Interest-based science inquiry: Investigating how primary teachers can develop their students' interest in science

Project Member(s): Pressick-Kilborn, K.

Start year: 2014

Summary: With international concern about declines in students choosing to study STEM-related subjects, there is a need to examine STEM education from K-12. Evidence points to disengagement in STEM from an increasingly young age (Martin et al, 2012). Aims: 1) To investigate what roles primary teachers can play in creating a more viable future for science-related learning. 2) To establish how primary teachers identify students¿ interest in science and respond to that in classroom teaching to promote engagement. 3) To collaborate with teachers by drawing on research on interest development to develop a set of guiding instructional design principles that revise and expand upon those proposed in my PhD thesis (Pressick-Kilborn, 2010). The project will take a Design-Based Research approach (Anderson & Shattuck, 2011). Alignment with UTS research strategy: 1) Research collaboration with professional partners to deliver a practical solution to a problem facing science education internationally. 2) Strengthening the teaching and research nexus. 3) Contribution to Learning and Change in a key research area, the place of STEM in teaching futures.

Keywords: primary/elementary school science education; interest; design-based research; student engagement; classroom-based research

FOR Codes: Learner and Learning Processes, Assessment and Evaluation of Curriculum, Science, Technology and Engineering Curriculum and Pedagogy, Primary Education (excl. Maori), Teacher and Instructor Development