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How Will I Know About My Child's Development? |
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'MAKING SENSE' OF SCIENCE
The six strands of the science curriculum start with the words 'making sense of'.
This phrase carries a very important message, about science teaching and learning. 'Making sense' means more than just making 'common sense'. It means that students are testing out their own ideas about the world and how things work against accepted scientific views.
Students will be encouraged to share their ideas with others, and to develop their understanding, by:
- interpreting what they see, hear, and feel
- discussing and exploring ideas with others
- carrying out investigations to check ideas
- searching for evidence
- evaluating results
- changing and/or extending their ideas.
The role of the teacher is crucial in ensuring that learners develop their scientific ideas and 'make better sense' of science.
EIGHT LEVELS OF ACHIEVEMENT
The science curriculum is organised to show clearly the standard of student achievement. Each of the strands is described in eight levels of achievement objectives.
Children will typically be working towards level 1 objectives during the first two years of primary school, and may develop to level 8 by the end of senior secondary school. This pattern will vary with individual children.
Examples of Achievement Objectives
LEVEL 2 - MAKING SENSE OF THE PHYSICAL WORLD:
Students can:
'1/2 investigate and describe their ideas about some everyday examples of physical phenomena, e.g., pushes and pulls, magnetism, electricity, heat, light, and sound'.
page 74, Science in the New Zealand Curriculum
LEVEL 7 - MAKING SENSE OF THE LIVING WORLD:
Students can:
'1 describe and explain the reasons for the special characteristics of New Zealand's plants and animals'.
page 66, Science in the New Zealand Curriculum
note: the achievement objectives are written for teacher use and often contain specialist language.
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CATERING FOR INDIVIDUAL NEEDS
An individual student could also be achieving at different levels in a variety of science topics.
GATHERING EVIDENCE ON ACHIEVEMENT
Teachers use may different ways of gathering evidence of their students' achievement. Some are using a portfolio system as one way of keeping a growing record of what students have done.
A student's portfolio might contain some of the following types of work in science:
- statements about the process of burning, eg, before and after a study on burning, using candles
- a graph of the change in mass of mice over time
- a flowchart showing the process from bauxite to drink can
- a postcard written from the point of view of from an astronaut exploring Saturn
- a photo of a student's model
- an essay on a trip around the bloodstream
- a student's self-evaluation form, eg, of their own knowledge skills and atitudes
Other ways of gathering evidence include:
- notes written down while observing students
- students' own assessment on their achievement
- notes on individual discussions with students
- tests suitable for the tasks being assessed
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