Curriculum Changes and Proposals, Part 1
At the January Board of Education meeting, the USD 417 BOE reviewed two separate items and acted on one of the two. Both of these can have a significant impact on our student’s education, enough so that I feel compelled to share with you.
As per changes to the state science curriculum through the adoption of the Next Generation Science Standards, the next two years will involve change made to our science instruction. While there will be changes at the elementary and junior high levels, the most significant change will occur at the high school. As you may already know, USD 417 requires 3 credits of science for graduation. This requirement will remain. Currently our science course offerings include the required course of Biology and several science course choices, which include Chemistry, Applied Chemistry & Physics, Physics, Anatomy, Engineering Design, Meteorology, Ocean Science, and Astronomy. Animal Science, taught through our Agriculture program, has also been counted as a science credit.
Beginning in the fall of 2017, our science course offerings will change to meet the new science standards. The new sequence of courses includes the following required courses: Integrated Physics, Integrated Chemistry, and Integrated Biology. The Earth & Space Science standards will be included in each of the three required “Integrated” science courses, as will performance expectations in Engineering and Technology. Elective classes will continue for Earth & Space Science for the coming three years only. There will be upper-level elective courses offered in Engineering Design, Advanced Physics, and Anatomy & Physiology. There will also be additional elective options students can take advantage of through online options, though as of this time these have not been defined. We will continue to offer Animal Science as an elective class though we are uncertain if the course will meet the requirements of a science credit under the new state’s science standards.
Our special education students who need an alternative science offering will be able to take an Alternate Biology course as well as Conceptual Chemistry and Conceptual Physics. These last two courses we already offer for students.
One of the most significant changes is that ALL students will be required to take all three new courses. This includes all students having instruction in physics. It is important to note that the Integrated Physics course is different from the Physics course that parents may relate to while in high school. The new Integrated Physics course will involve less mathematical computations and more hands-on conceptual instruction. This instructional difference will be significant for students.
I do want to add a personal, philosophical thought on requiring all students to take physics instruction. I have long believed students should be required to take four years (credits) of science with physics being one of the required courses. Physics is a foundational science that touches all of us in our everyday lives. Understanding force and motion, energy, waves, relativity, and thermodynamics to name a few of the concepts explored in physics instruction, are important to understanding our world. How is heat transferred? What is light? What is electricity and how is it generated? How can information (data) be transferred through light? What is nuclear fusion and why is this so important? The pace of scientific discovery is staggering. Besides just generally knowing how these changes will impact our lives, informed citizens need to be able to understand the ethical and moral issues involved with this change as well. Physics really is for everyone.
The goal with this new science curriculum is to provide a deep, conceptual understanding of physics, chemistry, biology, earth science, and engineering. These are integrated in the sense that topics from physics appear in biology, chemistry, earth & space science, engineering, and vice versa. There will also be specific advanced courses available for juniors and seniors, including a new Advanced Physics course. This change in our curriculum will occur over a three-year period of time. During this transition, our current chemistry and physics offerings will continue for our current freshman and sophomore students. Next year’s freshman students will begin the new science sequence.