ENHANCING ACHIEVEMENT

The purpose of this curriculum statement is to provide direction for learning in science. Research in science education indicates that this learning is enhanced when:

• students, teachers, peers, families, and the wider community hold high expectations for students' success;
• students have the opportunity to clarify their ideas, to share and compare, question, evaluate, and modify these ideas, leading to scientific understanding;
• students have opportunities to use their new ideas and skills, first in a variety of familiar contexts and later in other challenging situations;
• students are aware of effective ways in which they learn;
• students see the relevance and usefulness of science to themselves and to society;
• teachers and students work within a supportive atmosphere of mutual respect where all the experiences, ideas, and beliefs, which students bring into the learning situation are acknowledged as a basis for learning;
• learning environments are visually stimulating and reflect contemporary science;
• teaching strategies respond to a diversity of learning styles;
• scientific knowledge, skills, and attitudes are first introduced in contexts which are relevant and familiar to the students;
• science is linked with other essential learning areas of The New Zealand Curriculum Framework.

Appropriate time, facilities, and resources are also important in learning science and need to be considered in relation to the above factors.