The secondary school years are important for building on learner’s understanding of the content, skills, attitudes and values in Science. It builds upon concepts, skills, attitudes and values from primary school and links to concepts, skills, attitudes and values in higher science learning. It provides a sound foundation for further scientific learning and develops confidence in learners about what they can do in science and an appreciation of what science is and what scientists can do.
The Science syllabus uses a learner-centered approach as a way to guide and facilitate Learners’ learning. A learner-centered approach provides Learners with the opportunity to practice and develop critical thinking, problem solving, decision-making as well as acquiring a range of practical skills and knowledge. A learner – centered approach means that teaching and learning approaches need to be flexible to cater for individual differences and learning should be relevant and meaningful to the experiences and needs of the Learners. This is an approach that allows teachers to be more flexible in determining the most effective ways to help all Learners achieve learning outcomes. Learners learn best through active involvement through observation, interaction, experimentation, carrying out investigations and research.
In Science, Learners are encouraged to think critically about what they are learning and to take responsibility for their learning. They learn to teach each other and to learn from each other: to work cooperatively in groups and to work individually. In this way, they will know that learning has a serious purpose. They enjoy using a wide range of resources and developing a wide variety of skills and techniques. Learners learn how to communicate well with others, how to work things out for themselves and how to get the information they need. They become confident when given the opportunity to use their knowledge and skills to solve problems and make effective decisions.
Taking reasonable precautions to ensure the safety of teachers and learners is essential. Familiarize with materials and the situations in science teaching and learning which may have some risk to their own or their Learners’ safety is vitally important. Putting teachers or Learners at risk by carrying out any experiment or activity if they are not very sure about the risks being taken or the precautions required must be taken into account. If teachers are in any doubt about the safety of an experiment or an activity, they should not carry out that experiment or that activity. Instead they should contact a more experienced teacher or the head of department or even the Principal Curriculum Development Officer for Science where convenience. Advice on the safety precautions for specific instances where extra care is required by teachers and learners will be provided in the teacher’s guides and learner’s also in some sections in the syllabus.
The integration of our indigenous scientific knowledge across the syllabus to capture the cultural norms, beliefs, values and uniqueness of Solomon Islands is paramount. The use of learner’s prior knowledge on their culture and environment is fundamental for the understanding of scientific concepts, abstract ideas and concepts in social and applied science. Integration of scientific processes, skills, the use of equipment and the history in science is very important in understanding the science content in the national curriculum. It is essential for teachers to integrate these aspects in the teaching and learning of science.
Science as a ‘way of knowing’ is shaped by the ways in which humans understand natural phenomena. On these understandings, humans make decisions about science and its applications which have short and long-term implications for the entire planet. Students study the relationship between the nature and direction of science and society’s perspectives and values. They construct understandings of the manner in which scientific knowledge is developed and the influence of historical and cultural factors on science.
The key concepts of science and society are historical and cultural. These factors influence the nature and direction of science which, in turn, affects the development of society. Science as a ‘way of knowing’ is shaped by the ways that humans construct understandings and make decisions about the ways science is applied. This has short- and long-term implications for the environment, communities and individuals.
A range of strategies for helping learners to achieve the overall learning outcomes are shown below. They are grouped into 8 categories.
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Controversial and sensitive issues such as gender, religious differences and cultural beliefs must be considered in the teaching and learning processes. These issues are debatable and involve a wide range of views, opinions, interests and values. Science teachers are expected to be aware of such issues and to treat them in a sensitive manner.
In a class, there will always be learners who come from different backgrounds with different cultural and religious beliefs, customs and values. There might even be some learners with minor disabilities in the class. It is, therefore, the teacher’s responsibility to take into account such diversities and to make necessary adjustments whenever the need arises in the process of planning, teaching, and learning.
The main purpose of assessment is to improve student learning. Assessment needs to be for learning as well as of learning. It is used to evaluate and improve teaching and learning, report achievement and provide feedback to Learners on their progress.
Assessment measures Learners’ achievement of learning outcomes as described in this syllabus. It is the ongoing process of identifying, gathering and interpreting information about Learners’ achievement of the learning outcomes.
For teaching and learning to be outcome-based, teachers need to plan their teaching and assess learner performances in relation to outcomes using selected criteria derived from those outcomes.
Assessment in this syllabus involves focusing less on whether a learner has “passed” or “failed” and more on what outcomes a learner has achieved and in which areas further support is required.
A learner’s achievement in Science at the end of year 9 will be assessed by a written science examination against the broad learning outcomes. Assessment of student progress towards achieving these broad outcomes is cumulative throughout years 7, 8 and 9 using specific outcomes for each unit. The national examination will be sat by all year 9 Learners through out the Solomon Islands.
During the course of each sub-strand, learners must complete the suggested assessment event specified for the unit or each sub stand. Teachers will expand each task and provide clear guidelines to Learners for how the task will be completed and how the criteria will be applied.
The assessment tasks and criteria in each unit of the learners textbook ensure that there is a common focus for internal assessment in the subject across schools while allowing for flexibility in the design of tasks. A variety of tasks are specified to give Learners the opportunity to demonstrate all the broad learning outcomes in different ways and to improve the validity and reliability of the assessment.
It is important that teachers plan the teaching and learning sequence so that there is a balanced spread of assessment during the unit. Some tasks, such as investigations or case studies can be designed so that they are completed over a period of time rather than at the end of the unit. Other tasks can be done immediately after the relevant section of the unit has been covered.
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Teachers must keep accurate and consistent records of learner’s achievements of the learning outcomes by recording the results of the suggested assessment events. They must report these achievements in fair and accurate way to parents, guardians, teachers and Learners. The teacher must have a particular format/design in which recording of learners achievements are. Suggested recording methods includes anecdotal notes in a journal or diary, checklists, portfolios of learners work, progressive records and work samples with comments written by the teacher.
The purpose of reporting is to give information to learners about the extent to which they have achieved the expected learning outcomes. Reporting also gives feedback to teachers and parents. For every sub strand, the learning and teaching situation will have many assessment activities. Each sub strand of this syllabus presents at least one example of an assessment event.
The assessment events will be used to build a report on the learner’s achievement over a period of time. A record of the learner’s achievement of learning outcomes must be recorded in the form of a report.
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