Science in the New Zealand curriculum e-in-science
There has been a bit of research happening within the science area, in 2010 there was a report around changes needed to the Science curriculum, the Gluckman report.
The Ministry of Education has recently initiated a number of Science initiatives in response to the Gluckman report, Looking Ahead: Science Education for the Twenty-First Century (2011), to examine raising student achievement in Science (years 1-13) through focussing on five project areas.
These initiatives will focus on:
- Curriculum support for Science – Improving curriculum resources, both in print and online. These resources currently support teachers and students in the Nature of Science strand, and literacy and numeracy teaching within the Science learning area.
- Science community engagement – Developing best practice and ways in which schools engage with the wider science community, particularly at secondary level, to make learning more relevant. It will also explore what works to engage the science community and why it works.
- E-Learning in Science – Using technologies to support student and teacher engagement and learning, particularly in the Nature of Science strand.
- Building teacher capability through ongoing teacher professional learning and development (PLD).
- Examining the flexibility of the curriculum and the qualifications framework, especially at secondary level, to support good programme design.
It has been interesting to read, and although it looks at Science I have looked at how this reflects in my own curriculum area. Also in reading the ZILDA phase one report, some of the same concepts come out,
“How do we engage young people in reflective discussions about learning?”
“How can we engage young people in learning experiences with digital technologies that support their abilities to do this?”
I have been asked to share this here, originally posted in the e-learning -> Professional Learning VLN Group
Replies
- Shelley Hersey (View all users posts) 09 Aug 2013 11:50am ()
Thanks for sharing this again Gerard, it highlights the opportunities to enhance student engagement in science through the use of technology and improve the way we incorporate the Nature of Science strand in our science teaching.
We can move away from the expert model where the teacher has to know all and focus on fostering scientific skills and attitudes.
It would be great if people could share some of their ideas and stories about e-learning and science and how we can make the Nature of Science more explicit in our classrooms.
Join this group to contribute to discussions.
