Research
This page identifies current research in the area of science education.
Australian Council for Educational Research (http://www.acer.edu.au) - an independent, not-for-profit organisation. ACER conducts an annual research conference, conducts professional learning workshops and publishes a newsletter and research findings. The 2006 conference theme was Boosting Science Learning – What will it take? The full conference proceedings can be downloaded from this website.
Australian Science Education Research Association (ASERA) (http://www.smec.curtin.edu.au/asera) - publishes the international journal Research in Science Education of interest to researchers, teacher practitioners and policy makers. Abstracts are available on this site.
Curriculum, Learning and Effective Pedagogy: A Literature Review in Science Education (http://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/publications/assessment/5811) - aimed at informing the broad area of ‘teaching and the dynamics of learning’. The review covers the significant international research on effective pedagogy and the links between student learning, curricula, pedagogy and assessment in science education.
Improving Mathematics and Science Education (http://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs) - Improving Mathematics and Science Education (PDF, 610kB) presents the findings of a longitudinal study of the effectiveness of reform-oriented science and mathematics instruction in the United States.
Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) (http://www.acer.edu.au/ozpisa) - a survey administered to 15 year old students in OECD countries assessing their ability to apply their knowledge and skills to real-life problems and situations. It is a measure of students' performance in reading, mathematical and scientific literacy and problem solving.
Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) reports (http://www.acer.edu.au/ozpisa/reports.html) The ACER website links to the latest PISA reports (2006) as well as earlier ones. PISA is sponsored by the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development). It is the world's biggest survey of students aged about 15 years and occurs every three years (2000, 2003, 2006 and 2009). PISA assesses students’ ability to apply their knowledge and skills to real-life problems and situations. It is a measure of students' performance in reading, mathematical and scientific literacy and problem solving.
PISA 2003 Fact sheet (PDF - 38Kb) - describes the findings of the 2003 international assessment student achievement conducted by OECD in mathematical, scientific and reading literacy.
Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) (http://www.timss.org) - designed to help countries all over the world improve student learning in mathematics and science. It collects educational achievement data at Year 4 and Year 8 to provide information about trends in performance over time.