Curriculum Development and Practices

Students “often express a preference for doing rather than listening. At the same time, most educators consider learning-by-doing the most effective way to learn” (Lombardi, 2007). This paper shares on the design, implementation and outcomes of a physics active learning module for secondary 3 (grade 9) female students. Modelled after the Singapore Young Physicists' Tournament (SYPT), the module provided the students with an opportunity to learn physics by experiencing how a physicist might go about discovering the world around them. Through team-based investigations, this instructional approach exposed students to some practices that physicists would encounter in their research journey. These included basic research of physics literature, designing experiments to investigate a physics problem, collecting and analyzing data, comparing the experimental results and theoretical understandings, communicating and discussing these results with peers. Through this module, the students developed skills at learning, people sense, communication, resilience, comfort with complexity and open mindedness, amongst the skills many believe would help make our children and students “future-ready” (Mahaffie, 2017; Boss, 2015). Qualitative analysis of the students’ reflections on their learning experience, using Voyant Tools, will be presented. The role of the teacher, scaffolding for students learning, as well as challenges and opportunities for curriculum change, will also be discussed. 

The purpose of this study was to examine the views of United Arab Emirates (UAE) secondary school science teachers regarding the inclusion of socio-scientific issues (SSI) in the curriculum, and the factors that may facilitate or impede their inclusion. A survey that gathered data on teachers’ views was administered to 130 secondary school science teachers of both gender who had different experiences and background qualifications. A subsequent analysis of the data collected revealed that science teachers had positive views on the inclusion of SSI in the curriculum. Participants identified resources, teaching strategies, and knowledge as the top three factors that facilitated the inclusion of SSI in the curriculum. Participants identified the main three factors that could impede the inclusion of SSI in the curriculum: the need to implement teaching strategies based on actual socio-scientific issues, students’ lack of maturity, and cultural influences that might limit participation levels. Results also showed that there were statistically significance differences between the views of science teachers who had prior knowledge of SSI, and the SSI content provided in the professional development activities they attended. Science teachers’ prior knowledge and professional development activities related to SSI have also impacted their views about the factors that facilitate or impede the inclusion of SSI in the curriculum. The study’s findings are also discussed in the context of science education research, with a particular emphasis on how science teachers in secondary schools might adapt the science curriculum by incorporating SSI in a way that better suits the students’ needs.