Queries and Replies

Replies to Query:

One of our LSC goals at the middle school level...

Reply 1: Several key documents were a great help to us in developing our middle school scope and sequence. 1. The National Science Education Standards - 1996; The National Research Council 2. Redesigning The Science Curriculum: A Report on the Implications of Standards and Benchmarks for Science Education - 1995; BSCS 3. Pathways to the National Science Education Standards: Guidelines for Moving the Vision into Practice. Middle School Edition - 1998; NSTA 4. Designing mathematics or Science Curriculum Programs: A Guide for Using Mathematics and Science Education Standards. 1999; National Research Council. 5. Inquiry and the National Science Education Standards: A Guide for Teaching and Learning. 2000; National Research Council. 6. Local Leadership for Science Education Reform; 1995; Kendall Hunt Publishing 7. The Content Core: A Guide for Curriculum Designers. Scope, Sequence, and Coordination of Secondary School Science. 1993; NSTA Submitted: Jerry David Valadez, 10/8/2000

Reply 2: In South Carolina we have grade by grade level standards and units of study. NSTA pathways was used as a basis for this decision making. Check out FAST Science for sequence..... http://www.state.sc.us/sde/educator/standard/science/index.html young@hawaii.edu (FAST Science) from: Carol Tempel, Charleston Submitted: Carol Tempel, 10/9/2000

Reply 3: I am also interested in any research looking at the advantages of an integrated (earth, physical and life) each year versus a solid year of each. Submitted: Wendy Pierce, 10/9/2000

Reply 4: I also would like to hear about people's experiences/assessments of spiralling curricula -- in some of the schools I've been in, the spiralling has meant fragmentation, and a different dimension of decontextualization. It seems very challenging for a teacher to pick up effectively on last year's "installment" of (say) life science, and carry it forward. Any comments? Submitted: Brian Drayton, 11/3/2000