Development of curricula, resources or services that reflect a command of the field.
Developing Curriculum When a new course in the Bachelor of Education in Primary and Early Childhood was implemented in 2013 a second science unit was created in the common first year. In total, we designed four Inquiry focused units; Inquiring about the World (1st year), Inquiry in the Science classroom (2nd year), Inquiry in the Social Science classroom (3rd year) and a fourth year unit that focused on an integrated inquiry approach. I wrote and implemented the 1st and 2nd year science units.
This unit makes me think, it makes me ask questions that make me ask more questions. The website is a clear step by step journey so I always know where I am and where I am going….I love the challenges this unit present and the drive it evokes in me (Student 171, 2013). |
First Year Unit
Design Issues The aim of the 1st year unit 'Inquiring about the World' was to up skill the first year students in the Early Childhood and Primary cohorts. It was imperative that the unit be designed in flexible and blended mode ready to be taught totally on-line for Open University Australia (OUA). With such a large amount of science knowledge that could be incorporated into a unit and with students with such a diverse range of science skills and knowledge and units needing to be taught on all platforms (internal and on-line) the challenge was to create a unit that could be meet all these requirements.
Solutions
Skills focus: The first year unit focus is not based on specific science knowledge. Rather it is about the science inquiry skills and processes that form a key component of the Australian Curriculum (Australian Curriculium Assessment and Reporting Authority, 2013). Students use the inquiry process and produce a detailed inquiry report over the 12 week semester about a problem that they chose to research. Using careful scaffolding, provided in the form of tasks, students decide on a specific area or problem around the larger focus of Sustainability (also in the Australian Curriculum as a Cross Curriculum Priority). They design and refine questions, before searching for reliable data on-line and communicating their findings (Evidence). The students choose real world problems that interest them and are able to engage with underpinning science issues such as the chemistry and earth science in fracking in their local community.
On-line I moved outside the Curtin learning management system (LMS) and designed and created an open source website (www.inquiringabouttheworld.weebly.com) that scaffolds students’ skills acquisition. It can be accessed anytime, anyplace and it scaffolds students’ leaning in terms of the inquiry process (Support Material 14). Students can bookmark it and access it easily moving from topic to topic effortlessly with minimum backtracking and clicking.
Videos: I have made 9 videos (See full titles on website). The purpose of the video interviews is to provide students with examples of how influential researchers use the inquiry process starting by identifying a problem that led them to develop questions to seek to answer, and how their research was most frequently completed in collaboration with colleagues. The videos are embedded in the website and designed to be watched at the beginning of each topic so that students can see science in action in viticulture, fire control, forensic pathology and medicine among other topics (Support Material 8).
Web 2.0 tools. A suite of Web 2.0 tools was incorporated into the website to provide students with opportunities to learn how to use these tools and to consider how they might implement them in their own teaching. For example, I created a Scoopit (Support Material 12) which is accessible to all students and which ensures they are supported by collaborative sessions and videos. It is a public curation site of resources that remains accessible after the unit is complete.
Flipped approach: For the internal students a flipped class model was adopted so that students can come to workshop and, after a short introduction, work on the tasks. My role, or that of their tutor, is to ‘meddle in the middle’ (McWilliam 2008) and engage actively with students to help them to develop and extend their understanding and skills.
Team teaching: The approach taken was to model a large class with two team members whose skills complemented each other. I was the science expert in the team, which also contained a teacher librarian with a background in information technology and a technical support person. Each class had a science expert and either the IT or technology team member and we shared the creation and delivery of materials. This was the first time a class of this design ran in the School of Education and feedback from students and tutors found it a very effective model (Support Material 10).
Design Issues The aim of the 1st year unit 'Inquiring about the World' was to up skill the first year students in the Early Childhood and Primary cohorts. It was imperative that the unit be designed in flexible and blended mode ready to be taught totally on-line for Open University Australia (OUA). With such a large amount of science knowledge that could be incorporated into a unit and with students with such a diverse range of science skills and knowledge and units needing to be taught on all platforms (internal and on-line) the challenge was to create a unit that could be meet all these requirements.
Solutions
Skills focus: The first year unit focus is not based on specific science knowledge. Rather it is about the science inquiry skills and processes that form a key component of the Australian Curriculum (Australian Curriculium Assessment and Reporting Authority, 2013). Students use the inquiry process and produce a detailed inquiry report over the 12 week semester about a problem that they chose to research. Using careful scaffolding, provided in the form of tasks, students decide on a specific area or problem around the larger focus of Sustainability (also in the Australian Curriculum as a Cross Curriculum Priority). They design and refine questions, before searching for reliable data on-line and communicating their findings (Evidence). The students choose real world problems that interest them and are able to engage with underpinning science issues such as the chemistry and earth science in fracking in their local community.
On-line I moved outside the Curtin learning management system (LMS) and designed and created an open source website (www.inquiringabouttheworld.weebly.com) that scaffolds students’ skills acquisition. It can be accessed anytime, anyplace and it scaffolds students’ leaning in terms of the inquiry process (Support Material 14). Students can bookmark it and access it easily moving from topic to topic effortlessly with minimum backtracking and clicking.
Videos: I have made 9 videos (See full titles on website). The purpose of the video interviews is to provide students with examples of how influential researchers use the inquiry process starting by identifying a problem that led them to develop questions to seek to answer, and how their research was most frequently completed in collaboration with colleagues. The videos are embedded in the website and designed to be watched at the beginning of each topic so that students can see science in action in viticulture, fire control, forensic pathology and medicine among other topics (Support Material 8).
Web 2.0 tools. A suite of Web 2.0 tools was incorporated into the website to provide students with opportunities to learn how to use these tools and to consider how they might implement them in their own teaching. For example, I created a Scoopit (Support Material 12) which is accessible to all students and which ensures they are supported by collaborative sessions and videos. It is a public curation site of resources that remains accessible after the unit is complete.
Flipped approach: For the internal students a flipped class model was adopted so that students can come to workshop and, after a short introduction, work on the tasks. My role, or that of their tutor, is to ‘meddle in the middle’ (McWilliam 2008) and engage actively with students to help them to develop and extend their understanding and skills.
Team teaching: The approach taken was to model a large class with two team members whose skills complemented each other. I was the science expert in the team, which also contained a teacher librarian with a background in information technology and a technical support person. Each class had a science expert and either the IT or technology team member and we shared the creation and delivery of materials. This was the first time a class of this design ran in the School of Education and feedback from students and tutors found it a very effective model (Support Material 10).
Second Year Unit
Design Issues Students need to engage with science content knowledge and gather as many skills, activities and resources into their resource portfolio to use in their primary school science classroom as possible. They also need to understand why strategies are used, and how and when to use them.
Solutions Pedagogical knowledge. I have a double focus in my workshops; one aspect is looking at the science content in the four content areas (chemical, biological, earth and space and physical science) we cover one content area fortnightly; the other is the pedagogical theory that underpins teaching.
For the science, for example, we examine the chemical properties of solids and liquids starting with a predict, observe and explain activity and then explore the properties of Oobleck, a non-Newtonian solid which has properties of both a solid and a liquid (Support Material). This activity serves to engage and explore. Then we focus on pedagogy, for example by examining children’s misconceptions and why misconceptions occur. We then return to the Oobleck activity and look at what misconceptions children may have in chemistry around the properties of solids and liquids and how these could be addressed using the tool kit of strategies students develop in my classes.
Curriculum knowledge I include a wider range of guest speakers and excursion venues to provide students with valuable connections and support for when they start teaching (Support Material 3) I have made five short videos (2014) of an experienced primary science educator, They examine a range of topics from safety to creating a successful science classroom space (Support Material 8)
I have co-written a textbook which unpacks the Science Understanding strand (Year 3-6) of the Australian Curriculum. This is designed to clarify curriculum requirements for internal, regional and Open University Australia (OUA) students as well as practising primary teachers (Sheffield R & Quinton G, 2015).
Design Issues Students need to engage with science content knowledge and gather as many skills, activities and resources into their resource portfolio to use in their primary school science classroom as possible. They also need to understand why strategies are used, and how and when to use them.
Solutions Pedagogical knowledge. I have a double focus in my workshops; one aspect is looking at the science content in the four content areas (chemical, biological, earth and space and physical science) we cover one content area fortnightly; the other is the pedagogical theory that underpins teaching.
For the science, for example, we examine the chemical properties of solids and liquids starting with a predict, observe and explain activity and then explore the properties of Oobleck, a non-Newtonian solid which has properties of both a solid and a liquid (Support Material). This activity serves to engage and explore. Then we focus on pedagogy, for example by examining children’s misconceptions and why misconceptions occur. We then return to the Oobleck activity and look at what misconceptions children may have in chemistry around the properties of solids and liquids and how these could be addressed using the tool kit of strategies students develop in my classes.
Curriculum knowledge I include a wider range of guest speakers and excursion venues to provide students with valuable connections and support for when they start teaching (Support Material 3) I have made five short videos (2014) of an experienced primary science educator, They examine a range of topics from safety to creating a successful science classroom space (Support Material 8)
I have co-written a textbook which unpacks the Science Understanding strand (Year 3-6) of the Australian Curriculum. This is designed to clarify curriculum requirements for internal, regional and Open University Australia (OUA) students as well as practising primary teachers (Sheffield R & Quinton G, 2015).
Evidence of outcomes for Criterion 2
The 1st year unit was designed to teach the inquiry skills that are outlined in the Australian curriculum and from the data collected from a student survey as part of on-going research which revealed that 90% of participating students reported an increase in confidence in their understanding of the inquiry process, an 80% increase in confidence of science, and a 94% increase in their use and knowledge of web 2.0 tools (Survey monkey November 2013 n= 83) (Sheffield & McIlvenny, 2014). This data, alongside the University (eVALUate) data, and student comments provides evidence to refine the unit and evaluate the key components. This has resulted in changing the way that online students present their projects, moving outside the Universities LMS system and using trello boards and Prezi links which provide wider access for Regional and OUA students who communicate on-line (Support Material 18). Attendance is also monitored here and there is a consistent 70% attendance throughout the unit supporting student learning and addressing attrition.
This unit makes me think, it makes me ask questions that make me ask more questions. The website is a clear step by step journey so I always know where I am and where I am going….I love the challenges this unit present and the drive it evokes in me (Student 171, 2013).
In the 2nd year unit 100% of students responses through University (eVALUate) data indicated that the unit provided them with the necessary skills and knowledge to be successful science educators in successive years (Support Material 17).
This unit makes me think, it makes me ask questions that make me ask more questions. The website is a clear step by step journey so I always know where I am and where I am going….I love the challenges this unit present and the drive it evokes in me (Student 171, 2013).
In the 2nd year unit 100% of students responses through University (eVALUate) data indicated that the unit provided them with the necessary skills and knowledge to be successful science educators in successive years (Support Material 17).