Australian Curriculum Lesson Plan

Critical issues facing educators today include; educational inequity, socio-economic status of students, cultural diversity, stereotyping, dominate cultural paradigms, and social disadvantage. Because of these issues, educators will be best prepared for classroom life if they find ways to adapt and modify the learning environment in order, to provide for inclusive regardless of the learners needs. All children in Australia are presented with the opportunity to attend schools which are designed to be inclusive for any and all abilities. Due to the diverse nature of the school age population in Australia classrooms are made up of an assortment of needs in relation to social, cognitive, and physical areas of learning.

Curriculum is designed to develop successful learners. Confident and creative individuals and active and informed citizens (MCEECDYA, 2008, p.13). In 2008, the Australian Government promised to deliver a fair and equitable curriculum for the national’s educational system, taking the task away from the State and Local Governments. The purpose of this was to create an even level of education throughout the country whether in Hobart of Cape York, and to ensure our nations position into the 21st century. This essay will demonstrate the Nation’s curriculum, its structure and development ready for its initial implementation in 2011.

Eight years ago, when I was employed as a teacher at BYLC, it was only in its second year of operation. Therefore, I played and integral part in developing an alternative curriculum that would successfully engage our students and also enable us to receive full accreditation as a secondary school. Since the introduction of the Australian Curriculum (AC), I re-developed our programs and they have again been approved during an accreditation review.

I have read the Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians promotes equity and excellence to all students (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), 2009). While this is true, Lowe and Yunkaporta (2013) argues the Australian Curriculum does not promote cultural inclusivity evident in teacher’s low learning expectations, inadequate attention to cognitive engagement of student learning and exclusion of key social concepts and issues (p. 11). As future educator, it is important to understand cultural inclusivity and identity is based on language, belief systems, social/kinship structure, social behaviours, and links to land. I have read culture comprises visual behaviour, unseen factors, underlying issues and values, beliefs and assumptions (Hampton & Toombs, 2013, p.

This unit aims to enable learners to understand the learning process and to give them the skills they need to

Humanities and Social Sciences involves students undertaking the process of inquiry learning in order to acquire the desired skills and understandings that are embedded within the Australian Curriculum. Reynolds (2014 p3) suggests that Humanities and Social Science learners need to be ‘self-directed, flexible, have complex thinking skills and be reflective of their learning’- these skills are solidly linked to the inquiry process and the Australian Curriculum and is why inquiry learning in the Humanities classroom is so important. (Reynolds, 2014)

Science is in my blood. I grew up always being fascinated in science both physical and environmental. My love for science started early when I was able to play outside every day and performing my own experiments in the backyard. Throughout middle school and high school, I took every available science course, I simply just wanted to know more. I did not know my exact path of study until my senior year in high school. I enrolled into an AP Environmental Science class, a brand new test run course at my school. Thinking back to AP Environmental Science, it was not just the material that directed my study. Ultimately it was my teacher, Mrs. Andre, who strengthen the flames of desire and intrigue to continue along the environmental studies path. Her drive and passion every day is what inspired me to focus on environmental education and communication.

For some, science may just be another subject during school hours, but growing up in a family where everyone has a STEM background, I have been surrounded by daily conversations on various topics ranging from the controversy of vaccines to the truth about climate change. Because of this, science has become my rational way of understanding the real world and interpreting the cause and effect relationships that impact our lives.

Most people when they hear of the terminology “Science” they then to flinch and react in somewhat of a negative manner. Saying things like; “I hate science”, “science is hard” or even “science is not for me”. This reaction however is a manifestation of how they were taught or introduce to the subject. In most case it was through a formal setting. Traditionally science was taught in such a manner that it tends to separate it from reality. For many there were no forms of application, no real life connection, so students did not necessarily see the importance or even the relevance. Science teachers tend to have a level of curiosity, and a driving passion for science but passion and curiosity was never conveyed to the students. However, new effort and emphasis have been given to science and the reintroduction of it into the classroom. More recently there has been a focus on introducing science in to the early childhood classroom. The growing consensus behind this notion is the findings that suggest children’s learning potential at this age. This paper proposes a question, what are the benefits if any, in introducing science as a part of the early childhood curriculum. Diving into the answer as to why science is important will reveal just how natural science is for these young students. How introducing the students to science at this tender age can actually aide in forming the basic foundation needed for science exploration.

Up until about the seventh grade, science was always about exploration. We learned about the subject through experimenting or playing with models. In fourth grade, we went out into the woods and collected the leaves we were learning about in class. In fifth grade, we blew up a pig’s lung with a bicycle pump to simulate the breathing process we were reading about in the textbook. In sixth grade, we made models of the atoms we were learning about out of toothpicks and marshmallows. These hands on experiences stick out in my mind above all of the other activities I’ve done in the subject. In elementary school, science was my favorite subject. I wanted to be a scientist when I grew up, I loved all of the hands on projects and experiments that we did as a class and wanted to spend my life exploring and searching for answers to my

Science subjects are important because this field have greatly benefited mankind in its efforts to improve the quality of life. In view of this, college education plays a vital role in molding the minds, interest, awareness and concern of an individual to prepare himself for the future. Recognizing that science makes life easier

In the past week, I have had an opportunity in our class to explore past, current, and future views on science curriculum and programming in the early childhood setting. Through our different readings, class discussions, and activities I have also gained some new insights to my own understanding about “science” as student and educator. For example, the readings from Worth and Grollman (2003) enhanced my perspective me about moving away from a narrow focus when thinking about teaching science. Worth and Grollman (2003) state, “Given the importance of community and family, and the individuality of each teacher and child, there is no single best science curriculum or program” (p. 3). What I took from this, is educators should avoid thinking

Science has never been my favorite subject but a lot of my favorite memories from elementary school are about science. As I grew older, science became less and less fun for me and I began to lose my understanding of it all together. I think that science was more intriguing to me when we were using hands on approaches and conducting experiments that we, ourselves, had created. My concept of science is that it is difficult and boring but when I am engaged in a creative and hands-on experience, I have a tendency to forget that I am actually doing science. I hope that as a future educator, I can create that fun environment for the students who are like me and aren’t as intrigued by science right off the bat.

Science, it is the foundation of modern humans. It is what allowed man to build pyramids, create tools, split atoms, and discover the universe. Without it, humans would still be living in caves. One would think that in today’s advanced society, built by science, we should be primarily focused on promoting the sciences. In our country, science and science literacy are being attacked by many different angles. There are opponents that are constricting the very foundation of what this country was built on. Lack of science literacy can be caused by several factors including the influence of religion, school curriculum, and more importantly the policies created by the government. If we want to avoid economic, social, and natural disasters, then we must change our views and policies to increase the number of science literate citizens which will advance the sciences.

According to Duane T.Gish(vital articles on science/creation) Define science as search for truth. The single most important principles of science education is the one that instruct students to identify assumptions, use critical thinking, make logical deductions and consider alternative explanation. Also in more elaboration, For the purpose of my study, Science subjects are among lessons which learnt in secondary school which prepare individual to be scientist in the future. Those lessons are Biology, Chemistry and Physics.