VELS+Science+Level+6

VELS Science stage 6 Science

Introduction

To be human is to be curious about the world we live in, to wonder why it

is that way, and to ask about our place in it. A fundamental goal for science

education is to stimulate, respond to and nourish such curiosity, wonder and

questioning. Science provides us with one view of the world – a view that

changes as our knowledge and understanding of science evolves.

Science is a human process, influenced by and influencing social values.

Science has a long and fascinating history of human attempts to appreciate,

understand, control and manage our world. Scientists use techniques of

scientific investigation to create an understanding of the world. The resulting

cumulative knowledge is part of our human heritage.

Science is dynamic and progressive. Our society is being continually

confronted, challenged and redirected by ideas borne from people’s curiosity,

imagination and dreams about what might be possible. The work of scientists

such as Newton, Einstein, Curie, Darwin, Florey, Macfarlane Burnet and

Oliphant began as ‘why’ and ‘what if’. Their work challenged and subsequently

changed accepted opinions in the areas of motion and gravity, radioactivity,

evolution, medicine, immunology, structure of the nucleus of the atom, and

nuclear energy. This and other accepted science knowledge continues to fuel

the dreams of a new generation of scientists as they explore the expanding

frontiers of science.

Science has had, and will continue to have, successes and setbacks as

technologies that provide people with an improved quality of life are

developed and implemented.

It is becoming increasingly important that students understand these

challenges and redirections, and the implications of these for their own life

choices, the environment and the community (local and global) in which

they live. Building students’ science capability is critical to help them develop

the skills and understanding necessary to meet these challenges and make

responsible, informed choices.

Science extends our understanding beyond what affects us to include what

we can’t see, feel, hear or touch but can only imagine. Science capability is

multidimensional, consisting of dispositional facets (interest and curiosity),

operational facets (creativity and problem solving) and cognitive facets

(reasoning and critical thinking). The extent to which we as citizens understand

and appreciate these interactions will shape our future.

A set of values inform and govern how scientists operate including respect for

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honesty in collecting and presenting data and evidence, and acknowledgment

of the work of others. These values are an integral part of a science curriculum

that explores and encourages debate about the relationship between science,

society and technology.

A major goal of science education is to develop citizens who are capable of

engaging in informed debate about science and its applications. Increasing

emphasis will be placed on the role of science and the work of Australian and

other scientists in addressing issues of sustainability at a local and global level.

Science education provides opportunities for students to develop the skills and

understanding appropriate to service and good citizenship. It also encourages

students to articulate science values and accept the ethical principles

embedded in science research. While only some students directly pursue a

career in science and scientific research, all students need to appreciate the

significance of science for the long-term future of our society.

Structure of the domain

The Science domain is organised into six sections, one for each level of

achievement from Level 1 to Level 6. Each level includes a learning focus

statement and, from Level 3, a set of standards organised by dimension. A

glossary is included which provides definitions of or additional information

about underlined terms (see page 121).

Learning focus

Learning focus statements are written for each level. These outline the learning

that students need to focus on if they are to progress in the domain and

achieve the standards at the levels where they apply. They suggest appropriate

learning experiences from which teachers can draw to develop relevant

teaching and learning activities.

Standards

Standards define what students should know and be able to do at different

levels and are written for each dimension. In Science, standards for assessing

and reporting on student achievement apply from Level 3.

Dimensions

Standards in the Science domain are organised in two dimensions:

• Science knowledge and understanding

• Science at work.

These two dimensions include the traditional science disciplines of

biology, chemistry, earth science, environmental science, health sciences,

neuroscience, physics and space sciences and the emerging sciences including

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biotechnology, green chemistry, nanotechnology, and synchrotron science.

The dimensions build students’ understanding of how science knowledge in

the disciplines has been constructed through time and is applied in practical

contexts.

The development of Science knowledge and understanding necessarily

involves conceptual and experiential understanding of Science at work, and

understanding of the ways the concepts, theories and models of science are

used throughout the society in which students live.

Science at work involves students learning the processes of science through

the ways they undertake and reflect on their own investigations and those of

others.

The two dimensions are interrelated in the ways science affects the broader

society in which the students live. Students’ own experience of science assists

them to develop an understanding of these interactions. The two dimensions

are also interrelated in ways that are central to both pedagogy and content.

Science knowledge and understanding

The Science knowledge and understanding dimension focuses on building

student understanding of the overarching conceptual ideas of science. These

include understanding:

• the nature of the similarities between, and the diversity of, living things and

their sustainable relationships with each other and their environment

• concepts related to matter – its properties and uses, and the production of

different substances through chemical change

• concepts of energy and force as a way of explaining physical phenomena

• the place of the Earth in time and space and the interactions between the

Earth and its atmosphere

• how scale is important in relating structure to function at microscopic and

macroscopic levels.

These understandings enable students to build on their curiosity and answer

their own questions about themselves and their interactions with the world

while at the same time allowing them to think through contemporary

challenges and issues. Through this, students come to understand how science

relates to society and the environment.

Science at work

The Science at work dimension focuses on students experiencing and

researching how people work with and through science. Students learn to be

curious and to use scientific understanding and processes to find answers to

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their questions. They design and pursue investigations ethically and safely;

generate, validate and critique evidence; analyse and interpret ideas and link

them with existing understanding; work and reason with scientific models and

communicate their findings and ideas to others. They identify and practise the

underlying values, skills and attributes of science.

Through their investigations, they gain insight into science as a human activity

and the relationship between science, technology and society both now and in

the future. They explore how science is used in multiple contexts throughout

their lives and its pervasiveness throughout the workplace.

National Statements of Learning

The Victorian Essential Learning Standards (VELS) incorporate the opportunities

to learn covered in the national Statements of Learning (www.curriculum.

edu.au/mceetya/the_statements_of_learning,11893.html). The Statements of

Learning describe essential skills, knowledge, understandings and capacities

that all young Australians should have the opportunity to learn by the end of

Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 in English, Mathematics, Science, Civics and Citizenship and

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT).

The Statements of Learning were developed as a means of achieving greater

national consistency in curriculum outcomes across the eight Australian

states and territories. It was proposed that they be used by state and territory

departments or curriculum authorities (their primary audience) to guide the

future development of relevant curriculum documents. They were agreed to by

all states and territories in August 2006.

During 2007, the VCAA prepared a detailed map to show how the Statements

of Learning are addressed and incorporated in the VELS. In the majority of

cases, the VELS learning focus statements incorporate the Statements of

Learning. Some Statements of Learning are covered in more than one domain.

In some cases, VELS learning focus statements have been elaborated to

address elements of the Statements of Learning not previously specified. These

elaborations are noted at the end of each learning focus statement.

Safety

Students will be exposed to potentially hazardous materials and practices

when undertaking scientific activities and investigations. Beginning with

their first year at school, students are made aware of safe practices and are

encouraged to act responsibly when conducting investigations. As students

progress through their schooling they develop skills in the safe use of scientific

apparatus, including heating and electrical equipment, the safe handling of

living and non-living organic materials and the correct use and disposal of

chemicals.

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Standards and practices should be consistent with legal requirements including

Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S). Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS)

provide information about the safe handling of hazardous substances used

at the workplace. A Scientific Procedures Premises License (SPPL) is required

when animals are used to teach science. If keeping animals then the Prevention

of Cruelty to Animals Act 1986 and the National Statement on Ethical Conduct

in Research Involving Humans – National Health and Medical Research Council

(NHMRC) 2001 also apply.

Level 6

Learning focus

As students work towards the achievement of Level 6 standards in Science,

they extend their concept of science as a way of knowing to include an

understanding of how scientific theories and models drawn from traditional

and emerging sciences are based on evidence that may initially be tentative

and limited. Examples include atomic structure, natural selection and

evolution, development of medicines, genetic inheritance, and the genesis

of the Universe. They explore the ways in which scientific theories are both

powerful (in guiding thinking and investigation) and tentative (in being open

to change) at the same time. They understand that the features of science

as a way of knowing lead to it being: empirical and non-empirical, creative

and methodical, and speculative and logical. They appreciate that people of

diverse cultures have contributed to and shaped the development of science.

Students develop a qualitative and quantitative understanding of the

relationships between force, mass and movement. They consider how

coordination and regulation of functions occurs in plants and animals. They

investigate the adaptive behaviours which enable plants and animals to survive

in their environments, and consider possible adaptive behaviours which may

be needed for future survival. They explore the role of DNA and genes in

determining patterns of inheritance. They investigate how energy may be

responsible for the changes observed in biological, chemical and physical

processes and applications. Examples include electromagnetism; polarisation

of light; the operation of electronic systems; endothermic and exothermic

reactions; rate of reaction; production of new materials; photosynthesis and

respiration; cell division (mitosis and meiosis); action of micro-organisms;

global atmospheric changes; plate tectonics; optics; photonics; transmission of

nerve impulses; energy flow through ecosystems; population dynamics; and

the cycling of matter (including water, carbon and minerals) in ecosystems.

Students investigate sources of waste generated within the community

and consider waste treatment and management options. They learn how

wastes are generated in the processing of natural materials (for example, oil,

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water, brown coal and ores), and how the procedures used to manage these

wastes contribute to environmental sustainability. They investigate, create

and produce a range of strategies and products that explore, encourage and

communicate the responsible use and management of natural and processed

resources.

Students make links across related areas of science; for example, biotechnology

(biology and chemistry); communication satellites (physics and astronomy);

neuroscience (psychology, biology and chemistry); synchrotron science

(biology, chemistry and physics); resource management and green chemistry

(chemistry and earth and environmental science); and habitat renewal (earth

and environmental sciences and biology). They explore the opportunities for

employment in science-related occupations and industries in their community,

and consider the dynamic and collaborative nature of these roles.

Students learn that scientific theories are both powerful and never final, that

clarity is always assumed to be a significant attribute of science theories,

and that the use of a theory to successfully predict the consequences of

changes to situations is important in the validation of the theory. Students

design and conduct scientific investigations of their choice in ways that lead

to the collection, interpretation and presentation of valid data. They explain

trends and patterns in data, identify discrepancies in experimental results and

suggest improvements to their investigations. They learn to use correct units

of measurement when recording quantities. They use Material Safety Data

Sheets (MSDS). when appropriate. Using a variety of formats, students prepare

investigation reports learning to use symbols and diagrams extensively to

illustrate procedures and data analysis, and support the conclusions drawn and

presented.

Students develop an understanding of the constancy of the ‘big’ ideas

of science (matter, energy, time and space) and science methodologies

across different areas and contexts. They debate, from the basis of scientific

knowledge, the merits and problems of science-related issues that are

reported in the popular media, particularly those that embrace a clear ethical

dimension. They also explore the ways in which science concepts, language

and perspectives can be misunderstood and misrepresented. Students cite

instances in which social priorities have had an impact on or have been

influenced by society. This involves students applying their conceptual

understandings to the consideration of issues significant to themselves as

individuals and to the broader society in which they live; for example, stem

cell research, ecotourism, tourism in space, personal safety, a clean and healthy

environment, energy use, ecological footprints, electronic gadgets, robotics,

the history and philosophy of science, ethics and science research.

National Statements of Learning

This learning focus statement, with the following elaborations, incorporates the

Year 9 National Statement of Learning for Science. Some aspects of the year 9

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Elaborations:

• They appreciate that people of diverse cultures have contributed

to and shaped the development of science.

• They investigate how energy may be responsible for the changes

observed in biological, chemical and physical processes and

applications. Examples include … global atmospheric changes;

plate tectonics; … population dynamics….

• They explain trends and patterns in data, identify discrepancies

in experimental results and suggest improvements to their

investigations.

• Students cite instances in which social priorities have had an impact on or

have been influenced by society.

Standards

Science knowledge and understanding

At Level 6, students explain the behaviour and properties of materials in

terms of their constituent particles and the forces holding them together.

They explain how similarities in the chemical behaviour of elements and their

compounds and their atomic structures are represented in the way the periodic

table has been constructed. They use the periodic table to write electronic

configurations for a range of elements representative of the major groups

and periods in the periodic table. They use atomic symbols and balanced

chemical equations to summarise chemical reactions, including neutralisation,

precipitation and combustion. They identify and classify the sources of wastes

generated, and describe their management, within the community and in

industry. They use a specific example to explain the sustainable management

of a resource.

Students explain change in terms of energy in a range of biological,

chemical and physical contexts. They demonstrate the link between natural

selection and evolution. They explain the role of DNA and genes in cell

division and genetic inheritance. They explain how the coordination and

regulatory functions within plants and animals assist them to survive in their

environments. They explain how the action of micro-organisms can be both

beneficial and detrimental to society. Students apply concepts of geological

time to elaborate their explanations of both natural selection and evolution,

and the origin and evolution of the Universe. They give both qualitative

and quantitative explanations of the relationships between force, mass and

movement.

Science at work

At Level 6, students describe the science base of science-related occupations

in their local community. They use the relevant science concepts and

relationships as one dimension of debating contentious and/or ethically based

science-related issues of broad community concern. They demonstrate an Discipline-based Learning SCIENCE

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awareness of the ways in which scientific vocabulary is used incorrectly in the

mass media, distinguishing between the intended meaning of such terms

and their meaning in non-scientific contexts. They provide two examples of

the work of scientists that demonstrate different approaches to developing

scientific knowledge or solving a scientific problem.

Students formulate their own hypotheses and plan and conduct investigations

in order to prove or disprove them. They use chemicals (including

biomaterials), equipment, electronic components and instruments responsibly

and safely. They select appropriate equipment and measurement procedures

that will ensure a high degree of reliability in data collected and enable

valid conclusions to be drawn. They construct working models and visual

aids that demonstrate scientific ideas. They present experimental results

using appropriate data presentation formats, and comment on the nature

of experimental errors. They use Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) and

risk assessment to evaluate the safety of their investigations. They evaluate

the appropriateness of the experimental design and methodology used to

investigate their predictions.