RESEARCH AND EVALUATION

‘Teaching primary science’ report 2012

Sample
Teaching Primary Science

Adjunct Professor Keith Skamp, Southern Cross University, NSW, was commissioned in 2012 to undertake research funded by the Australian Government as part of PrimaryConnections Stage 4.

This report (Teaching primary science: Trial-teacher feedback on the implementation of PrimaryConnections and the 5E model) is a detailed study of the implementation of trial PrimaryConnections curriculum units in Australian schools—in particular, the use of the 5E learning cycle that forms the core of PrimaryConnections. It is based on extensive written feedback over more than six years from teachers who have trialled the PrimaryConnections units. The detailed and extensive findings from these data will inform policy decisions that underpin future professional-learning initiatives and the development of curriculum-support materials associated with the effective implementation of the units and the enhanced 5E learning cycle. The findings will also be valuable for teachers, professional learning providers and curriculum developers. 

The research analysis indicates that:

  • PrimaryConnections is changing the face of primary science in a wide range of classrooms.
  • PrimaryConnections has had a very real and positive influence on most (if not all) responding teachers.
  • This change has been in both their thinking about inquiry approaches and their implementation to varying degrees in many classrooms.
  • Teachers reported positive impacts on students’ conceptual understanding and inquiry skill development.
  • Teachers’ confidence to teach primary science appeared to be positively impacted on by the enjoyment they experienced when they were teaching PrimaryConnections units.
  • This was due, in part, to students’ obvious interest in science, and the impact the units had on their students’ learning in science.
  • Many of the responses showed a ‘passion’ for teaching science this way; it ‘oozed’ through a range of their comments.
  • Overall, the report notes: ‘Although there are still many actions that can be taken, PrimaryConnections is making a difference’.

To learn more, download the report here.

To learn about the implications for teachers of the Skamp Report (2012), download a 2 page overview here.

Read a paper presented at the 2012 Australasian Science Education Research Association Conference that is based on the Skamp Report (2012) here.