Science Education for Public Understanding Program (SEPUP), one of the best
American examples of educational design, is discussed on pp.205 - 210 in
REDESIGNING EDUCATION, by Kenneth Wilson and Bennett Daviss (Henry Holt &
Co., 1994).
This NSF-funded, 4 year, $3.2 million project to design modules for middle
school science is centered at the U. of CA at Berkeley. The principal
investigator is Herbert Thier, a former junior high science teacher and
assistant supeintendent with more than 30 years of experience. On his small
staff are a biologist, a chemist, an earth scientist, and classroom science
teachers on leave. They produce self-contained modules on computer
diskettes for teachers and accompanying inexpensive kits of desktop
experiments with directions for students. They work closely with
specialists in cognitive science, developmental psychology, and education
research.
Here is an overview of their design process, which the authors of
REDESIGNING EDUCATION consider to be one of the best in America.
First, they talk with students to find out what interests them. This is a
kind of market research. For example, middle school students are
interested in public policy issues, such as environmental issues. One
question that the kids have is whether to use plastic or paper bags. So
they designed a module on plastic vs. paper.
The next step is to research the content. For the plastics module they
collected newspaper and magazine articles that relate the social and
scientific issues, they studied an instructional approach on this topic
used in England, and they asked for help from the plastics industry.
The staff organizes and structures the information in hierarchies of
detail, consulting with experts in curriculum design, cognitive
psychologists, and scientists.
Then they test their prototypes. Two staff teachers go to San Francisco
schools; one teaches and the other takes notes about student reactions,
what works and what doesn't.
After several weeks of these trials, the staff reconfigures the module, in
collaboration with a specialist in materials design.
The improved module is taught by 10 to 15 teachers in San Francisco, while
staffers observe.
After another redesign, the module goes to 16 schools around the nation,
where trials are supervised by teachers SEPUP has trained as field
coordinators. As many as 80 teachers use the modules for up to 5 times a
day. When these trials are finished, the field coordinator meets with the
80 or so teachers and records their reactions; the tapes are sent back to
the staff for review, and the module is revised again.
After the staff finalizes a module, it is sent to publishers and kit
producers who distribute the lessons nationwide.
Between 1988 and 1992 the staff completed 12 modules. Almost 1 million
children are using these materials.
Jane Jackson (Prof. of Physics, Scottsdale Comm. College--on leave)
Dept.of Physics, Box 871504, Arizona State Univ.,Tempe AZ 85287-1504.
jane.jackson@asu.edu (602)965-8438 FAX:965-7331
Modeling Workshop Project: http://modeling.la.asu.edu/modeling.html
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