Standard+3.3.1

=Set challenging learning goals for all students, and assist other teachers to develop and articulate clear and valuable learning goals. =

I am teaching Stage 3 Science collaboratively with the year 6 teachers in the Primary School. As a P-12 school I have been teaching Stage 3 in order to provide a seamless transition to High School and give the students experience of working in a laboratory.

The year 6 program had a unit called “Plugged In” and as it is essentially based around the topic of electricity the two year 6 teachers and I had a meeting (see [|Email re year 6 science])to develop a program that sets challenging learning goals for the students and also allows students to develop clear scientific concepts.

In our discussions we tried to break down the original program into clear concepts that the students need to understand in order to continue their study of electricity without having to challenge their scientific ideas. We also wanted to provide a series of activities based on individual experimentation that would lead the student to develop concepts based on their observations.

I advised on the common ideas held by children concerning the flow of electricity and how these ideas can be channeled to build a scientific understanding. I explained the results of research as described in “Electric Current: Developing Learners’ Views” Cosgrove, M; Osborne, R; Forret, M; Waikato Education Centre 1989 which looked at the ways in which students form their ideas about electricity.

In the light of documents recently published concerning the ‘National Science Curriculum: Initial Advice’ we made a decision to work on practical explorations leading to concept development, rather than teaching theory.

By the end of our meeting the year 6 teachers had articulated clear and valuable learning goals and produced the document “[|Plugged In]”

The learning goals were that the students are able to:-


 * Set up an electrical circuit that will make a bulb glow.
 * Test different materials to determine which materials conduct electricity and which do not.
 * Test the effects of different combinations of batteries and bulbs.
 * Draw conclusions concerning the way in which electricity flows through conductors.
 * Understand why batteries go flat.
 * Use the terms current, conductor, insulator and possibly voltage, series and parallel accurately.