Introducing Problem Based Learning (PBL) to a cohort of science education pre-service teachers enabled them to engage in a widely used learning and teaching strategy helpful to align university courses with the professional work they are expected to undertake on graduation. Almost fifty pre-service teachers participated in the study, focussed on the Energy and Change strand of the WA Curriculum Framework, to develop an appropriate science investigation for Year 7 students. The evidence gathered from pre and post PBL intervention surveys and individual interviews indicates an increase in student perceptions of their confidence in teaching science investigation skills.