Science curriculum: the practice and the possibility
Professor R F Gunstone and Dr D R Hutton
12 points
* 3 hours per week
* Second semester
* Clayton
Objectives Upon successful completion of this subject, students should understand approaches to the analysis of science curricula; be able to identify shifts in the nature of science curricula over the last forty years and describe possible future directions; understand a range of views about the nature of science; appreciate issues involved in and approaches to the up-dating of their own science knowledge.
Synopsis There are two broad components to this subject. The first is concerned with the nature of the school science curriculum, its origins, and possible future directions. The second component is concerned with science per se: the nature of science, and the up-dating of teachers' science knowledge. This second component will be closely linked with the first through consideration of the ways the nature of science is represented in curricula, and through consideration of ways new knowledge is or could be incorporated into the curriculum. Considerations of the science curriculum will involve an exploration of major influences of the last forty years: first and second generation curriculum projects, and their purposes and consequences; the Science-Technology-Society and Science for All movements; ways in which issues of participation from both gender and minority perspectives have influenced curriculum thinking; approaches to analysing the nature and purposes of science curricula. Global trends towards national curricula and standards will be explored, and the Victorian Curriculum and Standards Framework science publication analysed within this context.
Assessment Written report (1500 words): 20%
* Seminar and poster:
20%
* Two assignments (2000 words each): 30% each
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