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from the STEM-the-tide-of-science-illiteracy dept.
Richard Chirgwin at El Reg wrote a really good article.
With national action on a science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM) curriculum moving slowly, the Australian State of New South Wales (NSW) is taking the plunge by suggesting STEM-targeted extensions in its High School Certificate.
Proposals have been put forward that would see physics, chemistry, and biology offered at the advanced "three-unit" level*. At the time of writing, all are only offered at the lesser "two-unit" level.
After more than a year reviewing the state's senior curriculum, the NSW Board of Studies has also proposed a pan-science topic for students who aren't seeking a scientific speciality.
The proposed Senior Science topic wants to help students "in becoming scientifically literate citizens with the means to investigate personally relevant local and global scientific issues," the brief for the proposal explains.
That would plug a gap in science education in NSW: at the moment, students have to choose a specialty (physics, chemistry, or biology) to study science at HSC-level [high school completion], which looks like a wasted effort for anyone intending to pursue the humanities at university.
That course option would also be handy for NSW if the federal government goes ahead with an idea floated by former education minister Chris Pyne that senior science should be made compulsory.
The proposals also include revisions to high-level maths topics, history, and English.
The NSW Board of Studies proposals for all subjects are here, and are open for comment until 29 November.
Bootnote: For readers beyond NSW: senior high school students in the State have to accumulate at least ten units of study; a three-unit physics course, for example, would be a significant chunk of a student's exit score, as well as helping them survive first-year university studies.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Tuesday October 20 2015, @10:00PM
Chris Pyne's idea that senior science should be made compulsory.
What does that actually mean in practice?
That seems FAR too late to be introducing science. Hopefully that doesn't mean its the first exposure to all things sciencey.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 2) by The Archon V2.0 on Tuesday October 20 2015, @10:31PM
I presume that at the high school level the students choose courses from a set of compulsory ones required to pass in order to graduate, and a set of electives. It wouldn't surprise me; when I was in high school in Canada science took a back seat. There were no compulsory science courses, you just had to have one science credit somewhere in there before graduating, so a lot of people took the softball "intro-to-biology" course. Hell, some didn't do it until their last semester, at which point they were two grade levels too high for it.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by kramulous on Tuesday October 20 2015, @11:40PM
Being compulsory could backfire.
One of the good things about taking sciences at high school are that the class sizes are relatively small. The people in the room generally are a little brighter and, more importantly, want to know the material.
If you introduce the general population, the level of science is going to drop. The teachers will teach to the middle of the pack. Since everybody is there, the median has shifted.
Unless you also introduce: Advanced Physics, Advanced Chemistry, Advanced Biology.
When I was at school (Country Queensland State) we had three levels of Math which dealt with the population distribution nicely.
(Score: 2) by VLM on Wednesday October 21 2015, @11:38AM
The district I graduated from "solved" the problem by sending most of the kids to Geology class and a couple of the more adventurous tried first year bio.
I never took geology but I'm told they mixed all three of the other sciences rather superficially into "rocks for jocks".
Ironically I ended up rooming with a geology student at uni and geology is actually pretty interesting and a serious science.
(Score: 2) by pixeldyne on Wednesday October 21 2015, @12:00AM
It's very basic science, i.e. find out what happens if you switch on a bunsen burner on something, etc. It's an introduction to science, which is too late and pointless anyway. I've only tried it for a couple of weeks because I didn't like the physics teacher but then couldn't stand the 'stupid science' and so I've switched back to physics. Had bad grades but loved the subject.