Science provides an empirical way of answering interesting and important questions about the biological, physical and technological world. The knowledge it produces has proved to be a reliable basis for action in our personal, social and economic lives. Science is a dynamic, collaborative and creative human endeavor arising from our desire to make sense of our world through exploring the unknown, investigating universal mysteries, making predictions and solving problems. Science aims to understand a large number of observations in terms of a much smaller number of broad principles. Science knowledge is contestable and is revised, refined and extended as new evidence arises.
The Science Program at Mitchelton State School incorporates the following cross curricular perspectives.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures
The Australian Curriculum: science values Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures. It acknowledges that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples have longstanding scientific knowledge traditions. Students will have opportunities to learn that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples have developed knowledge about the world through observation, using all the senses; through prediction and hypothesis; through testing (trial and error); and through making generalisations within specific contexts.
Asia and Australia’s engagement with Asia
The Australian Curriculum: Science provides opportunities for students to recognise that people from the Asia region have made and continue to make significant contributions to the development of science understandings and their applications. It enables students to recognise that the Asia region includes diverse environments and to appreciate that interaction between human activity and these environments continues to influence the region, including Australia, and has significance for the rest of the world.
Sustainability
Science explores a wide range of systems that operate at different time and spatial scales. By investigating the relationships between systems and system components and how systems respond to change, students develop an appreciation for the interconnectedness of Earth’s biosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere, Relationships including cycles and cause and effect are explored, and students develop observation and analysis skills to examine these relationships in the world around them.
The science curriculum emphasises inquiry-based teaching and learning. A balanced and engaging approach to teaching will typically involve context, exploration, explanation and application. This requires a context or point of relevance through which students can make sense of the ideas they are learning. Opportunities for student-led open inquiry are provided within each phase of schooling.