Science in the New Zealand Curriculum
Achievement objectives
Level 2: Making Sense of the Physical World
Students can investigate and describe their ideas about everyday examples of physical phenomena.
Science in the New Zealand Curriculum, page 74
http://www.tki.org.nz/r/science/curriculum/p74_75_e.php
Levels 1 and 2: Developing Scientific Skills and Attitudes
Reporting: Students can share what they did and what they found out in their investigations in whole class situations or in groups.
Science in the New Zealand Curriculum, page 47
http://www.tki.org.nz/r/science/curriculum/p44_51_e.php
Level 2: Making Sense of the Nature of Science and its Relationship to Technology
Students can use a variety of methods to investigate different ideas about the same object or event.
Science in the New Zealand Curriculum, page 28
http://www.tki.org.nz/r/science/curriculum/p28_29_e.php
The teacher's intended outcomes were for the students to:
- report their observations using drawings and labels
- investigate the properties of magnets.
The intended outcomes were aligned to the following "big ideas":
- Scientists present their findings in appropriate ways.
- Magnets have physical properties which can be observed and investigated.
The teacher developed a classroom programme that enabled the class to explore a concept (magnetism) that can not be directly observed but the effect of the phenomena can be felt or seen.
The teacher established what the class knew about magnets (see Summer's initial ideas). Then they explored and investigated the properties of magnets through a variety of activities, and identified questions and ideas to discuss.
Finally they recorded the results of their investigations (see What I found out, by Summer and What I found out, by Nicholas).
Teacher-student conversation
Summer explains her discovery:
| Teacher: |
Tell me about the magnets in this drawing. |
| Summer: |
They can be all different shapes and different strengths. They might start off strong but not stay that way.
|
| Teacher: |
What's happening with these Ns and Ss? |
| Summer: |
If you put the Ns together they push away and if you put the Ss together they push away but if its N and S they stick. They attract. |
To move Summer and Nicholas towards the next learning step, the teacher could help them to focus on:
- using the correct scientific terms when labelling their diagrams (investigating in science)
- developing an understanding of the properties of magnets and how these properties can dictate the use of items. For example, a strong magnet is not required to hold a message on a fridge but it is necessary for a magnetic catch to hold a door closed (developing and communicating scientific understanding).
The teacher could:
- model how to evaluate their investigative processes and show them how to identify strengths and weaknesses (investigating in science)
- show students how to make links between the properties of materials and their uses in the next unit on the material world (developing and communicating scientific understanding).
Reference
Ministry of Education (1993). Science in the New Zealand Curriculum. Wellington: Learning Media.
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