Through Preschool and Foundation Level, children are confident in their knowledge about rocks. Five- to six-year-olds have firm ideas on what they consider rocks are and where they might be found (Preston, 2018). With the exception of children who are avid rock collectors, such knowledge usually comprises general, inconsistent ideas formed from…

In the Australian state of Victoria, the city of Melbourne endured the world's longest number of lockdown days, with severe government health orders and travel restrictions in place for extended periods of 2020 and 2021. In common with others, we found the provision of field teaching in introductory geology, structural geology, and volcanology,…

This article proposes an evidence-based and engaging approach to teaching the mechanisms driving the movement of tectonic plates that should lead high school students towards the prevalent theories used in peer-reviewed science journals and taught in universities. The methods presented replace the inaccurate and outdated focus on mantle convection…

The computer game sensation "Minecraft" has become a mainstay amongst school students of all ages. Anecdotally, at Geoscience Australia, we have observed that "Minecrafters" often draw comparisons between their Minecraft experiences and the real world. For some students, the line between reality and fantasy is blurred. At the…

Mineralogy is an essential component of Earth Science education, yet many students struggle to obtain adequate comprehension and knowledge of mineralogy during tertiary (postsecondary) degree programs. The use of educational games can be an effective strategy for science teaching as games provide an active learning environment that enhances…

The present article analyses the changes in practices, ideas, and attitudes proposed by a group of novice science teachers during a further education teacher training program. The research on which it is based is focused on monitoring the training program and its impact on the participating teachers. The training program has as its starting point…

This article discusses using students' analysis of media coverage of the March 2011 Japanese earthquake, tsunami and nuclear events to develop their knowledge and understanding of geological concepts and related socio-scientific issues. It draws on news reported at that time, identifies themes in those reports, and suggests how this event can be…

The background to Charles Darwin's little-known visit to Australia, and the account of his experiences while here, provide some invaluable historical material for teaching evolution, geology, meteorology, and the determination of longitude. Indeed, by using his Australian experiences as a foundation, it is possible to explain the theory of…

Selected articles on various aspects of biology teaching published in 1983 have been annotated in this bibliography. Entries from 25 journals representing 12 countries are presented according to a topic area classification scheme listed at the beginning of the volume. Countries represented include: Australia; Bulgaria; Czechoslovakia; Federal…