Floating and sinking : constructing the 'good science teacher'

Floating and sinking is a concept that both primary and secondary students are familiar with, however, this concept is often accompanied by misconceptions. A unit plan, consisting of seven lessons addressing the concept of floating and sinking, was developed by five High School teachers as part of on-going professional development to address common misconceptions. This paper analyses reflections of the teachers and reads these reflections against dominant discourses contained within various Education Queensland policy documents that construct the 'good science teacher '. In the discourse analysis of the teachers' evaluations of, and reflections on, this unit plan, two significant outcomes resulted; firstly the development of this unit plan was instrumental in enhancing individual pedagogical content knowledge and secondly, the process of developing the unit plan worked as a team and partnership building exercise. The chapter concluded that the teachers were enthusiastic towards the 'hands on' practical sessions and embraced working scientifically, but were sometimes constrained by the need to accomodate other school activities and expectations as they performed as 'good science teachers'.