EUB210 Science in Primary Education 1


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Unit Outline: Semester 2 2025, Kelvin Grove, Internal

Unit code:EUB210
Credit points:12
Equivalent:CRB002
Coordinator:Reece Mills | reece.mills@qut.edu.au
Disclaimer - Offer of some units is subject to viability, and information in these Unit Outlines is subject to change prior to commencement of the teaching period.

Overview

This unit will introduce you to science content knowledge and practices required to teach primary science from Foundation to Year 6. The content is relevant to the Science Understanding, Science as a Human Endeavour, and Science Inquiry Skills strands of the Australian Curriculum. It includes big ideas from the biology, chemistry, physics, and Earth and Space science disciplines. Adequate science disciplinary content knowledge has recently become a more focused requirement of Australian teachers working within educational systems. This unit will be built upon in EUB212 Science in Primary Education 2, where you will develop the knowledge and skills to plan, sequence, and assess inquiry-based student learning in primary science education using constructivism as a referent for your science teaching practice.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:

  1. Explain science concepts and skills related to primary science education.
  2. Organise science concepts in age-appropriate effective learning and teaching sequences.
  3. Plan and conduct a science inquiry on a range of topics.
  4. Justify the value of science inquiry in teaching science in primary school contexts drawing on academic learning.
  5. Communicate scientific information using appropriate formats.

Content

This unit will cover:

  • Science concepts from the biology, chemistry, physics, and Earth and Space science disciplines, and their progression through the primary years;
  • Science skills, including questioning and predicting, planning and conducting investigations, processing and analysing data and information, evaluating evidence and claims, and communicating information, and their progression through the primary years; and
  • Structured, guided, and open primary science inquiry.

Learning Approaches

In this unit, you will engage in learning through the following:

  • Tutorials;
  • Online content; and
  • Independent study.

Feedback on Learning and Assessment

Feedback in this unit is provided to you in the following ways:

  • feedback from peers during group discussions and on lesson demonstrations
  • unit coordinator and tutor comments to the cohort
  • comments and marking rubric from summative assessment tasks.

Assessment

Overview

There are two assessment tasks in this unit:

  1. Portfolio - This will connect your experiences in science workshops with your future teaching practice.
  2. Presentation - This will enable you to connect all that you have learnt in the unit to plan and conduct a science inquiry, and justify the value of this approach in teaching science.

Unit Grading Scheme

7- point scale

Assessment Tasks

Assessment: Portfolio

You will select three workshops from the semester to develop your portfolio to demonstrate evidence of your learning about science concepts and the way these progress across the primary years.

This is an assignment for the purposes of an extension.

Weight: 60
Length: 1500 words maximum
Individual/Group: Individual
Due (indicative): Week 6
Related Unit learning outcomes: 1, 2, 5

Assessment: Presentation

You will work with a group to plan and conduct a science inquiry on a topic located in the Australian Curriculum: Science drawing on the Cross Curriculum Priority of Sustainability. You will then draw on academic literature to justify the use of science inquiry in teaching primary school science. You will share your findings as an oral presentation.

Weight: 40
Length: 10 minutes
Individual/Group: Group
Due (indicative): Weeks 12 and 13
Related Unit learning outcomes: 1, 3, 4, 5

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a commitment to undertaking academic work and assessment in a manner that is ethical, fair, honest, respectful and accountable.

The Academic Integrity Policy sets out the range of conduct that can be a failure to maintain the standards of academic integrity. This includes, cheating in exams, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion and contract cheating. It also includes providing fraudulent or altered documentation in support of an academic concession application, for example an assignment extension or a deferred exam.

You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.

Breaching QUT’s Academic Integrity Policy or engaging in conduct that may defeat or compromise the purpose of assessment can lead to a finding of student misconduct (Code of Conduct – Student) and result in the imposition of penalties under the Management of Student Misconduct Policy, ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.

Resources

The following resource materials will be used throughout this unit.

Resource Materials

Recommended text(s)

Skamp, K. & Preston, C. (2021). Teaching primary science constructively. (7th ed.). Melbourne, VIC: Cengage Learning. Australian

Risk Assessment Statement

There are no out-of-the-ordinary risks associated with this unit; however, you must be familiar with the procedures for the safe handling of science equipment and materials for tutorials conducted in the science laboratories. To participate in these activities, you are required to follow the instructions of your lecturer/tutor and abide by the regulations set out in the Health and Safety Student Guide that will be provided to you Week 1. Enclosed footwear must be worn in the science laboratories. Workplace Health and Safety protocols associated with computer use will apply.

Standards/Competencies

This unit is designed to support your development of the following standards\competencies.

Australian Professional Standards for Teachers

1 Professional Knowledge: Know students and how they learn

  1. Physical, social and intellectual development and characteristics of students
    Relates to: Portfolio, Presentation
  2. Understand how students learn
    Relates to: Portfolio, Presentation

2 Professional Knowledge: Know the content and how to teach it

  1. Content and teaching strategies of the teaching area
    Relates to: Portfolio, Presentation
  2. Content selection and organisation
    Relates to: Portfolio, Presentation

3 Professional Practice: Plan for and implement effective teaching and learning

  1. Establish challenging learning goals
    Relates to: Presentation
  2. Plan, structure and sequence learning programs
    Relates to: Presentation
  3. Use teaching strategies
    Relates to: Presentation
  4. Select and use resources
    Relates to: Presentation
  5. Use effective classroom communication
    Relates to: Presentation

Course Learning Outcomes

This unit is designed to support your development of the following course/study area learning outcomes.

ED49 Bachelor of Education (Primary)

  1. Knowledgeable: Apply professional knowledge of learning areas, learners and learning.
    Relates to: ULO1, ULO2, ULO3, Portfolio, Presentation
  2. Scholarly: Consider the ways in which educational theory and research inform and impact teaching practice.
    Relates to: ULO4, Presentation
  3. Communicative: Engage and communicate effectively and professionally.
    Relates to: ULO5, Portfolio, Presentation