Science education researchers and curriculum documents have advocated scientific inquiry for more than six decades; however, inconsistent findings concerning its effects on students' learning outcomes have been revealed in recent analyses of large-scale international assessment data (e.g., the Programme for International Student Assessment…

The way science education is positioned and practised in New Zealand primary schools varies widely. In this qualitative case study, participants in senior management from five Auckland primary schools were asked how they perceived science, how it was taught and reasons for the pedagogical approaches chosen. It was clear all schools were different…

Science capabilities were introduced within the New Zealand context following the revised "New Zealand Curriculum" (NZC). These capabilities are a small set of things that NZC intends students to be able to do in science, which weave the nature of science with content strands. Using pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) to understand…

We assessed the impact of music videos with science-based lyrics on content knowledge and attitudes in a three-part experimental research study of over 1000 participants (mostly K-12 students). In Study A, 13 of 15 music videos were followed by statistically significant improvements on questions about material covered in the videos, while…

This paper highlights the use of a drama convention--"Role on the Wall"--to teach the Nature of Science (NOS) in a Year 7/8 classroom. Students were positioned as "expert" scientists re-investigating the science behind the sinking of the Wahine in a Mantle of the Expert unit. Students drew a "Role on the Wall" of a…

Over the past decade, there has been a significant reduction for New Zealand initial teacher education student teachers to experience education through a science context. This paper presents the stories of two graduates from a large New Zealand university and their journeys into the classroom. Richard graduated with a Bachelor of Teaching (Primary…

Research has shown that one of the factors that enable effective teachers is their rich "Pedagogical Content Knowledge" (PCK), a special blend of content knowledge and pedagogical knowledge that is built up over time and experience. This form of professional knowledge, first theorized by Shulman (1987), is topic-specific, unique to each…

This article is devoted to practical aspects of teaching and learning of probability at university. It presents the difficulties and attitudes of first-year university science and engineering students towards using paradoxes and counterexamples as a pedagogical strategy in teaching and learning of probability. It also presents a student's point of…

Pseudoscience is a ubiquitous aspect of popular culture which constitutes a direct challenge to science, and by association, to science education. With the exception of politically influential pseudosciences trying to impose themselves on official curricula such as creationism, science education authorities and professional organisations seem…

New Zealand has had a national school science curriculum for more than 80 years. In the past the evolution content of this document has varied, and has at times been strongly influenced by creationist lobby groups. The "new" science curriculum, to be fully implemented in 2010, places much greater emphasis than before on understanding…

There has been recent concern over the variable quality of science teaching in New Zealand primary schools. One reason suggested has been the relatively low levels of science education components in initial teacher education (ITE) programmes. This paper follows a cohort of recent teacher graduates from a science education course in their ITE…

Background: Effectiveness research is maturing as a field within intervention and prevention science. Effectiveness research involves the implementation and evaluation of the effectiveness of the dissemination of evidence-based interventions in everyday circumstances (i.e., type 2 translational research). Effectiveness research is characterized by…

Initial teacher education (ITE) is being challenged internationally to prepare teachers with the understandings needed to teach an increasingly diverse student population. Science teachers need to prepare students with both conceptual and procedural understanding. The challenge is to prioritise a balance in ITE courses between theoretical…

The concept of partnerships between schools and practicing scientists came to prominence in the United States in the mid 1980s. The call by government for greater private sector involvement in education to raise standards in science achievement saw a variety of programmes developed, ranging from short-term sponsorships through to longer-term,…

The nature of knowledge needed for teaching elementary science and the development of such knowledge is a focus of ongoing research in science education. Internationally, there is a move to include scientific literacy as an aim of science education curricula. In order to teach such curricula teachers need two types of subject matter knowledge…