| Reprinted here with the permission of District
Administration. No further republication or redistribution
is permitted without the written permission of the editor.
Source:
District Administration, March 2002 - Volume 38 -
Number 3
(pages 56-60) |
 |
Less Is More: Trimming the Overstuffed Curriculum
Through a science curriculum "diet," districts discover that less topics
could fatten students' understanding
By Lisa Fratt
The scenario in a typical district goes something like this: Dinosaurs, plants
and other popular topics are taught year after year in the elementary science
curriculum. Teachers who branch out to introduce other topics are usually
responsible for gathering materials for experiments and demonstrations themselves.
By fourth or fifth grade, science becomes an exercise in memorizing technical
terms and getting through the textbook, which may cover dozens of topics.
Heavy on vocabulary and light on actual science, this approach continues through
high school.
Not surprisingly, these methods have failed to produce science literacy. The Nation's Report Card: Science
2000 shows that the average scores of fourth and eighth graders failed
to improve between 1996 and 2000, and scores for 12th graders fell significantly.
The report also reveals that male students outperform females and whites outperform
blacks and Hispanics.
Overstuffed and undernourishing is the way many experts describe the science
curriculum. The Third International Math and
Science Study characterizes U.S. math and science curricula as "a mile
wide and an inch deep." Instead of forcing students to digest more and more
content and vocabulary as science continues to advance, experts recommend
a science curriculum "diet" to help take a bite out of the nation's current
science achievement woes.
Yes, that's right. Less is more. This unburdening of the science curriculum
is already occurring as individual teachers eliminate topics in their overloaded
textbooks. But there is a better, less haphazard, approach.
Although there's no simple formula for boosting scientific understanding and
achievement, Designs for Science Literacy, a report from Project
2061 of the American Association for the
Advancement of Science, recommends that schools create more time for in-depth
study. Reducing the number of major topics taught, pruning unnecessary details
or subtopics, de-emphasizing technical vocabulary and eliminating repetition
are the goals.
Science Diet Essentials
While implementing a "science diet" can seem daunting, a handful of districts
and several states are meeting the challenge. The first step, says Arthur
Camins, elementary math and science director for Hudson (Mass.) Public Schools,
is to take a look at how students learn science. Recommended reading? The National Science Education Standards
and Benchmarks for Science Literacy, published by AAAS, which contains statements
of what all students should know and be able to do in science, mathematics
and technology at the end of grades two, five, eight and 12.
When Hudson revamped its science curriculum, teachers and administrators reviewed
the national and Massachusetts standards and compared them to what teachers
actually taught in the classroom. "We found there was no consistency. Some
topics were taught twice; others not at all," says Camins. Repeating topics
without developing a broader understanding is a hallmark of the overstuffed
curriculum. Instead, districts should aim to revisit and expand on topics
introduced at earlier grade levels.
Christina Hilton, curriculum program coordinator for the Indiana Department
of Education, suggests that districts "go through the state standards, find
where they meet the standards, fill in the gaps and trim away the extras."
This may mean losing favorite topics for some teachers.
Still, compromise is possible. One Indiana seventh grade teacher had developed
a popular unit on forces and motions that included rockets and roller coasters.
Unfortunately, it wasn't aligned with the state's new, lean K-8 standards,
which could serve as a less-is-more model. Hilton recommended the teacher
scale back to one activity rather than spend months on each topic. Of course,
relying on state standards works best when the state has already adopted the
less-is-more thinking.
Based on input from teacher-administrator teams in six districts, Benchmarks
gives a true taste of what this means. If a topic was not deemed essential
for science literacy or if its importance was out of proportion to the amount
of time needed for students to understand the concept, it was eliminated.
The result? Dozens of traditional topics—including acids and bases, simple
machines, stellar evolution and branches of biology—don't make the final
list of must-do topics. Designs for Science Literacy includes a CD-ROM with
a sample table of contents that lets administrators and teachers simulate
the process of paring the curriculum.
When a district is ready to review the nuts-and-bolts of its curriculum, Designs
outlines a process to trim topics, sub-topics and vocabulary. Because it's
a gradual approach and teachers are involved in the decision-making, the change
process is manageable. Here's a summary of the steps:
- List topics in the current curriculum or textbook.
- Compare the list with learning goals in Benchmarks.
- Create a second list of possible topics for elimination—those that
aren't linked to a specific learning goal.
- Ask science teachers to drop one topic at a time and invest additional
time in a core topic.
- Evaluate the effects of the change.
Then repeat the five steps, involving more topics.
Using this process, the report concludes, might mean eliminating main topics,
such as gas laws, simple machines and optics. For topics that districts decide
to keep, Designs recommends that subtopics be considered, as well. For example,
you might want to eliminate sea and land breezes or trade winds from a unit
on climate.
Camins recommends that districts review National Science Foundation-supported programs
based on the less-is-more philosophy. Kit-based programs include Science and
Technology for Children, Full Option Science System and InSights. With the
option system, for example, the fifth grade curriculum can be scaled back
to four modules: food and nutrition, levers and pulleys, solar energy and
models and designs.
Most state standards incorporate the national standards and Benchmarks, says
George Nelson, director of science, math and technology education at Western
Washington University and former Project 2061 director. States tend to fall
short, however, in covering historical perspectives on science, common themes
that pervade science, math and technology, and scientific habits of mind.
While individual districts can still include these subjects, the need to add
makes the need to cut ever more important.
A Balanced Diet for Reform
Organizing a K-12 educators' dialogue is often helpful in jumpstarting the
curriculum trimming process and other science reform. When Ashland (Wis.)
School District was aligning its K-12 science curriculum to state standards,
science teachers from every grade level were brought together. Anni Schneider,
physical science teacher at Ashland High School, says, "That's when we said,
'We can't all do dinosaurs.' "
Trimming the science curriculum and aligning it to national and state standards
is part of the reform process. Another critical piece is selecting the right
type of curricular materials. After all, it is possible to cut the science
curriculum in half and be left with a poor program. Nelson says, "Science
educators and cognitive scientists have found that telling kids lots of stuff
doesn't result in a lot of learning."
A quality science curriculum pares down the content. But it also engages students
in science and the real world and provides time for students to communicate
their thoughts and understanding.
Here's an example of new vs. old ways of thinking about science: In a typical
high school biology class, students might mistakenly believe plants get their
food from the soil. The teacher assigns a paper chromatography experiment
and has students memorize a definition for photosynthesis. A more effective
method would be for students to discuss their understanding of photosynthesis,
complete relevant lab investigations and compare their thoughts to what they
learned in the lab. Students could then explain photosynthesis in their own
words, demonstrating their understanding of the concept, not just the technical
terminology.
The new process takes time, but it has a much better chance of resulting in
mastery of the subject. Indeed, de-emphasizing technical vocabulary is key
to a successful science diet.
Districts working on trimming the science curriculum should also determine
the most appropriate grade level for topics. Elementary teachers can spend
a fair amount of time teaching about the solar system, for example, but research
shows that at this age level children can't easily comprehend the science
of the solar system. So a science unit on the solar system is watered down
to memorizing planet names. On the other hand, if the unit is introduced at
the middle school level, students can begin to develop an understanding of
how the solar system functions.
Hudson considered grade levels when overhauling its science curriculum. "If
you take topics accessible to students' level of cognitive development, the
curriculum becomes much more efficient," Camins says.
Nelson cautions that science reform can't be purchased as a particular curriculum.
For example, teachers in Rockford (Ill.) Public Schools have a textbook for
each course, but they are encouraged to use a variety of resources. The district
provides teachers with binders filled with objectives, activities and assessments.
The point is not to 'do' or 'cover' the entire textbook or binder, but to
give teachers an array of tools to help students learn.
Even with the right curriculum and resource materials for teachers, some districts
have difficulty completing the task of trimming the science curriculum. Meaningful
and continued professional development for teachers that reinforces science
concepts and the underlying pedagogy is critical.
Sticking to the Diet
It may take two or three years just to think through what to leave in the
curriculum and what to throw out, Nelson says. "Any time you take anything
out of the curriculum, you're opening yourself up to charges that you're dumbing
things down," he says. The process should include a substantial professional
development program, and it may also involve partnerships with outside organizations
and a community education effort. Bringing the community along gives administrators
and teachers the chance share research with them.
It's also important to remember that the national standards and Benchmarks
are intended to describe the bare core of what students should know about
science. Certainly some high school students are ready to digest more sophisticated
science topics. Those topics, Nelson explains, can be addressed in advanced
science courses.
Like any diet, trimming the curriculum can be painful. Nelson warns that teachers
will have to leave out some of their favorite topics and activities as they
cut the curriculum. But the results are well worth the effort. Since Hudson
initiated its new science program, Camins has heard from almost every teacher
how much kids are enjoying science. He says, "If you want to do anything meaningful
and worthwhile, it takes time."
Lisa Fratt, lfratt@cheqnet.net, is a freelance writer
based in Ashland, Wis.
Fratt, L. 2002. Less Is More: Trimming the Overstuffed Curriculum. District
Administrator, 38 (3).
