Curriculum Reform Movement of the 1950’s and 60’s

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Curriculum Reform Movement of the 1950s and 60s

• Chapter 8 History of Ideas in Science Education
• Amanda Johnson Mandi Brooks

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How did we get here?

• America had an unmet need for scientists and
  engineers in WWII
• Soviet launch of Sputnik in October 1957
• Perceived threat to national security brought on
  by the Cold War

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• Shift in education from social relevance to
  traditional rigor
• During the mid 1950s, the NSF (funded by the
  federal government) financially supported several
  curriculum projects
• Provide a set of curriculum materials of high
  quality and considerable appeal
• Prepare students for entering into college
  science programs

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Projects funded by the NSF

• PHYSICS Physical Science Study Committee- 1956
• BIOLOGY Biological Sciences Curriculum Study-
  1959
• CHEMISTRY Chemical Bond Approach Project- 1957
• Chemical Education Material Study- 1959
• EARTH SCIENCE Secondary School Project- 1966
• Earth Science Curriculum Project- 1967
• PHYSICAL SCIENCE Introductory Physical Science-
  1967
• ELEMENTARY SCIENCE Science- A Process Approach-
  1967
• Study Elementary Science Study 1969
• Science Curriculum Improvement- 1970

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Commonalities of the Programs

• Present a coherent set of related concepts with
  broad unifying themes
• Reduction of the number of topic covered in favor
  for more current and in-depth study
• Included historical devt of the subject
• Excluded technological applications, relation to
  everyday life

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• Reform Movement was led by college science
  professors with the help of school teachers
• Education faculty played a secondary role, if any
• A number of educational theorists lent
  considerable support and generated momentum

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Jerome Bruner

• Noted psychologist from Harvard
• The Woods Hole Conference (1959)
• Supported new structure and inductive learning
  strategies
• Felt there should be more intuitive or creative
  thought processes
• Introduced Piagets work- translated into the
  concept of a spiral curriculum

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Joseph J Schwab

• Curriculum theorist from University of Chicago
  was part of BSCS in 1959
• Felt the nation faced three important needs
• additional scientists
• competent political leaders
• a public sympathetic to ongoing programs of
  scientific research

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• Schwabs new conceptions of science
• Scientists no longer viewed knowledge as stable
  truth
• Fluid enquiry as a means to invention
• New vital importance of science for discoveries,
  principles, and applications
• Stressed the processes by which scientists
  generated the knowledge

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How successful were the new programs?

• A number of studies investigated the
  effectiveness of the new programs
• -NSFs National Survey(1977)
• -Suzanne Quick (1978) - effects on commercial
  textbooks
• -CHEM Study Group (1964)- evaluate any changes in
  enrollment into science classes

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New Directions for Teaching Secondary School
Science

• Written by Paul Hurd in 1970
• Identified specific pros and cons in his overall
  analyses of the projects

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Pros

• More up to date and valid information
• Engaged students in independent, discovery-
  type investigations
• Presented a more accurate picture of the nature
  of science
• Dealt with smaller number of significant concepts
  taught in depth and in context

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Cons

• Too difficult for avg high school students
• Didnt seem to motivate students to study
  science- not related to real world, personal
  concerns, practical applications
• Ignored the role of science in everyday life

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• The national scope of the projects
• Funding by the federal government
• Widespread use of the courses
• made this effort unmatched in the history of
  American education.
• Sound familiar???