A method is described for building a cost effective digital circuit capable of monitoring the solar radiation incident upon a remote solar cell. The circuit is built in two sections, the first, digitises the analogue voltage produced by the solar cell at a remote location and transmits the received signal to the second receiver circuit which…

"Teaching Science" has, as one of its predecessors, the "Investigating" journal, which first appeared in 1988. Looking back ten years, the winner of the "Most Valuable Paper Award" for 1999 was Kimberley Pressick-Kilborn for her article--"Steps to Fostering a Learning Community in the Primary Science…

Scientists in Schools is a project funded by the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment, and Workplace Relations and managed by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Education Section. This paper describes how the project is working to establish and maintain sustained and ongoing partnerships between…

Involving students in authentic science work is one way to enhance their interest in science. This paper reports a project in which Year 4-7 students actively participated in a study that involved the provision of a suitable nesting site for local turtles. The students collected data on turtle nests at the site and evidence of turtle hatchlings at…

Capturing students' interest in science at the junior levels is crucial to not only improving the uptake of science at senior levels but to promoting science literacy in all students in order to prepare them for a society that is very science and technologically driven. This paper presents nanotechnology as an emerging science that is both factual…

This research described in this paper firstly explored teachers' ideas about scientific literacy using an interview technique. Secondly, using a longitudinal case study approach, it examined how, following their participation in a professional development program, primary teachers presented opportunities during their science lessons for their…

Switching rural primary students on to local science was a project centred on a cluster of seven Tasmanian primary schools over a full school year. The project had as its aims a mix of professional development outcomes for participant teachers and an enhancement of science experiences for their students. In order to achieve these aims programs…

This article describes the primary science practice of one teacher as a picture of exemplary professional practice. The teacher, Suzanne Peterson, was a colleague and friend. Her untimely death earlier this year was regarded by those who knew her as a tragic loss to education. As it happens, we have access to many sources of information about…

A lecturer at the University of Queensland has developed an excellent model to give students an authentic, hands-on experience of ecological research. The first-year university students have been learning about biodiversity as they carry out the task of beetle identification. This partnership gives the students a chance to contribute to an…

Nationally and internationally, context-based programs have been implemented in an attempt to engage students in chemistry through connecting the canonical science with the real world. In Queensland, a context-based approach to chemistry was trialled in selected schools from 2002 but there is little research that investigates how students learn in…

There has been growing interest in linking the learning of Science with the literacies of Science and representations. Recent attention has been focused on learning theories that emphasise the socio-cultural and situated aspects of learning, and in particular the notion of learning as participation in a discourse community. This paper will…

At noon throughout the year the Sun has a north-south and east-west motion around the meridian. Earliest/latest sunrises and sunsets do not occur at the solstices and the effect is more pronounced with decreasing latitude. This phenomenon is calculated for 25 Australian cities and the following observations are recorded: (1) The latest sunrise…

Here's a challenge. Try searching "Google" for the phrase "rural science teachers" in Australian web content. Surprisingly, my attempts returned only two hits, neither of which actually referred to Australian teachers. Searches for "rural science education" fare little better. On this evidence one could be forgiven…

There is an increase in school-community linked initiatives in school science. A substantial proportion of these involve rural schools. This article asks the question: In what ways do these initiatives offer possibilities for better engaging rural students with school science? The paper draws on information from a number of school-community linked…

This paper reports on the outcomes of a pilot project to support secondary teachers of science in rural and regional Tasmania. The pilot project involved eight regional schools and was based on the provision of a kit of materials and an associated learning program that used brine shrimp or "sea-monkeys" to test for water quality. The…