Practical activities : what science teaching can learn from primary classrooms

Although I have been teaching and researching in primary science for the past decade, I began my career in science teaching in secondary and tertiary institutions and my views on science teaching were formed in these environments. Because I have never been a classroom primary teacher it has only been slowly that I have come to recognise some of the unique characteristics of science teaching in primary schools and come to value them. This paper is an attempt to begin a discussion about what science teaching can learn from the culture of teaching in primary schools by examining some of the ways in which science is taught.

This paper is based on research conducted for my doctorate. It was done in two parts: first a pilot study, Current Primary Science Practice, to try and get a feel for the way science is taught in primary schools in Victoria, N.S.W. and the A.C.T., followed by an in study of a term-long unit of science teaching done by four teachers at four different schools in Victoria and N.S.W, The Role of Practical Activities in Science Teaching.