Leeston Consolidated School is a year 1 to 6 primary school on the outskirts of Christchurch, with a roll of around 400.
The leaders and teachers at Leeston Consolidated School have been working with Maree O’Boyle, primary science facilitator from UC Education Plus in Canterbury on teaching, learning and assessment in science.
Teaching and learning has been concentrating on the Nature of Science – Science Capabilities strand in the curriculum, through the lenses of observational drawing, using scientific vocabulary and asking questions. Meaningful science has been taught so that students can develop these skills and processes while engaging and recording their learning of scientific experiments.
Students’ assessment data has been recorded using an observational drawing master sheet developed by Warren Bruce and Maree O’Boyle (see below). Seesaw, a digital portfolio tool, is used to record the responses of the junior students who are not yet writing. Through this process of context, content and critique, the school aims to foster in students an investigatory scientific mindset.
Download the observational drawing master sheet below:
Observation-Vocabulary-Questioning Sheet
(PDF 186 KB)
