AITSL Standards

Standard 3.4:


A very important aspect of teaching includes the planning and selection of appropriate resources (AITSL, 2011).

In a Science classroom, there are so many different resources available to students, especially so when ATAR year 12 physics were struggling with applying electromagnetism (SCSA, 2014), using the ICT tool from the University of NSW (Wolfe, n.d) greatly increased the students understanding of the difficult concept.


As seen in the picture to the below, DC generators serve as a fantastic application example, often being taught specifically in the textbooks.


Image Source: https://byjus.com/physics/electromagnetism/



The use of the UNSW simulations provide an ease-of-access, to material that can be quite dense to read. It is not easily explained by video, with the amount of concepts needing to be discussed and inter-related. By selecting this resource, students can break down the individual components needed to make a DC motor work, relate them to electromagnetism and the apply to problem solving.


The simulations can be accessed using the link below;

https://www.animations.physics.unsw.edu.au/jw/electricmotors.html


An example of the stimulatory diagrams provided by UNSW school of Physics (Wolfe, n.d).

Within the task itself, students were asked to predict, observe then explain the different impacts of the electromagnetic force has on torque.

This initial task was done as a whole class. By giving students a multi-modal, interactive ICT tool, it promoted collaborative inquiry learning with the use of a POE (Dawson, Venville & Donovan, 2019).

As per Puentedura (2013), this demonstrates how the initial part of the task can be used as a direct substitute with function change (or augmentation on the SAMR- see right).

SAMR Model by Puentedura (2013)

Drawing the situation on the board and getting students to explain what's happening and why is a common analogue resource for the topic, as opposed to combining it with the simulations. By using the simulations, the combination of analogue and digital resources engaged the students more, creating a positive impact on learning.

Although collaborative, engaging and fun, this activity could be much more improved with a task redesign. To improve student learning in science, it is very important to address misconceptions (Dawson, Venville & Donovan, 2019).

One way to do this, would be to get students to complete the POE, then get the students to access the demonstrations themselves on devices. The students would then explain their prediction to their partners, using the ICT simulation tool. The instruction to the students would be to have 'mini-debates' or an 'elevator style pitch' for their prediction. Thus combining elements of the explain from the common analogue instruction.

After the activity, the whole class would have a discussion, using the simulations, to ensure misconceptions were kept to a minimum (Dawson, Venville & Donovan, 2019). The use of partners to describe the prediction allows for a chance for collaborative work to address the misconceptions in a safe learning environment, as opposed to a whole class address (Churchill et al, 2018).

This allows a chance for genuine and authentic discovery of a scientific concept, not easily brought into the classroom. This redefines the task, as it would not be possible without the use of the simulation, to get this POE/ elevator pitch.

References

Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) . (2011). Australian Professional Standards for Teachers.https://www.aitsl.edu.au/docs/default-source/national-policy-framework/australian-professional-standards-for-teachers.pdf


Churchill, R., Godhino, S,. Johnson, N.F., Keddie, A., Letts, W., Lowe, K., Mackay, J., McGill, M., Moss, J., Nagel, M.C., Shaw, K., & Rogers, J. (2018).Teaching: Making a difference (4th ed.). John Wiley & Sons Australia Ltd.


Dawson, V., Venville, G., & Dovovan, J. (2019). The art of teaching science: A comprehensive guide to the teaching of secondary school science (3rd ed). Allen and Unwin.


Puentedura, R. R. (2013, May 29). SAMR: Moving from enhancement to transformation [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://www.hippasus.com/rrpweblog/archives/000095.html


School Curriculum and Standards Authority (SCSA). (2014). Western Australian Curriculum. https://k10outline.scsa.wa.edu.au/home/teaching/curriculum-browser.


Wolfe, J. (n.d). Electric motors and generators. School of Physics; University of New South Wales. https://www.animations.physics.unsw.edu.au/jw/electricmotors.html