Designs for Science Literacy with companion CD-ROM

by American Association for the Advancement of Science

• ISBN13: 9780195132786
• ISBN10: 0195132785
• Edition: CD
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-03-22
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

The call for science curriculum reform has been made over and over again for much of the twentieth century. Arguments have been made that the content of the curriculum is not appropriate for meeting the individual and social needs of people living in the modern world; that the curriculum hasbecome overstuffed with topics and does not serve students especially well; and above all, that the curriculum does not generate the student learning it is expected to produce. The latest volume in a continuing series of publications from the AAAS designed to reform science education, Designs for Science Literacy presupposes that curriculum reform must be considerably more extensive and fundamental than the tinkering with individual courses and subjects that has beengoing on for decades. Designs deals with the critical issues involved in assembling sound instructional materials into a new, coherent K-12 whole. The book pays special attention to the need to link science-oriented studies to the arts and humanities, and also proposes how to align the curriculumwith an established set of learning goals while preserving the American tradition of local responsibility for the curriculum itself. If fundamental curriculum reform is ever to occur, a new process for creating alternatives will have to be developed. Designs for Science Literacy provides the groundwork for such a process.

Author Biography

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is the largest international federation of scientists and scientific societies in the world, with more than 141,000 individual members and nearly 300 affiliated scientific organizations and academies of science. AAAS is a non-profit organization dedicated to the public's understanding of science and technology, and to responsible scientific advancement across all disciplines. Project 2061 is AAAS's long-term nationwide initiative to improve science, mathematics, and technology education for all students.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Science Literacy, Curriculum Reform, and This Book	1	(14)
Prologue: Design in General	15	(1)
An Introductory Example	15	(2)
Attributes of Design	17	(3)
Establishing Design Specifications	20	(4)
Conceptualizing a Design	24	(2)
Developing a Design	26	(8)
Refining the Designed Product	34	(3)
Looking Ahead	37	(1)
PART I DESIGN AND THE CURRICULUM	38	(56)
Curriculum Design	41	(32)
An Introductory Example	41	(2)
Attributes of Curriculum Design	43	(1)
Establishing Curriculum-Design Specifications	44	(12)
Conceptualizing a Curriculum Design	56	(7)
Developing a Curriculum Design	63	(5)
Refining a Designed Curriculum	68	(3)
Looking Ahead	71	(2)
Curriculum Specifications	73	(21)
What is a Curriculum?	73	(1)
Curriculum Structure	74	(10)
Curriculum Content	84	(6)
Curriculum Operation	90	(2)
Summing Up	92	(2)
PART II DESIGNING TOMORROW'S CURRICULUM	94	(78)
Design by Assembly	97	(26)
The Idea in Brief	98	(4)
The Idea in More Detail	102	(3)
Setting the Stage	105	(3)
Assembly Strategies	108	(10)
Curriculum-Resource Management	118	(3)
Continuing Professional Development	121	(2)
Curriculum Blocks	123	(26)
What Are Curriculum Blocks?	124	(3)
Properties of Curriculum Blocks	127	(1)
A Template for Describing Curriculum Blocks	128	(13)
Where Will Curriculum Blocks Come From?	141	(6)
Looking Ahead	147	(2)
How it Could Be: Three Stories	149	(23)
Foreword	150	(2)
Palladio Unified School District	152	(7)
Edmond Halley School District	159	(6)
Lewis & Clark Regional School District	165	(6)
Afterword	171	(1)
PART III IMPROVING TODAY'S CURRICULUM	172	(93)
Building Professional Capability	179	(32)
Increasing Faculty Science Literacy	180	(5)
Understanding Student Learning Goals	185	(5)
Becoming Familiar with Research on Learning	190	(2)
Learning to Analyze Curriculum Materials	192	(4)
Acquiring Curriculum Versatility	196	(5)
Improving Assessment	201	(7)
Becoming Informed on Reform Movements	208	(3)
Unburdening the Curriculum	211	(26)
Cutting Major Topics	212	(8)
Pruning Subtopics from Major Topics	220	(7)
Trimming Technical Vocabulary	227	(6)
Reducing Wasteful Repetition	233	(2)
The Challenge	235	(2)
Increasing Curriculum Coherence	237	(28)
Types of Curriculum Coherence	237	(6)
Improving Coherence across Grade Levels	243	(8)
Improving Coherence across Subjects	251	(14)
Epilogue: Another Look at Designs	265	(8)
Bibliography	273	(8)
Acknowledgements	281	(2)
Index	283	(6)
Credits	289	(6)
Installing Designs on Disk	295