Welcome to ‘ Science - Differentiating learning in the science classroom (F-6 ) ’

1. Welcome to ‘Science - Differentiating learning in the science classroom (F-6)’ The webinar will start promptly at 3:45pm on 6 August 2019.

2. Differentiating student learning in the primary science classroom The role of pre-testing in determining a student’s ‘zone of proximal development’ on a science learning continuum

3. What do your students already know? Where are your students on a ‘learning continuum’?

4. Development of understanding in science

5. Development of inquiry skills in science

6. A learning continuum for questioning

7. How do I know where my class of 23 students are on a learning continuum for questioning skills? KEY: = student Levels F-2 Levels 3-4 Levels 5-6 …and are they in the same place in the continuum for content other than questioning skills?

8. Predict, observe, explain (POE): Bouncing raisins Activity: • Half fill a glass or jar with water • Add 2 tablespoons of vinegar and 1 tablespoon of baking soda to the water – the mixture in the glass will begin to fizz • Predict: Ask students to predict what will happen when five raisins are dropped into the jar • Drop five raisins, one at a time, into the glass • Observe: the raisins may initially sink to the bottom but eventually they will rise up and then sink, then rise again • Explain: Ask students for possible reasons to explain their observations • Investigate/clarify: Develop further investigations to test student ideas (or undertake research to explain the phenomenon) Curriculum ideas: chemical reactions; change of state; forces

9. Predict, observe, explain (POE): Freezing water Activity • Fill one foam cup with cold water and one foam cup with the same amount of very hot tap water • Predict: Ask students to predict which of the cups of water will freeze first • Place the cups in the freezer and start the timer • Check the cups every fifteen minutes • Observe: The hot water freezes first • Explain: Ask students for possible reasons to explain their observations • Investigate/clarify: Develop further investigations to test student ideas (or undertake research to explain the phenomenon) Curriculum ideas: fair testing; heat; temperature; formal measurements; change of state

10. I think every child born on this planet up to the age of about four or five is fascinated by the natural world. If they aren’t it’s because we deprive them of the opportunity. Over half the world’s population is urbanised and the thought that some children may grow up not looking at a pond or knowing how plants grow is a terrible thing. If you lose that delight and joy and intoxication, you’ve lost something hugely precious.  Sir David AttenboroughFrom interview with Alice Roberts, 'Attenborough: My Life on Earth', The Biologist (Aug 2015), 62, No. 4

11. Leaf me alone! Sorting and classification Which criteria can be used to sort these leaves into groups? • Colour? • Size? • Shape? • Vein patterns? • Smooth or serrated edges? • Lobes? • Moth-eaten?

12. Student misconceptions about plants

13. Mushrooms: plant or animal? Mushrooms: • are fungi, and are usually placed in a Kingdom of their own apart from plants and animals • contain no chlorophyll and therefore do not carry out photosynthesis • are mostly considered to be saprophytes (they obtain their nutrition from breaking down non-living organic matter • build their cell walls out of chitin (same material as the hard outer shells of insects and other arthropods) whilst plants do not make chitin • store nutrients and other essential compounds in their bodies, and when enough material is stored and the conditions are right they start to fruit - produce mushrooms (the part of the fungus that we see is only the “fruit” of the organism, and only a very small part of the whole organism) • have a living body which is a mycelium (usually hidden the soil, in wood, or another food source), made out of a web of tiny, branching filaments called hyphae Question: In what ways are mushrooms similar/different from: (a) plants; (b) animals?

14. Pre-testing students’ ideas about plants Mind Maps Use the following words to create a mind map: plants; leaves; roots; soil; air; water; sun; moon Method: 1. Write each word on a small piece of paper 2. Choose two words that you can link in an idea 3. Show the link by drawing an arrow between the words and writing the link above the arrow. For example: all have plants leaves 4. Add other words and links to your mind map True or false? • Plants are living things • Plants can get water from their leaves • Plants can get water from their roots • Plants can get water from their stems • Plants get their energy from the soil • Plants get their food from the soil • Weeds are plants • Mushrooms are plants • Seeds are non-living things Open questions: How do plants survive? Do plants have life cycles?

15. Mapping misconceptions onto a learning continuum

16. Zone of proximal development • concept developed by Lev Vygotsky • “the distance between the actual development level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem-solving under adult guidance, or in collaboration with more capable peers” (Vygotsky, Mind in society: the development of higher psychological processes, 1978, p.86) • when a student is in the zone of proximal development for a particular task, providing the appropriate assistance will give the student enough of a ‘boost’ to achieve the task

17. Supporting students to move through their zones of proximal development Strategies include: • Presence of someone with knowledge and skills beyond that of the learner • Social interactions with a skilful educator, or peers, that allow the learner to observe and practise their skills • Scaffolding, or supportive activities provided by an educator, or more competent peer, to support the student’s learning

18. Addressing misconceptions about plants Possible activities to develop a more sophisticated understanding of basic plants: • Demonstrate: Present real examples of nonflowering plants or plants without typical features (stem, leaves, roots) • Demonstrate: Present examples of plants that grow in water without soil • Investigate: Germinate seeds with and without nutrients to observe the importance of nutrients in plant growth • Investigate: Grow plants in light and in darkness to observe the importance of light in plant survival • Investigate: Allow students to observe a variety of root structures and consider their functions • “Seedlings in a Jar”activity: ask students to compare the mass of a closed system (jar) before and after seed germination (used to elicit student ideas about germination and plant growth as well as conservation of matter in a closed system) • Discuss: Help students understand ways that plants are different from humans in form and function • Science literacy: Mindfully use language to promote correct understanding, for example, avoiding the use of words such as “food,” “eat,” “drink,” and “breathe” when discussing plants

19. Classification systems Taxonomy(which literally means “arrangement law”) is the science of classifying organisms to construct internationally shared classification systems   Kingdom Animalia Fungi Plantae Protista Domain Bacteria Archae Eukaryotes Phylum What is the purpose of a classification system? How is a biological classification system similar to, and different from, the organisation of supermarket shelves? Species Family Order Class

20. Plant classification

21. Monocots and dicots

22. Marshmallow catapults – support structure • Materials: • 5 x marshmallows • masking tape • 1 x rubber band • 1 x plastic teaspoon • 7 x bamboo skewers Step 1: Create the triangular base of your catapult using three marshmallows and three skewers. Each marshmallow will be the corners of the triangle, with the skewers forming the sides. Pierce the skewers into the marshmallows to hold it all together. Step 2 Step 2: Now use three more skewers and one marshmallow to create a pyramid on top of the triangular base.  Pierce a skewer into each corner marshmallow and bring all three to a point, using a marshmallow at the point to hold it all together. You may want to reinforce the point with a second rubber band wound around the three skewers to hold them together, in addition to the marshmallow. Step 1

23. Marshmallow catapults - catapult mechanism Step 3Make the catapult mechanism by taping the spoon to the final skewer. Place the rubber band over the point of the pyramid. Thread the skewer/spoon catapult through the rubber band and pierce the end into one of the corner marshmallows. Put a marshmallow onto the bowl of the spoon, bend it back against the rubber band and let it go. The marshmallow should fly through the air! Further investigations: What factors can be changed to improve the accuracy of the catapult? Step 3

24. Children’s ideas about rainbows Source: file:///C:/Users/08502768/Downloads/MalleusKikasKruus2016Studentsunderstandingofcloudandrainbowformationandteachersawarenessofstudentsperformance.pdf

25. Misconceptions about colour • The different colours appearing in coloured pictures printed in magazines and newspapers are produced by using different inks with all the corresponding colours • The mixing of coloured paints and pigments follow the same rules as the mixing of colored lights • The primary colours used by artists (red, yellow and blue) are the same as the primary colours for all color mixing • Colour is a property of an object, and is independent of both the illuminating light and the receiver (eye) • When white light passes through a colored filter, the filter adds colour to the light • White light is colourless and clear, enabling you to see the "true" colour of an object • When a coloured light illuminates a coloured object, the color of the light mixes with the colour of the object • A coloured light striking an object produces a shadow behind it that is the same colour as the light, for example, when red light strikes an object, a red shadow is formed • The shades of grey in a black and white newspaper picture are produced by using inks with different shades of grey

26. m%&ms – what are the dye colours made up of? m&ms come in six different colours: blue; green; red; brown; yellow and orange. Question: Are the dyes ‘pure’ colour, or a mixture of colours?

27. m&ms – melt in your hand? Question: How well do m&m dyes mix?

28. What happens when blue and yellow m&ms are crushed together? • Chocolate and other m&m parts don’t appear to affect colour • Mostly blue + yellow = green

29. How well do m&m dyes mix when physically stirred? Conclusion: Physical stirring promotes dyes mixing, but not fully Other questions: Why is it an advantage for the dyes not to mix? Do ‘smarties’ behave in the same way?

30. Open investigation: Sink the foil boat Class challenge: construct a foil boat that will hold the most marbles Materials: • 30 cm x 30 cm sheet of aluminiumfoil • atub of water • Marbles (or anything else that can be used as weights) • a mess bucket and cleaning materials • optional: a scale or measuring balance https://www.fizzicseducation.com.au/150-science-experiments/force-movement-experiments/sink-the-foil-boat/ Variables to trial • How can you reduce the amount of foil and still hold the same number of marbles? • What happens if a liquid other than water is used? • Does it matter where the weights are placed within the boat? • Will twice the size of foil create a boat that can hold twice as many marbles?

31. Foil boat investigations Background information: • This activity relates to Archimedes principle which states: “Any object, wholly or partially immersed in a fluid, is buoyed up by a force equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by the object.” • Things float in water due to displacement and the resultant forces that act back on the object • Displacement = an object pushing a liquid or gas out of the way • When an object is placed into water, the object displaces the water out of the way; that same water pushes back at the object • If the weight of the water that was displaced is more than the weight of the object, the object will float: this floating is due to the force of that water pushing upwards being greater than the force of the object pushing downwards • If the weight of the water displaced is less than the object’s weight, the object will sink: this sinking is due to the force of that water pushing upwards being lesser than the force of the object pushing downwards.

32. VCAA Contact Maria James Curriculum Manager, Science Email: james.maria.m@edumail.vic.gov.au Telephone: 9032 1722

33. Curriculum support For advice regarding the F-10 curriculum, contact VCAA F-10 Unit: E. vcaa.f10.curriculum@edumail.vic.gov.au T. 9032 1788