Individual Inquiry (40%)
The individual inquiry is the most significant piece of work that you will complete over the course of the year making up 40% of your final grade for the subject. The individual inquiry consists of two separate assessment tasks, one is the individual inquiry design proposal (10%) which is aimed at being an initial, but well thought out plan of what you plan to do in Individual inquiry (30%) which is a much more comprehensive task and is also marked externally.
Individual Inquiry Design Proposal (10% - Marked internally, moderated externally)
In readiness for their external assessment, you will individually prepare a proposal for an investigation for which the outcome is uncertain. The proposal will form the basis of the final report for your individual inquiry. For your investigation may use the scientific method or the engineering design process.
The design proposal includes:
The design proposal should be a maximum of 4 minutes if oral, 750 words if written, or the equivalent in multi-modal form.
Individual Inquiry (30% - Marked externally)
In this task you present an individual report that includes an
The combined word count for the individual investigation report should be a maximum of 1500 words (excluding the representation of data), if written, or the equivalent in multi-modal form. You will be submitting this task electronically.
The individual inquiry is the most significant piece of work that you will complete over the course of the year making up 40% of your final grade for the subject. The individual inquiry consists of two separate assessment tasks, one is the individual inquiry design proposal (10%) which is aimed at being an initial, but well thought out plan of what you plan to do in Individual inquiry (30%) which is a much more comprehensive task and is also marked externally.
Individual Inquiry Design Proposal (10% - Marked internally, moderated externally)
In readiness for their external assessment, you will individually prepare a proposal for an investigation for which the outcome is uncertain. The proposal will form the basis of the final report for your individual inquiry. For your investigation may use the scientific method or the engineering design process.
The design proposal includes:
- a statement of an investigable question or hypothesis, problem, need, or opportunity
- identification and discussion of all variables
- an outline (with reasons) of the proposed research approach or method, or engineering design of a model.
The design proposal should be a maximum of 4 minutes if oral, 750 words if written, or the equivalent in multi-modal form.
Individual Inquiry (30% - Marked externally)
In this task you present an individual report that includes an
- introduction, providing the basis for the investigation
- summary of the design of the investigation or model(s), including the hypothesis or solution and modifications as a result of feedback from the teacher
- results of the practical investigation and analysis of the results, including identification of trends and linking results to relevant discipline knowledge
- evaluation of the method/model(s) used
- identification of sources of uncertainty
- conclusion with justification and consideration of the limitations of the investigation
- citations and referencing.
The combined word count for the individual investigation report should be a maximum of 1500 words (excluding the representation of data), if written, or the equivalent in multi-modal form. You will be submitting this task electronically.
Collaborative Inquiry (20%)
The collaborative inquiry has two parts:
· the collaborative inquiry design
· the collaborative inquiry evaluation.
Collaborative Inquiry Design
In this task you will collaborate with others in the class to design and conduct an investigation for which the outcome is uncertain, you are encouraged to experiment with and test ideas. The design may be based on the development of an investigation using a hypothesis or based on the development of an innovative prototype to solve a real-world problem. The design enables you to extend their science inquiry skills by deconstructing a problem to determine the most appropriate method for investigation, formulating investigable questions, hypotheses, or proposed solutions, selecting, trialling, and using appropriate equipment, apparatus, and techniques and finally identifying variables.
For this task you will record a personal journal or lab notebook that will include record individually, in a personal journal:
The journal should include the student’s deconstruction and may also include, planning strategies, methods trialled, suggestions for improvements, ideas or questions investigated or posed, reflection on progress, pictorial record of experiments, analysis of data, future planning and/or peer review.
The personal journal should have no more than twelve A4 pages if written or the equivalent in multimodal form. Pages should be single-sided A4 with minimum font size 10. Page reduction, such as two A4 pages reduced to fit on one A4 page, is not acceptable.
Collaborative Inquiry Evaluation
Students individually evaluate the collaborative inquiry, in the style of a pitch, defence, or justification. This evaluation should include:
The pitch, defence, or justification should be a maximum of 5 minutes per student if oral or the equivalent if multimodal. The format may be, for example:
The collaborative inquiry has two parts:
· the collaborative inquiry design
· the collaborative inquiry evaluation.
Collaborative Inquiry Design
In this task you will collaborate with others in the class to design and conduct an investigation for which the outcome is uncertain, you are encouraged to experiment with and test ideas. The design may be based on the development of an investigation using a hypothesis or based on the development of an innovative prototype to solve a real-world problem. The design enables you to extend their science inquiry skills by deconstructing a problem to determine the most appropriate method for investigation, formulating investigable questions, hypotheses, or proposed solutions, selecting, trialling, and using appropriate equipment, apparatus, and techniques and finally identifying variables.
For this task you will record a personal journal or lab notebook that will include record individually, in a personal journal:
- initial thinking, ideas, and their individual deconstruction of the problem
- evidence of their own contribution to the project and supporting documentation on the application of their collaborative skills
- representation(s) of the data collected by the group
- preliminary analysis and interpretation of results/outcomes
- connections between results and scientific concepts
The journal should include the student’s deconstruction and may also include, planning strategies, methods trialled, suggestions for improvements, ideas or questions investigated or posed, reflection on progress, pictorial record of experiments, analysis of data, future planning and/or peer review.
The personal journal should have no more than twelve A4 pages if written or the equivalent in multimodal form. Pages should be single-sided A4 with minimum font size 10. Page reduction, such as two A4 pages reduced to fit on one A4 page, is not acceptable.
Collaborative Inquiry Evaluation
Students individually evaluate the collaborative inquiry, in the style of a pitch, defence, or justification. This evaluation should include:
- a summary of the design and hypothesis or problem/need/opportunity
- an evaluation of the procedures and results/outcomes
- an evaluation of the effectiveness of collaboration and its impact on results/outcomes
- a conclusion with justification and the consideration of possible limitations.
The pitch, defence, or justification should be a maximum of 5 minutes per student if oral or the equivalent if multimodal. The format may be, for example:
- conversation with the teacher and/or other students
- individually recorded
- multimodal.
Science as a Human Endeavour Inquiry (10%)
In this task you will investigate a contemporary example of how science interacts with society. This may focus on one or more of the aspects of science as a human endeavour, and may draw on an inquiry context or a discipline context. You will select and explore a recent discovery, innovation, issue, or advance. This will involve analysing and synthesising information from different sources to explain the scientific concepts relevant to the focus of the investigation, show its connections to science as a human endeavour, and develop and justify your own conclusions.
Based on your investigation, you will prepare a scientific communication, which must include the use of scientific terminology and:
The scientific communication should be a maximum of 10 minutes for an oral presentation, 1500 words if written, or the equivalent in multi-modal form.
This communication could take the form of, for example:
In this task you will investigate a contemporary example of how science interacts with society. This may focus on one or more of the aspects of science as a human endeavour, and may draw on an inquiry context or a discipline context. You will select and explore a recent discovery, innovation, issue, or advance. This will involve analysing and synthesising information from different sources to explain the scientific concepts relevant to the focus of the investigation, show its connections to science as a human endeavour, and develop and justify your own conclusions.
Based on your investigation, you will prepare a scientific communication, which must include the use of scientific terminology and:
- an introduction to identify the focus of the investigation and the key concept(s) of science as a human endeavour that it links to
- relevant scientific concepts or background
- an explanation of how the focus of the investigation illustrates the interaction between science and society, including a discussion of the potential impact of the focus of the investigation, e.g. further development, effect on quality of life, environmental implications, economic impact, intrinsic interest
- a conclusion
- citations and referencing.
The scientific communication should be a maximum of 10 minutes for an oral presentation, 1500 words if written, or the equivalent in multi-modal form.
This communication could take the form of, for example:
- an oral or multi-modal scientific presentation
- an article for a scientific publication.
Science Inquiry Skills Tasks - 3 tasks (3 x 10% = 30% total)
In these tasks you will use science inquiry skills to inquire into aspects of science from various perspectives. These inquiries may involve contexts of interest or contexts based on scientific concepts that enable you to extend your science inquiry skills through practical tasks, and/or selecting, analysing, and interpreting information related to science inquiry skills in various forms. Science inquiry skills tasks can be conducted individually or collaboratively; however, for each task, you must present your own outcomes.
As a set, science inquiry skills tasks should be designed to enable you to apply your science inquiry skills, demonstrate knowledge and understanding of key scientific concepts and learning, and explain connections with science as a human endeavour. The set of science inquiry skills tasks should be a maximum of 12 pages or the equivalent in multi-modal form. Pages should be single-sided A4 with minimum font size 10. Page reduction, such as two A4 pages reduced to fit on one A4 page, is not acceptable.
In these tasks you will use science inquiry skills to inquire into aspects of science from various perspectives. These inquiries may involve contexts of interest or contexts based on scientific concepts that enable you to extend your science inquiry skills through practical tasks, and/or selecting, analysing, and interpreting information related to science inquiry skills in various forms. Science inquiry skills tasks can be conducted individually or collaboratively; however, for each task, you must present your own outcomes.
As a set, science inquiry skills tasks should be designed to enable you to apply your science inquiry skills, demonstrate knowledge and understanding of key scientific concepts and learning, and explain connections with science as a human endeavour. The set of science inquiry skills tasks should be a maximum of 12 pages or the equivalent in multi-modal form. Pages should be single-sided A4 with minimum font size 10. Page reduction, such as two A4 pages reduced to fit on one A4 page, is not acceptable.