Introduction
CONTENTS
Primary Investigations and you
Major features of Primary Investigations
The instructional model
Co-operative learning
Supporting equity
Equipment and preparation
Lesson outcomes
PRIMARY INVESTIGATIONS AND YOU
As a teacher, you are the most important resource in the classroom, responsible for creating a dynamic learning environment. While the lessons in Primary Investigations contain a great deal of information, including teaching strategies and commentaries, regard it as advice only. Be flexible – adapt, modify and enrich the program according to the needs of your students and your school. Many lessons contain lesson extensions, some of which you can substitute for a particular lesson.
When using Primary Investigations, consider yourself an instructional leader and guide, and allow students to bring their own experiences to their learning. Your role is to question, probe, clarify, monitor, assist and otherwise encourage students to progress. While you will sometimes need to define vocabulary and provide direct answers to questions, particularly when students require this information before they can move on, use these instructional strategies sparingly. As students ask for help, share the background information provided in the lessons; or use it to ask questions that will help students.
Teacher in-service workshops and continuing support from qualified trainers are an integral part of the program. Take advantage of such support.
MAJOR FEATURES OF PRIMARY INVESTIGATIONS
Integration
Primary Investigations integrates the biological sciences,
physical sciences, technology and the environment to help
you co-ordinate your teaching strategies. This integration also
helps students develop an understanding that spans traditional
disciplinary boundaries.
Concepts and skills
The program is organised around a major concept and skill for
each year. These link the hands-on activities and promote meaningful
learning and conceptual understanding. (Have a look at the Scope and sequence chart for more information.)
lnstructional model
The instructional model used in Primary Investigations is
based on constructivist learning theory. This theory suggests
that students learn best when they are allowed to work out explanations
for themselves over time through a variety of learning experiences.
Co-operative learning
This integral part of the program builds students' self-esteem,
leadership and communication skills. Co-operative learning also
helps you with classroom management.
Equity
Primary Investigations is designed to cater for
the interests and learning styles of both girls and boys.
Relevance
Activities and discussions relate closely to students' experiences
at home, school and in the community. Students learn that science
and technology are an important part of their daily lives.
Hands-on activities
Emphasis is on high-interest, hands-on activities as the foundation
for learning. Students use equipment and tools to observe, test
and measure results.
Simple equipment
Activities use simple equipment and recycled materials, such as
popsticks, pipecleaners, straws, marbles, balloons, plastic containers
and egg cartons.
Assessment
Each unit of Primary Investigations contains an assessment
checklist and an evaluation lesson. Students also complete various
projects and reports that you can assess.
Student learning outcomes
Primary Investigations will help students to meet the learning outcomes that are being developed in all states and territories. Contact us if you would like a table that links Primary Investigations to your State's learning outcomes. Please give us your full mailing address.
Whole-school implementation
Use of the program throughout the whole school promotes co-operation
amongst teachers and fosters collaboration between teachers and
administrators. It uses well-tested strategies for staff development.
The instructional model used in Primary Investigations is based on constructivist learning theory. This theory suggests that students learn best when they are allowed to work out explanations for themselves over time through a variety of learning experiences. Students bring knowledge with them to these experiences; they then link new information with their prior knowledge. To help them make the connections between what they already know and new information, each unit has been organised into five stages – Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate and Evaluate.
Engage
Each unit begins with a lesson that mentally engages students
with an event or question. It captures their interest, provides
an opportunity for them to express what they know about the concept
or skill being developed, and helps them to make connections between
what they know and the new ideas.
Explore
Students carry out hands-on activities in which they can explore
the concept or skill. They grapple with the problem or phenomenon
and describe it in their own words. This stage allows students
to acquire a common set of experiences which they can use to help
each other make sense of the new concept or skill.
Explain
Only after students have explored the concept or skill does the
program provide the explanations and terms necessary to describe
what they have experienced. The significant aspect of this stage
is that explanation follows experience.
Elaborate
This stage provides opportunities for students to apply what they
have learnt to new situations and so develop a deeper understanding
of the concept or greater use of the skill. It is important for
students to discuss and compare their ideas with each other at
this stage.
Evaluate
The final lesson in each unit has a dual purpose: students continue
to develop their understanding, and they evaluate what they know
and can do. This is also the logical stage at which to assess
students' understanding of the concepts and their skill proficiency.
Working in teams enables students to share their experiences and to consider different points of view and solutions to a problem. Co-operative teams develop the social skills of sharing leadership, communicating, building trust and managing conflict. These skills are relevant to students' lives, not only at school and work, but also within family and personal relationships.
The benefits of co-operative learning include:
- more effective learning. Students learn more effectively when they work co-operatively than when they work individually or competitively. They also have a better attitude towards their school work.
- improved self-confidence. All students tend to be more successful when working in groups and this builds their self-confidence.
- better classroom management. When students work in co-operative groups they take responsibility for managing much of the equipment.
Students need to be taught how to work co-operatively. They need to work together regularly to develop effective group learning skills.
Structuring co-operative learning
Use the following ideas in planning co-operative learning with your class.
- Assign students to teams rather than allowing them to choose
partners.
- Vary the composition of each team. Give students opportunities
to work with others who might be of a different ability level,
sex or cultural background.
- Keep teams together for two or more lessons so that students
will have enough time to learn to work together successfully.
- If the number of students in your class cannot be divided
into teams of three, form two teams of two students rather than
one team of four. It is difficult for students to work together
effectively in larger groups.
- Keep a record of the students who have worked together as a team so that by the end of the year each student has worked with as many others as possible.
Team jobs
Students are assigned jobs within their team. Each team member has a specific job but all share leadership responsibilities. Each member of the team is accountable for the performance of the team and should be able to explain how the team obtained its results. Students must therefore be concerned with the performance of all members of the team. It is important to rotate team jobs each time a team works together, to give all students an opportunity to perform different roles.
For Books 1 and 2 the teams consist of two students – manager and speaker. For Books 3 to 7 the teams consist of three students – manager, speaker and director.
Manager
The manager is responsible for collecting and returning the team's equipment. The manager also tells the teacher if any equipment is damaged or broken. All team members are responsible for clearing up after an activity and getting the equipment ready to return to the equipment table.
Speaker
The speaker is responsible for asking the teacher or another team's speaker for help. If the team cannot resolve a question or decide how to follow a procedure, the speaker is the only person who may leave the team and seek help. The speaker shares any information obtained with team members. The teacher may speak to all team members, not just the speaker. The speaker is not the only person who reports to the class; each team member should be able to report on the team's results.
Director (Books 3-7)
The director is responsible for making sure that the team understands the team investigation and helps team members to focus on each step to be completed. The director is also responsible for offering encouragement and support. When the team has finished, the director helps team members to check that they have accomplished the investigation successfully. The director provides guidance, but is not the team leader.
Job badges
Each member of the team wears a job badge.
The badges make it easier for you to identify which job each
student should be doing-and easier for the students to remember
what they and their team mates should be doing. You can use the last blackline master in each teacher resource book to make job badges, or create your own.
Team skills
Primary Investigations focuses on social skills that will help children work in teams and communicate more effectively.
Children will practise the following five team skills throughout the year:
- moving into their teams quickly and quietly;
- speaking softly;
- staying with their team;
- taking turns;
- doing their jobs.
To help reinforce these skills, display the team skills chart and the team jobs chart in a prominent place in your classroom. These are always the first two blackline masters in each teacher resource book.
Even though the team skills seem simple, focus on only one skill at a time. This will help you monitor each team's use of the skill. Encourage students to use the skill by observing them as they work and providing them with feedback – this sends the message that working together effectively is important. Leave enough time at the end of co-operative activities to help teams assess their use of the skill.
In science lessons in the past there has been a tendency for boys to manipulate materials and girls to record results. Primary Investigations tries to avoid traditional social stereotypes by encouraging all students, irrespective of their sex, to learn to the maximum of their potential. Co-operative learning encourages each student to participate in all aspects of team activities, including handling the equipment and taking intellectual risks.
Observe students when they are working in their co-operative teams and ensure that both girls and boys are participating in the hands-on activities.
Primary Investigations is based on hands-on learning. The equipment required consists of:
- simple science equipment (eg, magnets, magnifying glasses, mirrors, thermometers, balloons);
- recycled materials (eg, ice-cream, yoghurt and margarine containers, egg cartons, milk cartons);
- natural materials (eg, pebbles, soil, leaves); and
- classroom materials (eg, paper, pens, rulers).
In Primary Investigations the philosophy of assessment goes hand in hand with the philosophy of learning. Students develop their knowledge and skills over time and progress at different rates. They need benchmarks against which to measure what they understand and can do at a given time.
Student assessment
To help you assess student progress, Primary Investigations provides the following:
- an assessment checklist for each unit based on the learning outcomes of the lessons in the unit.
- an evaluation lesson at the conclusion of each unit that enables students to apply their knowledge and skills to a new activity. These lessons are a logical point at which to assess what students have learnt.
- student work, including projects and written reports. While much of the work will be the result of team effort, there may be occasions when you will prefer that students do their own work.
Student recording methods
Encourage students to use recording methods that will develop their communication skills and increase their understanding. The lessons use a variety of recording methods. You could use the one outlined in the lesson or one more appropriate to your students' needs (eg, audiotape recordings, collages, collections, diagrams, diaries, displays, drama presentations, field notes, graphs, log books, models, oral presentations, photographs, poems, posters, reports, sculptures, sketches, stories, structures, tables, timeline friezes, worksheets).