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| Title: Science education reform documents define scientific literacy |
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| Title: Science education reform documents define scientific literacy |
Assignment Goals
Source Material
Guiding Questions
Writing Prompt
| Assignment Goals |
The American Association for the Advancement of Science and the National Research Council have embarked on a long-term initiative to reform K-12 science education nationwide. The California Department of Education also aims to help teachers improve curriculum and instruction in science education. Each of these organizations publishes documents aimed at promoting standards-based reform of science education in order to produce a more scientifically literate generation of Americans. Your task is to identify consensus and conflict among the documents. You will practice reading critically, writing clearly, and arguing persuasively to clarify assumptions about "scientific literacy" according to each document. How do teachers choose among conflicting guidelines on behalf of their students? Your job is to recognize problems that would benefit from research to resolve conflicts.
| Source Material |
EACH of the four science education reform documents are hyperlinked both in CPR under Resources and on our course syllabus. Some may prefer to use a book with index, while others prefer to search the on-line documents for keywords using the Edit -> Find function.
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| Guiding Questions |
How does each of the four documents define literacy? (CA, NSES, AAAS, and SFAA?)
Are distinctions made in the definitions of scientific literacy in relation to the degree to which science is projected to be a focus in a person's career?
Is learning science different from learning other subjects? What learning theory assumptions are apparent in the perspective of each document about how students achieve scientific literacy?
What agreement and what conflicts confront teachers who follow the guidelines from all of the documents? Is it possible for a good science teacher to align instructional practice with all of the reform documents?
What research is needed to help teachers decide among conflicting guidelines on behalf of their students?
| Writing Prompt |
Literacy is an important issue in contemporary education.
Compare and contrast the reform document positions on scientific literacy and how students become scientifically literate in three brief paragraphs: (1) summarize some ideas presented in each of the reform documents (2) interpret those ideas, and (3) as a result of your analysis, identify some burning issue that should be resolved through research.
Use page numbers and the following symbols to reference your sources:
Write your essay using a word processor to take advantage of the spell check/grammar and word count functions.
Refer to the "HTML Tutorial" under resources and add the appropriate bracket codes before copying and pasting your text into CPR.
ALWAYS check your formatting with the "Preview Text" button. This will show you exactly how your essay will appear to the reviewers.
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