Contemporary science practice in the classroom: a phenomenological exploration into how online curriculum resources can facilitate learning

Using a phenomenological lens, we investigated how online curriculum resources can support secondary science teachers to explore contemporary science practices with their students. The research used a social constructivist theoretical and a hermeneutic phenomenology methodological framework to describe and interpret the teacher/participants’ experience. Seven participants teaching science to Year 7–10 students (12–15 years old) engaged in the research project, trialling selected contemporary science resources in their class. Pre and post intervention interviews were conducted with each participant along with classroom observations of one lesson to view aspects of the effectiveness of the resource, the teachers’ approach and their perceptions of student learning and engagement. Discussion focuses on how the online curriculum resources presented alternative views about science in practice to what students expect, providing an in-depth view of scientists and their research practices in varied settings. Affordances of this approach for bringing real science into the classroom and for improving student engagement and learning are considered. The findings point to the approach being potentially a productive, scalable way forward for introducing contemporary science practice into classrooms. We advocate further research investigating the potential of this type of online curriculum resource to connect students more powerfully with scientists and their practices.