ECE4023 Science and Technology Education (FOEDU)

Semester 2 (ONC)Toowoomba (ONC)Fraser Cst (EXT)Toowoomba

Units 1.0 (Teacher Education: Primary) Band 5

State law in Queensland (Australia) requires that all adults working/undertaking professional experience/researching with children under the age of 18, in the state of Queensland are required to possess a current suitability card (Blue Card). (See "Other Requirements" for further information.) Also see: http://www.childcomm.qld.gov.au/employment/bluecard/informationSheets.html.

Synopsis

The aim of the course is to develop pre-service educators' understanding of content in science and technology, in parallel with their awareness of ways of transforming this understanding of the content so that what they know and the ways they have come to know it become accessible to the children they teach. Pre-service educators will have the opportunity to examine their own alternative misconceptions, and to understand how such misconceptions might be avoided. Problem-solving skills will be advocated together with an approach to learning that incorporates honesty, open-mindedness, creativity, problem solving and information sharing. Content will include selected topics from the Queensland Years 1 - 10 science and technology syllabus content strands. Application of the notion of pedagogical content knowledge to each content area, and the development of suitably transformed content which would be accessible to learners in the appropriate age groups.