The Science Curriculum in Primary and Lower Secondary Grades

At the time of the TIMSS 2015 assessment (which was administered in October to November 2014), the curriculum was in a state of flux. The new Australian Curriculum had been implemented in some schools, but others still were using the version authored by the relevant state or territory curriculum body. The description that follows is a summary of the Australian Curriculum based on ACARA materials downloaded from the Australian Curriculum website in 2015.¹² For information about prior versions of the curricula, please refer to earlier editions of the TIMSS Encyclopedia.¹³

In the Australian Curriculum, science is organized around three interrelated strands: Science Understanding, Science as a Human Endeavor, and Science Inquiry Skills. Together, the three strands of the science curriculum provide students with understanding, knowledge, and skills through which they may develop a scientific view of the world. Students are challenged to explore the concepts, nature, and applications of science through clearly defined processes of inquiry.

Science understanding is evident when a person selects and integrates appropriate science knowledge to explain and predict phenomena, and applies that knowledge to new situations. Science knowledge refers to facts, concepts, principles, laws, theories, and models that have been established by scientists over time. The Science Understanding strand comprises four sub-strands: Biological Sciences, Chemical Sciences, Earth and Space Sciences, and Physical Sciences.

The Science as a Human Endeavor strand highlights the development of science as a unique way of knowing and doing, and the role of science in contemporary decision making and problem solving. There are two sub-strands of Science as a Human Endeavor:

Nature and Development of Science—Helps students develop an appreciation of the unique nature of science and scientific knowledge, including how current knowledge has developed over time through the actions of many people
Use and Influence of Science—Explores how science knowledge and applications affect the lives and work of people, and how science is influenced by society and can be used to inform decisions and actions

Science inquiry involves identifying and posing questions; planning, conducting, and reflecting on investigations; processing, analyzing, and interpreting evidence; and communicating findings. The Science Inquiry Skills strand is concerned with evaluating claims, investigating ideas, solving problems, drawing valid conclusions, and developing evidence-based arguments. There are five sub-strands of Science Inquiry Skills:

Questioning and Predicting—Identifying and constructing questions, proposing hypotheses, and suggesting possible outcomes
Planning and Conducting—Making decisions regarding how to investigate or solve a problem and carrying out an investigation, including the collection of data
Processing and Analyzing Data and Information—Representing data in meaningful and useful ways, identifying trends, patterns, and relationships in data, and using this evidence to justify conclusions
Evaluating—Considering the quality of available evidence and the merit or significance of a claim, proposition, or conclusion with reference to that evidence
Communicating—Conveying information or ideas to others through appropriate representations, text types, and modes

In Years 3 to 6, students develop their understanding of a range of natural systems operating at different times and on different geographic scales. In Year 4, students broaden their understanding of classification, form, and function through the exploration of properties of natural and processed materials. They learn that forces include noncontact forces and begin to appreciate that certain interactions result from phenomena that cannot be seen with the naked eye. They begin to appreciate that current systems, such as Earth’s surface, have characteristics resulting from past changes and that living things form parts of systems. They understand that some systems change in predictable ways, such as through cycles. They apply their knowledge to make predictions based on interactions within systems, including those involving the actions of humans.

The achievement standards for science in Year 4 include the following skills: explaining how objects and materials can be used in terms of their observable properties; describing interactions between objects in terms of contact and noncontact forces; discussing how natural and human processes cause changes to Earth’s surface; describing relationships that assist the survival of living things; sequencing key stages in the life cycle of plants and animals; identifying when science is used to ask questions and make predictions; describing situations where scientific understanding can influence human behavior; following instructions to identify investigable questions about familiar contexts and predict likely outcomes from investigations; discussing ways to conduct investigations and safely use equipment to make and record observations; using tables and simple column graphs (provided) to organize and identify patterns in data; explaining observations and comparing findings with predictions; determining whether methods are fair and giving reasons to support the conclusion; and writing simple reports to present their methods and findings.

In Years 7 to 10, students develop their understanding of microscopic and atomic structures, and how systems on a range of scales are shaped by the flow of energy and matter, and interactions due to forces. They also develop the ability to quantify changes and relative amounts. In Year 8, students are introduced to cells as microscopic structures that explain macroscopic properties of living systems. They link form and function at a cellular level and explore the organization of body systems in terms of the flow of matter between interdependent organs. They explore changes in matter at the particle level, and distinguish between chemical and physical changes. They begin to classify different forms of energy, and describe the role of energy in causing change in systems, including the role of heat and kinetic energy in the rock cycle. Students use experimentation to isolate relationships between components in systems and explain these relationships through increasingly complex representations. They make predictions and propose explanations, drawing on evidence to support their views.

The achievement standards for science in Year 8 include the following skills: comparing physical and chemical changes and using the particle model to explain and predict the properties and behavior of substances; identifying different forms of energy and describing how energy transfers and transformations cause change in simple systems; comparing processes of rock formation, including the time scales involved; analyzing the relationship between structure and function at the cellular, organ, and body system levels; examining the kinds of scientific knowledge used in different occupations; explaining how evidence has led to an improved understanding of a scientific idea and describing situations in which scientists collaborated to generate solutions to contemporary problems; identifying and constructing questions and problems for scientific investigation; considering safety and ethics when planning investigations, using field or experimental methods; identifying variables to be changed, measured, and controlled; constructing representations of data to reveal and analyze patterns and trends, and using these to justify conclusions; explaining how modifications to methods might improve the quality of data; applying their own scientific knowledge and findings to evaluating claims made by others; and using appropriate language and representations to communicate scientific ideas, methods, and findings in a range of textual genres.