Restructuring High School Science NSTABoston '08

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Restructuring High School ScienceNSTA-Boston.08

• Brennon Sapp

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Answer the Following
WHO CARES?

• Write the electron configuration for Sn.
• What does ACTG stand for?
• What particle orbits the nucleus of an atom?
• How many chromosomes do people have?

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Look into the future through the eyes of a child?
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Why Such Change (The Future)

• Job Market
• Diversity
• Life Span
• The Rest of the World
• Social Security and Retirement
• The Challenging Nature of Higher Education
• The More Challenging Nature of the Job Market
• The Nature of Information and Technology

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College Freshmen 1 or More Remedial Classes
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College Freshmen Return for Sophomore Year
Source Postsecondary Opportunity
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Source Highlights From TIMSS
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Source Highlights From TIMSS
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Regarding Competitive Advantage

• If you look at India, China, and Russia even
  if you discount 90 percent of the people there as
  uneducatedyou still end up with about 300
  million people who are educated. Thats bigger
  than the U.S. work force.
• Bob Herbert, New York Times

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Jobs?

• Nearly 75 of high school graduates enter
  college, but only 12 of these students will
  complete a significant college degree. (US Dept.
  of Ed)
• For students who complete high school, only six
  in 10 will obtain a job
• For students who drop out, only three in 10 will
  obtain a job. (Alliance for Excellence in
  education)

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Job Market

• The twelve fastest growing job markets are
  technology and/or related to health care.
• The fastest declining job markets are
  secretaries, typist, phone operators, tellers,
  clerks computer operators, farmers, and ranchers.
• Why?

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New Technologies
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• The knowledge explosion sees the worlds
  knowledge base double every eighteen months,
  largely through technological development,
  traditional education functions and forms have
  been fundamentally challenged. (Dr. Neville J.
  Scholfield, University of Newcastle)
• Dr. Lawrence Roberts, one of the inventors of the
  Internet points out, the Internet doubles every
  six months

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Global Concerns

• China produced 2.12 Million college graduates
  last year-over half are applying for US jobs
• 2/3 of all science and math workers/teachers will
  retire in the next five years
• By 2010 China will graduate more PhDs in science
  and engineering than the United States
• By 2010 over half the worlds Bio-Tech graduates
  will live in India
• Business and Economy

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Ask Yourself

• How did we get information in the past?
• How do we get it now?
• How will we get it in the future?
• Is it more important to know information or know
  how to find it?
• Is it more important to recall information or be
  able to use it?
• How important is it to educate each and every
  student?

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Which Choice Should We Make?

• Teach all the standards
• Teach what standards we can fit in
• Teach interesting lessons which hit standards
• Teach what we want and dont worry about the
  standards
• Teach what we think we should-according to the
  textbook, our gut . . .

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Curriculum Choices

• Integrated?
• Biology?
• Chemistry?
• Earth Science?
• Space Science?
• Physics?
• Environmental Science?
• Scientific Reasoning?
• Electives?

• State Standards?
• National Standards?
• ACT?
• SAT?
• Standardized Test
• Student Interest
• Local Curriculum
• Religious Curriculum

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National Science Curriculum
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Traditional Science

• Three Required Classes
• Biology, Chemistry, Physics
• Biology, Intro to Chem Physics, Earth/Space
• Bio-chem, Earth/Space, Physics
• Integrated Science I, II, and/or III
• Electives May Include
• Chemistry
• Anatomy Physiology
• Physics
• Environmental Science
• AP Chemistry

• AP Biology
• Astronomy
• ?
• ?

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One of the More Progressive Schools

• Science Curriculum

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Science Now

• Three and a Half Credits Required
• Freshman Year
• Scientific Investigations (½ credit)
• SophomoreSenior Years
• at least one science per year
• Core Life Science (½ credit)
• Core Earth/Space Science (½ credit)
• Core Physical Science (½ credit)
• Elective Life Science (at least ½ credit)
• Elective Earth/Space Science (at least ½ credit)
• Elective Physical Science (at least ½ credit)

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What Electives Should We Have

• Ask the students where there interest lie
• Ask the teachers where some of their passions lie
• Scan the media for the more popular topics of the
  day (Forensics)
• Survey the students
• Write course descriptions
• Find teachers willing to participate
• Give others the old required classes

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What Electives Do We Have?

• Electives
• Chemistry A B
• Anatomy A B
• Physics A B
• Environmental Science
• Forensics
• Zoology
• Astronomy
• Chemistry Community
• Oceanography/Marin Biology

• Medical Science
• Radio Technology
• Horticulture
• Geology
• Meteorology
• Anatomy for Artist
• AP Chemistry
• AP Biology

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So How did we do?

• Two years ago
• Low numbers (we needed to cut a teacher)
• Students hated science (so did the teachers)
• Now
• Classes are full (we could hire a teacher)
• Students really like science
• We are having to create more classes
• Teachers are enjoying class