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

Chapter 8: History of Ideas in Science Education

Amanda Johnson & Mandi Brooks

• 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

How did we get here?

• Shift in education from social relevance to traditional rigor

• During the mid 1950’s, 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

Projects funded by the NSF…• PHYSICS: Physical Science Study Committee- 1956

• BIOLOGY: Biological Sciences Curriculum Study- 1959

• CHEMISTRY: Chemical Bond Approach Project- 1957Chemical Education Material Study- 1959

• EARTH SCIENCE: Secondary School Project- 1966Earth Science Curriculum Project- 1967

• PHYSICAL SCIENCE: Introductory Physical Science- 1967

• ELEMENTARY SCIENCE: Science- A Process Approach- 1967Study Elementary Science Study – 1969Science Curriculum Improvement- 1970

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 dev’t of the subject

Excluded technological applications, relation to everyday life

• 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

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 Piaget’s work- translated into the concept of a “spiral curriculum”

Joseph J Schwab • Curriculum theorist from University of

Chicago; was part of BSCS in 1959

• Felt the nation faced three important needs:

1) additional scientists2) competent political leaders 3) a public sympathetic to ongoing programs

of scientific research

• Schwab’s 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

How successful were the new programs?

• A number of studies investigated the effectiveness of the new programs…

-NSF’s “National Survey”(1977) –

-Suzanne Quick (1978) - effects on commercial textbooks

-CHEM Study Group (1964)- evaluate any changes in enrollment into science classes

“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

• 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

• Too difficult for avg high school students

• Didn’t seem to motivate students to study science- not related to real world, personal concerns, practical applications

• Ignored the role of science in everyday life

• 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???