District addresses dramatic shift in how kids will learn science

ALLENTOWN — State standards for student comprehension of science have changed dramatically.

The shift reflects the nation’s education standards under President Barack Obama’s administration. While New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards changed in 2009, public schools have until 2014 to comply with them.

Within the next four years, how and what students learn in science classrooms will change. The biggest difference will be students striving to achieve 90 percent content application and 10 percent recall instead of 30 percent application and 70 recall, according to Upper Freehold Regional School District Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction Stephen Cochrane.

Cochrane said the state has gone from wanting educators to “prepare future scientists” by focusing on recall of content with 10 science standards to wanting educators to prepare “scientifically literate citizens” by focusing on science application with four science standards.

The new in-depth areas of study are science practices, physical science, life science and earth system science. Cochrane said the new standards reflect the national government’s desire to have more students graduate with a level of science literacy that will allow them to cast educated votes on issues such as cap and trade and fossil fuels.

“They will be able to make educated decisions about what affects them,” Cochrane said.U

pon analyzing the district’s overall K- 12 science program, a committee determined that it is “very effective,” considering students perform above state standards and others in their district factor group (DFG) on state tests. The committee found that the majority of the gaps in science content now required by the state are in grades K-6. Although to achieve the new standards at the high school, the district will have to expose more students to earth, energy and environmental sciences. The committee also determined that teachers and parents want students to have more hands-on science experiences and more application of the scientific method.

To close the gaps in science programming for grades K-6, the school district will order new science kits for more hands-on learning experiences. Teachers will also be encouraged to use free online computer simulations and interactive notebooks. The latter help students learn via the scientific method.

The district will also pilot the concept of “teaming” in the first grade, which means one teacher at that grade level would be responsible for teaching all students science, while another teacher would teach all students social studies. “Teaming” allows teachers to thoroughly focus on planning and teaching one content area, Cochrane

said.llentown High School Science Supervisor Robert Tackett described changes to the science curriculum at the high school level. He said the school will have to put more emphasis on earth and energy studies. He said the school is considering making environmental science a requirement in grade 10.

“The standards have changed so much,” Tackett said. “The biggest changes are in earth and environmental science.”

Tackett also said the high school would make needed revisions in biology and chemistry to address the gaps in meeting the 2009 standards. The district will continue its action chemistry pilot using a textbook called “Chemistry in the Community,” which answers the age-old question of why students have to learn chemistry, according to Tackett. For example, a chemistry lesson will include presenting students with a fish kill scenario and they have to use chemistry to determine why the fish died. Tackett said the new standards focus on active, rather than passive, education.

To meet the new state standards, the district is currently revising its science curricula and will start implementing teacher training. The district also plans to find a cost-effective way of refilling old and new science kits, according to Cochrane. He said an agency could refill the kits at a cost of $14,000 annually, but the district hopes a cadre of parents will come forward to assist with refilling them. The kits mainly consist of household and other easy-to-find items such as paper plates, straws, sand, etc.

To revamp the K-12 science curricula in order to meet state standards, the district will spend $47,700. New kits and chemicals for labs at the new middle school will cost $31,000. New textbooks will cost $8,000. Curriculum writing and revision will cost $5,200. Professional development will cost $3,500, according to Cochrane.

Cochrane concluded by quoting the Upper Freehold Regional School District science program philosophy, which states, “The future of our world is tied to the scientific literacy of our children. Science holds the answers to many of the environmental, medical, economic, and social problems we currently face on our planet. Moreover, science holds the potential for breakthroughs that will advance humanity in ways we cannot yet imagine.”