Basic Science for Primary Teachers was first taught in 1990. It arose as an initiative of the Faculty of Education for those B.Ed. students whose level of Science was below that deemed necessary for intending Primary Teachers. The Faculty of Education however, lacked sufficient expertise in the Sciences, so asked the Faculty of Science to take the course over, to set it up in such a way as to give the students a reasonable grounding in a broad range of topics, and to manage the course on a day-to-day basis. Dr Donna Rigano (Chemistry) was appointed in 1990 as the tutor co-ordinating the course. Max Overton (Biology) took over these duties in May 1991.
The Basic Science course receives input from four main areas. Molecular Sciences teaches Chemistry and Biochemistry, - Physical Sciences teaches Physics, - Earth Sciences teaches Geology, and - Biological Sciences teaches Botany and Zoology. Each science area teaches 25% of the overall course, in eight or nine lectures and three practical classes. The course is co-ordinated by a Level A tutor (Max Overton), who gives the introductory lecture, is either present at or runs all the practical classes, and manages the everyday running of the course. Lecturers are supplied by the contributing Schools, and such casual tutors as are thought necessary. Each School likewise supplies the equipment and materials necessary for running the practical classes. Each lecturer is expected to make him/herself available for questions from the students. The course co-ordinator is also available to answer queries from students on any part of the lecture and practical content, and to provide support and assistance to students and staff.
The numbers enrolled in this course vary from year to year, but average around 80. There are 108 enrolled as of March 1998.
Up till this year, the course has been almost totally run in the Western Campus, using lecture rooms and laboratories in the Education buildings. While the lecture theatres there are adequate, the laboratory leaves a lot to be desired. In 1994, the laboratory underwent the first stages of a major reconstruction, which involved the installation of air conditioning, but the removal of water and gas from the main work benches. This has resulted in considerable inconvenience over the years, as only the side benches were functional. Furthermore the laboratory doubled as a tutorial classroom and as a storage room for equipment. No technical assistance has been available and the course co-ordinator has had the job of preparation and cleaning up. The laboratory is on the second floor and has no wheelchair access. In 1996, one student was disabled, and a laboratory in Biological Sciences was made available for one of the practical classes.
The involvement of each of the contributing Schools varies.
Chemistry usually leads off the course, with six lectures and two practical classes. In 1998, the lecturer was Peter Junk, and Max Overton, as usual, took the practicals. Molecular Sciences supplies all the chemicals and equipment for the practicals from their stores, and also petty cash items as needed.Physics follows with eight lectures and three practical classes. Mal Heron was the lecturer, and also ran the practicals, assisted by Max Overton, and Roseanne Coyle, a casual tutor supplied by Physics. They supply all the equipment necessary.
Geology also has eight lectures and three practical classes. Jerry Dickens was the lecturer, and also ran the practicals, assisted by Max Overton, and a casual Geology tutor. They supply mineral specimens and other materials as needed.
Biochemistry has three lectures and one practical class, and is considered part of the Chemistry course. Dave Yellowlees does the lecturing, and Max Overton runs the practical class. Molecular Sciences supply the equipment and chemicals necessary.
Biology has eight lectures and three practical classes. Last year, the lectures were given by Chris Alexander (Zoology) and Joe Holtum (Botany). The practical classes are run by Max Overton, with some assistance from the lecturers. Equipment and specimens are supplied by Biological Sciences, and materials are obtained from the Biological Stores.
On-course assessment is from Practical work (15%), two tests run in lecture times, one on Chemistry/Physics, the other on Geology/Biology (5% each), and a research topic, usually Biological (15%). The final exam is of three hours duration and is worth 60%. Each of the disciplines supplies 25% of the exam, and is expected to do the marking for that part.
There was no set textbook for the course in 1998. Each Department has in the past recommended various texts to the students, and a variety of "readings" has been made available in Closed Reserve in the Library. The laboratory manual, which is prepared each year by the course co-ordinator, often has items that can be used by the students in conjunction with their lecture notes. The cost to students of this manual is set each year so that the expenditure of production is matched by the return from the bookshop. A suitable textbook has now been found and will be recommended in 1999.
This extension of the SC1301 course was added in 1996 to cater for Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders who were in training to become Primary Teachers in their own Centres via remote learning. A CD-ROM was made that incorporated all four main sciences taught in the internal course. This CD-ROM is used by the students in their own Centres according to a schedule set out for them in their own manual each year. Three teleconferences are also run for each of the contributing sciences. To keep the number of students in any one teleconference low, there are usually two repeat teleconferences carried out each week, making a total of nine for each subject. The students also come to James Cook University for a two-week residential course in March each year, to meet the lecturers involved in the course, and to get a basic introduction to the Schools and the work carried out here.
The staff involved in the RATEP part of the course are sometimes different from those involved in the internal course.
Chemistry is run by Greg Griffin, who also wrote the Chemistry section of the CD-ROM.
Physics has in the past been run by Maria Pappalardo. She also wrote the Physics section of the CD-ROM, but has now left the University. She has just been replaced by Roseanne Coyle.
The Geology section of the CD-ROM was written by Greg McNamara, who has since left. Jerry Dickens has run the Geology part for the last two years.
Biology is run by Max Overton, who also wrote the Biology section of the CD-ROM. He also co-ordinates the RATEP part of SC1301.
THE SC1301 PRACTICAL CONTENT
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Copyright © Max Overton 1999
All Rights Reserved
Copyright © Max Overton 1999
All Rights Reserved
