Outline

Overview

This unit enables teacher education students who have an enthusiasm for and expertise in Science to undertake a more extensive preparation in this discipline. It is designed to strengthen the teaching of Science and Technology K-6 concepts that are problematic for primary students to learn and develop competency in research based teaching approaches. The unit also focuses on the development of exemplary teaching resources. Connections between theory, research and practice will be exemplified through close links with the fourth year professional experience placement.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit	Education
Credit points	4
Prerequisites ?	138 credit points including (EDUP1004 or EDUP1005) and (EDUP2008 or EDUP2015) and (EDUP3009 or EDUP3010)
Corequisites ?	EDUP4018 or EDUP4019
Prohibitions ?	None
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	No

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Christine Preston, christine.preston@sydney.edu.au

Assessment

The census date for this unit availability is 31 March 2025

Details
Criteria

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Assignment	Briefing paper Staff memo on a school science priority area.	50%	Week 05 Due date: 30 Mar 2025 at 23:59	1500 words
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Digital resource Creation of a digital resource for teaching a science concept.	50%	Week 10 Due date: 11 May 2025 at 23:59	1500 words
Outcomes assessed:
= AI allowed ?

Assessment summary

Briefing paper on a national priority area: Individually select one Australian curriculum: science content descriptor with an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures Cross Curriculum Priority (CCP) elaboration. Consider how to approach the suggested elaboration to support development of concept(s) from range of perspectives and prepare a briefing paper for teacher colleagues to raise awareness about the CCP and share ideas on its effective integration with science.
Exemplar teaching resource: Working collaboratively with 2-3 students, select a concept and develop an exemplar digital teaching/learning resource for use with primary students. The resource should focus on a science concept that is challenging to understand and has been the subject of research. Trial the resource with 2 or more student teacher colleagues and collect evidence on its effectiveness as a teaching learning aid. Critically reflect on your learning about the process of developing and evaluating a digital resource including further development of your product.

Detailed information for each assessment can be found on Canvas.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a High distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a Distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name	Mark range	Description
High distinction	85 - 100
Distinction	75 - 84
Credit	65 - 74
Pass	50 - 64
Fail	0 - 49	When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

For more information see guide to grades.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

Except for supervised exams or in-semester tests, you may use generative AI and automated writing tools in assessments unless expressly prohibited by your unit coordinator.

For exams and in-semester tests, the use of AI and automated writing tools is not allowed unless expressly permitted in the assessment instructions.

The icons in the assessment table above indicate whether AI is allowed – whether full AI, or only some AI (the latter is referred to as “AI restricted”). If no icon is shown, AI use is not permitted at all for the task. Refer to Canvas for full instructions on assessment tasks for this unit.

Your final submission must be your own, original work. You must acknowledge any use of automated writing tools or generative AI, and any material generated that you include in your final submission must be properly referenced. You may be required to submit generative AI inputs and outputs that you used during your assessment process, or drafts of your original work. Inappropriate use of generative AI is considered a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and penalties may apply.

The Current Students website provides information on artificial intelligence in assessments. For help on how to correctly acknowledge the use of AI, please refer to the  AI in Education Canvas site.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Support for students

The Support for Students Policy reflects the University’s commitment to supporting students in their academic journey and making the University safe for students. It is important that you read and understand this policy so that you are familiar with the range of support services available to you and understand how to engage with them.

The University uses email as its primary source of communication with students who need support under the Support for Students Policy. Make sure you check your University email regularly and respond to any communications received from the University.

Learning resources and detailed information about weekly assessment and learning activities can be accessed via Canvas. It is essential that you visit your unit of study Canvas site to ensure you are up to date with all of your tasks.

If you are having difficulties completing your studies, or are feeling unsure about your progress, we are here to help. You can access the support services offered by the University at any time:

Support and Services (including health and wellbeing services, financial support and learning support)
Course planning and administration
Meet with an Academic Adviser

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Week 01	Unit overview & assessment, personal goals and professional experience needs. Organisation of curriculum content towards the Big ideas of and for Science. Beliefs about teaching science and technology. Science demonstrations: make them go wow! Motivation and engagement. The role of questioning in supporting students to construct explanations.	Lecture and tutorial (2.5 hr)
Week 02	Current research and practice in STEM education. Building on understanding and experiences. The role of teacher perceptions and beliefs. Level 1, 2 and 3 STEM activities. Issues - curriculum integration and subject integrity, teaching approaches, ideas and models.	Lecture and tutorial (2.5 hr)
Week 03	Research - Difficult to teach and learn concepts in biology and physics. Effective practices for teaching cognitively demanding concepts. Multimodal and student- generated representations to support deep understanding and reasoning. Critical thinking about diagrams, metaconceptual competence.	Seminar (2.5 hr)
Week 04	Tackling tricky topics – teaching about adaptations at the primary level. The problem, the science, evidence of inaccurate teaching approaches. Modelling revised teaching approaches and critical review of resources.	Lecture and tutorial (2.5 hr)
Week 05	Pedagogies for supporting understanding for learners at different levels. Inclusive practices, embodied learning. Learning impact of physical and digital resources. Scaffolding learning for range of abilities and learning needs. Differentiating learning tasks in science and technology.	Lecture and tutorial (2.5 hr)
Week 06	Guided inquiry approach. Working scientifically, scaffolding explanation building. Developing questioning skills. Approaches to inquiry teaching. Toys as tools to promote scientific thinking.	Lecture and tutorial (2.5 hr)
Week 07	Models of dialogic teaching and impact of student talk on learning. Teaching and learning strategies associated with teaching excellence & superior learning outcomes.	Lecture and tutorial (2.5 hr)
Week 08	Technological problem solving in science– physical and digital solutions. Contextualised learning through problem solving approaches – how and what students learn. Methods of teaching. Use of Digital technology to support creative and critical thinking, developing solutions to real-world problems.	Seminar (2.5 hr)
Week 09	Making the most of Digital technologies. Meaningful integration digital technologies, learning science concepts through application of computational thinking. Using Scratch for a specific purpose (automating movement of 3D models). Modelling an approach to professional development with teacher colleagues.	Lecture and tutorial (2.5 hr)
Week 12	Science and technology teaching and learning resources. Selecting, evaluating, organizing and managing resources. ‘Making do’ in resource poor schools, organizing and maintaining materials and resources. Toys as resources for teaching and learning.	Lecture and tutorial (1.5 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

Students are expected to attend a minimum of 90 per cent of all timetabled activities for this unit of study, this includes lectures and tutorials.

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 4 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 80-100 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

Required text Skamp. K. & Preston, C. (2025). Teaching Primary Science Constructively. (8th Ed). Cengage: South Melbourne. (See canvas for details on obtaining a copy of the text).

Other readings will be provided via the canvas site in the library reading list. See canvas for details.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. identify and competently teach the big ideas of, and for, science and the essential elements of design technology underlying syllabus outcomes
LO2. synthesise current research, curriculum and policy documents to inform the on-going improvement of effective practices for teaching science and technology K-6
LO3. implement a range of effective teaching approaches, including the integration of digital technologies to engage students in working scientifically and working technologically for years K-6
LO4. apply advanced knowledge and skills to develop school programs for teaching science and technology K-6
LO5. locate, evaluate and source equipment and physical resources to support the hands-on teaching and learning in science and technology K-6
LO6. critically reflect on contemporary issues in science and technology education, and consider them from multiple perspectives
LO7. implement strategies for addressing national priority areas in science and technology teaching plans.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (Graduate Level – UG and MTeach) -

Competency code	Taught, Practiced or Assessed	Competency standard
1.1.1		(Graduate) Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of physical, social and intellectual development and characteristics of students and how these may affect learning.
1.2.1		(Graduate) Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of research into how students learn and the implications for teaching.
1.3.1		(Graduate) Demonstrate knowledge of teaching strategies that are responsive to the learning strengths and needs of students from diverse linguistic, cultural, religious and socio-economic backgrounds.
1.4.1		(Graduate) Demonstrate broad knowledge and understanding of the impact of culture, cultural identity and linguistic background on the education of students from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds.
1.5.1		(Graduate) Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of strategies for differentiating teaching to meet the specific learning needs of students across the full range of abilities.
2.1.1		(Graduate) Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the concepts, substance and structure of the content and teaching strategies of the teaching area.
2.3.1		(Graduate) Use curriculum, assessment and reporting knowledge to design learning sequences and lesson plans.
2.4.1		(Graduate) Demonstrate broad knowledge of, understanding of and respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures and languages.
2.6.1		(Graduate) Implement teaching strategies for using ICT to expand curriculum learning opportunities for students.
3.1.1		(Graduate) Set learning goals that provide achievable challenges for students of varying abilities and characteristics.
3.3.1		(Graduate) Include a range of teaching strategies.
3.4.1		(Graduate) Demonstrate knowledge of a range of resources, including ICT, that engage students in their learning.
3.5.1		(Graduate) Demonstrate a range of verbal and non-verbal communication strategies to support student engagement.
3.6.1		(Graduate) Demonstrate broad knowledge of strategies that can be used to evaluate teaching programs to improve student learning.
4.5.1		(Graduate) Demonstrate an understanding of the relevant issues and the strategies available to support the safe, responsible and ethical use of ICT in learning and teaching.
5.1.1		(Graduate) Demonstrate understanding of assessment strategies, including informal and formal, diagnostic, formative and summative approaches to assess student learning.
6.2.1		(Graduate) Understand the relevant and appropriate sources of professional learning for teachers.

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

Students in previous cohorts have appreciated the flexibility of scheduled activities and applauded input into assessment tasks to meet the needs of the specific cohort.

Additional information

Site visit guidelines

If you are undertaking professional experience/field education placement as part of your enrolment in this unit of study, please assess your specific needs and requirements for the safe and successful completion of an external placement within a host organisation. You will be given the opportunity to disclose any health issues that have a work health and safety significance before arranging a placement so that your safety, and the safety of others, can be properly assessed. The Professional Experience Coordinator/Field Education Manager will work to ensure that the workplace assignment to you is appropriate for your needs and requirements. If you are experiencing disability, and require reasonable adjustments to be arranged, please contact Disability Services as early as possible prior to commencing the internship. Please note, in all cases, and for the purpose of organising reasonable adjustments, only the impact and not the nature, of your disability will be disclosed to the host organisation.

Disclaimer

Important: the University of Sydney regularly reviews units of study and reserves the right to change the units of study available annually. To stay up to date on available study options, including unit of study details and availability, refer to the relevant handbook.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Support for students

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Site visit guidelines

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

EDUP4083: Science and Technology Specialisation A

Semester 1, 2025 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Support for students

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Site visit guidelines

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links