Teaching Primary Science Constructively helps readers to create effective science learning experiences for primary students by using a constructivist approach to learning. This best-selling text explains the principles of constructivism and their implications for learning and teaching, and discusses core strategies for developing science understanding and science inquiry processes and skills. Chapters also provide research-based ideas for implementing a constructivist approach within a number of content strands. Throughout there are strong links to the key ideas, themes and terminology of the revised Australian Curriculum: Science. This sixth edition includes a new introductory chapter addressing readers' preconceptions and concerns about teaching primary science.

Brings teaching primary science to life, with dedicated chapters for chemistry, physics, biology and earth and environmental science.

Teaching Primary Science Constructively helps readers to create effective science learning experiences for primary students by using a constructivist approach to learning: a method that has personal, social and cultural dimensions. Introductory chapters explain the principles of constructivism and their implications for teaching. They also discuss scaffolding strategies, planning and implementing sequential lessons, 'thinking and working scientifically' and general pedagogical issues, including concerns teachers may have about their own level of scientific knowledge. Subsequent chapters then focus on the major topic strands covered in most primary science syllabuses. Each topic-focused chapter: suggests ways to reflect on and challenge your own ideas about learning science, teaching science and the topic's key scientific concepts; offers suggestions for improving your own understanding of the topic; reviews the research related to primary students' ideas about the topic; discusses scientists' ideas on aspects of the topic; considers what children want to know about the topic; supplies key constructivist teaching principles and selected strategies for to the topic; includes case studies of lesson sequences based on constructivist teaching approaches; lists the key scientific concepts and understandings that teachers should be familiar with; details other teaching and learning considerations related to the topic or to primary science teaching in general; incorporates activities to encourage analysis and reflection. Intended for pre-service as well as practicing teachers, Teaching Primary Science Constructively enables readers to successfully facilitate scientific learning by building upon students' pre-existing notions of how their world works from a scientific viewpoint.

First published in 1994. Leading scholars in science education from eight countries on four continents and ex-pert practising science teachers (primary and secondary) wrote about the teaching and learning of particular science content or skills, and hence how different science content requires different sorts of teaching and learning. Having shared the papers, they then met to discuss them and subsequently revised them. The result is a coherent set of chapters that share valuable insights about the teaching and learning of science. Some chapters consider the detail of specific topics (e.g. floating and sinking, soil and chemical change), some describe innovative procedures, others provide powerful theory. Together they provide a comprehensive analysis of constructivist learning and teaching implications.

Teaching Primary Science Constructively helps pre-service teachers to create effective science learning experiences for primary students by using a constructivist approach to learning. This best-selling text explains the principles of constructivism, the implications for learning and teaching and discusses core strategies for developing science understanding and science inquiry processes and skills. Part 2 provides research-based ideas for implementing a constructivist approach within a number of content strands. Throughout there are strong links to the key ideas, themes and terminology of the latest Australian Curriculum: Science.

First Published in 1999. This book arose from a growing awareness of student teachers' need for an easy, informative and inspiring book about the constructivist approach. On hearing that label, students tend to react either with, 'Isn't that marvellous - the answer to all my problems', or 'Sounds fine in theory, but I couldn't do it'. Both are wrong. This book may help to get the balance right.