In this paper, we explore how an intentionally planned learning environment, rich with material resources and inquiry questioning practices, supported young children's engagement with an integrated science and mathematics learning experience. A practitioner-researcher, named 'Jenny', from an Australian early year learning centre, partnered with…

University-led science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) outreach plays an important role in addressing declining rates of student participation in tertiary STEM programs and declining interest in pursuing careers in STEM fields (Sadler, Eilam, Bigger & Barry, 2018). One type of outreach program that is becoming more popular is…

The Australian Science Teachers Association offers an innovative international professional development program for science teachers called the Science Teachers Exchange -- Japan. The program offers Australian and Japanese teachers an opportunity to travel to the corresponding country, allowing the teachers to grow in their knowledge of the…

Smartphones are increasingly used in schools to achieve a number of educational outcomes; from developing measurement skills to enabling collaborative learning. When used as a measurement device in science classrooms, a few questions emerge. How good are the measurement capabilities of smartphones? Can smartphones lead to a more positive learning…

Connecting schools and teachers with industry and community partners is essential for improving STEM outcomes for students. To address this, two pilot 'STEM Hubs' were created for schools in Brisbane and Townsville that connected secondary STEM teachers with local industry and community partners. The collaboration afforded innovative STEM units to…

Australian science curricula have promoted the use of investigations that allow secondary students to engage deeply with the methods of scientific inquiry, through student-directed, open-ended investigations over an extended duration. This study presents the analysis of data relating to the frequency of completion and attitudes towards long…

DNA barcoding is increasingly being introduced into biological science educational curricula worldwide. The technique has a number of features that make it ideal for science curricula and particularly for Project-Based Learning (PBL). This report outlines the development of a DNA barcoding project in an Australian TAFE college, which also combined…

In this paper, we report on a case study of how three teachers personalised learning in science through supporting a group of Year 8 students to engage in individual inquiry projects. The case study demonstrated how heavily transmissive teaching can be avoided by restructuring classes to optimise student group and individual work and timely…

A "citizen science" outreach program was aimed at high school students in Western Australia with a focus on agricultural sciences. The program had two main objectives: the collection of samples and the mapping of the distribution of the leaf disease powdery mildew of barley across the state; and support for the teaching and learning of…

"Blended" and "flipped" pedagogies are becoming more common features of classrooms as the technological revolution continues. While the appropriate use of technology in the learning environment can serve to motivate some students, significant problems surrounding student motivation and engagement remain. As such, the…

Diagrammatic representations are ubiquitous in science education, with students and teachers alike being firmly committed to their use. However, students interpret the visual data imparted by diagrams in different ways. In this study involving diagrams of cells, it was found that first-year university students apply various criteria to evaluate…

This paper derives from the authors' experiences of the development of a successful science specialism implemented in a large primary school in regional Victoria, Australia, since 2012. We discuss how diverse resources--people, spaces, equipment, materials and ideas--were brought together to support a science specialism that focuses on positioning…

There is considerable evidence suggesting that students in rural schools lag behind their city counterparts in measures of science literacy and attitude to science learning. If we are to address this situation we need to build as full a picture as we can of the key features of what is a complex and varied rural schooling context. In this article…

This research focuses on the use of ethical frameworks as a pedagogical model for socio-scientific education in implementing the "Science as a Human Endeavour" (SHE) strand of the Australian Curriculum: Science in a Year 10 biology class in a Christian college in metropolitan Perth, Western Australia. Using a case study approach, a mixed…

Nanotechnology is guided by the assumption that with the ability to shape or re-shape at the molecular level, we could manipulate the physical world. Some speculate that this ability will be the beginning of the next technological revolution. Hence, an aim of secondary science education should be the development of scientifically literate citizens…