Unit details
ESS444 - Science: Curriculum Study
| Offered at: | (B, G, X) |
|---|---|
| Credit point(s): | 1 |
| Offerings: | Trimester 1 |
| EFTSL value: | 0.125 |
| Cohort rule: | (For students enrolled in courses D342, D344, D351, E365, E377 and E455 only) |
| Unit chair: | P Hubber |
| Campus contact: | P Hubber (B, X), R Tytler (G) |
| Prerequisite: | A sub-major sequence in one area of science, together with a first-year study in another science subject or an approved equivalent. |
| Incompatible with: | ESS244, EME444, ESS744 |
| Contact hours: | 3 hour tutorial each week |
| Note: This unit is a prerequisite for the biology, chemistry and science curriculum study units. | |
Content
Topics to be addressed in this unit include:
- Lesson planning in science;
- The nature of science and rationale for teaching it;
- Research into students’ understandings of science and implications for teaching science;
- Contemporary understandings about students’ learning of science;
- Victorian Essential Learning Standards (VELS) structure as it relates to the teaching of science.
- The Nature of Science and implications for the teaching and learning of science – models and representations in science, and argumentation;
- Assessing the development of students’ understandings and skills in science;
- Teaching and learning strategies to support students’ understandings in science;
- Planning and management of practical science learning activities;
- Scientific literacy and literacies of science; and
- Applications of ICT in the science classroom.
Assessment
1. Presentation of a teaching resource from a science education journal (500 words, 20%).
2. Concept map (500 words or equivalent, 20%).
3. Major assignment requiring the development of a sequence of lessons within the relevant contemporary curriculum document (e.g. Victorian Essential Learning Standards) (3000 words, 60%).
All tasks will be criterion-referenced.
Prescribed texts
Dawson, C., 2000, Science Teaching in the Secondary School, Longman, Frenchs Forest NSW.
Students will be required to access professional journals such as:
The Australian Science
Teachers’J ournal,
School Science Review, The Science Teacher, in addition to digital resources.
Unit Fee Information
| Student Contribution Rate* | Student Contribution Rate** | Fee rate - Domestic Students | Fee rate - International students |
| $755 | $604 | $2380 | $2535 |
* Rate for all CSP students, except for those who commenced Education and Nursing units pre 2010
** Rate for CSP students who commenced Education and Nursing units pre 2010
Please note: Unit fees listed do not apply to Deakin Prime students.
