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Teacher Education  \n\n| Volume 41 | Issue 4 | Article 4 |\n| --- | --- |\n| 2016\u003Cbr>Science that Matters: Exploring Science Learning and Teaching in Primary Schools\u003Cbr>Angela Fitzgerald\u003Cbr>Monash University, [ange_online@hotmail.com](ange_online@hotmail.com)\u003Cbr>Kathy Smith\u003Cbr>Catholic Education Office Melbourne |  |\n\nRecommended Citation  \nFitzgerald, A., & Smith, K. (2016). Science that Matters: Exploring Science Learning and Teaching in Primary Schools. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 41 (4).  \nRetrieved from [http://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol41/iss4/4](http://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol41/iss4/4)  \nThis Journal Article is posted at Research Online.  \n[http://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol41/iss4/4](http://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol41/iss4/4)  \nScience that Matters: Exploring Science Learning and Teaching in  \nPrimary Schools  \nAngela Fitzgerald  \nKathy Smith  \nMonash University  \nAbstract: To help support primary school students to better  \nunderstand why science matters, teachers must first be supported to  \nteach science in ways that matter. In moving to this point, this paper identifies the dilemmas and tensions primary school teachers face in  \nthe teaching of science. The balance is then readdressed through a  \nresearch-based examination of some of the components underpinning  \nquality science learning and teaching practices. Stories of teachers  \nreshaping their science teaching to enable practical applications of  \nthese elements in future practice are shared to illustrate what is  \npossible.  \nIntroduction  \nPrimary science education centers on the work of teachers and the dilemmas involved in deciding what learning matters for their students and how their professional practice will nurture this learning (Lindsay, 2011) . As generalists, primary school teachers must determine how, when and where they attend to a range of explicit science curriculum demands while also attempting to balance teaching and learning requirements across all curriculum areas (Smith & Fitzgerald, 2013) . These decisions are informed by personal and professional experience, including professional understandings of pedagogy and content knowledge, personal thinking and beliefs about the importance of science and ideas about what science matters for their students (Fitzgerald, 2012) . Given the individual nature of teacher expertise and the complexity of professional practice it should come as no surprise that there is evidence of a diverse range of approaches to primary science education in Australian primary schools, at the state, school and classroom level (Tytler, 2007) . Diverse approaches to science teaching may be inevitable yet two particularly concerning observations, arise from this diversity:  \n1. Students experience different classroom representations ofthe nature of science, i.e., key principles and ideas which provide a description of science as a way of knowing and acting, as well as characteristics of scientific knowledge. Teachers value and attend differently to these principles and as a consequence students may have limited opportunity to develop a consistent and shared understanding about the inherent values and rigor which define both scientific knowledge, and, the social dimensions of science activity.,(Walsh, 2011); and  \n2. The amount of time devoted to science is inconsistently allocated, e.g. how and when opportunities are made available for students to engage in science learning differs across classrooms (Angus, Olney & Ainley, 2007) . This impacts the quality and consistency of student learning experiences (Anderson, 2014)  \nThe interrelated nature of these tensions is important to note. It is because teachers think about science in different ways they therefore work with science in different ways; how they understand the nature of science influences where they find opportunities for science teaching and learning within the context of their classroom (Heap, 2013) . These understandings influence where primary te","cbCaihs7tGSyhwu9","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaihs7tGSyhwu9","pdf",473375,16,"English","# Introduction\n## Primary science education and teacher dilemmas\n## Impacts of inconsistent science representations and time allocation\n## Potential of teachers to enable quality science learning\n## Paper focus on classroom practice examples","[{\"question\":\"What dilemmas and tensions does the paper focus on in primary science teaching?\",\"answer\":\"It highlights tensions teachers face when deciding what learning matters, including differences in how students experience the nature of science and how science time is allocated across classrooms.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the paper address the balance in science learning and teaching practices?\",\"answer\":\"It readdresses the tensions through a research-based examination of components underpinning quality science learning and teaching, using teacher practice stories to show what is possible.\"},{\"question\":\"Why does the paper argue that inconsistent science teaching affects student learning?\",\"answer\":\"Because different classroom representations of the nature of science and inconsistent time allocation influence the quality and consistency of students’ learning experiences, disconnecting learning from broader curriculum and life context.\"}]","Science that Matters - Exploring Science Learning and Teaching in Primary Schools | PDF",1792077739]