Scitechtalk T1 2014

TALK

SciTech

This e-newsletter is designed to inform and support K—6 teachers in the area of Science and Technology

Š State of New South Wales, Department of Education and Communities, 2014

Welcome to yet another busy year ahead, with the implementation of the English syllabus and impending implementation of the Mathematics and Science and Technology syllabuses in 2015.

There will be much to absorb and we hope to keep you informed of courses and resources that will assist you with your understanding of the Science and Technology syllabus, including how to plan and teach, while keeping the integrity of the key learning area.

Please pass this newsletter and information on to colleagues and encourage them to subscribe to the newsletter.

You can contact us for assistance, concerns or suggestions you may have. We look forward to hearing from you this year as we prepare for implementation.

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SyllabusPLUS (Adobe Connect)

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Implementing new curriculum

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Science and Technology – Sample units of work

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Electricity Resources

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The Spirit of Mawson Australasian Antarctic Expedition 2013 - 2014

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Splash

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Websites and Resources

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HSC 2013 Showcase and Exhibitions

© State of New South Wales, Department of Education and Communities, 2014

Syllabus PLUS ~ Adobe Connect We are very conscious of the number of English and Mathematics Adobe Connect sessions that are scheduled for Term 1.

Science and Technology sessions will now begin in Term 2.

The series introduces you to aspects of the syllabus beginning with familiarisation, looking at similarities and differences, expectations and pedagogy. We will take a closer look at Working Scientifically and Working Technologically as well as Material World.

We are aware that everyone will be at different states of understanding, but we hope with your interaction, we can ensure questions are addressed and issues considered.

Implementing new curriculum Course 5 - A process for programming a unit of learning:

Science and Technology K-6 This course is now live and available on the intranet: NSW syllabuses for the Australian Curriculum: Implementation support. Go through the Professional learning tile and into curriculum.

This course provides a contextualised guide to curriculum planning and the development of quality teaching programs in Science and Technology. You will develop an understanding of skills, context, learning across the curriculum, literacy and learner diversity. There are good examples of units of learning developed by teachers and checklists to assist with quality teaching and learning.

Š State of New South Wales, Department of Education and Communities, 2014

Four schools were involved in writing units of learning for the Science K-10 (incorporating Science and Technology K-6) Syllabus. These units were written to cater to the local context of these school communities. They can be adapted to suit your school context and may assist in implementation of the syllabus. These units can be located on TaLE. To access the resources each of the hyperlinks schools will take you to the log in page for TaLe. Once signed in click on Primary teachers and type in the name of the unit eg. For Lugarno PS type in Built Environments, choose Science and Technology in the drop down box for teaching / learning areas, you can also choose the stage from the next drop down box. This should ensure you will get the correct resource.

Lugarno PS Lugarno’s unit of learning is on the built environment (Made Environment) for Stage 3 which was created in response to student concerns at an SRC meeting.

Putney PS This unit of learning is based on the Material World substrand (Natural and Made Environment) and focuses on Early Stage 1.

Š State of New South Wales, Department of Education and Communities, 2014

Leumeah PS The learning focus for this Stage 1 unit of learning is on light and sound, and pushes and pulls within the Physical World substrand (Natural Environment strand).

Melrose Park PS Melrose Park PS is a P5 school situated in Northern Sydney region.

This is a multistage unit of learning for Stages 2 and 3 which focuses on the Material World substrand (Natural and Made Environment).

These units of learning are presented in PDF portfolio format. There are three PDFs and three Word docs attached. To watch the videos, you must download the Word docs and follow the hyperlinks. Videos are of teachers describing the process they undertook to develop the units and their reflections on this process. They each contain a scope and sequence, differentiation of the teaching, practical experiences encompassing Working Technologically and Working Scientifically, embedded assessment tasks and resources.

Š State of New South Wales, Department of Education and Communities, 2014

Stage 3 Electricity Resources

Ausgrid has redeveloped the Electricity and Safety Unit for stage 3 which includes a series of SMART notebook lessons featuring embedded interactive class activities, videos and teachers notes. The lessons are now aligned to the new NSW Board of Studies Science K-10 (incorporating Science and Technology K-6), PDHPE, and English syllabuses.

Primary schools located in the Ausgrid network distribution area (Sydney, Central Coast and the Hunter) can request an electrical resource kit for use in classrooms. The resource kit contains a circuit board as well as other key materials to undertake experiments which ensure the skills of working scientifically and working technologically are incorporated in lessons.

Š State of New South Wales, Department of Education and Communities, 2014

Antarctica

In the last issue of this newsletter we mentioned the Spirit of Mawson Australasian Antarctic Expedition 2013–2014. The expedition aimed to discover how much change had taken place in the Antarctic by retracing the original route taken by Mawson a century ago.

Check out the website for information and blogs. There will be teaching resources developed from the expedition at a later date. We will keep you informed of the resources as they become available. http://www.spiritofmawson.com/blog/

http://splash.abc.net.au/primary Splash ABC has some excellent resources that, even though aligned to the Australian Curriculum can be matched to the codes of the NSW Science K-10 (incorporating Science and Technology K-6) syllabus.

For example, the resource: Remembering Mawson’s first Antarctic Expedition –relates to the Earth and Space substrand in stage 3. Of the three Australian Curriculum outcomes indicated for stage 3, only two are relevant. Ensure you match the Australian Curriculum codes to the correct outcomes and content.

© State of New South Wales, Department of Education and Communities, 2014

Websites - Resources

NSW DEC Scootle helps teachers find and use resources to support NSW syllabuses for the Australian Curriculum.

You can access Scootle through the portal or by going directly to the site.

Log in with DEC email address and password or via the Education and Communities logo.

Be aware that scootle is aligned to the Australian Curriculum.

Tale is still accessible. There are many resources for the new syllabuses.

Scientists in Schools is a national program that creates and supports long-term partnerships between primary or secondary school teachers and scientists. Partnerships are flexible to allow for a style and level of involvement that suits each participant. Check out the showcases to see what some partnerships have been doing.

http://www.scientistsinschools.edu.au/index

http://www.futureworld.org.au/index.html

Š State of New South Wales, Department of Education and Communities, 2014

HSC Showcases and Exhibitions 2014

DesignTECH DesignTECH is an annual exhibition of outstanding Major Design Projects completed by 2013 HSC Design and Technology students.

DesignTECH is held at the Powerhouse Museum from 21 February to 18 May 2014.

A regional tour will ensue.

InTech is an exhibition of outstanding Major projects from 2013 HSC Industrial Technology students. There are two exhibitions held each year.

Sydney Timber and Working with Wood Show: 25–27 July 2014 at the Sydney Showground, Homebush.

Orange, Kinross Wolaroi School : 28–30 March 2014.

All focus areas of Industrial Technology are represented in the exhibition: Timber Products and Furniture, Automotive, Electronics, Graphics, Metal and Engineering, and Multimedia.

Texstyle is an annual exhibition of outstanding HSC students Textiles and Design major projects. For more information visit the TEA website.

© State of New South Wales, Department of Education and Communities, 2014

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tanya.coli@det.nsw.edu.au

yvonne.hughes@det.nsw.edu.au

The non-DEC products and events listed in this e-Newsletter are to be used at the reader’s discretion. The inclusion of product and event information is not an endorsement by the DEC

Š State of New South Wales, Department of Education and Communities, 2014