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This resource illustrates how some activities in Figure It Out: Sustainability can be adapted to provide opportunities for students to strengthen their capability to critique evidence in the context of science.
The Nature of Science strand
Aims | Achievement objectives relevant to this resource |
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Investigating in science Carry out science investigations using a variety of approaches: classifying and identifying, pattern seeking, exploring, investigating models, fair testing, making things, or developing systems. | L1 & 2: Extend their experiences and personal explanations of the natural world through exploration, play, asking questions, and discussing simple models. L3 & 4: Ask questions, find evidence, explore simple models, and carry out appropriate investigations to develop simple explanations. |
Material World
Aims | Achievement objectives relevant to this resource |
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Chemistry and society Make connections between the concepts of chemistry and their applications and show an understanding of the role chemistry plays in the world around them. | L1 & 2: Find out about the uses of common materials and relate these to their observed properties. L3 & 4: Relate the observed, characteristic chemical and physical properties of a range of different materials to technological uses and natural processes. |
In order to evaluate the trustworthiness of data students need to know quite a lot about the qualities of scientific tests so they know what questions to ask. Developing an appreciation of how evidence in science is generated supports students to become scientifically literate, i.e., to participate as critical, informed, and responsible citizens in a society in which science plays a significant role. (This is the purpose of science in NZC.) Students recognise the importance of being explicit about how data are gathered.
In Types of Rubbish, data are presented in a variety of ways. On page 6 there is a table showing Room 4’s rubbish. In the existing activity students discuss the data that are provided for both the mass and volume of 5 categories of rubbish.
Adapting the resource
Do they understand that how the data are gathered affects the trustworthiness of the data?
Do they understand that if you want to compare data sets you need to ensure the data were collected in the same way?
For suggestions about adapting tasks in ways that allow students to show progress in critiquing evidence see Progressions .
The science content is limited in this resource. However, this activity could be embedded in a unit of work about, for example, sustainability. To develop understandings about the Material World teachers would need to develop opportunities for content learning as well.
Key words
Figure It Out, sustainability, rubbish