Middle year students talk: Science sux or science rocks!

AIMS & objectives of secondary education; SECONDARY education research; EDUCATION; EDUCATIONAL technology; TEACHER-student relationships; MIDDLE school curriculum

Many students arrive at high school with enthusiasm for learning Science but by Year 9 some students have become disengaged with Science as a subject. In an attempt to find out the reasons for this, thirty-five Year 9 students from five South Australian secondary schools participated in focus group discussions. This research unearthed a number of reasons why students engaged, or did not engage, with Science as a subject. The key findings included that science lessons in the middle school need to be both objective and reflective in nature; that a student's relationship with the teacher is highly important; that students learn Science best by doing and that the use of technology in the pedagogy for learning Science is important, as is parent involvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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