I am working on my final assignment for my Graduate Diploma at the moment. This is an inquiry, and my inquiry question is "What might the Nature of Science look like in a classroom?".

The Nature of Science (NoS) is the overarching science strand in the 2007 New Zealand Curriculum (NZC), and provides a context for learning science knowledge.

The Nature of Science focuses on the behaviours, attitudes and realities of science. Through the Nature of Science, students gain an understanding of what science is, how scientists behave, and how to communicate as scientists.

It's a powerful tool for learning as unlike the other learning areas of the NZC, the NoS provides a teaching approach, rather than more specific achievement objectives. Exciting stuff!

The four areas of the NoS strand are Understanding about Science, Communicating in Science, Participating and Contributing, and Investigating in Science. These align closely to the Key Competencies of the NZC. Even more exciting!

I can see lots of links between the KC's and the NoS, and see the NoS as an exciting tool, and a way we can teach our children to look at the world. It's a bit of a no-brainer for me, as it's kind of the way I look at the world already.

I'm at the start of a big, fun adventure. This blog is a place for me to store up my links and resources, while making them available for anyone else that needs them. It's also a place for me to try and articulate some of my ideas, and possibly some of the highs and epic fails as I begin my teaching career.