Year 8 science teaching in Australia and elsewhere
Steven Mascaro, posted 6 April, 2006

ACER has released part of the results of a video study conducted in 1999 and 2000 that looked at the teaching of Year 8 science and mathematics. The study (called the Third International Mathematics and Science Study) compared teaching methods across 7 countries: Australia, the Czech Republic, Hong Kong, Japan, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the USA. ACER''s released results look at the science part of the study, and uncover some interesting features of Australian teaching methods and the differences to other countries. Here are some of the points that I found interesting:

  • Experience: Australian teachers had been teaching science for an average of 14 years. 90% had taken a science subject as a major or minor in their tertiary studies, but only about 17% had studied physics, about 33% had studied chemistry and about 50% had studied a life science
  • Preparation: Australian teachers spent an average of 26 minutes preparing for (non-videotaped) lessons. This was similar to most other countries except Japan, who spent 92 minutes on average in preparation
  • Environment: 90% of Australian lessons took place in labs, which was somewhat higher than Japan (76%) and substantially higher than the US (37%)
  • Topics: Almost half (49%) of Australian lessons were devoted to physics, and almost a quarter (24%) were devoted to life sciences. The US devoted far more lessons to earth sciences than the other countries (28% compared to 0-7%)
  • Level: Most of the Australian and Japanese lessons were deemed to focus on only basic content (57% and 65%, respectively)
  • Practice: Australian and Japanese lessons contained the most use of practical activities
  • Textbook: Australian lessons made the least use of textbooks and printed workbooks (31% of lessons) while the Netherlands made the most use (90% of lessons)

Overall, Australian lessons focused on making connections between only a few major ideas. The lessons tried to support and give life to those ideas by gathering evidence for them in class and by using relevant examples of real-life issues. Japanese lessons took a similar approach. In contrast, Czech lessons were devoted to talking about the content, while lessons in the Netherlands encouraged students to learn independently. US lessons seemed to have the least coherence, consisting of various activities - such as lab-work, reading, writing, discussion, games, puzzles and role play - that weren''t well integrated.

Interestingly, I find the Australian approach the most appealing, though I do think it important to encourage students to learn (and enjoy learning) independently.

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