Curriculum Development
Science curriculum development can involve changes in what is taught, to whom (target audiences), and how (ways of teaching and learning). This entry is concerned with the following questions: Why change the science curriculum? What should be changed? How and by whom is the change process initiated and sustained? The entry discusses various models for initiating and sustaining change.
Why and What to Change? Goals and Driving Factors
Throughout the last 60 years the goals and objectives for science teaching and learning have undergone changes many times, often leading to reforms in the way the science curriculum was developed, taught, and learned. Five key factors influence a change in curriculum goals: the learners (target population), the teachers, the science content, the context of learning and teaching both in and out of school, and the assessment of students’ achievement and progress.
The Learners
References
- Connelly FM, Clandinin DJ (1988) Teachers as curriculum planners: narratives of experience. Teachers College Press, New YorkGoogle Scholar
- Kortland K, Klaassen K (eds) (2010) Designing theory-based teaching-learning sequences for science education. CDβ Press, Utrecht. www.staff.science.uu.nl/~kortl101/book_sympPL.pdf. Retrieved 4 Apr 2014
- Linn MC, Songer NB, Eylon B (1996) Shifts and convergences in science learning and instruction. In: Berliner DC, Calfee RC (eds) Handbook of educational psychology. Lawrence Erlbaum, Mahwah, pp 438–490Google Scholar
- Millar R, Osborne J (1998) Beyond 2000. Science education for the future. King’s College London, London. www.nuffieldfoundation.org/beyond-2000-science-education-future. Retrieved 4 Apr 2014
- National Research Council (1999) How people learn. Brain, mind, experience, and school. Committee on Developments in the Science of Learning. National Academy of Science Press, Washington, DCGoogle Scholar
- Sjøberg S, Schreiner C (2010) The ROSE project. An overview and key findings. University of Oslo, Oslo, http://roseproject.no/network/countries/norway/eng/nor-Sjoberg-Schreiner-overview-2010.pdf. Retrieved 4 Apr 2014
Further Reading
- Atkin JM, Black P (2007) History of science curriculum reform in the United States and the United Kingdom. In: Abell SK, Lederman NG (eds) Handbook of research in science education. Lawrence Erlbaum, Mahwah, pp 781–806Google Scholar
- Fraser BJ, Tobin KG, McRobbie CJ (2012) Second international handbook of science education, vol 2. Section 6: curriculum and reform. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 737–912CrossRefGoogle Scholar