Alternative conceptions in astronomy are a road block to new learning. Astronomy content is included in the Australian Curriculum (AC) from Year 3 and then intermittently in Year 5, Year 7 and Year 10. In accepting that science is socio-culturally constructed, it is important for teachers to have a clear understanding of the alternative conceptions that students bring with them to the science classroom. This article reports on the alternative conceptions elicited from 546 students ranging from Year 5 through Year 7 using a modified form of the Astronomy Diagnostic Test [Danaia, L. (2006). Students' experiences, perceptions and performance in junior secondary school science: An intervention study involving a remote telescope (Doctoral dissertation). Charles Sturt University, Bathurst]. Results show that some well identified alternative conceptions, such as the 'eclipse model' to explain the phases of the Moon, exist before students enter high school and prior to any formal learning on the topic. In addition, this research identified a number of alternative conceptions held by preadolescent students in Western Australia that were based on knowledge that should have been consolidated by students in Year 3, viz., the relative movements of the Earth, Moon and Sun. Armed with students' alternative conceptions as a part of their pedagogical content knowledge, teachers can construct active learning experiences that will challenge students' existing constructs in order to allow for new learning. This sample suggests that we need to identify the reasons behind the lack of consolidation of the foundation astronomy content of the Australian Curriculum outlined for students in Year 3.

In order to supply a future Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) workforce, Australia needs to engage its most capable and gifted secondary students in quality STEM learning, either within school or through extra-curricular opportunities, so that they will continue into STEM-based tertiary degrees. High-achieving students in rural communities may face additional barriers to STEM learning that can limit their ability to pursue advanced STEM studies and occupations. This small-scale research project sought to explore a group of gifted lower secondary students' engagement and experiences in a STEM programme designed around a local rural knowledge model as reported by Avery (2013), which uses local knowledge as a vehicle for science learning. This multi-method study was conducted with 26 students years 7 and 8 in a rural school. Information about students' general science class experiences were collected quantitatively. These experiences contrasted the local rural knowledge programme, where the students worked with an ecologist and experienced science educators to rehabilitate small plots of damaged land close to the school site. Qualitative data were collected throughout the programme to determine its influence on students' engagement and learning in STEM. The research found that the local rural knowledge model enhanced students' engagement in STEM learning and they felt that they retained knowledge better as a result of the authentic learning experience. Students also engaged the wider community in the process, leading to broader translation of the STEM learning.

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This research compared the process of disciplinary literacy acquisition of students who experienced two different pedagogical approaches to learning science, technology, engineering and mathematics through astronomy (STEM-A). The objective of this study was to explore the impact of a digital storytelling (DST) educational technology intervention in a STEM-A context on the process of disciplinary literacy acquisition of students who were learning English as a foreign language (EFL). The research was designed as a type IV case study with a sample of 30 students from Kyrgyzstan aged between 12 and 16 years. Data were collected from written responses to the astronomy diagnostic tests (ADT), which were coded against the structure of the observed learning outcomes (SOLO) and analysed using the analysis of variance (ANOVA) with repeated measures on the occasion of testing. Data from the Australian sample, native speakers of English, (N = 328) were used as a baseline. The results showed a positive effect of the DST intervention on EFL students’ astronomy disciplinary literacy acquisition. The research contributes to the body of knowledge on educational technology by exemplifying how the DST teaching intervention could bridge the gap between EFL and non-EFL students’ disciplinary literacy acquisition in STEM areas.

Classroom management skills are essential for effective teaching and consequently form an integral part of undergraduate teaching degrees. Self-efficacy in classroom management influences an individual's willingness to undertake specific actions and their perseverance in the face of difficulties in executing these actions. In order to track the progress of pre-service teachers' self-efficacy in classroom management, an easy to administer Classroom Management Self Efficacy Instrument (CMSEI) was developed and piloted with a third year cohort of pre-service teachers. This article reports on the psychometric properties of the CMSEI as determined through a Rasch analysis. The analysis supports the Classroom Management Self Efficacy Instrument (CMSEI) as an accurate and internally consistent, unidimensional scale for use with undergraduate preservice teachers.