Systems, order and organization
Evidence, models and explanation
Change, constancy and measurement
Evolution and equilibrium
Form and function
The Process
In May, 2001, the Massachusetts Department of Education issued a new Curriculum Framework in the area of science4 and technology/engineering. In order to maintain currency with its curriculum, the District organized a science task force comprised of teachers, curriculum staff, and a school administrator at the beginning of the 2001-2002 school year to realign the District's current curriculum with that of the state's.
Dr. Wheeler, math/science curriculum specialist, provided the group with a baseline framework of topics that the state had rearranged/realigned to aid them. Groups (K-5) then met by grade level and realigned topics to include technology and engineering, while maintaining as much from the former curriculum as possible.
Grades 6, 7, and 8 met and were faced with major changes as the District moved from a spiraling curriculum to a vertically aligned (topically subdivided) curriculum in these grades. This resulted in grade six now focusing on earth and space science, grade seven focusing on life science, and grade eight focusing on physical science. A separate group of technology/engineering teachers convened to integrate the state’s new strand in that field to the science curriculum for grades 6-8.
High school teachers met by disciplines and developed curriculum guides for each course that also aligned with the upcoming NEASC accreditation. Curriculum specialist Clif Wheeler met with all groups during this realignment process. All groups (K-2, 3-5, 6-8) were brought together following their individual sessions to ensure a spiral of curriculum throughout the grades as well as to avoid any overlaps and gaps. The entire group was reconvened one final time to provide input on the entire document. They decided that guiding principles, based on the national standards, were a key component to the document. The result is the new Wachusett Regional School District Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework.
Introduction
The Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework is one of seven curriculum frameworks that advance Massachusetts’s educational reform in learning, teaching, and assessment. It was created, and has been revised, by Massachusetts’s teachers and administrators of science and technology/engineering programs in kindergarten through grade twelve. Its purpose is to guide teachers and curriculum coordinators about what content should be taught from kindergarten through high school.
Because the 1993 education reform act required that frameworks be reviewed and revised periodically, a panel of Wachusett Regional School District teachers examined the standards in the original framework to ensure a more coherent organization of concepts and skills throughout the grade levels. The panel used the following reference sources to create this document: Benchmarks for Science Literacy–Project 2001; data from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMMS); the National Research Council’s National Science Education Standards; the Technology For All Americans Project; results from the administration of the MCAS; and advances in science and technology/engineering.
Organization of the Framework
The guiding principles present a set of tenets about effective k-12 programs and instruction in science and technology/engineering. These principles articulate the ideals of teaching, learning, assessing, and administering science and technology/engineering programs in the district. In addition, they show how educators may create educational environments encouraging curiosity, persistence, respect for evidence, and open mindedness balanced with skepticism and, a sense of responsibility. The strands organize the content areas into earth and space science, life science (biology), physical science (physics and chemistry), and technology/engineering. Each strand details the essential knowledge and skills that students should acquire through the grades. The learning standards within each strand are organized by grade span and grouped by subject area topics. Following the topics at the high school level are broad concepts to which the learning standards are related. The standards outline in detail what students should know and be able to accomplish at the end of each grade span.
For grades k-5, the standards are accompanied by ideas for developing investigations and learning experiences in science and by extensions to learning in technology/engineering.
For grades 6-8, the science standards are accompanied by examples of sound, science-based learning experiences. There are no extensions to technology/engineering associated with the science learning standards at this level because technology education is configured as a separate course in grades 6-8.
For grades nine and above, learning standards are listed for full first-year courses in earth and space science, biology, physics, chemistry, and technology/enginneering.
Guiding Principles
Guiding Principle I
A comprehensive science and technology/engineering education program enrolls all students from K through grade 12.
Guiding Principle II
An effective science and technology/engineering program builds students’ understanding of the fundamental concepts of each domain of science and their understanding of the connections across these domains and to basic concepts in technology/engineering.
Guiding Principle III
Science and technology/engineering are integrally related to mathematics.
Guiding Principle IV
An effective program in science and technology/engineering addresses students’ prior knowledge and misconceptions.
Guiding Principle V
Investigation, experimentation, and problem solving are central to science and technology/engineering education.
Guiding Principle VI
Students learn best in an environment that conveys high academic expectations for all students.
Guiding Principle VII
Assessment in science and technology/engineering serves to inform student learning, guide instruction, and evaluate student progress.
Guiding Principle VIII
An effective program in science and technology/engineering gives students opportunities to collaborate in scientific and technological endeavors and communicate their ideas.
Guiding Principle IX
A coherent science and technology/engineering program requires district-wide planning to ensure the curriculum is a coherent whole.
Guiding Principle X
Implementation of an effective science and technology/engineering program requires collaboration with experts, appropriate materials, support from parents and community, ongoing professional development, and quantitative and qualitative assessment.
CORE CONCEPT
If students are to become familiar with and feel ownership of questions pertaining to science and technology, they need to engage with them the way scientists and technologists do. They wrestle with contradiction, puzzle through paradoxes, evaluate evidence, and search for connections. These pursuits require students to deal with the "real world" - both natural and human-made - and they often find that one question leads to another. Asking questions and evaluating evidence are central to the core concept of inquiry-based science education.
STRAND
I
UNIFYING CONCEPTS AND PROCESSES
Conceptual and procedural schemes unify science disciplines and provide students with powerful ideas to help them understand the natural world. Because of the underlying principles embodied in this standard, the understandings and abilities described here are repeated in the other content standards. Unifying concepts and processes include:
| Systems, order and organization |
| Evidence, models and explanation |
| Change, constancy and measurement |
| Evolution and equilibrium |
| Form and function |
This standard describes some of the integrative schemes that can bring together students' many' experiences in science education across grades K - 12. The unifying concepts and processes standard can be the focus of instruction at any grade level but should always be closely linked to outcomes aligned with other content standards. In the early grades, instruction should establish the meaning and use of unifying concepts and processes - for example, what it means to measure and how to use measurement tools. At the upper grades, the standard should facilitate and enhance the learning of scientific concepts and principals by providing students with a big picture of scientific ideas - for example, how measurement is important in all scientific endeavors.
STRAND
1
UNIFYING CONCEPTS AND PROCESSES
CONTENT STANDARDS K - 12
The standard for unifying concepts and processes is presented for grades K - 12, because the understanding and abilities associated with major conceptual and procedural schemes need to be developed over an entire education, and the unifying concepts and processes transcend disciplinary boundaries.
Standard: As a result of activities in grades K - 12, all students should develop understanding and abilities aligned with the following concepts and processes:
| Systems, order and organization |
| Evidence, models and explanation |
| Constancy, change and measurement |
| Evolution and equilibrium |
| Form and function |
STRAND 2
SCIENCE AS INQUIRY
In the vision presented here, inquiry is a step beyond "science as a process" in which students learn skills, such as observation, inference and experimentation. The new vision includes the "processes of science" and requires that students combine processes and scientific knowledge as they use scientific reasoning and critical thinking to develop their understanding of science. Engaging students in inquiry helps students develop:
| Understanding of scientific concepts |
| An appreciation of "how one know" what one knows in science |
| Understanding of the nature of science |
| Skills necessary to become independent inquirers about the natural world |
| The dispositions to use the skills, abilities and attitudes associated with science |
Science as inquiry is basic to science education and a controlling principle in the ultimate organization and selection of students' activities. Science as inquiry will be defined as the implementation of the Application Taxonomy. The standards on inquiry highlight the ability to conduct inquiry and develop understanding about scientific inquiry. Students at all grade levels, and in every domain of science, should have the opportunity to use scientific inquiry and develop the ability to think and act in ways associated with inquiry, including: asking questions; planning and conducting investigations; using appropriate tools and techniques to gather data; thinking critically and logically about relationships between evidence and explanations; constructing and analyzing alternative explanations; and communicating scientific arguments. The science as inquiry standards are described in terms of activities resulting in student development and certain abilities and in terms of student understanding of inquiry.
STRAND
2
SCIENCE AS INQUIRY
CONTENT STANDARDS K - 12
As a result of activities in grades K - 4, all students should develop:
| Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry by asking questions, making predictions, and planning and conducting simple investigation. |
| Understanding about scientific inquiry by using simple tools, e.g., hand lens, rulers, balances, etc., interpreting findings, describing and communicating their observations. |
6 - 8 Standard:
As a result of activities in grades 6 - 8, all students should develop:
| Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry by noting and describing details, patterns, relationships, etc., applying a variety of investigative techniques to questions and using more complex tools for observations and data gathering (microscope, computer probes, wind tunnels, timers, etc.) |
| Understanding about scientific inquiry by using evidence to formulate ideas and solutions representing data by using tables, graphs, etc., and providing alternative explanations, procedures, and approaches to problems. |
| Ability to formulate a testable hypothesis. |
| Ability to design and conduct an experiment specifying variable to be changed, controlled, and measured. |
9 - 12 Standard:
As a result of activities in grades 9 - 12, all students should develop:
| Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry by using a wide range of exploratory techniques (experiments, literature searches, research and development, etc.); appropriate selection, and use of common and specialized tools for investigative purposes; and formulate testable questions and explanations using the results of predictions |
| Understanding about scientific inquiry by accurately using scientific nomenclature, symbols, and connections to communicate ideas, procedures and findings; questioning interpretations and conclusions based on available evidence; and interpreting data based on experimental findings. |
| Ability to pose question and state hypothesis based on prior scientific observations, experiments, and knowledge. |
| Ability to communicate and defend a scientific argument. |
The standards for physical science, life science, earth and space science, and technology/engineering describe the subject matter of science using widely accepted divisions of the domain of science. Science subject matter focuses on the science facts, concepts, principles, theories and models that are important for all students to know, understand and use.
SCIENCE APPLICATIONS
The science applications standards establish connections between the natural and designed worlds and provide students with opportunities to develop decision-making abilities. These standards emphasize abilities associated with the process of design and fundamental understandings about the enterprise of science and its various linkages with technology. As a complement to the abilities developed in the science as inquiry standards, these standards require students to develop abilities to identify and state a problem; design a solution, including a cost and risk-and-benefit analysis; and implement and evaluate the solution. Science as inquiry is parallel to science applications. Both standrads emphasize student development of abilities and understanding through application.
STRAND 3
PHYSICAL
SCIENCE, LIFE SCIENCE, EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE, AND TECHNOLOGY/ENGINEERING
CONTENT STANDARDS K - 5
Physical Science
Standard: As a result of activities in grades K - 5, all students should develop an understanding of:
| Properties of objects and materials |
| Position and motion of objects |
| Forms and types of energy |
| Light, heat, electricity and magnetism |
Life Science
Standard: As a result of activities in grades K - 5, all students should develop an understanding of:
| The characteristics of organisms and heredity |
| Life cycles of organisms, plant structures, and functions |
| Organisms, environments, and adaptation |
Earth and Space Science
Standard: As a result of activities in grades K - 5, all students should develop an understanding of:
| Properties of earth materials, including rocks and minerals |
| Earth in the solar system |
| Weather and factors that affect it |
| Water cycle |
Technology/Engineering
Standard: As a result of activities in grades K - 5, all students should develop an understanding of:
| Characteristics and use of materials and tools |
| Use of creative thinking and strategies to solve practical problems |
| Use of simple and complex machines |
Physical Science
Standard: As a result of activities in grades 6 - 8, all students should develop and understanding of:
| Properties and changes of properties in matter |
| Motions and forces |
| Forms and transfer of energy |
Life Science
Standard: As a result of activities in grades 6 - 8, all students should develop an understanding of:
| Structure and function in riving systems (cells) |
| Reproduction and heredity, interdependence of living things with energy, and the environment - evolution and biodiversity |
| Changes in ecosystems |
Earth and Space Science
Standard: As a result of activities in grades 6 - 8, all students should develop an understanding of:
| Mapping and structure of the earth system |
| Earth's history |
| Earth in the solar system |
| Heat transfer in the earth's system |
Technology/Engineering
Standard: As a result of activities in grades 6-8, all students should develop an understanding of:
| Use of appropriate tools and machines to solve problems, invent, and construct |
| The universal system model for design |
| Technology: communication, manufacturing, construction, transportation, and bioengineering |
STRAND
3
PHYSICAL SCIENCE, LIFE SCIENCE, EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE, AND TECHNOLOGY/ENGINEERING
CONTENT STANDARDS 9 - 12
Physical Science
Standard: As a result of activities in grades 9 - 12, all students should develop an understanding of:
| Transfer of heat as energy |
| Wave motion |
| Electricity and magnetism |
| Motions and forces |
| Conservation of energy and momentum |
| Electromagnetic waves |
Biology
Standard: As a result of activities in grades 9 - 12, all students should develop an understanding of:
| Structure and function of cells |
| Genetics |
| Biological evolution and biodiversity |
| Human anatomy and physiology |
| Ecology |
| Chemistry of living organisms |
Chemistry
Standard: As a result of activities in grades 9 - 12, all students should develop an understanding of:
| Properties of matter |
| Atomic structure and bonding |
| Periodicity |
| Chemical reactions and stoichiometry |
| Gases |
| Solutions |
| Equilibrium, including acids and bases |
| Thermochemistry |
STRAND
4
SCIENCE APPLICATIONS
CONTENT STANDARDS K - 12
K - 5
Standard: As a result of activities in grades K - 5, all students should develop:
| Abilities of technology design, identify similarities and differences among structures; describe and experience processes involving machines; and illustrate ways in which one most often travels. |
| Understanding about science application and the use of a variety of materials to make simple products. |
| Abilities to distinguish between natural objects and objects made by man; their positive and negative impacts on people and the environment; and ways in which technological tools and methods allow us to better learn about the laws of nature. |
6 - 8
Standard: As a result of activities in grades 6 - 8, all students should develop:
| Abilities of technological design to explore and illustrate possible solutions, propose solutions, make a plan, offer multiple views, evaluate designs, develop measures of quality and communicate the process of technological design. |
| Understanding about science applications, choice of materials depending upon their properties, characteristics and interactions with other materials, what they are useful for and ways that multiple resources are used to develop new technologies. |
9 - 12
Standard: As a result of activities in grades 9 - 12, all students should develop:
| Abilities of technological design to identify a design problem, propose suggested solutions, implement a solution, evaluate the outcome, communicate the problem, process and solution, and initiate new approaches. |
| Understanding of science applications for particular purposes; technological impact can be multidimensional; technological innovations can stimulate the economy and creates new jobs; technological improvements can decrease the rate of earth's natural resources; and technological improvements can forecast the effects of biotechnological developments. |
An important purpose of science education is to give students a means to understand and act on personal and social issues. The science in personal and social perspectives standards help students develop decision-making skills. Understanding associated with the concepts in these standards give students a foundation on which to base decisions they will face as citizens.
STRAND
5
SCIENCE IN PERSONAL AND SOCIAL PERSPECTIVES
CONTENT
STANDARDS K - 12
Standard: As a result of activities in grades K - 5, all students should develop an understanding of:
| Personal health |
| Characteristics and changes in populations |
| Types of resources |
| Changes in environments |
| Science and technology in local challenges |
6 - 8
Standard: As a result of activities in grades 6 - 8, all students should develop an understanding of:
| Personal health |
| Populations, resources and environments and natural hazards |
| Risks and benefits |
| Science and technology in society |
9 - 12
Standard: As a result of activities in grades 9 - 12, all students should develop an understanding of:
| Personal and community health |
| Population growth |
| Natural resources |
| Environmental quality |
| Natural and human-induced hazards |
| Science and technology in local, national and global challenges |
In learning science, students need to understand that science reflects its history and is an ongoing, changing enterprise. The standards for the history and nature of science recommend the use of history in the WRSD science programs to clarify different aspects of scientific inquiry, the human aspects of science, and the role that science has played in the development of various cultures.
STRAND
6
HISTORY AND NATURE OF SCIENCE
CONTENT STANDARDS K - 12
K - 5
Standard: As a result of activities in grades K - 5, all students should develop an understanding of:
| Science as a human endeavor |
6 - 8
Standard: As a result of activities in grades 6 - 8, all students should develop an understanding of:
| Science as a human endeavor |
| Nature of science |
| History of science |
9 - 12
Standard: As a result of activities in grades 9 - 12, all students should develop an understanding of:
| Science as a human endeavor |
| Nature of scientific knowledge |
| Historical perspectives |
District Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum as PDF File
The above file is a PDF files. A PDF file can be opened with either a PC or a Mac computer provided you have the free program Adobe Acrobat Reader. It can be downloaded from their website.
Go to Science Curriculum Guide
Last Updated: January 16, 2003