The first (exploratory) phase of the Learning in Science Project (Primary)--LISP(P)--focused on science teaching/learning in New Zealand primary schools. Previous information about science teaching/learning was obtained from interviews with children, teachers, principals, science advisers, teachers' college lecturers, and inspectors. To gain…

The Learning in Science Project (Primary)--LISP(P)--was designed to investigate the teaching and learning of science in the primary school. This paper summarizes the work undertaken and the findings obtained during the first 9 months of the project. During the first 6 months, an exploratory phase, similar to the original Learning in Science…

The first (exploratory) phase of the Learning in Science Project (Primary)--LISP(P)--focused on science teaching/learning in New Zealand primary schools. Project goals included the identification of major problems of classroom teaching and learning and the study of factors which promote or limit individual children's learning of science. This…

The stand taken in the Learning in Science Project (Primary)--LISP(P)--is that primary school science should be centrally concerned with children's present interaction with their world rather than their future science education. Further, it has been decided that one of the LISP(P) foci should be on questions that children ask and how these…

The Learning in Science Project (Primary)--LISP(P)--developed a handbook for a unit on "floating and sinking". The handbook contains information about ideas children and scientists have about the topic and several investigations and projects designed to help teachers move children gradually from intuitive explanations toward those which…

The first working paper of the Learning in Science Project, "An Initial Framework," outlined what was then seen as the major aims of the project and suggested how these aims might be achieved by three phases of research: exploratory (to observe teaching/learning in Form 1 to 4 science classrooms and to identify difficulties perceived by…

Two booklets were developed by the Learning in Science Project (primary)--LISP(P)--to help teachers adopt an approach to science teaching which would enhance children's understanding of floating and sinking; the strategy enables teachers to reconceptualize their teaching task from activity-driven, didactic teaching to conceptual-change teaching.…

This paper proposes some possible areas of research and tentative theoretical guidelines for the Learning in Science Project (Primary)-- LISP(P). This new project, designed to investigate the teaching and learning of science in the primary school, arises from the work of the original Learning in Science Project (LISP). LISP(P) has two…

Science programs provided for primary school have not always been successful. A major reason suggested is that some programs place demands on teachers which many teachers find difficult to meet and which give rise to concerns which restrict their development as teachers of science. Based on the work of the the Learning in Science Project…

An alternative approach for teaching primary school science has been proposed by the Learning in Science Project (Primary--LISP(P). This study investigated the use of the approach during three series of lessons on the topic "metals." Each series followed the same general pattern: (1) an introductory session to stimulate children to ask…

An alternative teaching model has been proposed by the Learning in Science Project (Primary)--LISP(P). The model uses a six-step approach (outlined in an appendix) which fosters an environment in which children can ask questions about a situation, offer explanations, carry out investigations, and report their findings. This paper reports on the…

Two booklets were developed by the Learning in Science Project (Primary)--LISP(P)--to help teachers adopt an approach to primary science teaching which would enhance children's understanding of floating and sinking. Both booklets were designed to enable teachers to reconceptualize their teaching task from activity-driven, didactic teaching to…

The Learning in Science Project (Primary)--LISP(P)--investigated the ideas and interests children have about flowering plants (in particular whether these plants have a life cycle). Data were obtained from: individual interviews with children, ages 7- to 14-year-old (10 students for each age level), using the "interview-about-instances"…

The Learning in Science Project (Primary)--LISP(P)--investigated the questions and explanations primary children have about rocks. Data were collected during teaching sessions from New Zealand students (ages 8-11) and Australian students (ages 10-11). The teaching sessions required the teacher to create a situation in which children generated some…

The aim of the Learning in Science Project is to: (1) investigate science teaching/learning at the Form 1 to 4 level (ages 10 to 14); (2) identify some of the key difficulties in this subject area; and (3) find ways of overcoming such difficulties. The project is seen both as an evaluative and a research project in that it is concerned with…