Fostering Curiosity: Teaching Primary School Science

Fostering Curiosity: Teaching Primary School Science

  • Cool+
  • Primary
  • Foundation
  • Year 1 - 6
  • Science
  • Inquiry Skills
  • ...

Course summary

This practical course for primary school teachers will ignite your students’ curiosity and develop their scientific literacy. Learn how to engage students in simple, hands-on science experiments that bring science to life. Explore how to strengthen scientific thinking and link science lessons to curriculum outcomes, all while motivating students to take an active interest in learning science. Plus, get immediate access to ready-to-use teaching resources that will enhance your science lessons.

You will learn:

  • How to involve students in simple science experiments.
  • How to develop the scientific literacy of students.
  • How science is linked to curriculum outcomes.
  • Where to download teaching resources that you can use right away.

Course time:

This course will take you 2 hours to complete. Enjoy it in one session or spread it out over a few weeks. You will have ongoing access via your personal dashboard.

Accreditation:

This course is mapped to the Professional Standards for Teachers. It is accredited for teacher professional development hours in the following states and territories:

Proficient Teacher:

  • 2.1.2 Apply knowledge of the content and teaching strategies of the teaching area to develop engaging teaching activities.
  • 3.3.3 Plan and implement well-structured learning and teaching programs or lesson sequences that engage students and promote learning
  • 3.4.2 Select and/or create and use a range of resources, including ICT, to engage students in their learning

This course is accredited by TQI for 2 hours of professional development for teachers in the ACT for 2025.

Item saved in resources

Save

Share

Course Content

Getting Started

Getting Started

01.
Introduction
02.
Set some learning goals
Science in the Primary Classroom

Science in the Primary Classroom

03.
What science means to me
04.
Science literacy in Australia
05.
Evolving science education
06.
Science in the curriculum
Teach Snappy Science

Teach Snappy Science

07.
About the experiments
08.
Tornado in a jar
09.
Tornado in a jar - explanation
10.
Being a science role model
11.
How do seeds grow?
12.
How do seeds grow? - explanation
13.
Staying afloat
14.
Staying afloat - explanation
15.
Make a compass
16.
Make a compass - explanation
Your Teaching

Your Teaching

17.
Teaching tips
18.
Cool lesson plans
Reflection

Reflection

19.
Reflection
20.
Taxonomy of learning
21.
Suggestions for collaboration
22.
Congratulations

Course instructors

Tracey Gray

Tracey Gray helped write this course. Tracey is an Aquatic Scientist and an experienced science classroom teacher. She is passionate about creating innovative programs that integrate STEM and STEAM techniques. Tracey is a WISE-STEM changemaker leader and participated in the 1st Homeward Bound global STEM female scientist leadership expedition to Antarctica in 2016.

Mark Drummond from Cool Australia is your course teacher. He has worked in the education sector for over 11 years as a classroom teacher, Leader of Pedagogy within an Ed-Tech start-up and as an educational consultant. Mark is an absolute science nerd and loves talking about dinosaurs as much as he loves talking about education (which is a lot)!

Frequently asked questions

How long will this take to complete?

This course will take you 2 hours to complete. Enjoy it in one session or spread it out over a few weeks. You will have ongoing access via your personal dashboard.

Will I get proof of completion?

You will get a Cool.org certificate when you finish, which you can access any time via your personal dashboard, it will also be sent to you by email.

Is this course accredited?

This course is mapped to the Professional Standards for Teachers. It is accredited for teacher professional development hours in the following states and territories:

Proficient Teacher:

  • 2.1.2 Apply knowledge of the content and teaching strategies of the teaching area to develop engaging teaching activities.
  • 3.3.3 Plan and implement well-structured learning and teaching programs or lesson sequences that engage students and promote learning
  • 3.4.2 Select and/or create and use a range of resources, including ICT, to engage students in their learning

This course is accredited by TQI for 2 hours of professional development for teachers in the ACT for 2025.

What are the curriculum links?

  • Science: Foundation – Year 6, Science Inquiry Skills strand
  • Cross curriculum priorities: Sustainability
  • General capabilities: Personal and Social Capability
Item saved in resources

Save

Share