Overview
In Chemical and Physical Sciences, students apply theoretical concepts and current research related to teaching and learning in Science to engage in authentic evaluation and pedagogical design practices. Chemical and Physical Sciences examines both theoretical perspectives and the content and pedagogy required to teach Science in Primary and Early Childhood classrooms. Students develop understanding of the content and structure of these two strands in the Australian Curriculum and build on the knowledge and skills they developed in the Biological and Earth and Space Science unit to further examine views around best practice in Science pedagogy linked to current research. Chemical and Physical Sciences includes an emphasis on assessment practices in Science which can be applied to other strands of this learning area. Planning to teach and assess students’ understanding of Science is addressed with an emphasis on how best to engage students in this learning area and scaffold understanding to enhance the ability to provide scientific explanations for phenomena.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
There are no requisites for this unit.
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 2 - 2023
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes – in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University’s Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure – Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure – International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback – Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Feedback from Students, tutors and marker feedback
Assessments
The length of the assignments along with the assessments themselves will be modified.
Feedback from SUTE unit evaluations and student in person feedback
Moodle site
Moodle content, in particular, the assessment tasks and content will need to be modified to remain in line with the new Australian Curriculum Science.
- Evaluate examples of teaching and assessment practice in Science to identify how connections are made to students’ prior knowledge or experience to promote learning
- Access and apply professional literature on contemporary Science education to critically evaluate or justify planning and assessment practices
- Plan lesson sequences that use appropriate research-based teaching strategies and ICTs to structure content and address students’ possible misconceptions in Science
- Develop diagnostic , formative and summative assessment tools that identify students’ understanding of scientific phenomena
- Select assessment strategies that engage students in active learning, promote higher order thinking and scaffold students’ understanding of core concepts in the areas of Chemical and Physical sciences.
Successful completion of this unit provides opportunities for students to engage with the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (Graduate Career Stage) focus areas of:
1.1 Physical, social and intellectual development and characteristics of students
1.2 Understand how students learn
2.1 Content and teaching strategies of the teaching area
2.2 Content selection and organisation
2.3 Curriculum, assessment and reporting
2.6 Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
3.2 Plan, structure and sequence learning programs
3.3 Use teaching strategies
3.4 Select and use resources
3.6 Evaluate and improve teaching programs
4.1 Support student participation
5.1 Assess student learning
5.4 Interpret student data
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Practical Assessment - 50% | |||||
| 2 - Practical and Written Assessment - 50% | |||||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Communication | |||||
| 2 - Problem Solving | |||||
| 3 - Critical Thinking | |||||
| 4 - Information Literacy | |||||
| 5 - Team Work | |||||
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | |||||
| 7 - Cross Cultural Competence | |||||
| 8 - Ethical practice | |||||
| 9 - Social Innovation | |||||
| 10 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | |||||
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | |
| 1 - Practical Assessment - 50% | ||||||||||
| 2 - Practical and Written Assessment - 50% | ||||||||||
Textbooks
Teaching Primary Science Constructively
Edition: 7th (2020)
Authors: Skamp, K. & Preston, C.
Cengage
Melbourne Melbourne , Victoria , Australia
Binding: eBook
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: American Psychological Association 7th Edition (APA 7th edition)
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
d.mallett@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
Inquiry learning in Science (Review) within a social constructivist perspective
Chapter
Skamp, K. & Preston, C. (2021). Chapter 2 – Constructivist views of learning and teaching science.In K. Skamp and C. Preston (Eds.), Teaching primary science constructively / edited by Keith Skamp and Christine Preston. (7th edition, pp. 42-76). Cengage.
Preston, C., Mules, M., Baker, D., & Frost, K. (2007). Teaching primary science constructively: Experiences of pre-service teachers at Macquarie University: Part 2. Teaching Science, 53(2), 29-32.
Goodrum, D. Science - Teaching and learning in South Australia. https://youtu.be/EipdYVDyhl0
Events and Submissions/Topic
Become familiar with the new curriculum and have read the Australian Curriculum Science (V. 9.0) - Understand this learning area. https://v9.australiancurriculum.edu.au/teacher-resources/understand-this-learning-area/science
Read and re-read over the two assessments for this unit.
Read the readings prior to the first week's workshop.
Module/Topic
Scientific investigation processes
Chapter
Skamp, K. & Preston, C. (2021). Chapter 4 – Thinking and working scientifically. In K. Skamp and C. Preston (Eds.), Teaching primary science constructively / edited by Keith Skamp and Christine Preston. (7th edition, pp. 142-186). Cengage.
Conezio, & French, L. (2002). Science in the preschool classroom: Capitalizing on children's fascination with the everyday world to foster language and literacy development. Young Children, 57(5), 12–18.
Events and Submissions/Topic
You should have made a start on your first assignment, which could include the following:
- Become familiar with the first assignment.
- Read the course readings to this point.
- Identified at least one misconception you could use in your assignment.
- Watched the first week's workshop recording or participated in the workshop.
- Assignment 1 is due in Week 5.
Module/Topic
Chemical sciences sub-strand overview
Misconceptions in Science
Chapter
Kind, V. (2004). Beyond Appearances: Students' misconceptions about basic chemical ideas. (2nd Edition). http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.588.2108&rep=rep1&type=pdf
Elliott, & Pillman, A. (2016). Making science misconceptions work for us. Teaching Science, 62(1), 38–41. https://doi.org/10.3316/aeipt.214741
Events and Submissions/Topic
Progress report: You should have done the following -
- Completed Part A of AT1.
- Draw a structure for your thinking/writing for the research component for Part B and started writing.
- Due week 5, Friday 12th August at 11:45 PM (AEST)
Module/Topic
Physical sciences sub-strand overview and Assessment in Science
Chapter
Barke, Hazari, A., & Yitbarek, S. (n.d.). Students’ Misconceptions and How to Overcome Them. In Misconceptions in Chemistry (pp. 21–36). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-70989-3_3
Ciofalo, J.F. & Wylie, E.C. (2006). Using diagnostic classroom assessment: One question at a time. Teachers College Record. http://mrbartonmaths.com/resourcesnew/8.%20Research/Formative%20Assessment/Using%20Diagnostic%20Classroom%20Assessment.pdf
Events and Submissions/Topic
You should have completed most of Part B of AT1.
Module/Topic
Assessment in science
Chapter
Ho, C., Lim, F.V. (2020). Assessing Conceptual Understanding in Primary Science Through Students’ Multimodal Representations in Science Notebooks. In: Teo, T.W., Tan, AL., Ong, Y.S. (eds) Science Education in the 21st Century. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-5155-0_10
Hodgson, C. & Pyle, K. (2010). A literature review of assessment for learning in science. http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.471.3251&rep=rep1&type=pdf
Events and Submissions/Topic
Due this week - Thursday 10th August 2023 at 11:45 PM (AEST)
Scientific Concepts and Alternate Conceptions Due: Week 5 Thursday (10 Aug 2023) 11:45 pm AEST
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Project and Problem-based learning in science and STEM
Chapter
Trauth-Nare, A., & Buck, G. (2011). Assessment FOR learning. The Science Teacher, 78(1), 34-39. Retrieved from https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/assessment-learning/docview/860711734/se-2
Sahin, A. (2013). Chapter 7: STEM project-based learning: Specialized form of inquiry-based learning in R.M. Capraro, M.M. Capraro, M. M., & J. R. Morgan. STEM project-based learning an integrated science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) approach (2nd ed.). Sense Publishers. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6209-143-6
Events and Submissions/Topic
Prior to tutorial, have become familiar with AT2.
Have read this week's readings prior to coming to the workshop.
Module/Topic
Chemical sciences content (1/2)
Chapter
Etherington, M. (2011). Investigative primary science: A problem-based learning approach. The Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 36(9), 36-57.
Skamp, K. & Preston, C. (2021). Chapter 11 – Physical and chemical change. In K. Skamp and C. Preston (Eds.), Teaching primary science constructively / edited by Keith Skamp and Christine Preston. (7th edition, pp. 468-516). Cengage.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Be up to date with readings and workshops.
Have started AT2
Module/Topic
Chemical sciences content (2/2)
Chapter
Skamp, K. & Preston, C. (2021). Chapter 10 – Materials and their properties. In K. Skamp and C. Preston (Eds.), Teaching primary science constructively / edited by Keith Skamp and Christine Preston. (7th edition). Cengage.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Be up to date with readings and workshops.
Have completed Part A of AT2
Module/Topic
Physical Science (1/2)
Chapter
Skamp, K. & Preston, C. (2021). Chapter 7 – Movement and force. In K. Skamp and C. Preston (Eds.), Teaching primary science constructively / edited by Keith Skamp and Christine Preston. (7th edition). Cengage.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Be up to date with readings and workshops.
Have completed Part B of AT2
Module/Topic
Physical Science (2/2)
Chapter
Skamp, K. & Preston, C. (2021). Chapter 6 – Electricity. In K. Skamp and C. Preston (Eds.), Teaching primary science constructively / edited by Keith Skamp and Christine Preston. (7th edition). Cengage.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Be up to date with readings and workshops.
Have started Part C of AT2
Module/Topic
Integrating Science into other STEM areas - Review week
Chapter
Skamp, K. & Preston, C. (2021). Chapter 5 – Energy. In K. Skamp and C. Preston (Eds.), Teaching primary science constructively / edited by Keith Skamp and Christine Preston. (7th edition, pp. 468-516). Cengage.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Be up to date with readings and workshops.
Have completed Part C of AT2
Module/Topic
Unit review and consolidation
Chapter
No readings this week
Events and Submissions/Topic
AT2 Due this week: Monday 2nd October at 11:45 PM (AEST)
Assessment in Science Due: Week 12 Monday (2 Oct 2023) 11:45 pm AEST
Tutorial attendance is a compulsory component of your university studies. If you cannot attend a workshop, you are expected to watch the recording.
We will be using the Australian Curriculum (V.9.0) for the entire unit. If you use materials that are linked to the previous version of the curriculum, you may need to make modifications.
We will be using Microsoft Teams for all communications for this unit.
Please do not contact your tutor by email unless your matter is personal in nature (e.g. illness).
Extension requests should be made through Moodle. Acceptable reasons for extension requests and the documentation needed in order for them to be approved are given in this document.
1 Practical Assessment
Word limit: 3000 words
Weighting: 50%
Due: Week 5 - Thursday 10th August 2023 at 11:45 PM (AEST)
Task Description: You will conduct a case study on a (pretend or real) student (Prep-Year 6) who has a (Chemical and Physical) scientific misconception and discuss how you will seek to modify this misconception as if you were the child’s teacher. Your response will be in two parts as elaborated on below.
Introduction: (Usually write this section last). Provide an overview of your case study, lesson sequence and how you will align student alternate conceptions
Part A - Case Study: Select a scientific concept from either the Chemical or Physical sciences sub-strand of the Australian Curriculum (Science) that is commonly misunderstood or poorly understood. Misconceptions can often be found in the media, in popular culture or during conversations with children.
Learner context: Identify a learner context that you choose to work with from Foundation (Prep) to Year 6. You can use an actual child or create an interaction using a pseudonym.
Diagnostic Tool: Create/select and justify the diagnostic tool (Drawing from the course readings and/or high quality research) you have used to critically analyse the understanding that these learners have about your selected concept.
Comparisons between alternate conception and current scientific conception: Compare student understandings with current scientific understandings. Include examples, data, and a comparison of the language.
Part B - Replacing Alternate Conceptions: Develop a learning sequence that works to modify the alternate conception identified during Part A.
The learning sequence – Should include the learning intention, success criteria, what the child will learn, materials needed (including ICT tool/s) and how it will be formatively assessed at the end of each lesson. You need to include a range of teaching strategies.
Discussion on your teaching lessons-
What did you do and how do you know it is going to be effective? Include links to the course materials and high quality research.
Presentation of student progress - Provide a discussion on how you are going to communicate the learning growth of your students to the parents and/or wider community.
Week 5 Thursday (10 Aug 2023) 11:45 pm AEST
Assessment tasks will be returned after moderation and in time for you to use the feedback for the next assignment
- Scientific concept identified. Learner context identified.
- Appropriate choice of and discussion about the diagnostic tool including examples of the language surfaced from using the tool.
- Comparison of and explicit connections drawn between the alternate conception with the currently recognised scientific conception and the demonstration of the knowledge and understanding of the science concept.
- Range of teaching strategies included in the learning sequence based on high quality and contemporary research on effective learning and teaching practice in science education with the use of ICT.
- Writing is consistent with academic conventions including use of course readings and high-quality research and APA 7 Conventions.
- Evaluate examples of teaching and assessment practice in Science to identify how connections are made to students’ prior knowledge or experience to promote learning
- Access and apply professional literature on contemporary Science education to critically evaluate or justify planning and assessment practices
- Plan lesson sequences that use appropriate research-based teaching strategies and ICTs to structure content and address students’ possible misconceptions in Science
- Develop diagnostic , formative and summative assessment tools that identify students’ understanding of scientific phenomena
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Information Technology Competence
- Cross Cultural Competence
2 Practical and Written Assessment
Task: Draw from the Australian Curriculum Science (V.9.0) and online resources to develop a Physical or Chemical Science unit outline along with one summative science project. You will need to include examples of your assessments in your appendices and provide a justification for the assessment approaches you will be using in Part C. Your response will be in four parts to be elaborated on below.
Introduction: Provide an overview of your submission, which provides a discussion on the pedagogical approach you intend to use in your unit, with links to high quality research. 500 words
Part A: Develop a Science/STEM unit overview with assessments. 1000 words
Design, construct and justify a Chemical or Physical Sciences unit outline along with details of diagnostic, formative and summative project-based assessment/s. Please note: You are not doing lesson plans. You are providing a summary of what will be done in each lesson in the unit. Usually, a unit will consist of around eight science lessons. You can use adapted high quality online resources and/or an adapted Primary Connections unit to help you develop this overview. Note: This assessment must be in your words. You cannot simply copy an entire unit as this will constitute plagiarism. You can use a table like the following:
| Aus. Curriculum Descriptor / elaboration | Lesson Summary | Assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Provide the part of the descriptor or elaboration you are teaching here. | Provide a summary of your lesson here. | Provide details of how will you assess what students have learned in your lesson? You need to include details of all three forms of assessment (Diagnostic, formative and summative); however, you will design the actual summative assessment in the next section. i.e. Don't put your summative assessment in twice in your submission. |
Part B: Your physical or chemical science-based STEM or STEAM project task sheet - 500 words
Design a project task sheet to give your students. This task sheet will have instructions for the students on what they need to do. The completion of the project usually goes over more than two lessons. You will need to allow for this in your above unit overview. You will need to have included details of the teaching to this assessment task in your unit overview above.
Part C: Assessment in Science - 1000 words
In light of current research around effective science assessment practice, evaluate the diagnostic, formative and summative assessment approaches used in this unit of work.
Week 12 Monday (2 Oct 2023) 11:45 pm AEST
This assessment must be in your words. You cannot copy work from online sources as this will constitute plagiarism.
Assessment tasks will be returned after moderation.
- Develop lesson sequence overview that draw from research-based teaching strategies (Science inquiry) and ICT's to structure content in order to teach a physical or chemical sciences' descriptor.
- Select assessment and teaching strategies that engage students in active learning, promote higher order thinking and scaffold students’ understanding of core concepts in the areas of Chemical and Physical sciences
- Developed high quality diagnostic , formative and summative assessment tools that identify students’ understanding of scientific phenomena
- Drawn from high quality literature to justify the use of these assessments within an inquiry based approach to teaching science.
- Evaluate examples of teaching and assessment practice in Science to identify how connections are made to students’ prior knowledge or experience to promote learning
- Access and apply professional literature on contemporary Science education to critically evaluate or justify planning and assessment practices
- Develop diagnostic , formative and summative assessment tools that identify students’ understanding of scientific phenomena
- Select assessment strategies that engage students in active learning, promote higher order thinking and scaffold students’ understanding of core concepts in the areas of Chemical and Physical sciences.
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.
Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.
When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.
As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.
What is a breach of academic integrity?
A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.
Why is academic integrity important?
A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.
Where can I get assistance?
For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.
What can you do to act with integrity?
