Benchmarks for Science Literacy - Project 2061
Teachers & administrators addressed: The terms and circumstances of human existence will change radically. Science, mathematics, and technology will cause it, shape it, respond to it. What should the substance and character of such education be?
Links
ISBN 0-19-508986-3
Project 2061 Benchmarks
AAAS
1333 H St,N.W.
Washington, DC 20005
-or-
New York: Oxford University Press
150 teachers and administrators under the auspices of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and other sponsors compiled this report to address this charge: "The terms and circumstances of human existence can be expected to change radically during the next human life span. Science, mathematics, and technology will be at the center of that change- causing it, shaping it, responding to it. What should the substance and character of such education be?" It is not intended to set uniform curricula but a tool for designing curricula for all students to meet standards at the end of grade 2,5,8, and 12.
Here are some illustrative excerpts of benchmarks for the network science topics of energy and environment at the end of Grade 8:
1.(4e)(p.85)Energy Transformation: a. Energy cannot be created or destroyed, but only changed from one form into another. b.Most of what goes on in the universe-from exploding stars and biological growth to the operation of machines and the motion of people-involves some form of energy being transformed into another. Energy in the form of heat is almost always one of the products of an energy transformation. c. Heat can be transferred through materials by the collisions of atoms or across space by radiation. If the material is fluid, currents will be set up in it that aid the transfer of heat.
2.(8c)(p.194)Energy Sources and Use: a. Different ways of obtaining, transforming, and distributing energy have different environmental consequences. b. Electrical energy can be...transformed into almost any other form of energy... c. Energy from the sun (and the wind and water energy derived from it)is available indefinitely. Because the flow of energy is weak and variable, very large collection systems are needed...
3.(11c)(.274)Constancy and Change: a. Physical and biological systems tend to change until they become stable and then remain that way unless their surroundings change... b.Many systems contain feedback mechanisms that serve to keep changes within specified limits... c. Things that change in cycles, such as the seasons or body temperature, can be described by their cycle length or frequency, what the highest and lowest values are, and when they occur. Different cycles range from many thousands of years down to less than a billionth of a second.
4.(11b)(p.269)Models: a. Models are often used to think about processes that happen too slowly, too quickly or on too small a scale to observe directly, or that are too vast to be changed deliberately, or that are potentially dangerous... b. Mathematical models can be displayed..and modified on a computer.. Choosing a useful model is one of the instances in which intuition and creativity come into play in science, mathematics, and engineering...
5.(12c)(p.293)Manipulation and Observation: a.Use computers to store and retrieve information in topical, alphabetical, numerical and key-word files, and create simple files of their own devising..
Sciencenetlinks, developed by the AAAS in partnership with MCI, is a wonderful complement to the 2061 curriculum standards. It contains an episodic science mystery in which standards are embedded--just for kids--Kineticity. Different topics are selected each month. In addition, supplementary resources are offered to match other categories in the framework; they include the nature of science, science in everyday life, science in the news, history of science, science as human endeavor, inquiry and hands-on learning and communication skills (listening, writing). Here is a handy, on the ground resource for utilizing the 2061 standards.
Annotation
This document is magnificently crafted-a must for any science teacher. It will help eliminate some of the most pressing problems in science curriculum development today. A school or district often adopts a modular approach (kits, particular projects of interest)but the modules are not fully articulated K-12. The content standards of one text series in a district may differ substantially from that of another; with highly mobile demographics today one student may be exposed to, say three, different series or many modules. In the case of telecommunications, a teacher can jump to many exciting sites and integrate an eclectic variety of offline resources. The student outcome can best be described as confusion. With benchmarks as a guideline students have a shot at constructing a coherent, integrated mental model of science concepts.
Policy-makers prefer a set of standards to assess the effectiveness of science programs. At the same time, however, misinterpretation of "standards" has, in some cases, tainted their acceptance. As always, local sensitivity should be considered.
Since this work is now available on a disc, particular sections could be pulled up in one window and student work in another window. This display would help policymakers see the linkages. The site itself now includes supplementary guides for teachers and concept papers about and blueprints for science and reform.
From the new home page for the AAAS (www.aaas.org) you can read Science Education News and discover Kinetic City Super Crew, a science-based radio drama, as well as keep uptodate about science education reform efforts.
