New teaching resources to support PAT Science 2nd Edition

The resources aim to support a deeper understanding of students’ progress in gaining scientific knowledge and inquiry skills, adding rich context and analysis to test questions and highlighting next steps, connecting results to classroom practice.

Both the PAT Science 2nd Edition assessment and teaching resources are mapped to the Australian Curriculum, both version 8.4 and the new version 9.0.

50+ new annotated questions

Coinciding with the release of the 2nd Edition, more than 50 annotated questions are now available in the PAT Teaching Resources Centre. Annotated questions are analyses of actual PAT assessment questions, providing detailed explanations of the skills being assessed.

The annotated questions support educators to identify:

• the key concepts and skills required to answer a question correctly
• the prerequisite knowledge or skills
• likely errors and misconceptions
• the level of difficulty.

The annotated questions can be sorted by PAT Achievement Band or year level, adding context to the band descriptions, and demonstrating the progression of students through this learning area.

How to use the annotated questions

Linking straight from the results in the PAT Data Explorer, the annotated questions enable educators to:

• gain a detailed understanding of the skills being assessed
• explore reasons for unexpected answers on the assessment
• select targeted supporting teaching resources
• assist in identifying specific skills that have been acquired or have yet to be learned by students.

For example, there may be a group of students who incorrectly answered a question on predicting the outcomes of environmental change on predator/prey relationships.

The related annotated question provides an explanation of the reasoning behind each answer option, and further outlines the common errors and misconceptions demonstrated by students.

An example of common errors and misconceptions, taken from a PAT Teaching Resources Centre Science 2nd Edition annotated question.

In this example, if the group of students incorrectly answered ‘Yes’ to the second statement, it identifies that they may ‘not realise that birds usually eat a variety of food types.’

Reviewing the key concepts and skills will also indicate where further support or instruction may be required, including the prerequisite skills that students generally need to have mastered before they can be expected to answer the question correctly.

An example of key concepts and skills, taken from a PAT Teaching Resources Centre Science 2nd Edition annotated question.

Related annotated questions that assess similar skills or concepts are also provided to help support students who are yet to master the required skills, or to challenge students who are ready to progress in their learning.

Further guidance on how to use the annotated questions is also available within the PAT Teaching Resources Centre.

Find out more about the PAT Teaching Resources Centre

The PAT Teaching Resources Centre can be purchased through the ACER Shop or your online school account.

If you would like learn more about PAT Science 2nd Edition and the new teaching resources, join our upcoming webinar on Thursday 9 February. To find out more about the PAT Teaching Resources Centre visit: www.acer.org/au/pat/teaching-resources-centre