Curriculum Directorate K-12 Inquiry Skills Science Understanding Science as a Human Endeavour the skills of being a scientist social and ethical impact applications historical aspects career paths concepts principles Laws theories models

Curriculum Directorate K-12 Curriculum for a particular year Content descriptions organised into strands Content elaborations Achievement standards Work samples

Curriculum Directorate K-12 Content descriptions: specify what teachers are expected to teach include the knowledge, skills and understanding for Science at each year level provide a well-researched scope and sequence of teaching provide sufficient flexibility for teachers to determine how best to cater for individual student's learning needs and interests identify the mandatory curriculum content

Curriculum Directorate K-12

Do the content descriptions provided in the Australian Curriculum for Science Years 7 – 10 identify the essential knowledge, understanding and skills we would want students to be engage with in a 21 st Century Science curriculum? Discuss What is missing - why is it essential content? Is anything there that isn’t essential? Would you remove it? Is it necessary for later learning? Is the content logically sequenced?

Curriculum Directorate K-12 Content elaborations provide examples that illustrate each content description. These are available for those teachers and others who may require assistance to better understand the content description. They do not identify or represent mandatory content.

Curriculum Directorate K-12

How would you use content elaborations? Do they clarify the content intent without adding new content? Are content elaborations valuable? For programming? For building a continuum of learning? For developing an understanding of the Australian Curriculum: Science ?

Curriculum Directorate K-12 An achievement standard is an expectation of the quality of learning that students should reach by a particular point in their schooling (e.g. the depth of their understanding, the extent of their knowledge and the sophistication of their skills). Achievement standards describe a student performing at a C level

Curriculum Directorate K-12 By the end of Year 7, students are able to formulate questions and predictions to be investigated. They can select, with guidance, an appropriate method to investigate their questions (eg designing a fair test, survey, information research, use of secondary sources) and conduct investigations safely in groups or individually.

Curriculum Directorate K-12 Achievement Standards Discuss: How will you use the achievement standards? Are they of benefit in planning your teaching and learning programme? Do these standards reflect the important aspects of a students learning (content descriptions) in each year? Are they a useful guide to assist teachers in understanding the Australian Curriculum Science?

Curriculum Directorate K-12 Achievement Standards Will they be something that assists teacher judgement of student performance? Will they help to build consistency of teacher judgement?  Across NSW?  Within the Region?  Within the school?  For individuals? Will the achievement standards aid your capacity to communicate with parents and the community?

Curriculum Directorate K-12 The content descriptions incorporate appropriately:  The 10 general capabilities e.g. ICT, literacy, numeracy, thinking skills, creativity  The cross-curriculum dimensions in ways appropriate to each learning area

Curriculum Directorate K-12 Can the Australian Curriculum for Science 7 – 10 be taught in the time that you currently have available in school – (500 hours Years 7 – 10) Discuss

Curriculum Directorate K-12 Current NSW SyllabusAustralian Curriculum: Science Prescribed Focus Areas: Described across Years 7 – 10 Science as a Human Endeavour Described across Years 7 – 8 and Years 9 – 10 Knowledge and Understanding Described across Years 7 – 8 and Years 9 – 10 Science Understanding Described for each Year 7 to 10 Skills Described across Years Inquiry Skills Described across Years 7 – 8 and Years 9 – 10

Curriculum Directorate K-12

 Use the Curriculum Support forum or  Contact Ric Morante SCA Science 7-12 Phone Glen Sawle Manager Science Phone