<h2>Investigating the impact of curriculum</h2>
<p>To answer these questions, we conducted a <a href="http://tec.sagepub.com/content/early/2015/03/04/0271121415571419.abstract">study</a> that included 110 kindergarteners, 26 of whom had disabilities, within six classrooms across a Midwest and a New England state. </p>
<p>This study took place as part of another longer-term research project in which teachers were <a href="http://ies.ed.gov/funding/grantsearch/details.asp?ID=618">randomly assigned</a> to use either a <a href="http://ecx.sagepub.com/content/63/3/405.abstract">“disability-awareness curriculum”</a> or a modified <a href="http://literasci.com">science curriculum</a>. </p>
<p>In our study, curricula included similar components of <a href="http://yec.sagepub.com/content/18/1/30.full.pdf+html">class-wide book readings and teacher-led discussions</a>, “cooperative learning groups” (a teaching strategy that brings together groups of students with different abilities), and a classroom <a href="http://ecl.sagepub.com/content/early/2015/04/13/1468798415577870.full.pdf+html">lending library</a> to promote shared reading at home. </p>
<p>These curricula were chosen because they were alike in some ways. Both allowed teachers to focus discussions on similarities between the book content and kindergarteners. And both could include the three core components (ie, book reading, cooperative groups, and home literacy). </p>
<p>What we found surprised us. The number of close friendships among children with disabilities significantly increased in classrooms where the science curriculum was implemented.</p>
<h2>Examining the results more closely</h2>
<p>Implementation of the two curricula was designed to create similar opportunities for interactions between children with and without disabilities. </p>
<p>In their classrooms, children participated in similar activities: they were read books and encouraged to participate in discussions either about disability or science-related topics. Each week, children were able to take one of the books home that was read to them at school. </p>
<p>However, the cooperative learning groups were designed differently. In the cooperative learning groups for the science curriculum, children focused on science activities that were more outcome-orientated (eg, making bird nests, measuring worms). </p>
<p>In the cooperative learning groups for the disability-awareness curriculum, children participated in play-based activities with open-ended materials and toys (eg, farm animals and a barn, pretend kitchen set and food). </p>
<p>Our observations of children’s play during the cooperative learning groups suggest that participating children with disabilities may not have had the skills needed to fully engage in the group’s play. </p>
<p>For example, some children struggled to enter into ongoing play. During one such activity, a child was playing with a “pretend cash register” and another child with a disability wanted a turn with it. The child asked his peer if he could play with it. However, the peer said no. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/86770/original/image-20150629-9062-12ripgb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/86770/original/image-20150629-9062-12ripgb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/86770/original/image-20150629-9062-12ripgb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/86770/original/image-20150629-9062-12ripgb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/86770/original/image-20150629-9062-12ripgb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/86770/original/image-20150629-9062-12ripgb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/86770/original/image-20150629-9062-12ripgb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Intentionally planned activities can help children with disabilities learn how to develop friendships.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rleyesa/8543566849/in/photolist-e1Y1LH-e24B1G-e1XSgR-3JJvSc-4kbcZj-4NNeWA-e8eCxt-5KU5Zj-dPd7GZ-5SDXuv-4NDy6D-479zyG-4NN5zW-4NN4oL-4NNgtm-4NHSXB-4NN1B3-4NN75m-4NHJLn-4NHJaP-4NNix9-e8eCHc-MoyB-uRLCM-v8G2P-v8G3X-v8FSk-v8FQ2-Moz1-K4A1T-4es1rJ-MoA5-MoBm-qrRQF-v8EUR-65cVcT-5SwH67-5RzjKq-uvze4-qrRcf-5SJhMS-LcGmT-gyvzbx-6cwNac-6cAUB9-mZHJCX-7QgGac-mZHKha-91XVeX-eabD11">ray leyesa</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In response, the child repeated his same question again and again, receiving the same response from his peer. The child with a disability did not have a broad repertoire of social or play skills to try other strategies such as asking if he might have a turn when the peer was done, or if he could trade roles with the peer (eg, become the cashier and suggest the peer become a shopper).</p>
<p>It seems that cooperative play is an <a href="http://journals.lww.com/iycjournal/Fulltext/2011/07000/Overview_of_Play__Its_Uses_and_Importance_in_Early.2.aspx">area</a> in which advanced or higher-level skills are needed to be successful. These skills include sharing materials, assisting peers, entering into ongoing play or offering a storyline for imaginative play. </p>
<p>The results from this study on friendships suggest that without these skills, children’s contributions to play may have been less successful, and peers may have viewed children with disabilities as less than ideal play partners. </p>
<p>In comparison, the science experiences such as making bird nests together, painting group posters with each child’s handprints on them and measuring the length of worms may have provided children with outcome-oriented tasks and the support needed to participate in ways similar to peers. </p>
<p>A shared activity with a common goal may have provided the structure that some children with disabilities needed to successfully participate alongside peers. In this arrangement, peers may have viewed classmates with disabilities as competent contributors to the group task. </p>
<p>Taken together, this could have been the reason for the increase in close classroom friendships for children with disabilities who participated in the science curriculum.</p>
<h2>What can we learn from this?</h2>
<p>First, there has been a lot of discussion focused on how play is <a href="http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED504839.pdf">no longer a valued part</a> of kindergarten education in the United States. Also, <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/06/02/you-wont-believe-these-kindergarten-schedules/">kindergarten schedules</a> leave very little room for play or for supporting the development of social-emotional skills. </p>
<p>Our results provide support for creating opportunities for children to learn through playful interactions. These findings also acknowledge that some children may enter school with limited social-emotional and play skills that are needed to form friendships. These children need teacher support and repeated classroom opportunities to master those skills.</p>
<p>Second, the debate of whether kindergarten classes should have <a href="http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2014/06/04/33bassok_ep.h33.html"><em>either</em> an academic <em>or</em> social focus</a> must stop. </p>
<p>We believe that the structure of the science-based cooperative learning groups in our study may have served an important role in supporting the development of close friendships, especially for children with disabilities. </p>
<p>We also believe that social-emotional skill development, and the development of friendships, can occur across the school day depending on how teachers structure their classroom environment and schedule, and support learning outcomes. </p>
<h2>What can teachers do?</h2>
<p>Early childhood teachers can support the development of friendships by the way they structure activities in their classroom. </p>
<p>For example, teachers can purposefully place more social children next to quieter children during group activities. They can pair children who already have a budding relationship to do an activity together, or they can create activities in which small groups of children can interact while completing a project together. </p>
<p>Teachers can support the <a href="http://csefel.vanderbilt.edu">development of social skills</a> through large and small group instruction. Also, teachers can provide individualized social skill instruction based on student needs, and on an individual basis as necessary. </p>
<p><a href="http://www2.ed.gov/about/reports/annual/osep/2014/parts-b-c/36th-idea-arc.pdf">Inclusive classrooms</a> are a trend increasing in the United States. Teaching children how to share, how to handle anger and conflict, how to express their emotions and how to enter into ongoing play situations are all important skills for young children to learn. Some children might need more support than others to develop these skills.</p>
<p>Simply placing children with and without disabilities in the same classroom will not guarantee peer acceptance or friendships.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/42801/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>I am a member of the Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children.
Michaelene M Ostrosky receives funding from the Institute of Education Sciences</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lori E Meyer does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Developing friendships in classrooms is important for kids. How can teachers help?Lori E Meyer, Assistant Professor of Education , University of VermontMichaelene M Ostrosky, Professor of Special Education and Department Head, University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.