Exploring the Intersection of Science Education and 21st Century Skills A Workshop Summary (2010) / Chapter Skim
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5 Promising Curriculum Models II
5 Promising Curriculum Models II
Pages 51-60
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From page 51... ...
. Middle school students work in small groups on design challenges that require targeted science, scientific reasoning, collaboration, communication, and planning.1 The curriculum includes a set of units that cover a half-year each of earth and physical sciences.
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From page 52... ...
She said she is currently applying the overall approach, in collaboration with others, to develop middle school science curriculum units as part of the Project-Based Inquiry Science project.2 Learning goals Kolodner outlined several learning goals targeted in the LBD curriculum. First, the team hoped to develop students' knowledge and skills in design, including understanding a project design challenge, planning and managing time, aiming for shared solutions with understanding, developing specifications and criteria, managing trade-offs, understanding and working with real-world constraints, and gaining experience in the iterative process of design.
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From page 53... ...
Kolodner noted that these principles for learning complex skills are consistent with the cognitive literature on skills learning and transfer (National Research Council, 2000) and on learning through shared reflection on practice (Lave and Wenger, 1991; Wenger, 1998)
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From page 54... ...
. Figure 5-1 R01609 bitmapped image, not editable Development landscape Century of 21st Skills Kolodner said that comparisons of learning among students using LBD and matched classes of science students (in terms of science achievement level, teacher understanding of the material, and socioeconomic status)
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From page 55... ...
Project goals Krajcik outlined the goals of the IQWST project: • Design, develop, and assess the next generation of middle school science materials; • Enable teachers to effectively teach students with a variety of backgrounds; • Explore core ideas from each scientific discipline each year; and • Support students in building sophisticated and systematic under standing of scientific ideas and practices. The key features of IQWST include coherence, development of curriculum driven by learning goals, a focus on learning big ideas of science over time, and project-based learning.
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From page 56... ...
Learning Performances: A key Feature of IQWST Krajcik described the IQWST approach to integrating goals for content and skills through "learning performances." He noted that science standards often call for students to "know" or "understand" a science concept, while also including separate goals for science process skills. In IQWST, however, learning performances describe not only what it means for a learner to understand a concept, but also how the student should apply the concept, using scientific reasoning and other skills.
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From page 57... ...
Conclusion Krajcik concluded that various studies support the claim that middle school students can learn both scientific concepts and practices through engagement with the IQWST curriculum materials. He noted that, if constructing scientific explanations, building and revising models, designing investigations, and building products reflect understanding of the five 21st century skills, then there is evidence that students can learn these skills.
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From page 58... ...
, he said it is important to provide intense professional development to help teachers use the materials as intended. In closing, Krajcik thanked his colleagues in the IQWST project, including Brian Reiser, Northwestern University; David Fortus, Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel; his coauthor LeeAnn Sutherland of the University of Michigan; and many graduate student contributors.
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From page 59... ...
As a practical matter, she said, when researchers or curriculum developers are creating science curriculum materials, they cannot assume that the science teacher will use the materials in collaboration with teachers of other subjects. Krajcik said that many teachers using IQWST in different parts of the country connect the curriculum's focus on explanations with other subjects.
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From page 60... ...
A participant asked whether students become more aware of their own acquisition of scientific processes through engagement with the curriculum models. Krajcik responded that the IQWST materials are extremely explicit about this.
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