Like a scientist, the first explicit instruction series for science skills
Teach Years 7-10 students to think like scientists through real-world phenomena.
Why schools need an explicit focus on science skills
Across the Victorian Curriculum and recent VCE exams, students are increasingly expected to think like scientists, not just recall scientific facts. Skills such as questioning, analysing evidence, comparing models and justifying conclusions now sit at the core of assessment in Year 12 and beyond, reflecting how science is practiced today.
Read on to explore how the new curriculum and shift in VCE exams to assess science skills can help schools foster the next generation of skilled and inspired scientists.
Who this supports
How Like a scientist supports teachers and school leaders
Teachers
Heads of Science / Curriculum leaders
Presented by 7NEWS meteorologist Jane Bunn
What Like a scientist is
Explicitly teach the Science Inquiry Skills
Why Like a scientist is different
Like a scientist teaches the Science Inquiry Skills in the new Victorian Curriculum explicitly, rather than assuming students will pick them up. Thinking processes are modelled step-by-step by Jane using real-world examples, creating a consistent whole-school approach that builds progressively from Year 7 to VCE.
Improving science results
How Edrolo teaches students science skills
Our VCE Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Psychology courses all include video lessons to explicitly unpack the key science skills and their application in the respective science.
For Daily Practice and Daily Plus subscribers, there’s additional key science skills questions to help students apply the skills.
All our questions are written by experienced VCE teachers and mapped back from exam success. Questions model the specific content and skills that students will need to demonstrate on exams, well before they tackle the real thing.
VCE Biology 2025 exam question and Edrolo question
Both questions use a flowchart to assess knowledge of the enzymes in genetic engineering, focusing on the role of DNA ligase in the specific context of insulin production.
2025 VCAA exam question
Edrolo 2025 Daily Practice question
VCE Psychology 2025 exam question and Edrolo question
Both of these questions require:
- Students to 'explain' how or why Alzheimer's disease impacts retrieval of autobiographical events
- Explain task word in a short-answer question
- They vary slightly in that Edrolo's questions requires application to a hypothetical scenario whereas VCAA's does not, but this is good practice as common in other exam questions also
2025 VCAA exam question
Edrolo 2025 Daily Practice question
How Jane Bunn uses science skills every day
Jane Bunn is a trailblazer, media personality and children’s book author. She was the first female meteorologist on network television in Victoria, and currently presents the 7NEWS weather daily.
FAQs
Everything you need to know about Like a scientist
The new Victorian Curriculum 2.0 places greater emphasis on science inquiry skills. The Like a scientist video series explicitly teach these skills, helping students master the thinking processes and practical techniques that are increasingly assessed in VCAA examinations.
The videos build a strong foundation in science inquiry skills that are essential for success in VCE science subjects. By explicitly teaching students how to think like scientists in Years 7-10, we're creating a clear progression pathway that sets students up for senior science success.
The Like a scientist video series featuring Jane Bunn that explicitly teaches science skills to Years 7-10 students. The series helps students develop the critical thinking and practical skills they need to approach science like professional scientists do.
The Like a scientist video series cover Years 7-10 and are aligned to both the Victorian Curriculum 2.0 and the Australian Curriculum.
The Like a scientist series is the only science resource in the market that explicitly teaches science skills as a distinct focus. Jane Bunn uses real-world examples to make abstract concepts relatable and shows students how scientists actually think and work in professional settings.
The Like a scientist videos can be integrated into lessons in multiple ways. Each video covers a topic in Edrolo Years 7-10 Science giving you an additional resource to the slides, activities and questions included. Here are some ways to use Like a scientist:
- Introduce the big ideas for a topic: As you start a new topic, use to introduce the big ideas. The stories and examples Jane uses are designed to hook students into the topic and get them curious. You could use the hook as a base to build out follow up lessons so you’re linking back to the concepts introduced and showing how these can be applied to a specific example.
- Flipped classroom: Before or during a topic, get students to watch the video at home and come to class with questions to deep dive into during class. This would allow you to explore in-depth some of the concepts covered.
- Revision and reinforcement: Use to revisit and consolidate key concepts from the topic. You could play the video and get students to link back concepts to what you covered already, and to identify any remaining gaps in their knowledge before an assessment or moving to the next topic.
- Independent learning: Students can access videos independently to deepen their understanding or clarify concepts they found challenging during a topic.
Yes. The videos are aligned to both Victorian and Australian Curriculum, making them suitable for schools across Australia.
Yes, the Like a scientist video series is included as part of Edrolo Years 7-10 Science. Schools can register their interest here.
Year 7 content will be released in April 2026, with Years 8, 9, and 10 rolling out monthly through July 2026. Schools can register for early access here.
Jane's authentic communication style and use of everyday examples help students see science in their own lives. Her profile as a successful female scientist also provides powerful role modelling, particularly for young women, helping students see themselves in science careers.
Register for early access to Like a scientist
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