IMPLEMENTING THE SCIENCE CURRICULUM

This curriculum statement in science provides the framework for planning and making decisions about a school's science programme. Teachers, with the support of their school community, will use it to develop their school science scheme. It will be the school scheme that sets the specific learning outcomes ' derived from the achievement objectives ' and structures the learning experiences of classes and individuals.

Teachers should note that some achievement objectives are broad, and may embody a mixture of knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Consequently, the attainment by students of any particular objective will often be dependent upon more than one unit of study, and on units based on several learning strands.

The specific learning outcomes set for a particular unit of study would be expected to be attained. However, the attainment of the broader and more complex achievement objectives will typically require a longer period of time and involve a wide range of learning experiences. For the average student, attainment will involve around two years of learning for objectives for each level in levels 1 to 5, and around one year of learning for objectives for each of levels 6 to 8.

Although the objectives are prescriptive, other aspects of the learning described in the statement are not. The sample learning contexts, possible learning experiences, and assessment examples provide ideas for schools and teachers which they may, or may not, incorporate into their own science schemes. Their purpose is to indicate the scope and depth of learning. The examples in italics that are associated with many of the objectives are, similarly, not prescriptive. However, it is expected that a school's science scheme and/or associated unit outlines will identify which examples will be used in the learning programme.

It is equally valid for teachers and students to approach a unit of study from the objectives in any strand or, in some cases, from another subject. However, it is expected that the 'science and its relationship to technology' strand, and the 'skills and attitudes' strand, will be integrated into learning contexts within the other four strands. Integration will often extend to other subject areas and is encouraged. Whenever this is done, the science objectives must be specified, and their attainment by students monitored.

Thus, the implementation of this science curriculum requires a number of school-based decisions and actions. In making these decisions, schools and teachers should make full use of the flexibility that exists in how the aims and objectives may be approached. This will result in each school providing a unique science programme that recognises the particular character of their student population, that makes effective use of local resources, and that fits in with other decisions relating to the whole of the school's curriculum.

What will be common across all schools is that their science schemes will target the attainment of the same aims and achievement objectives, and will describe processes to monitor, for every student, the learning described by these objectives.

At appropriate times this assessment information will be processed by teachers to enable the school to report on students' learning in science in relation to the achievement objectives, and to provide themselves with one type of feedback on the effectiveness of the school's science programme.

Curriculum support documents providing assistance in implementation of Science in the New Zealand Curriculum are available.