By NEIL ZOLOT
WAKEFIELD – Middle and high school science classes are converting to phenomena-based curricula in which the focus of students is observation and exploration of why things happen, not just memorizing facts.
“Students are making sense of relevant phenomena and engaging in science and engineering practices as they’re making sense of content and the problem they started with,” Grades 5-12 Science Technology and Engineering (STE) Curriculum Coordinator Joanne Marks told the School Committee in an STE implementation update at their meeting Tuesday, October 28. “Over the course of the year, all courses will look that way.”
She explained examples of 5th graders studying why a glass bottle breaks in freezing temperatures, 6th graders studying flooding and 9th graders studying fires in eco-systems, as well as plans for honors astronomy and forensics classes at the high school. She feels these classes provide “a lot of connections between science and the human element.”
The work often involves class-wide notice and wonder charts, driving question boards and models for solving problems, all of which Marks said “help build a sense of community through opportunities to share and build on observations.”
Revision of the curricula started in the spring of 2023 with research and reviews of how current practices correlate with best practices and science. Ongoing since that fall are assessments and evaluations of the new focus, with adjustments made if and when necessary. “The work we’ve been doing is in service to our department vision that we collaboratively established a few years back,” Marks said. “That’s the guidepost to what we’re doing.”
Right now and planned through June 2028 continued development and implementation. “This is a process,” Marks explained. “We’re in a phase we expect to be doing for a few years. We’re just at the start of it.”
There is an attempt to align 3rd and 4th grade science with the new middle school curricula, although it is limited by the time elementary school students have in science classes. That would be an example of vertical alignment, which is aligning curricula from grade-to-grade so students at each grade level have knowledge to succeed in the next one. Horizontal alignment is aligning curricula so learning and teaching in multiple classes of any grade is at the same level.
“Third and 4th graders see their science teachers twice a week and 1st graders once, but the science teachers are making sure their experiences are discovery based and very hands-on,” Grades K-4 Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) Coordinator Lisa Tibbetts said during the meeting. “A lot of the same ideas go into the lessons, but we’re not able to incorporate all the structures in 5th grade. It’s at a simpler level because we’re under time constraints on what we can give the students.
She was tuned in via video-conferencing for the discussion of the state Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) test scores earlier in the meeting and stayed tuned in.
School Committee member Stephen Ingalls said he liked “the idea of making observations instead of being told what you’re going to experience.”
Superintendent Doug Lyons praised Marks for her work. “It’s a pleasure to talk to her about science,” he said. “You can see how excited she is about the work they’re doing. It’s paying a big dividend.”