Chapel Hill State School

Science - Information for Parents

The Science key learning area focuses on: science and society, earth and beyond, energy and change, life and living and natural and processed materials.

As they learn about science, students are involved in "working scientifically" to make sense of the phenomena they experience as they investigate, understand and communicate. They develop an appreciation of working scientifically when they learn the concepts of science through engaging in the widest range of active learning experiences. Engaging in science in this way contributes to students' sense of awe and wonder about the beauty and power of the universe.

Nature of the Science key learning area

Science as a ‘way of knowing’ is used by people to explore and explain their experiences of phenomena of the universe. It is a process for constructing new knowledge.

Scientific knowledge is viewed as a set of explanations, made by communities of scientists which attempts to account for phenomena and experiences. These explanations are tentative and continue to be modified.

‘Working scientifically’ is the term used in the Science syllabus to describe the practices and dispositions of science. These include a complex assortment of activities, mental processes, routines and protocols that are the essence of the scientific enterprise. In this syllabus, ‘working scientifically’ encompasses three aspects: investigating, understanding and communicating (page 33). ‘Working scientifically’ contributes to students’ sense of awe and wonder about the beauty and power of the universe.

The Science key learning area is organised into five conceptual strands:

• Science and Society
• Earth and Beyond
• Energy and Change
• Life and Living
• Natural and Processed Materials

Each of the strands of the science syllabus makes an equivalent contribution to the key learning area.

Each strand is described by three key concepts. Hence there are a total of 15 key concepts. These are developed over the ten years of compulsory schooling.

In the core learning outcomes, higher levels represent increasing complexity of the science key concepts, not working scientifically. Information about levelness of working scientifically can be found in the Initial In-service Materials pp 53 – 57.

The science syllabus promotes a learner-centred approach to learning and teaching, and views learning as the active construction of meaning and teaching as the act of facilitating learning (page 7).

The science syllabus strands and key concepts:

Science and Society

• Historical and cultural factors influence the nature and direction of science which, in turn, affects the development of society.
• Science as a ‘way of knowing’ is shaped by the ways humans construct their understandings.
• Decisions about the ways that science is applied have short- and long-term implications for the environment, communities and individuals.

Earth and beyond

• The Earth, solar system and universe and dynamic systems.
• Events on Earth, in the solar system and in the universe occur on difference scales of time and apace.
• Living things use the resources of the Earth, solar system and universe to meet their needs.

Energy and Change

• The forces acting on objects influence their motion, shape, behaviour and energy.
• In interactions and changes, energy is transferred and transformed but is not created or destroyed.
• There are different ways of obtaining and utilising energy and there have different consequences.

Life and Living

• The characteristics of an organism and their functioning are interrelated.
• Evolutionary processes have given rise to a diversity of living things which can be grouped according to their characteristics.
• Environments are dynamic and have living and non-living components which interact.

Natural and Processed

• The properties and structure of materials are interrelated.
• Patterns of interactions between materials can be identified and used to predict further interactions.
• The uses of materials are determined by their properties, some of which can be changed.

What is science?

Let's look in on a class using candles to investigate the heating of aluminium rods.

The teacher asks:

What do you think will happen if you hold one of the rods in a flame?

• ‘It will melt.'
• 'The heat will attract to it.'
• 'It would turn black.'
• 'If you held it a long time, the heat would travel down the rod.'
• 'It will swell.'
• 'The bottom will get hot and the heat will travel up.'
• 'The rods may stay the same and not do anything.'

All right, try it. But be sure to work on the trays.

• 'I heated it at one end and it travelled all the way to the other end.'

How hot did it get?

• 'Just warm, I could still hold it.'
• 'When I hold it straight up and down in the flame with a clothes peg, it gets hot at the top because heat travels up.'

Would it get as hot if you held the rod sideways and heated it that way?

• 'I don't know.'
• 'I don't think so.'
• 'I'll try it.'

What do you think will happen to the rod if you leave it in the flame a long time?

If we look closely at this classroom we can get some idea of what science is all about.

To carry out their investigation, students needed certain skills:

• they had to hold the rods carefully in the candle flame;
• they had to use their senses to observe what was happening and try to explain their observations; and
• they had to make predictions, discuss their observations with their teacher/classmates and write down their results.

The children were curious about the effect of heat on the rods and were keen to find answers to their questions. As a result of their investigations, students were able to reach some understanding of heating and cooling and of how heat travels.

Why do science?

Science is an important part of the primary curriculum. It has much to contribute to the development of students. They enjoy 'hands-on' activities like the one with the aluminium rods. Through such activities, students are encouraged to think logically and to pose and answer questions in a methodical way. By doing this, students can discover useful things about the natural world and about the technological things we use every day.

Science activities also provide an excellent opportunity for students to develop language skills by reading, writing and talking and mathematical skills such as measuring and calculating. It is also closely aligned to making, designing and appraising solutions to scientific problems.

What is the science program like?

Science programs aim at helping children to develop:

• thinking skills (classifying, predicting, interpreting information and making generalisations);
• basic scientific concepts;
• manipulative skills (using equipment properly and handling living things); and
• positive attitudes (interest, curiosity, confidence, open-mindedness, creativeness and responsibility for the environment).

The science program is divided into five broad areas:

• Life & living (plants, animals, classification, growth, life cycles, food webs, environment . . . );
• Energy & change (heat, light, sound, electricity, magnets, forces, engines . . . );
• Natural & processed materials (solids, liquids and gases, common materials, solubility, burning, chemical reactions, atoms . . . );
• Earth & beyond (rocks, soils, minerals, erosion, weather, volcanoes, stars, planets, moons . . . ); and
• Science & society (historical and cultural study of how science has shaped today’s knowledge…).

Each year students will investigate topics from all of the five areas listed. These topics will be sequenced so that student’s thinking skills and concepts are developed year by year.

How can parents help?

The scope of science is obviously far wider than the classroom. Many of the experiences students have at home will contribute towards their learning in science. Students will often be encouraged to follow up science activities at home.

There are a number of ways you can help even if you know very little about science. You can:

• talk with your children and encourage their natural curiosity and interest in things around them;
• encourage your children to ask questions such as 'What would happen if ... ? which they can investigate for themselves;
• allow your children to keep pets, or set up aquariums and terrariums;
• read school newsletters for science information and student workshops;

• encourage your children to explore bushland and perhaps join a group such as scouts;
• encourage you children to enter science competitions organised by our school;
• involve your children in household activities such as cooking, gardening and working on the car;
• visit the Queensland Museum and Sciencentre;
• watch science documentaries on TV eg Why?, Background to Science;
• locate science websites;
• encourage your children to read science books and enter science contests; and
• help provide everyday items (ice-cream containers, glass jars, shoeboxes and wood off-cuts) for science lessons at school.