Meeting+ZHSS+1+(03+Apr+09)

Attendees
Michael (HOD Science) Rozianna (Subject head) Desmond

Main issue
The small group of Science teachers used "reverse engineering" strategy to determine SIOs for lower secondary curriculum. That is, they examined the upper secondary topics first to determine what could or should be taught at lower secondary. The aim was to build foundations and to provide a more holistic view of science.

The process took about 6 months.

The current curricular pattern: For the first 6 months of the year, lower secondary students focus on biology and for the latter 6 months on chemistry.

Possible problems
The topics appear segmented (unrelated) because one does not necessarily lead into another. So are students able to jump from silo to silo? Not really. Teachers need to reteach certain concepts later because they are not internalised.

One of the main aims of the curricular design was to implement IBL. But this pedagogical approach is not yet apparent in the curricular design. The thinking and process skills required for this kind of teaching and learning are still being explored by the teachers. At the moment, I do not think that IBL is appropriately interpreted.

One preliminary suggestion: Allow each teacher to teach holistically, i.e., not teach just Biology or Chemistry, but all neceesary subjects so that links are made between apparently disparate topics.

Action items
Michael will meet with teachers to refine their understanding of IBL and to spot other problem areas.

I will monitor their progress so that I get a clearer picture of what they plan to do. Then only will I suggest a few technology-mediated pedagogies and tools that might enable them to do what they want to do. I would like teachers to identify the main problem they want to address and take ownership of the solution(s).